My post last week spoke of giving gratitude to Parkinson’s as a way to open your heart, quiet your mind, and release fear. Gratitude helps your dopamine flow. Today, I want to discuss another type of gratitude. It is gratitude to yourself for all that you do for you.
Most of the time when you are giving gratitude or making gratitude lists, gratitude is being given for the wonderful things in life, for the people who you are happy are in your life, for the people who assist you in your life, for the beautiful sunrises and sunsets, the oceans, etc. There are many people and things for which to be grateful.
Last week, I shook it up a little and said that to quiet your mind in the face of changing symptoms why not give gratitude to your Parkinson’s for providing you the opportunity to make all of the positive changes you have made in your life.
Today, I am going to shake it up a little more. How about giving gratitude to the hard working, courageous, beautiful soul missing from your gratitude practice and gratitude list: you. How about giving gratitude to you for all that you do for you.
Here is how giving gratitude to yourself for all that you do for you can be a very powerful tool in your Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery® arsenal against Parkinson’s.
Your tremor increases.
Your mind says, “You are getting worse, always getting worse, you need to be afraid of the future.”
Your heart says, “I am grateful to myself for putting in the hard work of the Recipe. I am creating more energy and the result is temporarily having increased tremors. This is a sign of my recovery. I am grateful.”
You are feeling stiff.
Your mind says, “You are getting worse, always getting worse, you need to be afraid of the future.”
Your heart says, “I am grateful to myself for doing the Recipe and providing my body the tools and materials to heal itself. As the healing proceeds forward, I will have occasional times when I am feeling more stiff. This is a sign of my recovery. I am grateful.”
You are feeling critical of yourself.
Your mind says, “You cannot have a recovery because no matter how hard you try, your best is not good enough.”
Your heart says, “I am grateful to myself for doing the Recipe and gaining the understanding that my best is my best, and it is good enough. I am grateful that I sit zazen or perform other meditation to calm my mind. I am providing my mind the tools and materials to calm down and accept that I am doing my best, that “my best” will change from day to day, and that I am okay with what is occurring. I am grateful for the opportunity to calm my mind and learn that my best is, in fact, good enough. This is a sign of my recovery. I am grateful.”
You are not loving yourself.
Your mind says, “It is wrong to love yourself, plus you cannot be forgiven for whatever you think you did incorrectly in life.”
Your heart says, “I am grateful to myself for doing the Recipe and learning to love and accept myself unconditionally. The Recipe is providing my spirit the tools and materials to assist me in seeing myself for the radiant soul that I am. I feel love, joy, and acceptance, and these open my dopamine faucet so my dopamine can flow at full capacity. This is a sign of my recovery. I am grateful.”
These are suggestions for all of you. Please use them as a guide to assist you in expressing gratitude to your yourself. I know this gratitude practice works. In case you have any doubts about it working, here is an excerpt from a comment posted by Marie 10 days after her full recovery:
“Because it is such a powerful component in my own recovery, I offer this:
Fully acknowledge yourself and give yourself credit for what you are doing. Love yourself for how truly brave you are and how dedicated you are to healing yourself. Thank yourself for this precious gift you are giving yourself. Sit in that feeling and give your brain a lovely dopamine bath.
Our gracious guide, Howard, always tells us that we are doing it for ourselves, and still, I think we tend to praise everyone else for the inspiration they are providing. Be grateful to yourself, too, for having that opening that let the inspiration move you.
For me, this has been a good tool, and I hope it may be useful. I found it very hard to do, at first. Kind of embarrassing. And actually, it is even a little hard to write about now.
“What? She sits around loving herself????”
I’ll tell you, I do, every chance I get.”
Thank you, my dear friend, Marie, for continuing to inspire us even now, six and a half years after you cured yourself from Parkinson’s. I am grateful!
Okay everybody, now it is up to you. Gather a big feeling of gratitude and give it to yourself.
I know you can do this.
You are worth it!!!
All my best,
Howard
Note: I am grateful for the response to my request that if you have read my book, Fighting Parkinson’s…and Winning, that you please place a rating and review on Amazon.com. The book has gone from 19 to 31 ratings and reviews. Thank you!
Wow! Thank you Howard, for reminding me how much I have to be grateful for.
Thank you so much Howard. I am truly grateful to myself that I never gave up, and I keep loving and learning to appreciate myself even more. My courage, truthfulness and growth. Love to everyone here. Thank you.
Howard, thank you for the last two blogs! I like it when you shake it up, it’s exactly what I needed.
I’m grateful for so many things, I just shuffled down my driveway to get my garbage can and I was giving gratitude every step.
I’m so grateful that I’m learning to love myself more and more every day, that is priceless.
