In a conversation I was having today, we circled around to a reminder of the shining teapot. Here is a reminder about the shining teapot for all of you.
I feel that your soul is not touched by Parkinson’s. I have expressed this point in the past. The action of the soul encompasses letting go of the past issues and attitudes that block your recovery. This means letting go of attachments to self-judgment, self-criticism, lack of forgiveness of yourself, lack of compassion for yourself, and lack of love for yourself. Essentially, you are letting go of the toxins of your body and your mind so that your soul can shine through.
The action of the soul is realizing that the real you, your soul, in underneath all of the toxicity of the Parkinson’s body and mind, and that your soul has been there all along as pure as the day your were born.
Let’s say you go to the store and buy a shining silver teapot. You take the teapot home and put it on the sideboard to admire it. And then, you get busy with life and you do not spend any time with the teapot for the next six months. When you return to the sideboard, you are horrified to see that your teapot is covered in tarnish.
At first you think, “Oh no, what have I done. I have neglected my teapot and it is ruined.” Then, somebody points out to you that if you get silver polish, you can remove the tarnish. So, you get the silver polish, grab the teapot, and head to the kitchen sink.
You moisten the sponge, dip it in the silver polish, and you begin to rub the teapot. The first thing you notice is that it begins to look worse than when you started — there is black and gray pasty junk and it smells bad. In this moment of “cleaning crisis,” you think, “I have faith that the silver polish will work,” and you press forward.
Eventually, you have cleaned the entire teapot, washed it, dried it, and shined it. It looks like a brand new teapot. However, in that moment of admiring your “brand new teapot,” it occurs to you that you are admiring the original, beautiful teapot you brought home from the store six months ago. And you realize that although the teapot had been covered in tarnish, the tarnish did not damage the teapot at all.
The original shining silver teapot was under there all along, unblemished by the tarnish. When somebody comes over to your house, they say, “That is a beautiful new teapot you got to replace the old tarnished one.” And you smile and say “thank you” because deep down you know they are staring at the original teapot, and it shines.
Original you, your soul, your essence, your spot of grace (whatever you call the “something” inside you that powers the rest of you and makes you uniquely you)…he or she is in there. Right now, you are just covered up with a tarnish called Parkinson’s. The Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery® is your tarnish remover.
The Recipe helps bring your life back into balance by healing your soul, mind, and body. It helps you remove the toxins in your body so your organs are clean and functioning well. It helps you clean the toxins in your mind by calming your mind so your stress, anxiety, anger, frustration, worries and fears leave you and do not return. And, finally, it helps you to not be afraid to be the real you by opening your heart to yourself and the world fearlessly…and then your dopamine flows…and then your soul shines again.
Be the real you…new you/original you. To others who have known the old you, you will appear to be a completely new person. However, you will know that what they are seeing is the original you, the real you, and you will shine.
You are worth it!!!
All my best,
Howard
Great analogy.
Thanks for reminding me that I am pure me, dear Howard.
Such a great analogy. It conquers my fears when bad days shake my belief in my own
ability to heal.
You have taught me a lot, and it’s now for me to put everything into practice.
Love to all
Maree
Helpful story and image to keep in mind. My Dad is 92 and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 4 years ago. I’m his caretaker and constantly reminding myself of the awesome person he was and still is underneath all the tarnish. His soul is truly a shining and glowing one, and the shiny teapot is a helpful beacon to guide us through these tough days. Thank you for support and inspiration.
Hello.. thank you for the inspirational analogy, Mr Howard. God Bless you . Sakina
I am wondering whether the reverse is true: that it’s actually my soul that is toxic and has compromised my body and mind. I need to take responsibility for creating a vessel where Parkinson’s could flourish, but I know I am not irredeemable and that I who was ‘dead in trespasses and sins’ Ephesians 2:1 is being quickened to life in Christ. He is taking the tarnish off my soul and the Recipe is equipping my body and mind to follow my soul out of Parkinson’s. That’s my hope and prayer.
I’ll say this for you, Howard: you always saw past the tarnish in your coaching calls and hailed me as the ‘beautiful soul’ I am in essence. Thank you for believing in me and helping me to believe in myself. I am worth it.
Excellent post! Well said and I totally agree. I believe I am being healed from the inside out. Glory be to God!
Hi Sally
You’ve replied to a couple of my comments now and it’s nice to know that things I am experiencing resonate with you. I’m so used to writing in my journal for an audience of one, that it sometimes takes me by surprise when my musings land with someone else and I get a response. Thank you!
