Almost three weeks down, and I'm feeling pretty good while recovering from a successful reconstructive surgery to my leg. My mother-in-law, Alice, came to stay with me this last week. One thing that I can say is that it sure helps to have a positive and upbeat person around, especially when you're convalescing. (Heck, it's great having positive people around ALL THE TIME!) It's wonderful. I consider myself to be a very lucky person.
I spent four days in the hospital before coming home. Each day a group of doctors from the pain team came into my room to check on me. With this sort of surgery the first four days are generally pretty painful. There was one doctor in that group that I saw on 2 of the four days. He told me how good I looked and how well I was doing compared to most people that have this surgery. I think he was sincere, because I felt I was doing well too, all things considered. I thanked him the second time because it was nice to hear that and his positivity definitely contributed to my well-being or peace of mind. I believe there is a LOT of power in this!
Speaking of positive people ... I was hoping to upload (I can't find the cord!) a photo that I took yesterday of the lunch that my friend Colleen brought me. It was positively delicious! Just what I needed, an assortment of colorful vegetables and a black bean dish. The vegetables were small, sweet Brussels sprouts, carrots, kale, cauliflower.She also brought along her favorite green drink!
A new friend came by later yesterday afternoon to purchase a copy of my book as a gift for her friend. She loaned me a copy of a DVD of Louise L. Hay's You Can Heal Your Life, the movie, expanded version, with featured appearances by the likes of Wayne W. Dyer; Cheryl Richardson; Candace B. Pert, Ph.D.; Mona Lisa Schulz, M.D., Ph.D.; and Christine Northrup, M.D., to name a few (many of whose books I've read and recommend!). (And, Dr. Northrup wrote a blurb for my book Becoming Whole, The Story of My Complete Recovery From Breast Cancer ).
I know there has been a lot of controversy lately about being positive when you are healing from an illness. How do I weigh in on this? Personally, I feel that it is important to have hope and surround yourself with positive people. Although I don't think that I could have only positived my way to good health and not changed what I ate. If I hadn't changed my way of eating, an important piece of the cancer "puzzle," I'm positive that I would not be here today, alive and cancer-free. I believe in cause and effect as seen in The China Study.
That said, I'm certain that being able to let go of the fear of an advanced cancer diagnosis by focusing on what I could do and taking positive action had some sort of positive effect on my immune system, or my state of well-being. When you're told that you are going to die, it's very stressful. It's proven that stress affects the immune system and its ability to fight off cancer cells. But, by changing what I ate and living my life fully in spite of a cancer diagnosis and letting go of the outcome (and the fear), I made some positive changes in my life.
I believe healing is a multipronged approach. Is being negative or not looking on the bright side of life going to kill you? Probably not, but if it keeps you locked into your patterns of behavior that are no longer contributing to your health (like a high fat, low-fiber, high in junk food way of eating), or other destructive behaviors, then maybe so.
For me, being positive helped me stay with what I believed would help me — a way of eating based on organic whole grains, vegetables and beans. It had helped others, and I believed it would help me. And it did. Being negative helped, too ... in a way ... I was negative about putting anything into my body that wasn't health promoting. I also avoided negative people, depressing movies or books — anything that would bring me down. I wanted to feel good. Balanced.
After watching Louise Hay's DVD today, (which I loved), I agree with all of her suggestions, really loving yourself and positive affirmations are only going to get you closer to positive actions. For me that was cooking the food my body needed to heal. Louise and some of the others in her video, like doctors Christiane Northrup, Mona Lisa Schulz and Candace Pert, talk about changing our vibration and how this has been scientifically proven. I think changing the food fits right in with all that they promote, because in macrobiotics it is taught that food is also vibration (along with air, water, exercise, spiritual practice & other forms of vibration).
Do I believe that changing your thoughts (or attitude) can change you life? You bet I do. The glass can be half-empty or half-full. I prefer the latter. I believe that we have to focus on what is right with us, or good, and we can even change our misfortunes (or things we once considered bad) to the things we like about ourselves, with the shift of an attitude. And, I believe that changing your "food" can change your life. That's "food for thought."
What has helped you in your healing journey?
