Happy New Year, 2025!!! As we wound down 2024, a year of knowing the strength of your recovery, we closed that door to the past. It is January 1, 2025, and the sun is rising to awaken us to 2025 and the possibilities that lie ahead.
For each and every one of you, this is a new year, a new breath of fresh air, and a new outlook on your life and your recovery: 2025…the year of self-acceptance! (A special note regarding the comments section on the blog is contained at the conclusion of today’s blog post below my name).
What do I mean by self-acceptance? Let’s begin with the dictionary definition:
a. Being aware of your strengths and weaknesses
b. Having a realistic appraisal of your talents and capabilities
c. Feeling satisfied with yourself despite deficiencies
d. Embracing all parts of yourself, including the negative ones
e. Having a positive attitude toward yourself
f. Seeing yourself as a whole human being
To embrace the idea and the definition of self-acceptance, you need to change two very important things this new year: 1. Do your best to accept yourself just as you are, even with the Parkinson’s. 2. Do your best to accept yourself for who you are, your beautiful, luminous soul filled with love, joy, compassion, forgiveness, and gratitude.
Self-acceptance is a necessary element in the soul healing part of the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®.
Sometimes, the idea of self-acceptance is a difficult concept to grasp, so let’s start 2025 slow and easy with some help from Christiane Northrup, who shares Louise Hay’s six powerful words:
I accept myself unconditionally right now.
Here is a 2 minute and 44 second You Tube clip with Dr. Northrup’s explanation of self-acceptance and self-love, and how they impact your health:
How powerful is that!
Okay, everybody, let’s start 2025 doing this together for those who need a little support from their brother and sister Recipe warriors around the world:
I accept myself unconditionally right now.
Happy New Year! 2025…the year of self-acceptance!!
You are worth it!!!
All my best,
Howard
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW:
About two years ago, near the beginning of 2023, the year of change, I made a change on the blog comments. I encouraged a copying and pasting of specific affirmations. There was a method to my madness.
Years ago, I had learned that a first impression is powerful and that it takes consistent truthful information contrary to a first impression to “un-seat” the first impression and replace it with the truthful information. So, each week, the affirmations have been the same, except that I have inserted an extra affirmation applicable to the blog post of that day, put in the middle of the consistent affirmations.
The affirmations are truthful statements to help un-seat almost everybody’s first impression of Parkinson’s, which was: dead brain cells, depleted dopamine, cannot slow, cannot halt, cannot reverse, cannot cure, cannot win. For nearly all of 2023, everybody on this blog read the truthful contrary words, and some of you copied and pasted in comments the truthful contrary words.
In 2024, we elevated the belief in the affirmations to a “knowing” level so that they would work even harder to un-seat the incorrect first impression of Parkinson’s.
As we begin 2025, all of you know the truthfulness of the following statements:
“I know my brain cells are alive. I know my dopamine reservoir is full. I know I am doing the Recipe, and I know my recovery from Parkinson’s is happening. I know that some day in the future, I will be having a full recovery from Parkinson’s. I know I am extraordinary. I know I am recovery. I KNOW I AM WINNING! AND, I KNOW I AM WORTH IT!!!”
Beginning today, I welcome anybody who wishes to post a comment to say something relevant to today’s post (and future posts). This is how comments were posted for the thirteen years prior to making the change to affirmations in 2023.
A couple of examples of comments would be: 1. If you are doing well in accepting yourself as you are, even with the Parkinson’s, then please let us know, including how you are finding self-acceptance; or 2. If you are having a difficult time accepting yourself as you are, either before the Parkinson’s or as a result of the Parkinson’s, then please let us know, including where you feel stuck, if you know.
These types of comments would be relevant, and whether accepting or non-accepting of yourself, will assist me in focusing on the relevant issues of self-acceptance as the blog pots move forward this year.
Finally, when posting a comment, only your first name, first name and last initial, or initials only, will be posted. You do not have to worry about your full first and last name appearing on a comment, so please feel free to be vulnerable and post in a comment something you feel is relevant to the blog post above.
Thank you.
