I have been traveling this week, so today you will be receiving an “oldie but goodie” re-post on attitude with a way to tie it into “2020…the year of gratitude.”
Life is happening. Parkinson’s is happening. How you deal with your Parkinson’s symptoms has much to do with your recovery. Your attitude is a major factor in your recovery. Attitude, attitude, attitude!
I will begin today’s discussion with a quote from Jack Sparrow, that is, Captain Jack Sparrow from the Disney movie series Pirates of the Caribbean:
“The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem. Do you understand?”
I would imagine that Johnny Depp (Captain Jack Sparrow) had no idea he was talking about Parkinson’s recovery. I will paraphrase so you will understand my point better:
“The problem is not your Parkinson’s symptoms. The problem is your attitude about your Parkinson’s symptoms. Do you understand?”
Your symptoms are happening. Your attitude about what they mean can dramatically change your recovery. If you can view your symptoms with a positive attitude from your heart instead of a negative attitude from your mind, then you have the greatest opportunity to move forward in your Parkinson’s recovery.
Here are some examples of how a shift in attitude changes your recovery.
Event: An increase in tremors while doing the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®.
Mind: Oh no, I am getting worse. Better stop the Recipe and look for something else.
Heart: Excellent, I am getting better. I am generating more internal electrical impulses and they temporarily cause me to tremor more while they are opening blockages in my system. Thank you. I am grateful.
Event: An increase in stiffness while doing the Parkinson’s
Recipe for Recovery.
Mind: Oh no, I am getting worse. Better stop the Recipe and look for something
else.
Heart: Excellent, I am getting better. I am generating more internal electrical
impulses and they temporarily are shocking the muscles more as they look to
open new energy passageways, causing me a little more stiffness in my system. Thank
you. I am grateful.
Event: An increase in slowness while doing the Parkinson’s
Recipe for Recovery.
Mind: Oh no, I am getting worse. Better stop the Recipe and look for something
else.
Heart: Excellent, I am getting better. I am generating more internal electrical
impulses and they temporarily are shocking the muscles more as they look to
open new energy passageways, causing me a little more stiffness in my system,
and this stiffness is making me move slower. Thank you. I am grateful.
Attitude, attitude, attitude.
The mind views an increase in a symptom as “getting worse, only getting worse.” The mind follows the current medical model for Parkinson’s, you will be “getting worse, only getting worse.” With your mind’s attitude following the “only getting worse” medical model, your Parkinson’s symptoms get worse because your mind is filled with fear, anxiety, worry, anger, frustration, and stress…all of the things that helped bring your Parkinson’s symptoms to the surface in the first place. If you stay in your mind, you defeat your own recovery because an attitude filled with this outlook and these emotions, feeds the Parkinson’s symptoms and ultimately makes you stop doing the Recipe and quit your recovery.
The heart views an increase in a symptoms as “progress in recovery, everything is progress in recovery.” The heart follows the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery model for Parkinson’s, if you are doing the Recipe you are making “progress in recovery, everything is progress in recovery.” With your heart’s attitude following the “everything is progress in recovery” Recipe model, your Parkinson’s symptoms eventually get better because your heart is filled with faith, hope, love, joy, happiness, gratitude, contentment, vulnerability, and forgiveness…all of the things that get your dopamine flowing and rid you of your Parkinson’s symptoms. If you stay in your heart, you enhance your recovery because an attitude filled with this outlook and these emotions keeps you doing the Recipe and ultimately defeats the Parkinson’s and leads to your full recovery.
And all along the way, you stare down those increasing symptoms and from the depths of your heart and soul, you say, “Thank you. I am grateful.” And you mean it! You are worthy.
Attitude, attitude, attitude. Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.
When you have increased symptoms and you give gratitude, most people will think you have lost your mind. In light of that, I will finish with another quote, one I have mentioned before. This time from Socrates in Dan Millman’s Way of the Peaceful Warrior:
“Sometimes you have to lose your mind before you come to your senses.”
Lose your mind…find your heart…have your recovery.
You are worth it!
All my best,
Howard
Howard, thank you for your encouragement and all your help. We are so grateful for your posts and your wonderful coaching.
Thank you so much!
Sharon in North Carolina
Hope you had enjoyable travels and thank you for the blog – always a pearl ( created by an irritant in the oyster shell ) of wisdom, love Jan UK
Yes, this is an oldie but gooodie!
What it brings home to me is that we can take all the stresses, worries and concerns that contributed to our getting PD and use them as triggers for positive practices like healthy mantras and giving gratitude.
In short, the causes of our PD become an integral part of the cure! It reminds me of the martial arts practice of using your opponents own inertia against them. How cool is that? We can Ju Jitsu our PD!
Thanks Howard for all the helpful and inspirational blog posts.
Taking it to the mat in Wisconsin,
Chris
You mean to tell me I have to worry about not worrying too much as It will Impede my recovery. One more worry to worry about, LOL. I am assuming that bouts of worry will creep in from time to time. But as long as we continue to do the recipe, we will recover. Have a great vacation, brother. You are a constant source of strength.
