Welcome to the fourth annual 30-day November to Remember Challenge to new people to the blog and to those who have been inspired about recovery, but who are still thinking about whether or not to do the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®. The last three years have turned out really well for those who decided to accept the challenge and begin an abbreviated version of the Recipe. So, here are some thoughts, followed by this year’s challenge.
As we head into the last two months of the year, this is a time filled with the additional stress of the holidays, balancing family, work, friends and extended-family during the holidays. Stress exacerbates Parkinson’s. Fear and worry exacerbate Parkinson’s. Wouldn’t you rather head into the holiday season with less stress, less fear, less worry, and physically feeling a little better? Wouldn’t that make you and your family and friends actually see that you are on your path to recovery?
For those who are new to the blog or who are inspired but have not yet started doing the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®, it is my challenge to you to make a personal commitment to yourself to do the scaled-down version of the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery® for the month of November to get on your path toward recovery. I am posting the challenge now so you can have a few days to get ready. It costs nothing. There is no sign up sheet. There is no catch. There is nothing to lose. There is much to gain.
My 30-day challenge to you: Embrace the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery® for 30 days and make this your November to Remember!
There are some parameters to go over for my 30-day challenge 2014, and here they are:
1. The body. At a minimum, perform Medical Qigong for Liver, Clearing Liver Wind Qigong, Standing and Balance Qigong, Brain Vibration Chanting (these are numbers in Mandarin Chinese in a sequences to stimulate vibration activity in the brain). There are videos of each of these in the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®. Also, add the Neck Exercises and the Medical Qigong Sound for Kidney Health (there are not videos of these).
2. The mind. a). At a minimum, stop doing research on Parkinson’s remedies and “cures.” This will start to reduce being in Adrenaline Mode, and it will send a message to your Parkinson’s that says, “I am committed to the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®. I believe in the Recipe and I believe in myself.” Commit to the Recipe for 30 days, and during the 30 days, stop looking for something different. If you are looking for something different, then you are not committed to what you are doing. Use your extra time reading a book, watching TV or a movie, talking to friends…getting back into living life; I am certain if a new miracle cure turns up during the 30 days, somebody you know will tell you about it. b). Getting rid of fear. Click here for a refresher on faith over fear. c). Stop thinking about your Parkinson’s. Instead, think about living your life, truly living your life and doing the things that you can do and want to do. You may do things a little slower, and you may not be able to do things as long, but you still can do the things in life you want to do. Click here for a refresher on having a “can do” attitude toward your cure instead of a “can’t do” attitude toward your life and your Parkinson’s. d). Calming your mind. At a minimum, for 5 minutes, one time per day, sit in a quiet spot, close your eyes, and count your breaths from 1 to 10 (out breath first, then in breath, count that as 1 breath) and start over counting 1-10 and start over again, etc.
3. The soul. a). Practice acceptance. When something occurs, instead of visiting it with a negative emotion, just look at it and say, “Okay, I accept what just happened.” And then deal with it without the negative emotions. Stress is caused by the mind’s refusal to accept reality. Accept what is occurring, create a solution, and reduce your stress. Click here for more on stress reduction through acceptance. b). Compassion. Practice compassion every chance you get…compassion for others and for yourself. Practically everybody, including you, is suffering at some level, physically, mentally, and/or spiritually. Practice compassion and unburden some of their load, and unburden some of yours. c). Gratitude. Every day write down 10 things for which you are grateful. If 10 things do not come to mind, think of something bad that did not occur, and be grateful that it did not occur. If you run out of new things, you may repeat things you have written on previous days. At the end of the month, you will have between 10 and 300 things for which you are grateful. The closer you are to 300, the more your heart will have opened, and the more your natural dopamine will be flowing. Click here for a refresher on practicing gratitude.
Not only is this the November to Remember 2014, but it also is No Excuses November 2014!
1. Objection to doing the Recipe, “I do not want to go on a vegetarian diet.” My response, “Don’t.” However, during the 30 days, see if you can add a little more fruits, vegetables, greens, and whole grains into your diet, and see if you can reduce a little your fried foods, dairy, and refined-sugar sweets.
2. Objection to doing the Recipe, “I cannot do the Qigong exercises because, a. I do not understand them, b. I am physically unable, c. Both a. and b.” My response, “I will help you.” (See my “My Commitment to All of You” below in this post).