I really appreciate this info from SA. I have been doing the recipe for about 8 months 2xdy and am praying that this will cause change and healing. Early stage of PD. Is there light at end of tunnel. Walk/jog daily too for 20to30 min. Get bit despondent at times as change is so slow in coming.
The truth never lies. So be truthful to yourself. Your recovery is in your hands alone. Don’t despair what others may think. The road is long and winding but it does come to an end. It’s your choice to choose a positive outcome.
I know and accept that even though my symptoms increase the more I do the recipe I am in recovery. I accept that this is the truth and choose to acknowledge my feelings and surround them with love and understanding. Happy new year xx
Happy New Year to all of you!
Thank you Howard for all your support and help with words and the recipe. I’m so glad to found you!
Today is day 349 I’m doing daily the recipe and some other exercises. I lost a bad migrane and some other symptoms are gone since I started it. This is why I know that the recipe works well and will help me to recover.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
-Acceptance of oneself, seems more powerful when supported to God’s praying, faith words such as…I strongly believe, I feel, I know I am healed since healing is on the way!
A new year that will help us all to make progress on our path toward recovery!
Thank you Howard for the wise words, 2025 will be the year of acceptance for me, a path I have already started down ……
I know my brain cells are alive. I know my dopamine reservoir is full. I know I am doing the Recipe, and I know my recovery from Parkinson’s is happening. I know that some day in the future, I will be having a full recovery from Parkinson’s. I know I am extraordinary. I know I am recovery.
I KNOW I AM WINNING! AND, I KNOW I AM WORTH IT!!!
Life is about choosing and living by those choices.
Therefore, I choose to live by a system of values such as self compassion, self acceptance, love, truth, honesty, and faith and many more!
What this means for me is that I get to choose to live with intention.
Happy New Year!!!
Thank you, Howard. 2025 is the Year of Recovery. Self-acceptance is at the heart of it, and I know that as I work on being compassionate with myself, the healing will come.
Here’s to the New Year!
I accept myself
I do part of the recipe every day
I believe I will recover from Parkinson’s and I will never give up
Thank you Howard! My 2025 prayer to all:
Stop telling the injury story.
Each person has their own story about what happened.
Forgive Them. Release That. Leave it all at the 2024 riverbank as you cross into 2025.
Change the story. Move on to your healing story.
Accept and release the symptoms that represent our pain response to Them, That + The Suffering.
Accept the new story:
I know my brain cells are alive. I know my dopamine reservoir is full. I know I am doing the Recipe, and I know my recovery from Parkinson’s is happening. I know that some day in the future, I will be having a full recovery from Parkinson’s. I know I am extraordinary. I know I am recovery.
XO
I KNOW I AM WINNING! AND, I KNOW I AM WORTH IT!!!
Thank you.
I can really feel this one!
“I know my brain cells are alive. I know my dopamine reservoir is full. I know I am doing the Recipe, and I know my recovery from Parkinson’s is happening. I know that some day in the future, I will be having a full recovery from Parkinson’s. I know I am extraordinary. I know I am recovery. I KNOW I AM WINNING! AND, I KNOW I AM WORTH IT!!!”
I thank you for giving us hope with your unwavering certainty of recovery. Your care and happiness and kindness shine out. What a blessing to have found you.
Happy 2025 !!
“I accept myself unconditionally right now”
Happy new year everyone!
I do the physical part of The Recipe every day. My meditations have calmed my ego mind and improved my attitude. I pray almost constantly with gratitude. I have re-traced my life’s journey to find where I may have misinterpreted things that resulted in my lack of complete self acceptance. However something remains. I need to move forward and get on with the action of accepting myself for who I am. I know that God made me, and it is good.
Thank you Howard for The Recipe, and for the direction in 2025!
“I accept myself unconditionally right now”
Happy New Year everyone!
I love this powerful message, this is an area I’ve struggled in for a long time and I’m happy to tackle it. I’m feeling very positive about the coming year.
‘I accept myself unconditionally right now.’
I think, if I repeat this throughout the day it will sink into my subconscious and stop me judging myself and being frustrated when the symptoms limit my ability to do something. Thank you Howard.
