Someone contacted me recently, asking me to talk to a friend of theirs who is newly diagnosed with MS about the healing lifestyle I have embraced. I’ll be honest, I panicked at the thought because I wasn’t sure how to put into words the methods I am using/have tried. Pretty ironic considering I’ve spent the last 2 1/2 years writing about healing myself, right?!? This is definitely not a one size fits all, cure all. There has been a lot of trial and error and a “throw the kitchen sink at it and see what sticks” approach. Not in a willy-nilly sort of way, but I have learned to listen to my inner voice, or gut-instinct AND my body. So, I went back through the last 2 1/2 years and all of the healing modalities I have tried. What I realized is that there are 3 main components to healing – body, mind and spirit. The number 3 is a very powerful number in the spiritual world. And the triangle is the strongest shape there is – no matter how much weight you put on any side, it will not break. So, I believe that if I get these 3 parts of myself in alignment, I can be at my most powerful.
The body –
For the first 15-16 years of living with MS, I only focused on the physical aspect of it because my body was showing the outward manifestations of the disease; let’s be honest, there aren’t many doctors pushing alternative therapies – so I didn’t know that healing could happen any other way. I took the medicines I was prescribed (many with horrible side effects), I watched and thought about what I put in my mouth 24/7 and I worked out 5 days a week. My physical body was in the best shape of its life, but the disease progressed despite my best efforts. Pretty stressful considering no one was giving me alternative solutions!! An automobile accident and disease progression forced me to stop my workouts about 6 years ago. I continued stretching and physical activities as much as possible, but became pretty limited. Trying to just heal the body was obviously not going to work.
The spirit–
It was about this time (3 years ago) that I was given the gift that I believe saved my life – Dr. Joe Dispenza’s online progressive course. In the course, Dr. Joe teaches people how to empower and heal themselves through meditation and mindfulness. Early on in my meditations, I experienced an epiphany where I became connected with consciousness/source/God and knew without a doubt I will heal (myselfhealingjourney.com/source/). I stopped all of my medications and also stopped any nutritional eating I had been doing. I went from 100% focused on the body to 100% focused on my spirit. I knew without a doubt that I could heal through meditation alone. Therefore, everything else fell to the wayside and meditation became my “medicine”. I became a chronic meditator and put my full trust in God and spontaneous healing. I have spent the last 2 years reading and studying everything I can get my hands on about meditation, mindfulness and spontaneous healing. I know that it is possible to heal through meditation alone (there are many testimonials on Dr. Joe’s website as proof). But after giving this route all I had, I knew that I would need some assistance. Whatever is blocking my healing felt bigger than me, so I sought help releasing whatever blocked emotions I have.
The mind–
When I got to the point this year where I felt that meditation itself was not enough, I looked for a professional who would support the spiritual work I have been doing while giving me additional tools to heal my mind. The first person I spoke with was Nell Weatherwax – a hypnotherapist here in Bloomington. Hypnotherapy can help you “rest” your emotional mind and allow your brain to “rewire” your response to large and heavy feelings. Here is my story about meeting Nell – https://myselfhealingjourney.com/toxic-positivity/. After 3 amazing sessions with Nell, she recommended I get into contact with a hypnotherapy classmate of hers, Eva Clark. “Eva M Clark has dedicated her career to understanding and working with the connection between the mind and the body. She discovered, early on in her training, that the mind has a powerful influence on our immune system and our health. Not only is the mind a contributor to physical disease; it can also lead the body back into health,”(https://mindbasedhealing.org/eva-m-clark/). I also recently started seeing Sarah Cosford, an emotion code practitioner. The Emotion Code is a book written by Dr. Bradley Nelson. He uncovers how to find and release trapped emotions without having to re-experience them.
Now that I have tools in my belt for healing all three aspects of my being, I believe by integrating all three areas, I have what it takes to heal completely.
The Body-
Even though I do believe it’s possible to heal through meditation and mindfulness alone, I realize that it is still important to take care of my physical body. Before, many of the healthy parts of my regiment were done out of fear. I was scared to death of being in a wheelchair one day. I didn’t eat healthy because I loved it, I did it because the Dr. who created the diet I was on said that disease progression was inevitable without it (myselfhealingjourney.com/denialanddiet/). I constantly was aware of what I was putting in my body and how I felt. Now, I am starting to take care of my body because I love it – flaws and all! This body has taken me so many places and allowed me to do many awesome things, like birth 2 beautiful souls into this world. I still see my primary care physician and neurologist on an annual basis and get my bloodwork done regularly. I take Levothyroxine because my levels are off and I need it. I eat what I want, but practice intermittent fasting to keep my weight under control and because of the many health benefits associated with it. I truly miss my morning workouts and look forward to them in the future. I take supplements to offset any imbalances I may have. I listen to my doctors, but I trust my gut/consciousness the most.
The Spirit-
I still believe Dr. Joe’s work saved my life because it reminded me that I am one with God/Source/consciousness. I was floundering before that, begging for a break or an answer – and meditation was my answer. Meditation has not healed me physically, but mentally I am renewed through communication with my source/consciousness. I use meditation to communicate with source by giving my wants / needs to that intelligence and listening with my gut to the response. It is not an actual voice guiding me always, but an inner knowing when I surrender my ego. Everything I have tried since beginning meditation are things I have been led to. Some things resonated and stuck and others were not what I needed at the time. I trust that consciousness knows what is best for me, so when I am fully aligned, I know I will be guided to what I need most at that time. It was through meditation that I was led to the mind work I am currently doing also.
The Mind-
I am very grateful that I was led to Eva Clark and Sarah Cosford and the work we have been doing on releasing old patterns and thoughts. I will go into detail about what work with them entails in a later blog. I have been able to discover a lot about how my thoughts and learned patterns effect my health. People are skeptical when I say I am healing my “physical” self through “mental” methods. However, I have already experienced some “miraculous” events. My right hand has been unable to open completely (without help) for roughly two years. I have been unable to type correctly or play piano. After one Emotion Code session with Sarah, my hand completely opened on its own!! I didn’t do any exercises or therapy, it was solely mind work. It is not 100% functioning yet, but I am typing normally again and working on strength for piano playing. I am so excited to continue my work with both of them and see where it takes me.
Long story short, I wish I could say there is a one size fits all answer to healing. There are many people with MS who live symptom free – some have reversed major disability. What I have learned is that ALL of them did it in different ways!! I believe that we all have our own paths to forge in this world, and if we will slow down and take the time to listen to our own inner voice, we will be living our own truth. My advice to anyone looking for healing any health condition is to start with meditation. That is the best way to get in touch with consciousness and trust that you will be guided to your next best step. After all…
The only thing that experiences you is YOU!!
New Year, Same Me