3. Objection to doing the Recipe, “I cannot do the Qigong perfectly, so I know it is not worth my time because if I cannot do it perfectly, I know I cannot recover.” My response: “The only “perfect” Qigong is the one your body is allowing you to do in the moment you are doing it, and it is good enough.”
4. Objection to doing the Recipe, “It takes too much time.” My response, “You are worth the time it takes to cure yourself from a disease from which the professionals say there is no cure. Plus, for those of you doing daily Parkinson’s research, once you stop doing daily Parkinson’s research (Part 2a of the challenge), you will find yourself with extra time to do the Recipe and many other wonderful things.”
5. Objection to doing the Recipe, “I am currently taking medications and I do not want to reduce them.” My response, “Don’t.” I feel that you will benefit greatly from doing the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery® even if you are currently taking medications. I do not believe that you can reach full recovery while on medications, but doing the Recipe and cleansing your liver will help your body process your medications better and help you function better, and maybe some time in the future you will decide that reduction makes sense to achieve your recovery. Click here for more on medications and medications reduction.
For those of you who already are doing the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®, I want this to be your November to Remember as well. Please re-commit yourselves to doing the Recipe, and please consider adding into your daily practice the Gratitude List outlined in Part 3c of the challenge above. Also, I welcome your comments at the end this post as a way to encourage and inspire those who are new to the blog or undecided in accepting the 30-day challenge 2014.
My Commitment to All of You
People have expressed to me that they feel I was successful in curing myself because of my confidence in what I was doing and my commitment to doing it, the “it” being the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®. I am just as confident in all of you, and just as committed to all of you being successful, so I make this offer:
If you feel that you are unable to do any of the things outlined in my 30-day challenge above, let me know, and I will provide you with a 30-minute conference in person, by phone, by Skype, or by FaceTime at no charge. Send me an email at howard@fightingparkinsonsdrugfree.com and I will coordinate the conference with you.
I will help you understand the Recipe better, and I will modify the Qigong exercises so you can receive the same benefit as those people who can do them just as they appear in the Recipe.
If you are in the Tampa area, I will meet with you or have a call or a Skype or a FaceTime. If you are outside the Tampa area, but in the United States or Canada, we may have a call or Skype or a FaceTime. If you are outside the United States, we may have a Skype or a FaceTime.
I am committed to all of you. I am committed to assisting you to accept my 30-day challenge, and I am confident in you being able to do the Recipe. Also, I am confident that the Recipe will work for you, and at the end of the 30 days you will see enough positive results in your recovery that you will know you are on your path to recovery and you will know the full Recipe is right for you.
Also, throughout the month of November, I will be posting information to assist you in successfully completing this 30-day challenge. Please check back regularly to this blog, or if you wish to receive an email notification of the blog posting updates, please fill out the “Subscribe to receive blog update notifications” form at the top right-hand side of this page.
I am committed to you and your recovery from Parkinson’s.
Why not accept the abbreviated Recipe challenge, get on your path toward recovery, and commit yourself for 30 days to the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®!
Parkinson’s is curable! Be your own cure!
Why not make this your November to Remember!
YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!
All my best,
Howard
NOTE: My Seattle workshop will be taking place on December 6, 2014. Click here for more information and for registration for the workshop. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Hi Howard, It warms my heart to see you constantly reaching out to new people.
To any new people. I am 50, have had Parkinson’s symptoms since 2009, was diagnosed in April 2012. I found Howard in June of this year. I tell him regularly he is ” God in Motion” as his love, support and weekly guidance and encouragement is outstanding. The biggest blessing so far, in doing The Recipe is the massive improvement in my bladder and kidneys. I was in a constant state or URGENT need to make it to the bathroom, and had frequent accidents. All that is gone now. I don’t fear going places as I know my bladder can hold off as it used to.
There are so many other blessings. There are a community of amazing people here who support eachother through shared low days and good days. For me the Gift is knowing that I am not alone in my vision of a cure and our amazing coach, Howard, always seems to know EXACTLY where our head space is, in his weekly blogs. That Gift is PRICELESS on this journey.
Welcome to all newbies. You’ve just found your first major turn on your road with Parky. With you in spirit.
Karen xxx
Dear Howard,
thankyou, thankyou, thankyou for that post. I have been intermittently on the Road for some time now (with diverse excuses as to why “it wouldn’t work for me”) but this time I intend to do the full thirty days, as suggested! November to Remember here I come!
Blessings,
Helen C.
