What Does A “Cure” Mean?

What does a cure mean to you? Does it mean stopping the illness dead where it is or does it mean a complete elimination of the illness totally and completely?

These questions are not easily answered and are a puzzle for patients, researchers, doctors, and most of the rest of those involved in the Parkinson’s disease community. I have pondered the question for some time now and think I may have a realistic idea of what may be a fair idea of a cure.

My perception of a cure, at this stage of my life, is a treatment or medication that halts disease progression and at least minimizes symptoms of illness with no side effects or bodily harm. To this date, the closest thing to my definition is the power of Reiki, Yoga, Meditation, Vegetarian Diet,Medication Management and Reducing Stress. It has taken me years to find what works for me. I believe that we  must find what works best for ourselves (avoiding anything harmful) through self discovery and the help of our doctors. What will work for some may not work for others. We are all unique and different. Keep an open mind. I’d like to think that we can all find the “cure” that we seek.

That’s my take on it.

I just watched Michael J. Fox’s interview with Diane Sawyer. While I can’t say that I agree 100 percent with everything he says in the interview, I will say, I agree with his optimism and strongly suggest that finding the positives in your life and not focusing on the negatives will make life more enjoyable.  Here is the interview: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/05/18/michael-j-fox-looks-past-stem-cells-in-search-for-parkinsons-cure/

What Are You Willing To Do To Help Yourself?

How far are you willing to go to help yourself? Would you try a complementary therapy that  made little sense to you but may have real benefit? Would you sell your favorite objects to gain back your health? Would you change your diet, your job, and/or your residence to get better? How open is your mind to the investigation of learning to find the answers of your illness and healing yourself?

Whether you have Parkinson’s disease, have some other ailment, or issue in your life, there is probably an element in your life that could use improving. I have yet to meet the individual who has been able to manage their daily stress, issues from their past, or fears, and not be in need of at least a little assistance.

Today, I can say that I am better now than I was 10 years ago. Having had Parkinson’s for over 20 years, I see this as remarkable and nearly miraculous. My medications haven’t changed for many years and if they have changed at all, it was a slight reduction in pills and not an increase. I can control almost all of my symptoms thanks to Reiki (complementary therapy energy work—see my prior postings on Reiki). I am not at 100 percent, yet, but it took a long time to get sick and it will a long time to totally heal.

I don’t like the words “chronic”, “degenerative”,   and “incurable”, and yet these are the words that label Parkinson’s and so many other illnesses. With these words, the medical community offers nothing but doom and gloom when what is needed is encouragement for motivation and life change.  Hope and direction is often what the patient needs. Sometimes a shift in thinking, perception, outlook, emotions, diet, lifestyle, and openness to healing is enough to make the transition improving one’s condition and see an improvement. For myself,  the gradual  transition to improving took time, energy, dedication, and sacrifice. Getting better for most of us Is not going to be a quick and easy fix, but if you open your mind to explore outside your comfort zone, you may very well find yourself seeing improvement in your overall health.

The Power Of Touch

Hollywood over several decades has subtly exposed the world to Reiki whether you know it or not. Whether it was Starman with Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen, The Karate Kid, The Matrix, Elektra, Hellboy, or numerous other blockbuster films depicting the power of human contact, Reiki has been a Hollywood co-star. What appeared miraculous on the big screen, is  within the grasp of anyone willing to devote time and energy to his or her own self growth and awareness.

Reiki is a complimentary medicine that incorporates the use of universal energy. A trained Reiki practitioner is able to transfer universal  energy through his or her hands and allow that energy to help assist the client. I have personally seen Reiki alleviate pain, lower blood pressure, stop or reduce tremor, calm a person down, or rejuvenate someone feeling fatigued.

Reiki is very much like explaining an emotionally moving photograph, a sunset, a song, or a work of art; you can talk about it all you want but not until you experience it for yourself can you fathom the raw power that it has to offer.

A standard Reiki session can last anywhere from 15 minutes to 1.5 hours. The client either sits in a chair or lies on a massage table, fully clothed, as the practitioner lightly touches the energetic centers of the body. Clients will usually fall into a deep refreshing sleep and wake feeling better than when they arrived.

I was a skeptic, about 13 years ago, but I tried it. Since then, I have taken classes and worked on hundreds of clients and seen astounding results. I am now a Reiki Master but I continue to learn. For me, Reiki has given me back parts of my life that I might never have gotten back. Parkinson’s patients, especially one who has had it for over 20 years, aren’t  supposed to get better according to the  medical community. Reiki is the only explanation.

