PD Revelation

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.”

My current focus is on the first of the two core exercises described by JWH, specifically on the continuity of connection. I recently compared notes with a friend who is also following the JWH approach to recovery, and is in fact well into the stage of recovery symptoms. He helped me identify a key adjustment or addition I can make. I suspect it may provide a real boost to my practice! I'll likely have more to say about that in an upcoming post.

Might we look at our recovery as a process of replacing fear with love? I think so! And so these words from Ram Dass speak to us.

[Updated – 9/10/21; 12/18/21 added three more videos; 2/21/22 added another video]

I've touched before on the value I've found in working some self-administered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) into my time in the JWH protocol. I have used it mainly to help change thoughts that may be making me feel unsafe. I believe it's been a valuable adjunct to the protocol's two core exercises which, for their part, work by directly stimulating the parts of the brain that create a sense of safety. I've used mostly the CBT technique known as “cognitive restructuring”.

I've written before here about the benefits, within the JWH protocol, of promoting positive thinking. And, over time, I've become increasingly convinced of those benefits. In that spirit, I wanted to pass along this link to a simple, three-step technique for helping to build in more positive thinking.

Well, it didn't take too long to get back on track following my brief hospitalization. Having experienced streaks of pause turning off repeatedly from April through June, it seems it took about three weeks to process July's little speed bump sufficiently to enable the possibility of pause turning off again. And it did so last night. :)

Along the way I experimented with new and old ideas alike concerning what I needed to be doing to make the progress I was looking for. I'll post some of those details soon. For now I just wanted to post this, the first content I've ever posted here while being off pause. (Okay, it may not be quite the first. :–/ I don't recall whether or not I was actually off pause when I hit the “publish” button for this prior post.)

I've recently experienced what might seem a short-term obstacle to recovery. A bit longer term, though, I think it will actually hasten pause turning off in a lasting way.

What am I talking about? Well, something over a week ago I experienced a medical issue requiring prompt care. It landed me in the hospital for a couple of nights, was fully resolved with proper treatment, and now I'm back to my routine. (I'll skip the medical details here, as I don't want to distract from the tight focus I like to keep on the JWH protocol.) Needless to say, though, the experience has had an impact on my work in the protocol. Not surprisingly it caused a bit of a shake up in my sense of safety.