Tag Archives: trust

Nov 3 2024

Living in Excellent Health #90 — How to Slow the Progression of Parkinson’s.

calmness

What I am about to present is based entirely on my personal experience. There is a little bit of science to support my claim, but it’s mostly based on direct experience.

The best way, if not the only way, to slow the progression of the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease is to minimize … and ideally, eliminate … stress.

In coming to this conclusion, I asked myself the question, what is it that causes the symptoms of Parkinson’s, if not the symptoms of any disease, to progress once the initial symptoms present? The answer, I believe, is stress: mental, emotional and dietary stress.

Stress activates the sympathetic [fight-flight] nervous system, which stimulates the release of cortisol, the stress hormone. Stress suppresses the immune system. When this becomes chronic, the body and or brain will eventually develop a health condition.

I have experienced this firsthand. When I have had periods of intense anxiety/worry/stress, the symptoms I experience have gotten worse.

If I’m right, then what is the best way to eliminate stress? The answer is this: eat health foods, engage in joyful exercise, and think cheerful, peaceful, loving thoughts.

The most challenging aspect of this is to think cheerful thoughts. When your hormones and neurotransmitters are out of balance to the point where your body is shaking and tense, and you have difficulty walking, and you are unsteady on your feet, and you are prone to anxiety and brain fog, thinking cheerful thoughts can be challenging. But it is essential!

There are a number of things I do to stimulate positive thoughts:

  1. Spend time with my family
  2. Meditate
  3. Recite mantras and prayers
  4. Send out loving compassion
  5. Recite the things I love
  6. Spend time in the forest
  7. Sit by the lake
  8. Practice gratitude
  9. Practice qigong
  10. Play my guitar
  11. Write

Even with all the things I do, I still regularly find myself engaged in negative thoughts and worry. This I believe, is largely the result of holding on to detrimental beliefs and self-perceptions and holding on to emotional pain.

Letting go of these beliefs, self-perceptions and emotional woundings requires awareness, trust, acceptance, forgiveness, letting go of the past, compassion, especially, self-compassion, and time.

Healing begins with awareness: awareness of the role of fear, emotional woundings, detrimental beliefs and self-perceptions in the development of disease.

Trust involves knowing that you are on the right path and that whatever you are experiencing is what you are meant to be experiencing as part of your spiritual journey. It also means having trust in yourself and knowing that you can handle whatever you are experiencing.

Acceptance and letting go of the past are based on the understanding that all experience … both detrimental and beneficial … is a necessary part of our journey.

Forgiveness, especially self-forgiveness, is based on the understanding that all throughout your life you were doing the best you could with what you had learned and experienced up to that point in your life.

Enacting trust, acceptance and forgiveness may involve energy healing or counselling.

I would also like to mention that PD meds can potentially contribute to slowing the progression of the symptoms of PD because for the period of time each day that the meds are in effect, we are more likely to be in the parasympathetic [calm] state. This certainly is the case for me. It is partially offset by the wear-off withdrawal that occurs when the dopamine wears off and falls temporarily below baseline, but still, it is significant.

So, to slow, and ideally, stop, the progression of the symptoms I am experiencing, I am focusing first and foremost on engaging in cheerful thoughts. It takes diligence, but it’s well worth the effort..

Aug 11 2024

Living in Excellent Health #83 — I moved to Manitoulin to recover from Parkinson’s.

The other evening, I had a really neat experience. I went across the road to check out the swamp that runs across the back of our property. The swamp is home to a family of beavers, hordes of painted turtles and at times a wide range of ducks and geese. I had been standing on the hill overlooking the swamp for several minutes when I heard a noise in the water. At first, I couldn’t see what it was, so I moved a few feet to my right and saw the source of the sound. It was a deer. It was slightly to my right, across the swamp, belly-deep in the water, feeding on the vegetation on the water’s surface. In the evening sunlight, the deer’s coat was crimson red. Beautiful! At some point, the deer realized I was there because it began looking in my direction. After a few minutes of checking me out, and perhaps being uncertain of what I was, the deer let out a couple of loud snorts. Actually, it was more like a blowing sound. Just then, a second deer started blowing. It was about 75 yards away to my left. Both deer eventually moved off into he bush, blowing as they went, leaving me alone with the swamp and a great wildlife memory.