It’s not magic nor is it surgery.  Reiki is a practice that you can learn to do yourself or find a practitioner who can help address your issues. I encourage you to explore what Reiki can do for you.

All Charged Up

 I have little doubt that Neurological disorders like, Parkinson’s disease, may manifest emotionally, possibly triggered by a physical or chemical jolt to the body. The body’s electrical circuitry gets scrambled and disconnects with the circuitry of the mind. If you think of the whole human body as if it were a battery that holds a charge,  you are dealing with a complex and sometimes fragile network of functions that are all reliant on the body’s ability to send out current where it is needed. When the current is weak or broken, problems arise.

“Burnout” is a familiar term that applies to both body and electricity. When stress, work, lack of sleep, improper diet, depression, and all the other invasions of modern day society pile up, the body along with the mind will shut down. Some of us are wired differently probably through genetics and are capable of repelling some of these outside forces, thus evading illness and remaining healthy.

If the body is an energy center in itself and it gets depleted from outside, it only makes sense that the answer to getting the body back in synch is to recharge it. For thousands of years Eastern medicine has proven that energy work and spiritual practices have real world medical benefit. Only through therapies like Reiki, Qigong, Acupuncture, Yoga, and Meditation can you replenish what is lost.

One of the great mysteries of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is why it works? As a therapeutic tool, DBS is a brain surgery discovered  to work by accident. No one knows exactly how it works or why but the electrical signals generated from batteries implanted in the chest sent through wires implanted in the brain disrupt certain signals going to the brain. This proves that we are one big power plant that needs maintaining.

Energy work is mostly free and painless. Time, some dedication, commitment, and some self exploration may be needed to educate yourself about what works best for your specific symptoms.  As unconventional and new agey as energy work may seem to some of you,  I ask this: What do you have to lose in trying one or more of these therapies? Even more so , what do you have to gain?

As overused as the metaphor of the body being compared to an onion is, if you imagine the moments of our lives, both good and bad, constructing our thoughts, emotions, and overall makeup, we are what feel, see, eat, breathe, think, hear, and drink.  Delving into the onion and locating the parts that need changing can be challenging and take some time.

 There is as much understanding of why energy work makes a difference as DBS , the only difference is that the energy work doesn’t require drilling in the skull or implanting batteries in the body. DBS is brain surgery and can cost as much as a small house. It would make sense to me that before one resorts to the option of implanting hardware in the body that he or she seeks the less invasive option first. That’s just my opinion.

Be Skeptical–But Stay Open-Minded

Neurologists and researchers need to step back and look at Parkinson’s disease (PD) from another perspective. I believe that even though there may be a genetic  component as well as an environmental trigger, there is an emotional , energetic, and in some cases a psychological component that disconnects with the unity of mind and body.  

For myself, after altering my thought process, learning Reiki, reducing stress, and realizing certain changes that needed tweaking, I have found myself improving over the past several years. My medication has not changed in many years but I continue to get better!

I have just returned from a conference where I had the privilege to apply the amazing energy of Reiki on 8-10 PD patients or their care-partner.  The results were amazing.

Eyes that were tired and slightly glazed over were clearer and refreshed after just a 15 minute treatment.  Many of the participants were able to relax and even fall into a deep slumber. Tremors  subsided briefly and overtaxed muscles released. These are most of  the cases of what I experienced from  several  15 minute sessions.

Skeptical? So were most of them–but when many of them left, they admittedly stated that they felt better than before the brief Reiki session. Thirteen years ago, I too was a skeptic, but from my very first Reiki session, I realized the benefit of this healing art, for myself. My body glowed and mind quieted and calmed. The simple act of gentle touch made a world of difference. No pill. No surgery. A complimentary therapy gave me my life back and continues to improve my health.

The Truth Is Out Somewhere

I’ll admit it. If I see an episode of the X- Files on television, I have to stop and watch it, unless I’ve seen it more than once. The writing and storylines for the show were bright in thought and dark in content, usually. The drama was compelling and the chemistry between David Duchovny  and Gillian Anderson was electric . The show worked. Each week  the show explored a mysterious and unexplained  phenomenon like aliens, monsters, black projects, and potential government cover-ups. This was all fantasy–right? Maybe, fantasy and reality are closer than we think.

Just this morning, a probe deep in space uncovered a planet with 2 suns, just like Tatooine, the home planet of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. Earlier in the week, 50 new planets were discovered, many of which may be capable of sustaining life. The truth really is out there –but it’s here too!

Another recent story that caught my eye was about a cat that was missing for over 5 years but was re-united with her family. Miraculous and breathtaking  events that are hard to fathom  happen every day. What we think we know or take as fact may not always be so! It all starts with a flexible and open mind.