I accept Myself and everyone around me . We are all part of this oneness where there is really no separation only what we perceive in this 3d world. We are powerful, unlimited with endless possibilities, only limited by our minds.
Thank you Howard for your input of positivity and the gift of the recipe for free
When ever I do the exercises of the recipe I’m not as stiff afterwards. I move a lot easier
Happy New year to you Howard and your family and to everyone else
May 2025 bring love peace and healing to all
😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
Peace is found when I love myself enough to gently persist.
Happy New Year my Parki Family ❤️
I am greatful to have you and Howard in my life.
Let’s do this together for the next month:
I accept myself unconditionally right now!
We can do it and are amazing the way we are! 🙏🏼
“I accept myself unconditionally right now.”
I accept myself unconditionally right now!
I’m learning to accept myself but must admit
I struggle at times, so this affirmation will help.
Also, I KNOW I AM WINNING AND
I KNOW I AM WORTH IT!!!
Thank you Howard and everyone!!! X❤️X
I accept myself unconditionally right now!
I know that someday in the future I will have fully recovered from Parkinson’s! I know I’m winning, and I know I’m worth it! Thank you, Howard, and Hapy New Year everyone!
“I accept myself unconditionally right now.”
My new mantra for 2025: I ACCEPT MYSELF UNCONDITIONALLY RIGHT NOW!
I accept myself unconditionally right now.
“I know my brain cells are alive. I know my dopamine reservoir is full. I know I am doing the Recipe, and I know my recovery from Parkinson’s is happening. I know that some day in the future, I will be having a full recovery from Parkinson’s. I know I am extraordinary. I know I am recovery. I KNOW I AM WINNING! AND, I KNOW I AM WORTH IT!!!”
Self-acceptance is a simple sentence, but mind and soul have to deal with it daily basis. The Parkinson recovery journey sees a lot of up’s and down. Every day we have to convince ourselves and try to adapt let it go approach and continue with the recipe of recovery.
I am healing slowely but need to keep myself motivated. I found connecting with true inner self and higher power will help in self-acceptance & my recovery journey.
I accept myself unconditionally right now. I am doing the Recipe daily and I have made wonderful progress. I know that one day in the future, I will recover fully. I am so grateful to have found Howard and this healing community…..
Happy 2025 and blessings to all.
Self love & self acceptance have been illusive for me.
Realizing how much I judge/disapprove of my Parkinson’s body – revealed years of deficit in self love & self acceptance of which I was unaware.
I do the Recipe twice a day, my progress is an upward spiral.
Recently I’ve started smiling at myself in the mirror and affirming I accept myself unconditionally.
I’m committing to doing this twice a day (or more :)
Thank you, Howard, for being such a beacon of light and inspiration!
Happy New Year to all of you!
Self acceptance and self love is exactly what I need to work on. The video clip was great and now I will follow through with the suggestion given. The journey has been challenging thus far and every day I must choose to speak and believe the truth rather than the negative thoughts and emotions that continuously present themselves.
We are winning and we are worth it!
Thank you Howard for sharing your wisdom!
I embrace myself unconditionally, just as I am, in this very moment.
Happy New Year to all the courageous warriors out there! For the past 18 months, I’ve been faithfully practicing Howard’s Recipe—a holistic approach that nurtures my body, mind, and spirit. There have been very few days when I’ve skipped it. While I didn’t choose this journey, it has chosen me, and I’ve made the conscious decision to walk this path with grace and love.
The journey hasn’t been easy. But it has been far more manageable than I initially feared. The real turning point came when I committed to living fully in the present moment. Though I’ve experienced both victories and setbacks with my symptoms, I’ve grown stronger—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually—along the way.
Above all, I hold steadfast to my faith that I will one day achieve full recovery. The timing of that day, however, is not for me to determine. I’ve entrusted it entirely to the Divine. My focus is on the present—practicing the Recipe with diligence, maintaining hope, and continuing this journey with an open and grateful heart.