Experiences like this was why I moved to Manitoulin Island in 2016 … away from my family. It was with the specific intention of recovering from Parkinson’s. My plan was to create my own private ashram where I could focus on recovery, and I believed that Manitoulin was the best place to do that.

According to ChatGPT, Manitoulin Island offers a unique blend of natural beauty, rich indigenous culture and outdoor activities, making it a special destination in Ontario, Canada. It is the world’s largest inland island, offering spectacular scenic views and plenty of wildlife, especially, whitetail deer. It is ideal for healing.

I many ways, I have created my own ashram. I have a path through the forest that substitutes as a labyrinth. I have a bench to sit on overlooking the swamp and a chair to sit on at the lake. Both spots are ideal for meditating and doing breathwork and energy healing. I can practice qigong in the garden at our house, or at the swamp or at the lake. I can power-walk everyday on a private, gravel road. I can kayak.

Despite all this, I have yet to accomplish my goal, and at times it has been frustrating … but I think I know why. There are two reasons. First, try as I might, I have not stopped worrying: mostly about being separated from my kids and grandchildren, but also about what is going on in our country and around the world. In the process, I have been sabotaging my own happiness, and my recovery. Second, and equally important, I have had much to learn.

I am far more knowledgeable about Parkinson’s … what causes it, what causes it to progress, how to slow the progression, and how to effectively use medications … than I was before I moved here:

  1. I have learned about the neurology of PD: the parasympathetic nervous system, and neurotransmitters and hormones, like dopamine and cortisol;
  2. I learned that I needed to change my personality from one that was uptight, hot-tempered, self-loathing and lacking in confidence, to one that is enthusiastic, self-loving, easy-going and grateful;
  3. I have learned about divine birthright: that it is our divine birthright to live in excellent health and be loved;
  4. I have learned about the importance of acceptance and trust;
  5. I have also learned that I need to be all-in. That is to say, my heart has to be in it. I can’t have one foot in the healing world and one foot in the guilt-ridden, miss-my-family world.

So, from a learning viewpoint, this has been a successful endeavor. But here’s the thing, learning takes time … and so apparently does healing.

Perhaps, then, the most important thing I have learned is that I am not the one in charge of this mission, which means, I’m not the one running the clock. My healing will take place in divine time … when I’ve learned everything I need to learn. My role is to state my intention, and then, direct all my energy towards that intention.

Actually, when I think about it, I have some experience with intention. Long before I made the decision to move to Manitoulin, I decided that I wanted to retire to a place on the water, with privacy … and that’s what I have. I got exactly what I asked for. I didn’t ask for a place on the water, with privacy, close to my family. It seems, I left out a few important details.

I didn’t move to Manitoulin to worry. I moved here to enjoy life and recover. But here’s the thing: you can live in the most beautiful place on the planet; you can eat the healthiest foods; you can meditate and practice qigong; you can exercise every day; and you can take medication; but if you don’t stop worrying, and if you don’t learn to live in acceptance and trust, and if you don’t figure out how to love yourself, it will all be for not.

A couple of summers ago, I was observing a bald eagle soaring overhead, when a hummingbird zipped into our yard. It was a magical moment. If a loon had been calling out at that moment, it would have been the perfect avian trifecta. Something to look forward to … and another example of why I moved to Manitoulin.

Oct 10 2022

Living in Excellent Health #48 — Enthusiasm is the Key!

homer

Enthusiasm can be described as our level of interest in a subject or activity … or even life itself. According to Andrew Huberman, neuroscientist and Stanford University professor, our baseline dopamine levels are related in part to our personality. It therefore stands to reason, the more enthusiastic our personality, the higher our baseline dopamine.

It is a reduction of baseline dopamine that triggers the symptoms of PD. It therefore makes sense that cultivating enthusiasm is essential to elevating baseline dopamine levels in order to overcome these symptoms.

