Fighting Parkinson’s, and being in the present moment NOW!, part 2

Last week, I discussed being in the present moment. It is what is real. Today, we will take the discussion a little deeper into how you can practice being in the present moment NOW!

On December 1st, I asked you to take a look at how you had done in November and utilize what you learned to build a stronger recovery in the moment NOW. Many people have told me that while doing the November Challenge, they felt very good because they had set aside the time to do the reduced version of the Recipe every day.

Okay. Now let’s build upon the lesson: “It is okay for me to set aside time to work on my recovery.” Next baby step: “It is okay for me to set aside time to do something nice for me.”

The something nice can be as simple as setting aside time to read a book or sitting with a cup of coffee or tea and doing nothing other than staring out the window into nature. These are the things that will help you calm down the adrenaline-driven mind that tells you that you always have to be doing something “productive.”

Guess what? If you are reading a book, that is productive — you are calming your mind and being fully engaged in the moment in reading. It allows for acceptance of you as you are, not just acceptance of you if you are achieving or performing something.

Drinking a cup of coffee or tea and doing nothing other than staring out the window into nature is being productive — you are relaxing and “doing nothing” while learning to feel okay about it. It allows for acceptance of you as you are, not just acceptance of you if you are achieving or performing something.

These are the mental and spiritual “lessons learned” from doing the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery® that you carry into your everyday life to help you cure yourself from Parkinson’s and to help you live a healthy life after you are cured.

In the last post, I wrote: “When I became cured of Parkinson’s, I stopped doing the physical part of the Recipe because I no longer needed it. However, the mental and spiritual lessons I learned in my recovery have carried forward for the last nine and a half years as how I live my life…I live my cure in the way I live my life.”

Here is an example for you of how those lessons learned have carried forward in my life. On Wednesday morning, two days ago, I sat down at my computer to begin my day responding to emails. I have an Apple Mac laptop and I use Microsoft 365 Office for my office programs.

My email program Outlook did not open. The programs Excel and Word did not open. Although I thought I was going to be working on emails, the Universe had a different plan. Because of the lessons learned in my recovery, instead of being fearful of none of the programs opening and being angry and frustrated over the situation, I said, “Okay, what am I going to do about this?”

First, I re-started my computer…that did not work. Second, I went on the Internet to see if others were having this problem, and I found many very technical solutions that people were suggesting and opted not to do them. Third, I asked for help.

I went to Apple Support and clicked the link for an online chat. Here it is:

“Thanks for contacting Apple Support. My name is India. Please give me a moment to look over your information.

·          Good Morning! How are you?

·          Hi India. I am fine. How are you? I have Microsoft 365 from the App Store and this morning none of it will open, Outlook, Word, Excel. They stopped working. Please help. Thank you. Howard

·          Great to hear! I’m doing awesome today, thanks Howard.

·          Nice to hear 🙂

·          Ah we know how important it is to enjoy your Apple apps properly. We’ll totally guide you to a prompt resolution or pointed in the right direction for it. 🙂

·          Do you get any error messages or alerts and if so can you share it with us please?

·          Hi India. You must be an angel. I have not gotten any of it to open in the last half hour, and when I clicked to tell you if there is an error message, all of them opened. I am not computer illiterate and I know what I am doing, even though you might think I am having user error. So, have you seen this before and do you know if there is anything I can do to prevent it from happening again? Thanks. Howard

·          Aww thanks I really appreciate you and you made my day!! 🙂

·          Sure, if it happens again see if you get any error messages to provide and try restarting the Mac. 🙂

·          So glad they are opening now, woot!

·          Maybe I was just needing a message from the Universe that computers are not perfect and neither am I, and that it is okay to ask for help 🙂 As soon as I asked for help and you arrived, problems solved by themselves. Thank you for being my angel today. Have a great day!

·          Sounds good to me too and it was my pleasure Howard! 🙂 Thanks for being part of the Creative Apple Family and you have yourself a beautiful day. Happy Holidays! Thanks a bunch as well!

·          Happy Holidays to you as well, India! Good bye 🙂

·          Thank you. 🙂 Bye, bye.”

