A Parkinson's recovery journey
A quick quote...
“After two and a half months, the day of parting came. I was very sad, but she said, '... I am the mother of the universe, who is everywhere....' With tears in my eyes I looked at her and she said, 'Be fearless. I am with you.'”
~ Swami Rama on his parting company with Mataji, from Living with the Himalayan Masters.
Here's a song, perhaps more a mantra, that sums up, in one repeating line, the gist of much of what we're doing in the JWH protocol. I found that listening to it one time through had me singing it to myself afterward, like a gentle “earworm,” one that you may actually welcome running continuously in your head.
The artist's upload of the video is restricted in some parts of the world. So I've embedded here an alternative version with the same audio. (Thanks L. for pointing the song out to me!)
So glad I discovered the JWH approach early on
I feel lucky to have come upon the pdrecovery.org website not long after I was diagnosed with PD. It meant I was able to get started with the protocol before the medical establishment, oblivious to pause mode, was able to badger me into starting on medication. Had I been on medication at the time I discovered the JWH approach, it would have made the whole process more challenging. I likely would have slowly weaned myself off the meds and commenced the protocol anyway, but that could have meant a large additional hurdle.
[Updated – 1/8/22]
I've occasionally come across people with idiopathic Parkinson's who recognize the validity of the JWH protocol, but who nevertheless feel some central aspect of the approach doesn't apply to them. Perhaps they aren't aware of feeling unsafe, so they conclude that, with its emphasis on developing feelings of safety, the protocol isn't for them. Or perhaps they don't relate to the idea of being on pause, and so choose to pursue other routes toward possible recovery.
I hope those folks find success with other approaches. My concern is that they may be passing up the highest percentage option available to them. That is, I suspect they would in fact have a good chance of recovery via the protocol. Why do I say that? It's because I think it's probably not at all unusual for people to start out not really relating to pause or the safety issues involved. And yet those people can go on to get real results from the protocol. I know that has been true in my case.
For readers interested in pursuing some self-administered CBT as an adjunct to their work in the protocol (see RFP, pp. 126, 236), I've added an update providing three additional videos to the September 9 post on CBT. I hope they help round out the information already provided. Enjoy!
Drawn from an email I sent to the support group...
Here's a thought I've lately been finding helpful to turn over in my mind.
It's safe to feel safe. In fact, it's even better than that! Chronically feeling unsafe keeps pause in place, which allows PD to progress. In that progression come the few medical risks that can develop with PD. Coming to feel safe allows pause to turn off and, as it stays off, essentially eliminates such risks. So it's not only safe to feel safe, it makes you even safer! 😁
A musical nod to healing and the fourth auxiliary exercise, meditation! Also... to shedding a bit of the PD personality to be more carefree :)
I regularly visit a small number of PD-related discussion groups and forums. There is always talk of findings thought possibly to point to the root cause of Parkinson's. I've seen discussion centered on various possible gut microbiome issues, fungus issues, virus links, a neuroticism link, and many more. Reports on these findings are put forward with fanfare, each time in the hope that the fundamental cause of PD has finally been found.
In a number of prior posts I've explored ways of improving the continuity of connection with my invisible Friend. See, for example, here and here. Always looking for ways to enhance the process, I've recently come back to this topic.
I talked it over with a friend who is also following the JWH approach to recovery and is now well into the stage of recovery symptoms :). He mentioned something that I realized might provide a boost in keeping the dialogue going, an area that has always been challenging for me.
In a prior post I quoted JWH in RFP (2020, pp. 362-363): “Although some people turn off pause immediately and lastingly following a mindshifting epiphany, most people with Parkinson’s recover slowly. They chip away at their old mental behaviors, slowly modifying their thought patterns until they notice recovery symptoms occurring.”