Interesting thought. As a Christian myself, I think what you are saying about your soul is that it has believed lies about you. I read something recently about how we must preach to our souls. Like the psalmist in Psalm 42:5 when he says, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” Think about challenging your assumptions on this. Maybe a pastor could help you sort it out.
Hi Diane
Thank you for your thoughtful perspective on my post. Interesting notion that we should preach to our souls – I’ll give that some thought. It points up the fact that whatever imprint of me my soul bears will go with it when it leaves the body.
I do find theological debate fascinating.
God bless you.
If I am my soul, who is this we who is to preach to me?
Once again, dear Howard, you shine as you share your infinite wisdom…thank you for consistently providing purpose, focus, trust and acceptance to my life. I am so very grateful.
And as I read this, my teapot got brighter! Thanks to all of you!
Thank you, Howard. Great analogy! My soul is in the healing stage. You are right on the target with your post. God bless you!
Howard, Thank you. I am struggling so hard and feel horribly misunderstood. Your piece was wonderful. You are so uplifting because you are “pure of heart.”
Bless you and your family,
Judy G.
Respected Howard sir,
You always come out with novel analogy. This time with tarnished silver teapot. My PD symptoms make my body and faith shake as well. And then Friday comes with a blog, which rejuvenates my mind to make my weekend.
Thanks for being there. God bless you.
Love, Mona
Hi Howard and fellow warriors, I think this analogy is one of my favourites [ maybe I saw that about the iceberg and swimming pool? ] it is not that I am fickle lol it’s just I am a tad forgetful 🤪. Many a silver piece have I cleaned in my 57 years on this planet and it’s exactly as you say Howard, especially as we were never given disposable gloves, when given that chore. 😁. I do love the thought of a shiny teapot. I am polishing mine every day (which is a good day 😉) with meditation, exercise and present moment awareness, and the parts of the recipe that I can do. Bless you Howard.
Hi Val, my father always taught us to keep our ears open and our mouths shut, when it comes to politics and religion lol. Advice given for the country I live in. 😊
I love reading all the points of view and beliefs. I’m with Howard on his opinion of your soul.😇. No sign of our ray of sunshine warrior this week from Australia. 🤔
Big love to one and all.
Karen xx 💕
Hi Karen
Wise old dad, eh? Now, when you’ve finished polishing that teapot, for goodness sake put the kettle on! Our Australian friend could be dropping in at any moment. ☕
Hi Val, Earl Grey or builders brew for madam? I love a nice cup of tea, especially in a China cup lol. This comes from my childhood when my granny had visitors, she would take out the China from the glass cabinet, but children weren’t allowed to use the China 🙃. My aunts always give me a China cup and saucer when I visit. 🥰. It even tastes better ! Lol.
Rick our friend Val is psychic, she said you’d be dropping by and here you are! lol. Your trip out to the bay sounds like a bit of heaven ( minus the recipe lol) The next time I get on a sailing boat, I will be in perfect health. If I tried these days, my hard working legs would not be able to hold me up, so it would be a case of
“ woman overboard “ 😁
Big Love to you both xx
Builder’s, definitely. And I always scald the mug first so it’s good and hot, although if I tried that with one of your china cups I’d probably end up burning my lip. LOL. I drink up to 10 cups a day.
Glad to hear that Rick’s seizing the day – he’s right what he says about ‘just do it’.
Anyway, I’m going to make myself a nice cup of char.
No sugar for me, if you’re asking … 😋
Hi Karen , I’m here fighting! I’ve been cleaning things on the boat I haven’t done in years and setting up my sails ! I guess I needed PD to get around to it lol ! I’m going start using the boat before winter arrives and sail out into the bay an anchor up for a bit of solitude, meditation and doing the recipe for 2 or 3 days at a time ! I’ve decided I’m not going to hold back and just do it 😊😊😊
Another great example of the shining teapot analogy for assisting us in our recovery from PD.
Oh Howard, you are so good about encouraging all of us. I am so grateful for your weekly reminder that we are on the recovery path. I pay attention to every little bit of improvement and the biggest so far is the recovery of smell. I had forgotten how wonderful that sense is. I will not give up because I believe that if you can do it, so can I.
Your analogies are great and the 1000 pieces puzzle is my favorite. Recovery is one day at a time. Thank you Howard!