The same thought and tact applies in the battle for beating Parkinson’s disease! Neurological disorders need to be approached from a completely different perspective. Drugs and surgery may alleviate or at least reduce some symptoms,  but they only stay effective for so long.

It is my strong belief that Parkinson’s is an energetic disruption in the body and not just the brain. It may likely be a disconnect between the body and the mind. For this kind of problem modern chemistry and surgical techniques are limited. The human mind and body are yet to be totally understood.  There are still parts of our own planet that have yet to be explored and that leaves room for questions.  In the same realm, there are parts of the body yet to be understood and illnesses that arise without  any known reason. As much as we want to believe we have things in control– we don’t.   

It is just for that reason that alternative or complimentary therapies (Massage, Yoga, Reiki, Qigong, and many more)that we  need to  do much more exploration and embracing of what may potentially work for our own healing process. I have little doubt that our bodies are capable of healing themselves. It very well may be that each of us requires our own unique cocktail of therapies to activate the process. For some it might be a change in diet and heavy exercise and for others it could be a hodge-podge of  try , try, try,  until I discover what works for me. I have experienced and seen amazing results in myself and in others. Medicine needs a radical mind-shift, but until then, knowledge and a willingness to educate ourselves on  opportunities for improving ourselves is our best solution. What could be more important?

Imagine a world where patients improve, medical costs go down,  productivity rises, and who knows where it could lead us? The truth is out there somewhere–maybe it’s here.   

This is strictly my opinion. I am not a doctor. I am not a  scientist. I am someone who has dealt with Parkinson’s disease for about 25 years.

Who Says Parkinson’s Patients Only Get Worse?

There is so much gloom and doom on our cable, Internet, wireless, and any other media that I can think of, it makes me cringe. The bombardment of fear mongrels, doomsayers, television news pundits, Hollywood debufelons,  and Charlie Sheen wannabes doesn’t help the world in any way! Negative energy is simply corrosive and corruptive to the Planet and its’ inhabitants healing process.

What you expose your body to, be it water, food, air, sunlight and radiation, stress, chemicals, and unseen forces like negativity, electro-magnetic fields, and emotional build-up play a vital role in how one copes with and fights off illness. For me, stumbling on to Reiki was the key that opened the lock to begin my path to healing.

I have heard people who know absolutely nothing about Reiki who have no comprehension of “energy work”, discount it, and call it “voodoo”. These people have no idea what they are saying, and it is to these negative ninnies I say, do the research and try it before you badmouth something that you don’t understand.

When I was first exposed to Reiki, I too discounted it, and thought that using one’s hands to transfer Universal life-force energy for relaxation, stress relief, and potential healing sounded outlandish! But, I had and have Parkinson’s disease! When you are ill, some measures outside the norm are necessary and completely justified. Be smart and avoid invasive untested therapies that may have irreversible effects, negative permanent results, or is a radical alteration to your regimen. It is best that you and your doctor agree on making any changes together, before making any changes.

After 12 years of practicing Reiki on friends, family, and myself, my wife, Angela, also a Reiki Master, we are taking this powerful complimentary therapy to the Parkinson’s community. Last Saturday was a day that reminded me just what Reiki has done for me. With the assistance of 8 other amazing friends and Reiki Masters we ran a Reiki For Parkinson’s Disease Level I Workshop for 21 students. As it was for me 12 years ago, I watched Reiki recipients as instant relaxation set in, tremors subsided, muscles released, facial masks washed away, eyes brightened, and lethargy was replaced with energetic zest! If it sounds incredible–well it was!

I am pleased to report that through Reiki along with massage, yoga, mild exercise, a hopeful attitude, and a vegetarian diet, I have held steady and reduced my dosage of medication rather than ramp up as is expected in Parkinson’s disease. The proof is in the results!

I hope to have results and feedback from the Workshop participants, so stay tuned for future updates.

Reiki and Parkinson’s Disease

Over a decade ago, I had the good fortune of meeting my current Reiki teacher. When he introduced me to Reiki, I thought it to be pure quackery, but I had nothing to lose in keeping an open-mind. After experiencing Reiki, I was not only hooked but I was changed for the better. That was twelve years ago , and today I am in a one year mastership training course with my same teacher with the hope of sharing my ability with others dealing with Parkinson’s disease.  I have witnessed a transformation not only in myself but also with those whom I have worked on and seen as the healing energy calms, relaxes, and improves the conditions of those willing to try it.

