Journey to Wholeness—by Jude LaClaire, Ph.D.
Psychic Steve MacDonald
Walk the Path to Healing We can use our pain — emotional or physical — as a catalyst to begin healing, not just curing. —Dr. Dean Ornish Illness gives rise to the resolve to attain the way. —Nichiren Daishonin, Buddhist Teacher
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r. Ornish, author of many books on health and healing says, “To me, ‘curing’ means only getting back to the way we were before we became diseased. ‘Healing’ is when we use our pain or illness as a catalyst to begin transforming our lives — healing our relationships, our hearts and our souls.” The journey that begins with discomfort, often agony, can be the opening of another chapter of greater joy, peace and depth of life. It is a choice one makes when faced with pain. Jane Fonda in her TED talk on “The Third Act of Life” talked about a remarkable man dealing with his illness. Neil Selinger was a well-known and successful attorney for 31 years when he retired at age 54, ready to follow his dreams. He volunteered, spent time with his family and pursued his long interest in writing by taking a class. He began writing a memoir of his childhood, which he had never had the time to do. At age 56 he was diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. His physical health began to deteriorate rapidly. He found himself changing from his very busy life to one that was quieter and much less active. He wrote, “My mind moves in slower motion as I watch the light and anticipate the simple joys that await me in the morning.” As his disease progressed he expressed his thoughts in an essay. “As my muscles weakened, my writing became stronger. As I slowly lost my speech, I gained my voice. As I diminished, I grew. As I lost so much, I finally started to find myself.” He died at age 57, having accomplished his dreams, publishing the book, A Sloan Product: A Memoir of a Lost Boy. Illness and pain does not always end in death. In fact, the challenge is to face the pain or illness and find a way to heal one’s self. Dr. Ornish’s distinction between curing and healing is a very important one. I surely have always wanted a cure when my physical pain or illness was interfering with my life. The surprise is that as one seeks the cure, healing may occur. As a therapist I work with people who have emotional pain like depression, anxiety, grief or relationship issues; but, I also see people who are looking for ways to reduce physical pain without
Chronic pain causes depression, stress and anxiety. Add that to the typical load of stress we all carry and the result is a heavy dose of both physical and emotional pain. The challenge is to find ways to be in the moment, learning to self-calm and shut down the pain signals long enough to allow the body to begin healing.
Discover the extraordinary talent of Steve MacDonald whose ability to predict the future has made national news. Steve is available for private readings by appointment.
816-359-2815
drugs. I use the Neurobehavioral Program developed by Dr. John Leonard to reduce pain, stress and negative emotions. I have often found that as people learn to lessen the physical pain, the emotional pain surfaces more intensely. Physical and emotional pain have no boundary and are inter-connected. Chronic pain causes depression, stress and anxiety. Add that to the typical load of stress we all carry and the result is a heavy dose of both physical and emotional pain. The challenge is to find ways to be in the moment, learning to self-calm and shut down the pain signals long enough to allow the body to begin healing. As one learns the process of calming and relaxing the body, the mind can be more alert and awake, focusing on that sense of inner quiet and peace. Neil Selinger discovered that as his disease made him physically stop, his mind and spirit began to awaken in new ways. He discovered the process of allowing the pain or the illness to give birth to new parts of himself. The pain or illness is our teacher as we move from curing to healing. Whatever challenges, you or those you care about, are experiencing, I hope that you can walk that path to healing, transforming your life in new ways. Jude LaClaire, Ph.D., LCPC, LCSW is a counselor, educator and author. For counseling appointments, seminars or training, speaking engagements or information on Neurobehavioral Programs and Imago Therapy call 913-322-5622. For more information about Jude LaClaire or the Kansas City Holistic Centre go to www.kcholistic.com or email jude@kcholistic.com .
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EVOLVING… A GUIDE FOR CONSCIOUS LIVING
5
July 2012