The writing on the wall: Life or end-of-life?

It is often devastating for us, and our loved ones, to hear that there is no hope for a health condition.  For some it’s a death sentence.  However we cannot overlook the accounts of people who feel there must be something more, and they don’t give up.  There are amazing testimonies of overcoming terminal illnesses – if you look for them – and listening to a profound report via a 2-minute podcast, set me off!

A man diagnosed with cancer was told by his doctor that nothing more could be done for him.  He was sent to a medical specialist for pain management, and whilst sitting in the waiting room he read these words on the wall:

“Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual, — neither in nor of matter, — and the body will then utter no complaints. If suffering from a belief in sickness, you will find yourself suddenly well. Sorrow is turned into joy when the body is controlled by spiritual Life, Truth, and Love. ~ Mary Baker Eddy.”

Sometime later, the doctor found that the man was completely free of the cancer, and asked him what happened.  He answered that it was the passage on the wall of his waiting room that did it.  Here’s the detailed account for your listening, ‘Help is just a thought away’, with Rob Gilbert, CSB.

End-of-life issues
A health crisis deemed terminal, touches deeply when it’s in our own circle.  The Global Mail’s Margaret Rice wrote a heart-wrenching report from her experience.  She asks the reader to consider this: “We’re living longer! But our longer lives mean that more of us will develop dementia and other diseases of old age. If there’s always another possible medical miracle, when do we say it’s OK to let nature take its ultimate course?”  Rice examines people’s thoughts about living longer – a growing discussion – from health professionals to the very elderly in aged care facilities.  The president of the Australian Medical Association comments that people don’t think about the fact that they have a choice, and can opt out of medical interventions.  Society demands a spectrum of choices, and recognizes the need to make informed decisions, including information about legal rights – ‘living wills’ (Advance Health Care Directives) by health professionals and legal rights advocates.  But do we take time to consider our options?  Do we act?

Spiritual Life ~ a giant leap in thinking
Enormous gratitude should go to all the doctors and health service providers, working around the clock to help us.  But even when conventional solutions aren’t apparent, people are finding that they don’t have to give up.  Answers come.  That old saying, “seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you…” rings true today.  I can’t help asking what made that doctor put up a sign in his waiting room, about the body being controlled by spiritual Life – a giant leap in thinking from the general schools of thought.  Maybe it’s not such a giant leap, but rather giving consent to thinking outside the box?

The man who read that passage in the doctor’s office was undoubtedly healed.   How unconventional was that?  There are amazing testimonies from thousands of testifiers over the centuries, from a variety of belief systems, who can attest that spiritual healing is very real.  For whatever reason, these people went beyond “letting nature take its course“.   If we had more information about these cases, might it be possible to conclude that spiritual healing is evidence based, even scientific?

“The writing on the wall” comes in different forms for each of us – the questions are, how and what are we reading (thinking) and believing; and are we willing to search beyond the current schools of thought on healthcare?

Upcoming guest post, Monday 27th Feb: a thought-provoking article on whether miracles can be explained by science.

More documented healings:
My journey from terminal to joyful and healthy
A Rabbi talks about his father being healed from the final stages of cancer

Mindfulness: Is that thinking before acting, as well as being in the present moment?

I was wolfing down my yummy spaghetti when I realised I was the first to finish, by a long way.  I glanced at my friend, who slowly said, “The new me is eating slowly, a mindfulness technique I’m learning in yoga.”  I straightened up, wiped my chin, and thought about how that technique could be used for so much more.  And that brought back memories of my exercise teaching days.

I was moving country, and upon happy farewells, the eldest lady in my class gave me a real lift gift.  She said that her family had commented on how much grace she’d developed, and she felt her overall sense of wellbeing was enhanced.  Her happiness was heartfelt by us both.

Do you remember ‘Callanetics’ in the late 80’s?  It was all the rage in the US, and the UK, where I was living.  The founder, Callan Pinckney, based her exercises on calisthenics – gymnastic exercises to achieve bodily fitness and grace of movement.

I’d wake at the crack of dawn before work, to join Pinckney by video, and then incorporate some of her concepts into my evening ‘Exercise to Music’ classes.  I’d often have over 30 participants, ranging between ages 16 to 80 plus.  I loved the discipline it demanded, and being ballet trained, the mind-body connection in exercise was natural to me.  When I was seven, a kid asked if I could do the splits.  There and then I felt an amazing confidence that if I thought that I could do it, I would.  In slow motion I went all the way down, much to the great excitement and squeals of all the kids!  The splits!  It was almost as hailed as dancing en pointe.  Though I wasn’t able to articulate it at the time, it was a light-bulb moment – experiencing the mind-body connection.  Now, I was teaching others.