Cultivating enthusiasm has become my main focus.

The level of enthusiasm we feel is dependent on our state of mind as it relates our present situation, our thoughts about the future and being at peace with our past.

Stress, fear and loss of hope is the primary impediment to culivating enthusiasm. Other impediments include resistance to life’s experiences and mistrust.

I suspect early childhood experience has a significant affect on our level of enthusiasm. The more criticism, neglect and punishment we receive, the lower our level of enthusiasm, and thus, the lower our baseline dopamine levels. Certainly, this was my case. I was raised in a very strict, demanding family, and as such, I grew up very uptight, unable to truly enjoy the activities I was involved in.

More recently, my level of enthusiasm has been affected by stress created by my separation from my children and grandchildren, present state of health, the political situation in Canada and concerns about the covid virus.

We start to get ourselves in trouble when enthusiasm is replaced by trepidation and fear. And it snowballs. The more we live in trepidation, the worse our symptoms get and the more trepidation we experience. We need to be aware of this trepidation so we can replace it with enthusiasm … or find something else we feel enthusiastic about.

I suspect that this is why the symptoms of PD are progressive: being told that we have a degenerative, progressive and incurable disease has a way of progressively dampening our outlook, and thus, lowering our baseline dopamine. It’s a vicious cycle.

I have been losing my enthusiasm towards many things, including things I used to love, because I am not able to do them the way I once was: playing guitar, swimming and traveling, to name a few.

In the extreme, it is a loss of enthusiasm … and hope … that causes people to take their own lives.

I suspect enthusiasm had a lot to do with Bianca Molle’s, Howard Shifke’s, David Thompson’s and John Coleman’s recoveries. They had a great deal of enthusiasm for their respective recovery regimens. Bianca Molle was particularly enthusiastic about her three hours a day qigong practice. And this is important. A lot of other people have tried practicing qigong without achieving the same results, I suspect, because they didn’t share the same level of enthusiasm.

You don’t need to practice qigong for three hours a day in order to recover, you just need to find something you enjoy and for which you have a great deal of enthusiasm, and make it your therapy.

Apathy is one of the symptoms of PD, and so, feeling enthusiastic while living with this condition is truly an amazing accomplishment, and one that we can celebrate.

How then do we regain enthusiasm, given our situation. It must be genuine or it won’t work. For me, it begins with having enthusiasm not just for the things I do, but for life itself. I think it’s difficult to have enthusiasm for the things we do if we don’t have enthusiasm for life. What is more, I think it is enthusiasm for life which affects our baseline dopamine.

For me, living in enthusiasm starts with gratitude, service, learning and spiritual practice. A genuine feeling of gratitude helps create a genuine feeling of enthusiasm, so every day, I express gratitude for my family, the spiritual lessons I’ve learned and the opportunity I’ve been given to contribute to helping people overcome the symptoms of PD. I have great enthusiasm for helping others and contributing in a meaningful way to the flow-of-life.

I am also grateful for the fact that we live during a time when we have easy access to enormous amounts of information.

After being reminded of the importance of service, I have also started asking, “How can I serve?” For me, serving others is tremendously gratifying and something for which I have a well of enthusiasm. It helps to take me beyond myself and my challenges.

I also have enthusiasm for learning new things. Last year I learned to count to ten in thirty languages. At the moment, I’m learning to speak Estonian.

I also have tremendous enthusiasm for my spiritual practice. I love knowing that life has a purpose. I love meditating. I love the euphoria of the present moment. I love knowing that at my core, is divine love. I love receiving epiphanies and divine insights. I love the pursuit of living in trust. I love learning to be at peace with my past.

Given my newfound understanding of enthusiasm, I will approach blogging with a newly invigorated mindset. And this, too, is important. Being successful at something you enjoy and have a great deal of enthusiasm for, stimulates a much higher dopamine lift than being successful at something you despise. Fortunately, I love blogging.

I must admit that living with the symptoms of PD can dampen one’s outlook. It’s a challenging condition. Being aware of the influence of enthusiasm can level the playing field.

