GAINING A STATISTICAL EDGE in fighting bc

[Andrea Barnett Budin]

YouTube - Dr Ian Gawler, meditation, positive thinking on A Current Affair early nineties

Andi

['lizbeth]

Thank you Andi. I'm going to have to try and meditate. My good friend told me her friend was in a study about breast cancer and meditation and those who meditate have better survival rates.

I suck at meditating, but I have tried self hypnosis on Cancer Stay Positive, Building Your Immune System and Set your Mind to live Longer. Now at a time when I have the post-Herceptin-Oh-it-could-be-cancer jitters I grab my MP4 player listen to these.

[Cal-Gal]

Thank you Andi.

lizbeth-I have been practicing TM meditation for several years it is very easy. Link here for more information: http://www.tm.org/

[suzan w]

thanks Andi...and Cal-Gal for the link! Meditation is great. Yoga too...

[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.

[Cal-Gal]

Hi Andi-
I LOVE Dr. Wayne Dyer--I attending several seminars of his in the LA area in the 90's---

[Jackie07]

I remember the inspiration I got from reading (the Chinese translation of) Norman Vincent Pearle's "The power of positive thinking' while a teenager. While I was reading the book (given by a cardiologist's wife in town - both of them my NTU alumni) entitled 'Head first: the biology of hope and the healing power of the human spirit' by Norman Cousins before my 23-hour brain (tumor) surgery in the summer of 1990, the physiological link to 'positive thinking' was explained to me [with scientific evidence such as the effect of 'endorphin' on our immune system.]

We have three of Dr. Dyer's books at home: Change your thoughts, change your life: living the wisdom of the Tao . Inspiration: your ultimate calling. and The sky's the limit.

After watching his programs on PBS, hubby decided it would be cheaper and more effective to buy and read his books than to go to the therapist through our health plan. Of course this was after he had already benefitted from a couple of the therapy sessions.

The therapist thought hubby was totally 'sane' having gone through his wife's 4 major surgeries and numerous job losses, his Mother's Alzheimer's, his Dad's two hip surgeries, and his own 'stents' procedure.

Many of the 'Taoist' sayings are common phrases used in the daily life of most Chinese over the centuries. Besides 'Lao Tsu', we study 'Chuang Tsu' (another figure in the same school of thoughts - 'the thoughts of Lao-Chuang') in our Chinese Literature class in junior high and high school. More advanced studies are offered in most colleges. In Taiwan, many 'temples' put the statues of taoist deities ([not]surprisingly, Lao tsu and Chuang Tsu are usually not among them) alongside with buddha (and there are many different kinds of buddhas who possesses different kind of 'specialized' power) and other historical figures that are revered for their good deeds. In some temples the statue of Confucius - who was a humanist and vehemently against deifying 'people' in his teaching - are displayed.

[Andrea Barnett Budin]

I think we all want to move forward as a general way of approaching each day. We each seek to open the gates that are closed to us. And it is a mystery as to how we do that. We actively strive to grow and become more, with each day. So darn many Lessons to learn! So much pain involved. Ugh... How do we find ways to conquer our fears and doubts? Is it possible to gain a degree of control over our lives? Or are we helpless mere mortals?

I do know that no amount of positive thinking will be enough if we don't unlock those gates. And that is not easy, to be sure. I read that the world was created with empty spaces (for our creations to fill). So with that in mind, I work at mindfully creating each moment. One step at a time. Always grounded in the present moment, yet working with goals that are clear in my head. Clear in my stated Intentions and Expectations, clear in the images I create and linger on. All this produces a kind of energy that goes out from me. It is met by others, and by the Universe itself. It is responded to IN KIND. At least w/the Universe. The Universe definitely gets it!

Anger, depression, remorse, uncertainty -- they all hold us back from expanding and creating. The payoff for acknowledging, experiencing and then chasing away those debilitating emotions (a monumental undertaking, granted) is that our success impacts the quality of our lives, both physically and psychologically.

