Your Spirit Is “The Hidden Secret” and Heart-Center of Holistic Cancer Recovery
It is your most powerful personal weapon in your battle with cancer!
In the Holistic model of body, mind, emotions and spirit, I would say most people don’t know much about their spirit. That’s because it’s invisible and is not often talked about in society. It certainly is rarely discussed in the medical world.
Your spirit flies under your radar; it lives deep inside you, waiting and hoping you will connect with it.
Let me aid your discovery by giving you my definition of spirit:
Your spirit is that part of you that is individual and unique. It is your “essence.”
It is that part of you which showed itself when you were a child and is your Authentic Self.
It has been with you through every stage of growth and has helped you surmount all of life’s challenges. It’s here now, ready to fortify you in your battle with cancer. When your body, mind and emotions are wracked by cancer and cancer treatments, it is the part of you which always has strength.
Your spirit seeks to connect you with God (or Higher Power – however you would define it). It is the most evolved part of you – wise, strong, resilient, unbreakable, intuitive, encouraging, unconditionally loving and accepting – always wanting the very best for you and willing to climb mountains to help you achieve your dreams.
Your spirit gives you solace, encouragement, and immutable strength.
Your spirit can never be extinguished, even after the death of your body. It carries you beyond this earth plane and into the next part of your journey.
It can be severely tested by life circumstances, but its Light never goes out. The Light will shine even brighter when you connect with God, your mind, emotions and body.
It often encourages you to try new things or “make things right” in your human relationships and within your Self. It is that quiet Inner Voice that urges, “Go here. Try this. Don’t give up. DON’T LOSE HOPE; YOU CAN DO THIS!”
Your Spirit
Is able to see beyond present circumstances and envision a future you cannot currently see. We call that Faith.
The spirit has an “Inner Knowing” that can be prophetic – as it is connected to God.
YOU look at the small picture; your spirit sees the Big Picture (the past, the present, the future.)
When you connect with your spirit, you will receive its strength. It will align your mind, emotions and body into one cohesive and powerful Whole.
When your spirit connects with God, you will receive Strength, Fortitude, Confidence, and a Peacefulness beyond what you have experienced from any other source. It is “the Peace that passes understanding”; you feel it in your heart-center and it will often make you cry with relief that you are no longer alone in your struggles.
It will enable you to hold on to your convictions, your Inner Truths despite what anyone else tells you or current circumstances seem to show.
For cancer patients who are committed to doing everything in their power to beat cancer, it enables you to put on the mantle of “Warrior” and boldly move through the cancer journey.
This description of SPIRIT may seem philosophical and esoteric, but let me assure you the SPIRIT is very real and its impact has been documented in medical research and in incredible real-life survival stories that defy all the odds.
In the 1977, when I was an Oncology social worker, I had the honor of doing some training with O. Carl Simonton, MD – Radiation Oncologist and director of the Cancer Counseling and Research Center in Fort Worth, Texas. He and his wife, Stephanie Matthews-Simonton (a psychotherapist) studied and worked with groups of Stage 4 cancer patients whose treatments with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation had been unsuccessful. The Simontons initiated the use of art therapy, guided visualization and relaxation, and cancer counseling workbooks to empower cancer patients to release negative emotions, build positive expectations, and boost the functioning of the immune system.
They believed in the mind-body-emotion connection. Using their techniques with end-stage cancer patients, they were able to document increases in both lifespan and quality of life, as well as a reduction in patients’ pain. The patients who were the most successful were those with very strong, independent spirits: they would not give up; they did everything possible to extend their lives.
My husband was diagnosed with Stage 3Tb Prostate cancer in 2011. He underwent a robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy, 29 radiation treatments, 21 days of Casodex (an Adrogen receptor inhibitor) and 1 year of Lupron( Adrogen Deprivation Therapy.) He was told by his Oncologist that he had a 70% probability of developing Stage 4. My husband’s response was: “Then I will be one of the 30% that DO NOT DEVELOP STAGE 4.”
His strong Warrior Spirit, empowered by using all the anti-cancer ACTIONS mentioned in Holistic Cancer Recovery have resulted in him being cancer-free for the last 11 years. He is my hero and his recovery has inspired my own. We are the “2 P’s: Prostate and Pancreas.”
