[Andrea Barnett Budin]

Here's what I've learned. Several authors/modern day sages have written about it, most memorable was Wayne Dyer. He introduced me to this idea and it immediately resonated, on the deepest of levels. I KNEW this was so. My Inner Voice confirmed it. (That is my Spirit talking to me!) Our Souls were given to us along with our minds and our bodies. It is our birthright and is full of Empowerment. Souls are eons old and are very wise. I trust mine implicitly. I KNOW it has my very best interests as it's primary purpose. It is always there for me. I am never alone. I am always connected to my Soul. I AM my Soul. I identify myself as a Soul. I see others as Souls. And we are eternally therefore connected to our Source.

I believe the Soul is God-given, and that our Source, which is divine, has put a piece of itself into each Soul, making each of us sacred beings.

You know how you can sense other people's *vibes*? They don't have to say anything, but you can pick up the energy they are transmitting. You can hear a smile on the telephone!

Well, I realize now that our every thought sends out its own frequency wave (Wayne and others have mentioned this and I believe there are prestigious studies on this). Our thoughts go out from us and are read by others, AND they are responded to IN KIND. Not just by others, but this works the same way with the Universe itself!

Loving, compassionate, generous, grateful, kind thoughts go out at a higher frequency and vibrate considerably faster than the lower, slower energy of negativity (which includes fear, anger, hatred, blame, resentment, sorrow, sadness, ego and so on).

So, as I believe that the Universe (and our bodies) hear everything I think and whisper -- I am well aware of the impact of the quality of my thinking. The power of my thoughts determines how I will fare and how I will feel. That is my deep belief. I own that belief, as each of us are free to do.

I used to think that our thoughts just occur, and that we must tolerate them as best we can. Obsessive thoughts full of rage and mean-spirited revenge, the inability to forgive, etc. often play out repeatedly in our heads throughout any given day. They torment and torture us. They become stuck and inured in our heads playing over and over and over, as if set on REPEAT.

I thought we had no choice but to bear up against these thoughts that we owned and that owned us. They determined our mood, our acts and our deeds. We were helpless.

Well, I have learned however that we have the power to override those thoughts! That is awesome. We can consciously choose to reauthor our mental chatterings. I spent a lot of time in the beginning (when first dx) saying I AM STRONG, BRAVE AND DETERMINED. I didn't then fully believe I was strong and brave but I was certain I was determined. So I kind of thought of this newly acquired mantra as MY PLAN. WITH EACH DAY I WOULD WORK WHOLEHEARTEDLY TO BE STRONG, BRAVE AND DETERMINED.

I was passionate on this. I focused like a laser, on doing everything within my power to survive against all odds. I refused to accept defeat. I refused to give in to the medical profession's *wisdom* which was based on statistics. I would not allow the statistics and the poor prognoses and the looks on the doctors and the nurses faces to permeate my psyche. I had other plans.

I reasoned -- if everyone believes they are doomed, they will be doomed and thus the statistics would be rather bleak.

I decided this was what cancer was all about. FEAR. Caving in to the fear, as it is so very human to do. But I decided to be a lemming and accept being a victim. I would have to feel the fear, as repressing our true emotions is unhealthy. My plan was however that I would experience the fear and then walk right through it, the way charging men have done in so many wars, like the troops who stormed the beaches of Normandy, outnumbered and unlikely to succeed.

I KNEW I was armed with the power of my thoughts. That our thoughts carry great power to manifest what they are concentrated on. I KNEW I had the wisdom of my guiding force, my Inner Voice, or Spirit, with me, that I was not alone in my struggle.

I KNOW that the body responds to everything I tell it to do, even the words of my glancing thoughts. so I am ever monitoring my inner dialogue and weeding out the noxious thoughts. Overcoming the poisonous emotions and ridding myself of them. Replacing them with love.

I have learned that (especially in meditation) I can open my heart and become a vessel for Universal Love. It is there in plentitude, so withdrawing some for yourself will not harm the planet. In fact you will benefit, as will all you encounter. Because you become overflowing with it and with a generosity of Spirit you offer it to everyone. Even strangers. And -- what do you find coming right back at you? MORE love. It's the boomerang effect. Karma. Whatever you want to call it. It really works.

I'll share my breathing exercises and method of meditating in another post if you'd like...

We each have our way of coping with adversity. I share mine in the hopes it will at the very least make you ponder and at best inspire you to give it a try.