Our bodies take their cues from our thoughts. And the thoughts that circulate in our heads all day will be reflected in how we feel emotionally. So the payoff for us to work on conquering those negative feelings is huge. And of course the goal is to accomplish this without doing harm to others. Our bodies and the Universe sense negativity and respond IN KIND. I believe this on the deepest of levels.

I may seem as if I am ever joyful and peaceful, and to a great extent that is true. It comes with serious conscious, concentrated effort however. And I, like most of us, have my moments. I am human after all. We each feel at times overcome with fear, w/all the what ifs that come w/canser. We feel at times that it is all too daunting. We feel weak, we think we can't do this, that the task at hand is beyond our ability. It's too much. We given our all and we deserve better. We even get mad at ourselves for not succeeding. We are frustrated, have feelings of injustice and being the unfortunate target of that. Some act out.

But it is when we succumb to a victim's mentality (which we're each prone to resort to) that serves as the *foundation* of our negativity. See the connection?

I try to remember that every second I invest in self-pity and woundedness is time I'm not spending moving forward. I replace those lost feelings with the remembrance that I am the creator of my emotions. I refuse to give that power away to the voice in my head (which Eckhart Tolle says is our ego talking). I choose instead to connect with the guidance of my Inner Voice, which is my Spirit, and my Truest Self. It has powers that are sacred and have the might to carry me to joy and serenity, no matter what else is occurring. Once I connect with my Spirit -- EVERYTHING CHANGES! It is miraculous. I change as does my emotional state. And perhaps, I believe it helps to alter circumstances.

Wayne Dyer speaks of living AS IF. As if what you desire is already on its way to you. In the air waves. Making its way to your doorstep. I trust that this is so. So, I am free to therefore live w/happiness and serenity.

Just after being dx w/4th stage bc, after my mastectomy and while on chemo and before ever reading Wayne, my friends would look at me w/a puzzled look. What's going?, they'd tilt their heads and stare? What is that I see?, they'd ask. You look -- they searchd for the word -- radiant. Peaceful. You see, I was living AS IF. I just KNEW that I would survive, despite all the poor prognoses. My Inner Voice had told me this rather dramatically from the getgo. It was a first for me. I couldn't even explain what had occurred. But I had been given full assurance that I would live! And I KNEW it was more than a wish. More like a declaration. Like my Spirit had seen this movie before and knew the ending... Creepy but exactly what I experienced.

Dr. Wayne Dyer's books have been a source of great wisdom for me. I found him (recommended by a friend) between my orig dx and my recurrance. I have gained strength and courage and become emboldened by his words and ideas. I have taken them and incorporated them in my Soul (along w/Eckhart Tolle's perspective of Life as explained in A NEW EARTH and in THE POWER OF NOW). Gary Zucav's SEAT OF THE SOUL has also been life-altering for me. Their words resonated as Truth in a most profound way. And they helped change my life!

I watch Wayne on PBS whenever he appears. I had a front row seat at a Boca lecture he gave yrs ago (when he was living in Boca, where his children attend school). He's like my Elvi. When I hear him, read him, I feel as if Elvis is in the house.

Wayne's books are packed with a wealth of electrifying and empowering ways of viewing Life and our ability to control so much more than we ever imagined.

I loved his YOUR SACRED SELF, YOU'LL BELIEVE IT WHEN YOU SEE IT, WISDOM OF THE AGES, THE POWER OF INTENTION, THERE'S A SPIRITUAL SOLUTION TO EVERY PROBLEM, MANIFEST YOUR DESTINY (THE NINE PRINCIPLES OF GETTING EVERYTHING YOU WANT), SECRETS OF YOUR OWN HEALING POWER. No, I'm not selling these bks. Just recommending them to those who are interested in open their gates.

I urge any of you who are interested in such topics, to read away. I use a highlighter at all times. It's like a course in Life as I see it. Worthy of taking notes or at least underlining... It's not easy being human. Life is a classroom, full of mazes, challenges and obstacles.

