[hutchibk]

I am so very intrigued by this thread. I love what Andi is trying to share. I am also astounded that anyone could infer from what she has written that the cancer patient can find blame in their life for getting cancer. That is so far removed from what she is trying to share...

My counselor and I have been talking about this for 3 years now. It has been a very educational journey. I have always presented outwardly what others have experienced to be a positive attitude. I have received many compliments during this journey from outsiders who find me inspiring. But I knew that something was missing, that portraying a positive attitude was the easy part and was only half of the equation, that living it on the inside, in my body and my mind was a more difficult part to accomplish. It has taken me a while to get there and I am not totally there yet. But I am working on it. I still go to the dark places. You have to. You have to bring them to the surface, experience them and acknowledge them in order to let them go. But it's the learning to cope with them, bringing them into the light and purging them that is the key. It's a discipline just like anything else in life. Changing thought patterns is hard work. It's challenging. It's more than just anti-depressants and weekly therapy. (both of which have been tremendously helpful to me). Thoughts and inner dialogue are as innate as putting one foot in front of the other. But over a lifetime, left truly unattended, the brain and the thoughts can take on a sludge, a "coating", an unintended and ill-trained way of operating. Much like a car engine that is never lubed or maintained and eventually needs an overhaul. It's human nature and it is not something to blame one's self for. The key is to recognize it and take steps to correct it - to do the "overhaul." It's hard to learn how to "expand the rubberband" on one's brain. Whether I had cancer or not, I would hope that I would have embarked on this journey anyway... of re-training my brain and inner dialogue. Of looking inward for the disconnect between mind and body. And finding ways to connect the two. The mind and body are a temple. I used to hear that and think it was hooey. Now I know differently.

My counselor has given me so many gifts, and one of them is the gift of relaxation and visualization. Another is the technique to change the inner dialogue. We have discussed that you can't truly find The Secret without regular wrestling with the negatives. You can't get to point B without doing the hard work of point A. Point A (the negatives) have to be acknowledged and brought into the light. And once you have done the work to lay the foundation, then you must set the goal and take massive action towards the goal. The Secret is more than just "positive thoughts" - it's a lot of challenging work. You can't skim over the fundamentals to the cream on top.

The less than positive thoughts and resentments in our lives, when allowed to go unchecked, are poison, toxic. I know that since I have truly embraced the harder work and gentle teachings from my counselor, my body has felt wildly better and healthier. My mind is sending it a more gentle and positive electricity instead of lightning bolts and surges of hidden negativity and resentment. I attribute my body's mostly easy tolerance of the many different treatments to the mind/body connection work that I have been doing (in earnest) over the last year.

The newest gift my counselor is giving me is the gift of meditation. Due to my work with her, I have found my personal access to what is know as "The Blue Pearl" and it is so beautiful. I know there is a deeper meaning to be found surrounding my Blue Pearl, but just to be able to see it so easily now is one of the most beautiful things in my life. I believe that accessing it and seeing it in my relaxation and meditation opens up blocked corridors to the essence of the crucial mind-body connection. Remember that word "connection" as you contemplate all of this. The mind and body are always connected, but you have to be sure that the electricity between the two is a positively charged connection and not negatively charged... "Putting Negative Electricity into a light bulb will darken a sunlit room."

As my nutritionist says: "There is more to winning the battle against cancer than simply relying on technology. When it comes to cancer survival, conventional medicine often ignores the body's own remarkable restorative powers. Doctors are unable to explain in scientific terms instances that can only be attributed to self-healing. The spiritual and emotional components of healing cannot be defined by statistics and cannot be measured by sophisticated instruments. No-one can guarantee you a miracle, but why not
try?"

I consider the work I am doing on mind-body connection to be simply another component in the natural and traditional healing/nutritional support changes I have chosen to pursue in combination with my conventional treatments...