Hope no one minds if I diverge briefly:
I got to the office this morning, hung up my coat and put my gloves on the counter. Then I noticed that I only had one glove on the counter!
So I retraced my steps back to the car and found the other glove behind the passenger seat.
I went back into the office and found another glove lying on the floor by the counter.
Now I had 3 gloves!? I thought to myself, “Life’s messy – get used to it.”
– Chris
🤣miracles happens
So Chris, the glove you found in the car, is now missing it’s mate! 😊 lol
Love your posts friend 😊xx
Karen –
Very insightful. Yeah, I assumed the world was offering me two options: find the glove or not. It just wasn’t on my radar that I’d find two gloves providing relief (found the first mate) and anxiety (Now where’s the third ones mate?!)
I guess it’s time to quit trying to predict the future and start enjoying the ride!
Best regards,
Chris
Immediately when I read this post, a song came up by me :
https://youtu.be/-N4jf6rtyuw
This post realy hits me. As my mind goes everywhere: what if ?
I have to dare to walk the recipe and with showing up the symptoms. That’s why I am greatful to Howard with his posts
Hi Petra, I thought your song was quite appropriate 😊 xx
Thank you!!!
It is great to connect with all of you. Thank you all for your support. Let’s all go forward towards recovery. I feel it is close!!
Karen from Wisconsin
Amen! and thank you Howard. I am smiling and opening my heart – I’m finding healing in letting go of my mind and what I cannot control and at the same time letting go of my PD. This attitude thing does work and your guidance in staying the course when I’m having a “Stumbling in the Park” (my code for a really bad day) kind of day is greatly appreciated. Love to you all, it really is a beautiful life. Elaine
Hi Howard, great post,the old ones are the best. 😊
My fabulous son bought me an iPad for Christmas, we have been patiently waiting for a special cushion that he ordered, which enables me to use the iPad with ease in my chair.
At 55, I am like a child with a new toy at Christmas. Joy joy joy! I can type by using one finger from each hand and it’s a massive screen compared to my iPhone and the struggle of trying to type using my thumb with a shakey hand.
I am so grateful to have such a caring, loving, compassionate thoughtful son. He is my greatest gift from God.
I am doing well and it’s funny but lately I have been thanking my feet and legs as I attempt to moisturise them at night and verbally thank each of my body parts and organs for all their efforts that day. So I’m on track!
I hope all my fellow warriors are doing well. Sooooooooo many new people. It would be fabulous to see your faces in our photo gallery. 😀.
Big love to all. Karen above, I do hope it is a “ Karen” that becomes number 7. 😉
In truth, I would be joyous no matter who it is.
Big love to all.
Karen xx ❤️
Karen 🤞🏿🤞🤞🏿
Thank you for another wonderful blog Howard and thank you to all my fellow warriors for your wonderful comments, you make me laugh, cry, and be grateful!
My husband was seriously ill for the greater part of January and ended up having to have his leg amputated due to an aneurysm in his leg. Its a real luxury to have time now to read everyone’s comments. Although it’s really tough having a leg amputated, I am grateful my husband is ok now and recovering well. No matter what we all are going through, attitude and gratitude can make all the difference in the world, and for us Parkies, it’s an even sweeter deal: RECOVERY!!!!!!
With love and gratitude to you Howard and all my fellow warriors xo
Margaret
Thanks Howard. Excellent timing. Ubu (my left arm) has been a little more bouncy than usual.
Thank you for this reminder, Howard! I am another Karen who has been silently following along for about a year. I am so grateful I found your site and this community at the end of 2018. Hope is the most powerful medicine! Your recipe led me to create my own recipe, in which I’m using four of the five branches of Chinese medicine (what a gift this alternative approach to/worldview of health is!!!). This post comes at the most fortuitous time! I’ve been trying to figure out what controls the tremors for far too long. Over and over again, I think my latest theory is correct. And then it is not. Each time, I have to remind myself I don’t control the wind. But then I go and devise a new theory. I want this to be the time I finally learn this lesson for good. I watched the trees blow in the wind today. They were blowing opposite the usual direction. How wonderful! Now why would I even want to control that?? I have tremors now and I am grateful.
Hi Howard: I am very grateful to you for meeting with me at Seasons 52, where over lunch we discussed the relative importance of the “Recipe” and “Meditation” for PD.
Our discussion about brain plasticity associated with your recipe’s emphasis on Meditation compelled me to research PubMed studies on it. One of many listed studies caught my attention: “Mindfulness based intervention in Parkinson’s Disease leads to structural brain changes on MRI: A randomized controlled longitudinal trial”. One of the conclusions was increased Gray Matter Density.
Happy Meditations, Michael, Brooksville, FL
Just this month I got in touch with my long lost heart, I learning to feel emotions again and I’m actively encouraging my brain to listen to my heart, it’s tough but your posts regarding attitude and gratitude keep me on track.
Thankyou