To further empower his body, mind, emotions and spirit, he came up with idea to read books about men who had survived harrowing circumstances, against-all-odds. What each of these men had in common was that they had incredibly strong spirits that would not give up. They survived, while their companions gave up and died.
These are some of the books which inspired him:
If you are not acquainted with your spirit, here are some ACTIONS I recommend for finding it:
You must go to a quiet place to find your spirit, a place with no distractions. It could be on your bed, in a chair, sitting or walking in nature. Allow yourself to be “in the moment.” Breathe deeply and exhale fully. Stay with the breathing and try to empty your mind. Relax your body, from the top of your head down through every part of your body. Stay in the moment. Listen with your heart. Hang out in the silence. Rest there. Continue with the deep breathing – experience the ebb and flow of your breath, the movement of your abdomen, the relaxation in your shoulders, neck, face, and entire body. Stay with the breathing, the quiet, and listen.
At first you might hear nothing. Don’t be discouraged. Continue to set aside quiet time every day, where you are earnestly trying to connect with your spirit, your Inner Self. Day after day, month after month, year by year, it will happen. You can’t force the process. You must be patient. What’s important is making the commitment and doing the ACTION.
You ask, “What am I listening for.” The answer is: “Your spirit. Eventually, it will speak to you. If you spend quiet time by yourself in this manner, you will hear it. At first it might be one word, or an image, or a dream during your sleep, or a series of thoughts when you are writing, or a creative inspiration or an intuition about something you should do.”
The process can be facilitated by meditation, prayer, art therapy, journaling, creative pursuits, dance, inspirational music and reading, gardening, spending time in nature, being in environments and relationships that make you feel safe and loved, spending time with animals and your pet-children, working in therapy to free your wounded Inner Children, endurance training, doing volunteer work, building a relationship with God.
You can discover your spirit in the process of surviving a divorce, death of a loved one, a life-threatening illness or injury, a disaster, war, or other monumental event which proved you had more strength than you ever imagined.
CANCER IS SUCH AN EVENT!
The spirit can be seen in bouncing back from failure or adversity, exceeding the limitations of a disability or a diagnosis, forgiving someone who has hurt you, heroic rescues, giving of your time, money, gifts to help others. It can be seen in animals who walk miles, long distances to find their way home, or put themselves at risk to rescue their human family, or adopt babies of different species, or assist their animal friends as they age or approach death.
The spirit is about finding Love and Affirmation of your Self at the deepest possible level. It is about Forgiveness and Kindness to yourself and others: It is about Growth and Healing, Renewal, Evolution, and Transformation. The spirit is Love given, and Love received.
“Early Morning Lessons About Cancer” that my Spirit gave me:
“When you have cancer, you learn to live in the moment, take things slowly, listen to your body, keep things simple, rest, relax, let go of outcome, celebrate the small things, appreciate what comes your way, find peace in the moment, move slowly, appreciate the moment-to-moment gift of each day.
Don’t try to control each day. Be flexible as the day unfolds.
Celebrate what you have been able to accomplish.
Let go of stress.
Don’t try to muscle or power your way through the day. Go with the flow, relax, and enjoy.
Make time to be quiet and observe the miracles within each day.
Keep things simple, very simple.
Make pleasures for yourself throughout the day, simple pleasures. Celebrate – the sounds of birds, the growth of your plants, an unexpected encounter, the taste of your food, an observation about yourself, the “spaces” between activities, the feel of your body on your mattress.
Celebrate your Self and God as you move through the day.
Each day is going to happen, you cannot put the brakes on to stop it. You must find a way to flow within it. Find a way to enjoy each day, the unexpected.
Notice, appreciate the ebb and flow of your energy throughout the day, and make adjustments. Notice your fatigue. You cannot maintain constant intensity. You must adjust, relax, modulate your efforts with periods of rest and enjoyment.
Lower your expectations of others and observe their humanness.
Find ways to be generous, of your time, your money, your service to others. It will bless your soul, your spirit.
Don’t get caught up in the “little picture” of today. Keep your eyes, ears, heart and spirit open to the “Big Picture.”
Inspirational Music:
You Do Not Walk Alone – YouTube
On Eagle’s Wings – YouTube
The Prayer – YouTube
My Favorite Music for Calming body, mind, emotions and spirit:
https://johnhuling.com/
