That’s right…your fear is not real. Your fear is in your mind and you need to face it and let go of it.
With hot temperatures and Covid, some people’s symptoms have increased. I have written about these issues being the cause of the increased symptoms, but some people still remain in fear.
Fear and FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real) seem to be issues that keep popping up even for those doing the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®, so, here is another go at it: Get out of your mind and into your heart, choose faith over fear, and fearlessly be your own cure for Parkinson’s!
In the past, I have written about a movie called After Earth because it has an important message about fear. The movie did not get good reviews, but when I watched it, I loved the movie — I tend to think the critics were looking for a Will Smith high-action sci-fi thriller, so they were disappointed. I was looking for a deep discussion of fear, and I was elated.
The topic came up again in a coaching Zoom this week, so I am revisiting After Earth in conjunction with fear and FEAR. I need to provide you a small background and promise to not ruin the movie. Imagine a future where humans have to leave Earth because humans so abused the planet that everything on Earth eventually evolved to kill humans.
One creature in particular is the deadliest of them all, and the only sense perception it has is the smell of humans’ fear. Essentially, if you exhibit fear, it can track you and kill you. When Will Smith’s son in the movie, son Jaden in real life, asks Will Smith what happened the day he learned to not fear the creature, after an explanation of the events, here is what he tells Jaden about fear:
“Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity. Do not misunderstand me, danger is very real, but fear is a choice. We are all telling ourselves a story and that day mine changed.”
So, in their world, fear or FEAR becomes a matter of life and death when confronted by the creature that smells fear. The creature leaves the remains of previous kills in the open so a human who sees it becomes afraid and then the creature can track that human by the smell of his fear.
Fear becomes the choice of your life: If you choose fear, the creature smells your fear and kills you. If you choose faith (that by letting go of fear you learn there was nothing to be afraid of), then you become invisible to the creature and you live. You can kill the creature and it does not even know you are there.
In our world, let’s call the creature Parkinson’s. The Parkinson’s can smell your fear.
It gives you a bigger tremor, or a bit more stiffness, or some extra slowness or fatigue, and you experience fear, or FEAR. But it all is in your mind. You become fearful of becoming completely debilitated — this is fear of things that do not at present exist and may not ever exist. And then the Parkinson’s eats you alive. It is not a quick kill like in the movie. No, it is a slow kill filled with a lifetime of fear.
If you live and die by what your symptoms are doing, then you fall into lifetime of fear. It is a vicious cycle of FEAR. Although the false evidence appears real, it is only in your mind. You are telling yourself a story, and that story will kill you because it jumps from one fear to the next to the next. You forget to live because you are living and dying your Parkinson’s symptoms, completely forgetting to live your life.
And, the fear primarily comes from the current medical viewpoint of Parkinson’s, which does not include doing the Recipe. Can’t you see that the current medical viewpoint of Parkinson’s has created a creature in your mind, a creature you feel you must fear — progressively degenerative neurological disease of which they do not know the cause and for which they have no cure. If you stay in your mind and choose fear, their creature provides you a lifetime of misery toward a slow uncomfortable death.
There is a different choice. Be in you heart. Choose Faith.
If you choose faith, there is no fear and you slay the creature Parkinson’s. And you live…really live! Fearlessly!!!
Faith says that the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery® is a cure for Parkinson’s.
Faith says that you are your own cure.
Faith says that no matter what your symptoms look like, you have nothing to fear if you are doing the Recipe.
Faith says, “Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity. Do not misunderstand me, danger is very real, but fear is a choice. We are all telling ourselves a story and that day mine changed.”
Faith says, “I have experienced fear every time a symptom has changed where I have not liked the change. I realize now that if I am doing the Recipe, I am always getting better, never getting worse, no matter what my symptoms are doing. I am letting go of my fear of the future and living in the moment. I am refusing to tell myself a story of fear that I am getting worse. Today, my story changes! I am embracing the Recipe and knowing:
Parkinson’s is curable.