During this time, I was also studying Christian Science for my overall health care; learning about our inherent spirituality.  I was fully aware of the qualities we were expressing – grace and control with joy – being developed and used in so many ways for life.

The new-old idea of mindfulness may have been coined in yoga circles – in particular meaning being in the moment.  However spiritual qualities belong to us all, and can be seen in all manner of activities.

We can lift our thoughts and realise the power of thought in relation to health and wellbeing.  So, for me, living the ‘mindfulness’ way is partly thinking before acting, partly living in the moment, and a whole lot of discipline and gratitude.

And many more light-bulb moments follow.

If I was still supping with my friend, I’d be looking for the dessert menu now – perhaps ice-cream, which one tends to eat slowly!

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.” ~ Viktor Frankl (1905-1997)

CAM includes the Medicine of Love

GUEST POST: by Kay Stroud, Media & Legislatures Spokesperson for Christian Science in QLD, Australia.  Thanks, Kay!

There is a ferocious debate occurring in the health field at the moment in Australia, as the Friends of Science in Medicine lobby group pressures universities to close down complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) degrees (Scientists urge unis to axe alternative medicine courses, Should universities teach alternative medicine? poll, Why universities should teach alternative medicine).

Having listened to interviews with a couple of their champions, as well as those on the opposing side, I see this as an excellent opportunity for the media and public to learn more about CAM. CAM or holistic medicine includes herbal remedies, chiropractics, homeopathy, naturopathy, reflexology, acupuncture, hypnosis, as well as prayer and spirituality.

Do Drug-Free Options Offer Fresh Hope?

GUEST POST by Tony Lobl: What are our options if faced with a diagnosis of dementia? Might therapies without drugs prove helpful?  A scientific research project and an individual’s spiritual journey point to that possibility in Do Drug-Free Options Offer Fresh Hope? – my most recent Huffington Post UK blog.

A “drug-free therapy” helps slow the expected decline of people diagnosed with dementia, a study has found.

Call-in Yields Insights into Pain

Pain is a horrible, even terrifying word, by association.  Scientists are finding ways to show that the way we think produces consciousness – our experience.  So, your pain may not be my sense of pain, yet it’s very real to the sufferer.  Prof. Lorimer Moseley, at the University of South Australia, gave a recent lecture on this subject available on Youtube, “Pain. Is it all just in your mind?”.  My guest today, Eric Nelson, writes about his radio call-in: “KQED Call-in Yields Insights into Pain“.  His post also appears on PaloAltoPatch and BayCitizen.  Thanks, Eric!

According to Dr. Sean Mackey, understanding the link between mind and body can make a world of difference, particularly when it comes to dealing with pain.  He should know.  After all, he’s the head of Stanford University’s Division of Pain Management and spends a lot of time researching and thinking about these kinds of things.

Not too long ago I got so immersed in what this guy was discovering that I ended up writing a post about it for this web site.  And then, just the other day, I found myself talking to him on the phone.

A treatment for Valentine’s Day: “A happy heart is good medicine”

A relative told me that when her husband divorced her, the devastation felt like her heart had been broken – there was actual heart pain. The grief was like a death of a loved one, she said – her Dad had died when she was thirteen.  To lift her spirits, she wanted to enroll in flying lessons with her son.  She failed the routine health check – it was her heart.  She chose mental treatment for both problems – mind and body – and was healed.  That was 24 years ago.  I’ve added links about others, at the end of this post, referring to the same system of mental treatment she used.

Traditionally, in the West, February brings an extra reminder to celebrate love… “oh, Valentine!”.  If you are suffering grief, loneliness, anger, disappointment, or something else that’s hurting you, take heart.  Changing these destructive thoughts is possible.  Why is this important?  According to researchers and practitioners, it affects our health.

A headline in The Australian newspaper, “Death of a loved one can truly break a heart”, refers to research in the Journal of the American Heart Association, where grief can cause a risk of heart attack.

Starting with my Colour – Am I a Picture of Health?

Recently I took a serious look at my wardrobe.  My friends are right – everything looks a bit brown and red.  That’s because I went for colour-coding yonks ago (remember when that craze started ladies!), and I’ve stuck to it religiously.  There’s no doubt it’s saved me money, and I’ve felt good in “my” Autumn colours.  However, my booklet of swatches is only a guide, not my identity, and I’m ready for change.

Scientists have created a pill to prevent grey hair!  You probably knew that was coming, but there are strings attached;