Sep 13 2022

Living in Excellent Health #46 — Merge into Divine Love!

In a book I just finished reading, The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself, the author, Michael A. Singer, urges us to merge into God … to become one with Spirit. To do this is to immerse oneself in divine love. It is to let go of separateness and fear.

When I thought of how I could merge with God … what I call, the universal-energetic intelligence … I realized it was much simpler than I had first imagined. I can do it by placing my attention in the present moment, through meditation, or simply by placing my attention on my breath, my surroundings or the task I am performing.

To merge with the present moment is to truly be at one with the universal-energetic-intelligence, and thus, divine love. It is to live in enthusiasm and gratitude, free of fear. In this state, we activate the parasympathetic [calm] nervous system, thus stimulating the neurons that produce dopamine and serotonin.

Singer says we also have another choice we can make. In any given situation, we can choose to be happy or we can choose to be unhappy. It’s just that simple. I was immediately put to the test on this when I tripped while carrying a gas can, fell and hurt my ribs in the process. Normally, I might have gotten angry, but instead, I called out, “I choose to be happy!” and started laughing.

Similar to my decision to choose happiness, I also, recently, was reminded that I have another choice. I can choose to live in fear and guilt, or I can choose to trust. I can choose to trust that everything in my life is unfolding the way it is meant to, and as such, there is nothing to fear.

Wishing you contentment!

Apr 21 2022

Living in Excellent Health #36 — Gratitude Manifesting and Positive Self-Image!

My recovery protocol is constantly evolving. My diet, supplements, exercise regimen, spiritual practice and healing focus, are ever changing, depending on what I feel is most important for restoring my health at a given point in time.

Lately I have been focusing on living with a positive, cheerful state of mind. I have also been focusing more so on manifesting what I want rather than healing what I have … what I don’t want. I have been doing so through daily expressions of gratitude.

That said, here are my daily gratitude expressions:

  1. Thank you so much for enabling me to live in excellent health
  2. Thank you so much for enabling me to return my body to homeostasis
  3. Thank you so much for enabling me to emanate divine love from every aspect of my being
  4. Thank you so much for enabling me to live my life in cheerful enthusiasm and awe
  5. Thank you so much for enabling me to live my life in divine trust
  6. Thank you so much for enabling me to trust and believe in myself
  7. Thank you so much for enabling me to live each moment of my life in a state of joy, simply for being and doing

I have also been focusing on developing a positive self-image through a technique I have been practicing after reading Wayne Dyer’s, Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life. I look in the mirror and repeat, “You are beautiful.” “You are a beautiful soul.” “You are a beautiful aspect of the Universal-Energetic-Intelligence.” “You are a beautiful participant in the flow of life.”

I believe this practice helps to stimulate the release of dopamine, serotonin, GABA and oxytocin, which is intended to raise my baseline dopamine levels.

Aug 12 2021

Living in Excellent Health #21 — Present Moment Gratitude!

The universe has been sending me reminders of the only thing that really matters … making the present moment as joyful, peaceful, loving and content as possible. Well, it’s not the only thing but it is really important.

For example, in a recent conversation with my son, Chris, he asked, “Why do you care so much? Why are you trying so hard to get better? Why don’t you just relax?” I responded by saying, “That’s the way I’ve been all my life.”

I realized after I thought about it that the universe knows what I want … it knows I want to be healthy … so all I need to do is make each moment as fun as possible, because by thinking about it all the time and by trying so hard … mostly out of focusing on what I don’t want [I don’t want to experience symptoms] … I am creating resistance.

Then, while playing golf a few days ago, the question popped into my mind, “Why do I care so much about making good shots and playing well.”

I realized, I would be far better served to just be really grateful that I have the ability and opportunity to play golf, and that by wanting so much to hit the ball well, I am creating resistance, and consequently, not hitting the ball well. The moment I had this realization, I actually started to hit the ball much better.