Prior to Parkinson’s, I felt I needed to have every answer to every question, every solution to every problem, and that asking for help was a failure, a sign of weakness. How foolish was I. This way of thinking helped me become ill.

In my recovery, I learned that being vulnerable is okay. I need to repeat this: BEING VULNERABLE IS OKAY! Actually, being vulnerable is not only okay, but it is necessary for being healthy. None of us is perfect and none of us should ever be afraid to ask for help.

And, none of us should be afraid to let somebody who helps us know that the person is an angel:

“Maybe I was just needing a message from the Universe that computers are not perfect and neither am I, and that it is okay to ask for help 🙂 As soon as I asked for help and you arrived, problems solved by themselves. Thank you for being my angel today. Have a great day!”

Lessons learned.

Have a beautiful weekend, baby step by baby step, moment by moment, in the moment NOW!

You are worth it!!!

All my best,

Howard

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12 Responses to Fighting Parkinson’s, and being in the present moment NOW!, part 2

  1. Paul says:

    Such a positive way of being ty very much for this.
    You always seem to post just what is needed!
    Bless you

  2. Petra says:

    Most things we take them for granted, but we have to look at it in another way, how things and communication work together and support each other. You open up to things and persons instead of closing down by arguing things.

  3. Sharon says:

    This is wonderful! Learning to ask for help is OK.
    Thank you, Howard!

    Sharon in North Carolina

  4. Chris Meyer says:

    This was running through my head while I was reading Howard’s wonderful post:

    Slow down, you move too fast
    You got to make the morning last
    Just kicking down the cobblestones
    Looking for fun and feeling groovy
    Ba da-da da-da da-da, feeling groovy

    Feeling groovy in Wisconsin,

    Chris

  5. Alison says:

    This reminds me of when I catch myself about to do something and anticipating having finished before I have even started. Impatience. Totally unjustified. Fighting time that is always there, the now is always there, I say, hey slow, slow, slow and take each moment.
    I keep bringing the mind back to being into what I am doing, and not how fast I can do it! Of course the thoughts slip away again and take over, and so it goes on!

    • Chris Meyer says:

      Yeah, I just spent an hour with Howard reviewing my own feckless ability to consistently do the right things for myself spiritually. But I think I’m becoming less feckless and definitely feeling groovier…

      Hang in there!

      Best regards,

      Chris

  6. Beth says:

    Thanks Howard! I always look forward to your emails. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. I will continue taking baby steps and keeping a positive attitude thanks for being an angel. May God bless you!

  7. Helen says:

    Thank you Howard. I will ask for help and accept help when it’s offered to me. Thank you for this learning. Cheers Helen

  8. Karen Wise says:

    Howard, I am always amazed at how you can key into a point I have been pondering. The whole thing about taking time to read a book…and just having tea and staring out a window….I challenge everyone to this. I do it now and cherish those wonderful moments! Happy winter everyone. From Israel, Karen

  9. Mona says:

    Respected Howard Sir,
    Very timely blog. It is week end and will practice just doing nothing
    Very relevant poem sent by a friend ,I am forwarding you.regards Mona.

    *A beautiful poem by Lee Tzu Pheng*

    “Sip your Coffee
    Nice and Slow,

    No one Ever knows
    when it’s Time to Go,
    There’ll be no Time
    to enjoy the Glow,
    So sip your Coffee
    Nice and Slow… 👌🏻

    Life is too Short but
    feels pretty Long,
    There’s too Much to do , so much going Wrong,
    And Most of the Time You Struggle to be Strong,
    Before it’s too Late
    and it’s time to Go,
    Sip your Coffee
    Nice and Slow… 👌🏻

    Some Friends stay,
    others Go away,
    Loved ones are Cherished, but not all will Stay ,
    Kids will Grow up
    and Fly away,
    There’s really no Saying how Things will Go,
    So sip your coffee
    Nice and Slow… ☕

    In the End it’s really
    all about Understanding Love,
    For this World
    and in the Stars above,
    Appreciate and Value who truly Cares,
    Smile and Breathe
    and let your Worries go,
    So, Just Sip your coffee
    Nice and Slow .”

  10. Melanie S says:

    Thank you Howard ♥️
    I am doing the Recipe for recovery and I am worth it.

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