I am my own Parkinson’s cure.
I am slowing, halting, reversing, and curing the Parkinson’s.
I am extraordinary.
I am recovery.
AND, I AM WORTH IT!!!“
All my best,
Howard
NOTE: In the last two blog posts, many of you have posted very nice comments about Sally’s recipes and some of you started following Sally on Instagram. Sally says, “Thank you very much!”
This was very helpful! I am totally living in fear. I am going to work on this. Thank you!
Thanks for your support 🙏
Same like Linda….
Thank you, that’s exactly it. You say it so well.
Such a good idea for a movie! I had never heard of this film! It is so true to what we do with our “mad monkey minds” !
Thank you for this valuable reminder that we create our fear.
Howard, bless you and thank you
Thank you once again for the beautiful analogy on fear, Mr Howard. Lots of blessings 🙏🏼💕🙏🏼
I’ve been a pilot, a flight instructor and examiner my entire life, on light aircraft, military fighter jets and multiple-engine airliners.
One of the issues we train for in flying is that of an emergency situation. Besides training to perform the relevant procedure to address the emergency in a timely manner, we train to respond in a calm, collected manner. To paraphrase an old-school pilot’s adage: “In case of emergency, scratch your head”.
Becoming an instructor, one is forced to put into intelligible words and sentences non-verbal pieces of knowledge collected during a lifetime of experience. One such item is the necessity to continue flying the aircraft (maintaining the flight path, which is a full time job, regardless of autopilot), and to not be distracted by the emergency procedures, and to definitely not be distracted by any useless Attention- and time-consuming items such as fear.
Approaching my retirement, I started experiencing PD symptoms. This was a stressful time for me, not knowing if I’d be grounded and how it would affect my retirement. But once I was diagnosed (after retiring), my lifelong professional training kicked in: while actively seeking information regarding PD, I avoid visualizing myself in any of the scenarios foreseen down the road. Like you said, what’s the use in living out right now (in your imagination) situations that may or may not occur in the faraway future. Better to live in the present and deal with the emergency at hand, better to maintain your flightpath…. No one knows the pace at which their PD will advance. It might be rapid but it might be a shallow decline as well.
Just like losing your engine power inflight, you try to stay aloft as long as possible while steering your aircraft as best you can.
Also, try to remember what you were taught when learning to ride a bicycle: “looking at the tree/pole/obstacle you are trying to avoid will result in riding right smack into it”.
Hi Amiel , what a bummer to get the disease after you retire. I like your angle of using your emergency procedure to deal with old man parky. Welcome to the blog, I look forward to more of your wisdom. xx
Enjoyed what you wrote!
Hi Howard.
Fighting Parkinson’s truly ain’t for the faint hearted. I feel for those that don’t have any particular Faith, whether that be God or any higher power or belief as I don’t know how anyone could cope with the cruelty of this disease alone.
Howard that is why your contribution here is so vital and appreciated as it reaches all denominations and people who don’t have any belief in anything but themselves.
It is why I say, when I think of it, Big Love to one and all.
Love to my pal Val, who is probably as I write, eating an M&S cheese sandwich! Lol.
Sorry I missed roll call friend, had a low energy week as we are so not used to this sickly weather, especially in Autumn! I am wilting myself lol . 😅
ps. Try the M&S lemon tarte. I treat myself to a slice on very special occasions as I avoid sugar and gluten as much as I can. 😇
Hi to all warriors. xx 💕
Karen xx 💕
Hi Karen
I thought you were still down your rabbit hole. LOL.
Thanks for your lemon tarte recommendation. I love anything lemony, including lemon chicken, but, like you, I try to swear off the sugary stuff, especially as I don’t do the whole vegetarian thing (getting better at that).
However, my neighbours seem to think I need fattening up – I get given all sorts and, yesterday, next door kindly gifted me some homemade apple pie.
Today, it’s your love that’s warming my heart, thank you. I’m sending it right back – to you and all the warriors.