I accept myself unconditionally right now. We’re human beings not perfect beings, (although from a spiritual viewpoint, “perfect” IS accurate!) 🥰
I accept myself unconditionally right now.
When I say that, immediately this thought comes up:
“So, why do the recipe and fight so hard against the Parkinson’s if you accept it?”
Happy New Year to all of you ❤️
Hi EE,
Accepting yourself unconditionally right now means not judging yourself based upon what is happening in your life, including symptoms. Accepting that you have Parkinson’s does not mean that you have to accept having it forever.
It means that you can learn from it, deal with it, balance your soul, mind, and body, and recover from the disease.
Blessings,
Howard
Thank you for the explanation.
I can work with that.
Blessings,
Emma
This is my first exposure to Howard’s blog. I began reading his book and started the recipe 2 days ago. I accept myself unconditionally right now. I am worth the effort I’m taking to fully recover from Parkinson’s.
Hi JoAnn,
Welcome to the blog. We are happy to have you here! We are a beautiful worldwide community of warriors working on Parkinson’s recovery. Thank you for joining us.
Blessings,
Howard
This is my first comment on this blog, and I am so happy that I finally found it! Now I belong to a community and can exchange ideas, worries and feelings with like-minded people.
I have been doing the recipe for 3–4 months now, and I always feel better after having done some of the Qigong exercises. I know that I will reach full recovery soon, and it is only a matter of diligence, time and patience.
I love and accept myself unconditionally right now.
Hi Lieschen,
Welcome to the blog. It sounds like you are off to a great start in your recovery journey. Good for you!
Blessings,
Howard
We are all perfect in the Lord creator’s eyes. I accept myself unconditionally right now. The effort goes on and belief is strong. There is perhaps nothing more important in living a truly MAGICAL, ABUNDANT life, than living in the state of appreciation and gratitude. Giving thanks for all you do and have not only makes you feel abundant and blessed instantly, it also attracts more to be grateful for.
I am accepting myself unconditionally. That is a big statement that seems hard to grasp at times, especially when there are days when symptoms are worse. I have an easy time doing the body portion of the recipe. The mind and the soul can be challenging. I’m looking at changing my outlook in the new year. Thank you everybody for fighting along side of me. Thank you Howard for all of your insight.
Happy new year all!
Dear Howard and family, dear fellow warriors,
Happy New Year!! May it bring us all an abundance of happiness and healing 🙏
It´s great to have self-acceptance as our theme this year, because this is something I realize I needed to work on long before any symptoms appeared. The Parkinson’s only made the need (much) more obvious to me.
I uncovered that this constant drive to do more and achieve more, which chased me throughout my adult life, had a lot to do with proving something to myself and others.
Now when the doing has become slower and less, I find it hard to accept sometimes – the situation, myself and other people´s help.
So I will be repeating the sentence on accepting myself a lot! And intensifying my study of faith that I started on my recovery journey, which gives me more strength and peace of mind.
Blessings to you all! 🧡
I accept myself unconditionally right now.
Thank you for being here alongside me.
Happy New Year to all.
I accept myself unconditionally right now!
Happy New Year to all!!
“I know my brain cells are alive. I know my dopamine reservoir is full. I know I am doing the Recipe, and I know my recovery from Parkinson’s is happening. I know that some day in the future, I will be having a full recovery from Parkinson’s. I know I am extraordinary. I know I am recovery. I KNOW I AM WINNING! AND, I KNOW I AM WORTH IT!!!”
This is my first comment on the blog. I accept myslef unconditionally right now!
Difficult part is to inbibe the statement 100% in my daily life and activity. I will do it.
Happy New Year everyone!
I am working really hard on this one. I am truly learning how to accept who I am and what I can do at this time even if it’s not like it was or how it will always be. I accept that fully.
I am grateful to you Howard, and this community. We are inspiring each other.
I accept myself unconditionally right now.
Love,
Molly
Thank you Howard for explaining so well he subject of self acceptance. This is something I need to work on because I have always said I hate having Parkinson’s and why did I have to get this awful disease. From now on I am changing my ways and bringing acceptance into the picture. It is the only way to go about it and who knows what the future will bring to me¿