Still, 4th stage bc/HER2+, the surgeries, the sacrificing of a breast, being totally bald for too many years including eyebrows and eyelashes, the chemos and the horrific side effects including the roller coaster of emotions that all brings -- I feel blessed. Grateful for each day. For sight and sound and breath...

My admiration of you, my Sisters, is gynormous. Too many of you have been through so much and yet you are so full of grace and generosity of Spirit, in sharing your experiences and your feelings, I stand in awe! Wishing NED to accompany each of you for eons to come...

[Andrea Barnett Budin]

Read this today -- the perfect no-stress environment is the grave. So I guess, w/or w/o bc -- it is good to remember everyone is fighting their own battle.

You see, it is when we change our perception of things that we gain control. The stress goes from being a threat to becoming a challenge. Still grueling, granted, but still...

It's when we commit to action, to actually do something positive that those feelings of being trapped by events become a bit more manageable.

When inscanity strikes, (and yes, sorry to report that even after alllll these yrs, I am weirded out for days before any medical test) I try to remember to remind myself that -- THIS IS JUST ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO VERIFY THAT I AM NORMAL. Tehe...

Deepak Chopra says, "When you realize that you have control over any interpretation you place upon your body, an enormously liberating idea begins to dawn; THE BODY IS ON YOUR SIDE."!! I love that. That is why I talk to my body all the time. I understand that it is it's job to obey what my mind tells it to do.

Louisa May Alcott explains, "A little kingdom I possess, Where thoughts and feelings swell; And very hard the task I find Of governing it well."

I AM THE MASTER OF MY FATE, THE CAPTAIN OF MY SOUL is also a phrase I memorized as a high schooler. The older and more experienced I become, the more profound those words are. I had no idea how true their meaning back in the day.

I know that when things around me seem out of control, all I can control is my Self...

INPUT PEOPLE PLEASE. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS. LET US HAVE THIS IMPORTANT DISCUSSION. You can view but you can't hide. Well, I spose you can, if you so choose, but I am asking you to be so kind as to join the conversation. What you think matters. And often it helps...

[Jackie1945]

"Accept - then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it."

Eckhart Tolle
I found this quote just this a.m. before I read your **wanted to share**post. Goes hand in hand with my idea that when you have a need and reflect ( meditate ) on it often all sorts of things will come up just like these sorts of quotes which offer direction that can be used to alter your position. We are constantly given help but sometimes it takes a little practice to choose to see it.
Jackie

[Andrea Barnett Budin]

Yes, Jackie,

Wayne Dyer says too, always be for something, not against it. Use your energy (strength and psychic powers)in positive ways.

And I too believe that when you reflect on all sorts of things (in meditation, in prayer, with deep concentration and desire)you are beaming out a message into the Universe. It is heard. It is responded to.

When I first discovered this -- in '80, from a physiatrist (a doc who deals w/the physiology of the body, believing in viewing a physical dysfunction in terms of the whole person -- body and mind) it was electrifying! (I was led to this doc by 3 different people who did not know each other but empathized with my 2 yrs of agonizing and immobilizing back pain. I'd never dreamed I could stop my degenerating disc disease, I was searching for a way to learn to cope with this unwanted reality.) I learned to stop the back pain and to stop thinking I would have to negotiate life as a disabled person who struggled with each movement required. It was miraculous!

Also, as it was, it must have been a part of The Plan for me to endure this. As a result I was guided to a man who changed my life forever. I used what I learned from him numerous times, not the least of which was when I was dx w/bc.

I had never known before how much we are each personally empowered! And in further reading, I found that there are Lessons and signs everywhere, in plain sight. But we must be open to them and alert to finding them midst the obstacles and challenges in our path.

So Life became like a treasure hunt each day. I began enthused with each sunrise, hunting for the Messages...

It's really cool if you think about Life in this awesome way...