I agree with what you say about faith.
God bless you.
Val 😉
A new TV series has just started over here (in the UK) starring Aidan Turner as clinical psychologist Joe O’Loughlin, who, in the first episode, is called on to persuade a 17-year-old boy with an inoperable tumour, not to jump from the 7th floor of a hospital building.
As Joe’s edging his way towards the teenager with a safety harness, there’s an interior shot of Joe’s own consultant striding into the room from where police are watching the drama unfold through the window and castigating the detective in charge: ‘He can’t be out there!’
‘Why?’ [Hello??? Seventy feet up, narrow ledge …]
‘He [Joe the psychologist] is a patient of mine and he’s just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s!’
Cut to Joe’s ring finger and his tremor …
Immediately before Joe was asked to stage his emergency intervention, he was telling a patient of his own: ‘All fear can be overcome, rational and irrational.’
I’m interested in seeing how the series plays out from the Parkinson’s perspective and whether Joe will be able to handle his own fear of where his disease will take him. His consultant has already told him that anger and anxiety are part of his condition and I’m expecting viewers to face the familiar tropes about an incurable neurological condition etc.
Howard’s latest blog is perhaps his most impassioned yet – and horribly accurate. Those lines: ‘The Parkinson’s can smell your fear’ and ‘You forget to live because you are living and dying your Parkinson’s symptoms …’ are the uncomfortable truth. I feel like I am on a high ledge myself, quivering with terror. Sometimes, it feels easier to jump than to give myself another chance of living fearlessly.
I suspect you will have to reprise this theme again and again, Howard, because fear begets fear and Parkinson’s stokes it all the way. At the same time, I feel exhilarated and motivated by your message because I remain a disciple of living without fear. By choosing to do the Recipe, we are all going against the medical grain but we have the most to gain.
The TV series I’ve just been discussing includes a quote from Eckhart Tolle in the opening credits: ‘All problems are illusions of the mind.’ I must be deepening my understanding of fear because when I read those words on screen, I recognised their meaning through my senses, not my mind.
I’m enjoying the comments on the blog. 😋
I love this post, Howard. And thank you Amiel for posting your real life way of handling fear. It is amazing how fear sneaks around you quietly and then seizes you at a low point.
What a great analogy. I am doing precisely what you suggest, not so much the recipe, need to do more of it, though. And I will.
Thank you Howard this is very important for me to remember. Cheers Helen
Thanks for the reminder
I know fear is not real and yet when it comes I have to practically shake it off before it rips right into my being.
I need to trust myself more and have faith, an unshakable faith,
Nag nag about fear. I need constant reminder not to be ruled by fear.
Thank you Howard
Love to all
It seems to me that being fearless does not mean I should resist fear or fight fear but rather live my life so that there is no fear in the first place. And I have time to fill my life with love joy compassion and gratitude! Love to all, Chris
Another excellent write-up on fear. It is true that “Parkinson’s can smell fear of recovery”. I have experienced it a number of times, when I think I am recovering, Parkinson’s comes down hard on me and makes my symptoms worse, and I then begin to question the Recovery Recipe. However, having faith in the Recovery Recipe and in meditation, I than do the the recovery recipe and meditation with full concentration and focus and my stiffness decreases and I am able to walk with normal gait without shuffling.
Thank you for the pep talk Howard. I needed this reminder to help me through this challenging period. 20 months after starting this journey with your recipe, PD is using the big guns on me. I sense I have reached the battlements. My love to all. Stay strong and we will prevail xx
Wow!!!!
Thanks Howard! As always you are an inspiration. One of the ways I try to conquer fear is by focusing on optimal health instead of disease. This helps me both physically and emotionally. Now let’s get up and take a walk and enjoy the beautiful day.
Lynn
Love this Lynn – thank you!
Excellent post Howard thank you!
Thank you, dear Howard! I am your silent admirer and follower for the last 26 months and feeling great with your invaluable support! Would drown without you…