Omigosh people…take up this challenge…it’s a magnificent opportunity to take charge of your health and your life…to be proactive instead of reactive. I’ve benefited from increased energy, a more functional digestive system and, most significantly a sense of empowerment and purpose….. instead of victimization, “poor me” etc. Early on, after following Howard’s recipe for a few months, I walked into my massage therapist’s treatment room and he immediately asked what I’d been doing for myself because I looked so much better…particularly my energy (this practitioner also very skilled in energy work)…so I told him about Howard and his recipe and the Qigong exercises. He responded with “Keep it up….you couldn’t be doing anything better for yourself!” I am so very grateful for Howard and his generosity in making this recipe and weekly blog posts available to us all…Howard you are my hero! THANK YOU…THANK YOU…THANK YOU!
Howard, it’s so heartwarming the way you reach out to new people, maybe even skeptics. You don’t have to do that: you could just go on and live your life and not become entangled in the lives of others. You are the kind of person that effects change in this world. I shudder to think where I might be today if I hadn’t “stumbled upon” (nothing happens by accident!) you and the Recipe. Faithfully I march on with my eyes on the horizon of recovery!….thanx, Howard
Dear Howard, I’ll go for it. This is my commitment. It is going to be a November to Remember for me. Thanks for this november support.
Dear Howard,
Thank you so much for this challenge. I have been doing the physical exercise part of the Recipe for Recovery for several months now. It is the perfect program for me. I love life and I love the program. I am not taking any medications. It is so nice to know that I am getting better everyday as I follow the Recipe for Recovery. I do not let my symptoms dictate how I feel I am doing. As Penny said, I have taken charge of my health.
For a couple of years before being diagnosed I had suffered from chronic sleep deprivation. As I look back over the last several months, it is easy for my to see how much that has improved. It is so much easier to face any challenges that may come up during the day, when I have had some sleep the night before. Thanks Howard.
I will make a list of ten things that I am thankful for each day. I will continue to work on balancing my mind and my soul as well as my body.
As much as I love the Recipe for Recovery and the ability to do it each day…….I look forward to the time that I am symptom free and can move on. 🙂
Thanks to Howard and to each one of you who so freely share yourselves with me. Have a wonderful day!
Howard I haven’t managed to be consistent with doing the recipe but will commit to making this a November to remember! I’m realising that that hearing other people’s progress is also hugely motivating. Thanks for sharing people. It’s great to feel like part of a community. Howard you are totally amazing and I feel blessed that I have your support.
Howard you are a truly wonderful human being.
You lift my heart with every message.
Thank you. xx
Count me in again Howard, it is such a blessing to be part of this group and to have found you!!!!!!! I shutter to think where I would be right now if I hadn’t found you and the accompanying support from this community! It has been a little over a year since I have been doing the recipe consistently and I am now completely drug free, my sense of smell has returned, my elimination is normal, sleep is perfect! Still working on “losing my mind to come to my senses”and my tremor and balance but thanks to Howard’s continual support, I know it will come. His biweekly Skype sessions keep me focused and on the path to recovery! His weekly blog posts come just when I need them and just what I need to hear to pick me up by my bootstraps! Howard, thanks for truly caring and wanting me to recover as much as I do!!!!!!!! With much love and heartfelt gratitude, Melanie
Howard, where would we be without you and your continued encouragement. Thank you so much for being there for us. I just am so thankful for finding your website, it has been truly life changing on the Parkinsons road. I see things so differently now and am chipping away at that iceberg on a daily basis!
Hi Howard,
I have just received my manual by post, and learned about the November challenge, so I’ll give it a go, still familiarizing myself with the different exercises, and hope I’m doing them correctly.
It feels good to be fighting back, as since I was diagnosed in 2012, I have never given up hope of recovering.
So thankful to have stumbled upon your website Howard, and look forward to reporting in with improvement.
I will never give up…
Regards
Rebecca
Hi Howard! I was diagnosed in January 2014. Thank God I found you! I started the exercises and program in September and have already gotten back my sense of smell! I know I am on the road to recovery and continually picture myself as healed. Blessings to you and your work; you are a godsend to us all!
Lohren
Pingback: Fighting Parkinson’s, and inspiration for the kick-off of my 30-day challenge | Fighting Parkinson's Drug Free
Pingback: Fighting Parkinson’s, and 5 days left in the November 2014 challenge | Fighting Parkinson's Drug Free