Love and blessings to all
Giving gratitude makes our life so much sweeter. Thank you Howard 🙂
Thanks Howard! I got a big chuckle on some of your gratitude list. That means it’s for me too! It strikes a cord with me and is soooo useful!
Love and blessings
Lohren
Bless you Howard, your spirit never gives up on us week after week always giving us new ways of thinking. I so agree with this post. Each and every warrior is amazing!
We rock, we rock, WE ROCK! We really do!
Big Love to all.
Karen xx
Dear Karen,
Yes, we agree! It‘s a wonderful and kind supporter, ‘our Howard’!
What would we do without his advices!! Thanks Howard for your inspiring advices which help us not to give up on difficult days, to be grateful and happy, thanks!!
Hi Howard and everyone
Yesterday evening I did my Recipe as usual and then sat and thought about yesterday’s posting. I decided to chant ‘clever girl’ to myself and as I did my feet started tingling! Amazing !!
Also every evening at about 11pm I get very hot ? Does this happen to anyone else? Howard does this time of day have any significance in Chinese Medecine please?
Best wishes to everyone.
Hi Berni,
Good news on “clever girl.”
Regarding 11pm and getting hot. According to the Chinese Body Clock (you can look it up on Google and get a picture; I could not put one here), each of the organs is at it’s peak of functionality in a two-hour window of time. The gallbladder is from 11pm-1am. As you can see from Cause #2 in the Recipe, one of the causes of Parkinson’s is Phlegm-Fire, Agitating Wind, which means too much phlegm, which raises the heat in the body, which causes more tremors.
This is generally related to dietary habits, but also could be the weakened gallbladder associated with Parkinson’s. Medical Qigong for the Liver focuses on the liver and gallbladder. So, a weakened liver and/or too much phlegm will raise the heat, and it will be expressed in the body between 11pm and 1am. Drinking a glass of water prior to 11pm should assist in cooling the body.
Love and blessings,
Howard
Thank you Howard that makes sence.
I confess that prior to Parkinson’s my ‘go to ‘ to deal with stress was a glass of wine (or several) so no surprise that even after almost a year alcohol free my liver is still not as strong as it could be.
The good news is the Qigong is sorting it !😊
Thanks, Howard!
All I can say is that this truly works! The tremors are mostly gone. There is some minor residue of symptoms remaining.
All God’s blessings be upon all of us.
Thank you Howard.
there are always ups and downs in life, and fortunately, from my experience with the Recipe for Recovery , I learned the importance on focusing on what is right and feeling gratitude. this post comes at a very good time for me since I learned this morning that my new computer got fried when the electric pole outside my house fell over and was replaced yesterday. The power surge was too strong for my surge protector, and after a day spent trying to remedy the situation, I’ve had to accept that it is not going to bounce back to life. though I can´t say that I like that, I can say honestly that I accept it as what is, and that I will deal with it. Meanwhile, I can be happy for so many things and grateful. feeling gratitude for everything that is right…and recognizing that there is so much that is good in my life….
Helps to re-set from upset. Checking in on this blog always brings important insights and restores my perspective, and I am grateful for that! In a class I took, we kept a Gratitude Journal, jotting down each night things we were grateful for. I am going to do that here and now:
I am Grateful for the gift of the Recipe for Recovery and Grateful that I recovered fully.
I am Grateful for being introduced to Qigong, and for the way that sustains me through my daily practice.
I am grateful for the clear blue skies in New Mexico and the clean air I get to breathe.
I am grateful to all the people who tried to help me with my computer today.
I am grateful that my dear father who is 98 years old, recovered from the flu and is getting stronger.
I am Grateful for the love and friendship and support in my community.
I am grateful to have enough…enough food, enough water, enough money.
I am grateful that I know that for me enough really is enough. I don’t need more.
I am grateful for beauty.
I am grateful for today. Grateful to be alive.
all of these things are so much more important than the difficulties and irritations that can arise in daily life.
I am Grateful to have been given tools to help me maintain (or regain) my balanced in challenging situations.
I am Grateful for this blog. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH….
I AM GRATEFUL.
Wonderful Marie, thank you!
Fabulous Marie, we are all so grateful for your encouragement from the sidelines with Howard. I love that you have not forgotten us, thank you for the gift of you. Big Love.xx
Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone
I would particularly like to send love to:
My husband and family for their belief in me ;
Howard for his unfailing optimism and support for all of us on the road to recovery;
And of course aĺl my fellow travellers on this voyage of discovery!
I am grateful to all of you.
Enjoy your day
Xxx
Thank you Berni, many happy returns to you. A big shout out to all the single warriors out there. We are not alone, just sit a while and feel the love from within.
Big Love xx