Then, yesterday, while editing my newest book, I thought about how much time I spend lamenting not living nearer to my kids. The universe knows I want to live closer to them, but by focusing so much on this rather than placing my attention on making my present circumstances as joyful as possible and being grateful for what I do have, I am creating more resistance for what I want.

It is a subtle, but powerful, differentation.

And why do I want to make each moment as joyful, peaceful, loving and content as possible? Because it is in this state that my parasympathetic [calm] nervous system [PNS] becomes activated and when this happens, my brain begins producing dopamine, serotonin, GABA, acetylcholine and other feel-good neurotransmitters and hormones.

As Eckhart Tolle says, the only thing we have is the now, but for those of us living with the symptoms of PD, finding joy and contentment in the now can be challenging. Trembling, loss of balance, freezing or one of the many other symptoms we have to constantly contend with can make this daunting indeed.

So, how do we do it? Well, we can start by heeding another piece of wisdom from Eckhart Tolle. Accept the present circumstances and trust that no matter what happens we will be okay. I also remind myself that the more time I spend worrying, the further I distance myself from what I want … excellent health.

So I have a choice … worry or do my best to make each moment as joyful, peaceful, loving and content as possible, regardless of what I am doing. And the simplest way for me to accomplish this is to focus on gratitude. When I am grateful for what I have, I am in a good place.

We all do it. We decide we want something, but then we get in the way of manifesting it by worrying and trying too hard to make it happen … at least I do.

I am grateful for these reminders. I am grateful for my son, golf and the literary gods.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post! I really appreciate it!

Mar 22 2020

Healing Parkinson’s Disease Naturally – A Journey of Love #47 … Overcome PD by Eliminating Worry and Minimizing Fear!

lionIn my last post, I discussed how to be at peace with the past. An equally important issue to resolve for those intent on recovering their health is minimizing fear, which is to say, minimizing worry and stress.

I was initially planning to post this blog for the benefit of those of us experiencing the symptoms of Parkinson’s, but in this time of worry and concern in relation to the coronavirus, it seems appropriate for a wider audience.

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Jan 17 2019

Healing Parkinson’s Disease Naturally – Recovery Inspiration #115 … My Journey has Taken a Abrupt Turn!

love2It has been two months since my last post on my journey experiencing the symptoms of Parkinson’s. Since that post, my journey has taken an abrupt turn!

When I was diagnosed with PD in 2008, I made the decision at that time to deal with it naturally. The neurologist who diagnosed me explained that the only way to treat PD was with medication. I said, no thank you. I felt confident that I could overcome the condition by healing the emotional root cause … the same way I had overcome food sensitivities and migraine headaches.

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Oct 19 2018

Healing Parkinson’s Disease Naturally – Recovery Inspiration #111 … A declaration of acceptance, trust and faith!

acceptanceIn 1983, I joined a market research company. A few months into the job, I did a presentation to a client accompanied by my account senior and group manager. It wasn’t my first presentation. Every time I looked up during the presentation, my manager was feverishly writing notes, which I took to mean he didn’t like what he was seeing and I started to become unglued. It got so bad that at one point, the Eastern regional sales manager asked me to explain the numbers on a chart, and my response was, “I don’t know, that’s just the way they came out of the computer.” The moment I uttered the words, I knew I had blown it and the presentation went downhill from there. By the end of it, I was a total mess! Afterwards, neither my account senior or manager said anything, but on the way out of the building I declared to myself that I would never let that happen again. And for the next 23 years, I didn’t!

I recently made a similar declaration as it relates to my experience with the symptoms of Parkinson’s.

Let me explain.

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Aug 23 2017

Healing Parkinson’s Disease Naturally – Recovery Inspiration #39 … A Challenging Day!

victimTo quote a well-used cliche, “I’m not gonna lie to you,” yesterday was a challenging day! I’m not quite sure how to describe it except to say, I was a mess … and I’m not much better today! My voice was very raspy [almost inaudible at times] making it very difficult for me to use speech recognition. My entire body was very tense. There was considerably more trembling in my hands and much more loss of balance and freezing. I was also feeling very irritable and my patience was really put to the test!

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