Fighting Parkinson’s, and inspiration to continue playing the game

Last Friday, I posted Fighting Parkinson’s, and let’s play a game. Please read that post so you will know what game we are playing. Today, I am extending the one-week game and providing you inspiration to keep you in the “Positive Thinking Only” game of life and Parkinson’s recovery.

For the first spark of inspiration, I welcome you to read the magnificent comments posted by other members of the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery^&#0174 community. Please click the link in the paragraph above and read what others are saying, including our good friend Marie. Marie is 2 and 1/2 years cured of Parkinson’s, but she remains a vibrant member of this community and serves as a true inspiration to all of us.

You need more inspiration? Okay! In case you are wondering how many people are playing the Positive Thinking Only game with you, here are a few numbers:
1. Subscribers. If you subscribe to receive blog update notifications by email, as of today, 468 other people will be receiving an email notification when you receive yours. (If you are not subscribed to receive notifications of new blog posts, the subscription form is on the right hand side of your computer screen on this page).
2. Unique individual people coming to the website and reading the blog posts. Over 5,000 individual people per month with over 9,000 visits to the site per month.
3. From where do the over 5,000 people coming to this website every month access the site? From over 110 countries around the world.

This is a world-wide community and we are playing the Positive Thinking Only game together. How powerful is that!

Here are the most important things you need to know to stay in the game. Whatever is going on in your life and in your Parkinson’s recovery is what is happening in the moment. Your mind uses judgment from the past (guilt, regret, and self-criticism, etc.), and your mind uses judgment into the future (stress, fear, and worry, etc.) to JUDGE “what does this thing happening in the moment really mean?” And the mind’s JUDGMENT has only one conclusion: “It means my Parkinson’s is getting worse.”

Clearly, you need to lose that mind to stay in the Positive Thinking Only game. How do you do that. Get out a sheet of paper and write down three things: JUDGMENT. PAST. FUTURE. Now, crumple up the paper and throw it away. That’s it! Throw away your judgment of yourself based upon past regrets and future fears. It is as simple as that…throw them away.

Now that you have thrown away your judgment of the past and the future, you are ready to win the game in each moment of your life. You see, winning the game is in each moment of being in the moment in your heart…it is the journey that counts in the moment. How do you make your journey a complete win? Get out another sheet of paper and I will tell you.

Write this down, carry it with you until you memorize it, and use it all of the time in the moment:
I am not my symptoms.
My symptoms are there only to remind me that I have Parkinson’s Disease, nothing more, nothing less.
I accept that whatever is happening with my symptoms is necessary in my recovery.
I accept my symptoms and myself with compassion in my heart, fearlessly.
I am recovery in each moment in my life as I open my heart, filled with gratitude, to the possibilities of each new day.
I am my own recovery in all that I do.

Here is the abbreviated version, short and sweet:
I accept that whatever is happening in my life is necessary for my life and my Parkinson’s recovery, and I embrace it with an open heart filled with gratitude and compassion. I am my own recovery in all that I do.

Do not be consumed with symptoms. Be consumed with RECOVERY! SEE IT…BE IT…DON’T WAIT FOR IT…BE IT NOW!!!

You are worth it!

All my best,

Howard

Postscript. I started playing this game during my recovery, and I am still playing it today. I greet the morning each day with gratitude for being alive. I accept all that is happening in front of me with a compassionate smile and an “okay.” Okay simply means that I am living in the moment and acknowledging what is happening in reality in the moment with acceptance and no judgment. And then I act. I do not react emotionally based upon past or future judgments. I came to realize that the only thing actually happening in my life in the moment is whatever is going on right now…and I embrace it. Why not? It is my life, one for which I am overwhelmingly grateful.

Things to remember:
I am providing a special offer of a discounted cost for Parkinson’s Coaching if you sign up by the end of June, which is approaching soon. Click here to learn more about Parkinson’s Coaching, including how to sign up for the One-Month Parkinson’s Coaching Package with the special offer.

Also, on July 19, 2014, I will be presenting my Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery^&#0174 workshop in Tampa, Florida. For details and registration, click here.