Almost three weeks down, and I'm feeling pretty good while recovering from a successful reconstructive surgery to my leg. My mother-in-law, Alice, came to stay with me this last week. One thing that I can say is that it sure helps to have a positive and upbeat person around, especially when you're convalescing. (Heck, it's great having positive people around ALL THE TIME!) It's wonderful. I consider myself to be a very lucky person.
I spent four days in the hospital before coming home. Each day a group of doctors from the pain team came into my room to check on me. With this sort of surgery the first four days are generally pretty painful. There was one doctor in that group that I saw on 2 of the four days. He told me how good I looked and how well I was doing compared to most people that have this surgery. I think he was sincere, because I felt I was doing well too, all things considered. I thanked him the second time because it was nice to hear that and his positivity definitely contributed to my well-being or peace of mind. I believe there is a LOT of power in this!
Speaking of positive people ... I was hoping to upload (I can't find the cord!) a photo that I took yesterday of the lunch that my friend Colleen brought me. It was positively delicious! Just what I needed, an assortment of colorful vegetables and a black bean dish. The vegetables were small, sweet Brussels sprouts, carrots, kale, cauliflower.She also brought along her favorite green drink!
A new friend came by later yesterday afternoon to purchase a copy of my book as a gift for her friend. She loaned me a copy of a DVD of Louise L. Hay's You Can Heal Your Life, the movie, expanded version, with featured appearances by the likes of Wayne W. Dyer; Cheryl Richardson; Candace B. Pert, Ph.D.; Mona Lisa Schulz, M.D., Ph.D.; and Christine Northrup, M.D., to name a few (many of whose books I've read and recommend!). (And, Dr. Northrup wrote a blurb for my book Becoming Whole, The Story of My Complete Recovery From Breast Cancer ).
I know there has been a lot of controversy lately about being positive when you are healing from an illness. How do I weigh in on this? Personally, I feel that it is important to have hope and surround yourself with positive people. Although I don't think that I could have only positived my way to good health and not changed what I ate. If I hadn't changed my way of eating, an important piece of the cancer "puzzle," I'm positive that I would not be here today, alive and cancer-free. I believe in cause and effect as seen in The China Study.
That said, I'm certain that being able to let go of the fear of an advanced cancer diagnosis by focusing on what I could do and taking positive action had some sort of positive effect on my immune system, or my state of well-being. When you're told that you are going to die, it's very stressful. It's proven that stress affects the immune system and its ability to fight off cancer cells. But, by changing what I ate and living my life fully in spite of a cancer diagnosis and letting go of the outcome (and the fear), I made some positive changes in my life.
I believe healing is a multipronged approach. Is being negative or not looking on the bright side of life going to kill you? Probably not, but if it keeps you locked into your patterns of behavior that are no longer contributing to your health (like a high fat, low-fiber, high in junk food way of eating), or other destructive behaviors, then maybe so.
For me, being positive helped me stay with what I believed would help me — a way of eating based on organic whole grains, vegetables and beans. It had helped others, and I believed it would help me. And it did. Being negative helped, too ... in a way ... I was negative about putting anything into my body that wasn't health promoting. I also avoided negative people, depressing movies or books — anything that would bring me down. I wanted to feel good. Balanced.
After watching Louise Hay's DVD today, (which I loved), I agree with all of her suggestions, really loving yourself and positive affirmations are only going to get you closer to positive actions. For me that was cooking the food my body needed to heal. Louise and some of the others in her video, like doctors Christiane Northrup, Mona Lisa Schulz and Candace Pert, talk about changing our vibration and how this has been scientifically proven. I think changing the food fits right in with all that they promote, because in macrobiotics it is taught that food is also vibration (along with air, water, exercise, spiritual practice & other forms of vibration).
Do I believe that changing your thoughts (or attitude) can change you life? You bet I do. The glass can be half-empty or half-full. I prefer the latter. I believe that we have to focus on what is right with us, or good, and we can even change our misfortunes (or things we once considered bad) to the things we like about ourselves, with the shift of an attitude. And, I believe that changing your "food" can change your life. That's "food for thought."
What has helped you in your healing journey?