Seeing may be believing but true experience seals the deal. When I walked into my first Reiki session, I was walking poorly and my balance was off but an hour after my first session, I felt rejuvenated and my walking  was dramatically better. Do I have empirical scientific evidence that Reiki made this miraculous  alteration in my condition and can I prove that it was the Reiki that has helped me to actually improve over the past 10 years and not see my symptoms decline? The only evidence that I have is the end results and those results are impressive in my humble opinion.  Show me a drug or procedure that is free and non-invasive that has that kind of success.  I have little doubt if it were not for my learning how to do Reiki for myself, I would be in a far more serious condition than I am in today.

My wife and I recently announced a local class to teach level 1 Reiki to people with Parkinson’s as well as their care-partner. The response was overwhelming. In less than a week our class overfilled with the need for  placing people on a waiting list. Undoubtedly, this will not be our last class.

I believe physicians and neurologists especially, should be recommending Reiki to their patients as additional therapy. There is no reason not to prescribe something that increases energy, quiets the minds, calms the heart, relaxes the muscles, and reduces dyskinesias. Yoga, meditation, acupuncture, and chi gong should also be investigated as a cocktail of therapies may be of benefit. As for me, Reiki has proven itself to me and science has yet to identify the untapped benefits that it reaps. If you can find anything better for someone facing Parkinson’s disease, I don’t know what it could be.

This is my opinion. I am not a medical doctor and this is not medical advice. This is what works for me.

10 Medical Questions To Ponder – I Think

1. Why isn’t there a National CareGiver’s Appreciation Day?

2. Why isn’t there a day devoted to remembering friends and loved ones who have left us?

3. Why do we (the USA as a culture) shy away from the ill, the frail, and elderly, when they need the assistance the most?

4. Why don’t we educate students in high schools, colleges, or even younger kids with classes on illnesses and illness sensitivity training?

5. Don’t the ill and disabled have even more to teach than the healthy person, because they live with an even greater challenge than those of us living with a fully functional body?

6. Shouldn’t caregivers and carepartners receive a stipend or tax break for all that they do to take care of their loved ones plus keep them out of hospitals and nursing homes?

7. Why can’t we have a more progressive healthcare and insurance system that rewards proper nutrition and self-care with lower doctor bills and reduced insurance rates?

8. When are doctors going to come around and finally embrace complimentary therapies instead of the old cliché response, “Well, you can do it as long it doesn’t do any harm, I suppose.”?

9. Are we ever going to hear a doctor admit that he/she was ever wrong or made a mistake?

10. When is the medical community going to stop treating people with illnesses as someone who is incapable of making choices or knowledge of their own condition? Who is more knowledgeable of  illness, the person living with it on a daily basis, or the doctor trying to treat and maybe even cure it?

I would love to know what you think! Please send your comments and don’t forget to subscribe to get new postings, if you like my blog. I am happy to announce that Twitter account will be active in the next day or so, so please follow me on Twitter very soon!

Thanks for reading!

An Open Mind May Lead To Healing

Parkinson’s Disease is a designer disease without any glamour or style. Unique to each owner is a brew all of its’ own. Put a room full people with this illness all together and you’ll see an array of symptoms of varying combinations but you probably won’t encounter any two exactly alike.

Parkinson’s Disease, for all the research, press, and money that has gone into this disease, frankly, has not come that far. There are medicines to stabilize patients for only so long, risky and invasive brain surgeries that may temporarily delay or reduce some symptoms, and some therapies that assist sufferers in retaining their voice and mobility, but the breakthrough that was promised 20 plus years ago when I was diagnosed has yet to come.

If each one of has such a unique case, maybe that means each of us has a unique combination of triggers that set the course for this development. If that is the case and we set the parameters either genetically and/or emotionally, it just may be within our reach to find our own cure.

As radical as it may sound, I whole-heartedly believe that our bodies, given the right information and regimens, an openness to self-discovery, and a willingness to change just may lead our bodies to healing themselves. Combined with Western medicine and Eastern therapies,  a proper balance of physical and mental conditioning can, does, and will reverse or at least improve the damage of illness.

My long journey with Parkinson’s has led me down some dead-ends but I have seen successes. In my hunt for healing and therapeutic answers to improving my condition, I have seen Reiki (see posting 28) make the largest impact on this disease. Amazingly, the scientific community shies away from testing this therapy so it is conveniently discounted and dismissed.

As a Reiki practitioner and Reiki Master (in a 1 year training program), it is my belief and hope that anyone reading this posting strongly consider that an open-mind and a willingness to help yourself can lead you to the answers and assistance that you seek.

This is my journey and I wish you well on yours!