Health and Healing

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A Way to Handle Pain
We can suffer hurt in many different ways. Your hurt may be physical or emotional hurt. Examples of physical hurt could be 1. The hurt suffered in a motor vehicle accident 2. The hurt suffered in the final stages of cancer 3. The hurt of toothache, headache and migraine Some of the circumstances in which we can be emotionally hurt are as follows:' 1. As the aftermath of the trauma suffered in war 2. The hurt following the death of a loved one 3. The hurt you can feel on missing out on that important job application you made 4. The hurt you feel when you are terminated from a position or made redundant 5. The hurt you can feel when an important business project you were pursuing collapses 6. The hurt you can feel in a divorce or when an important relationship breaks up
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About Ageing
First let me apologise for not having a Mind Matters News to you for such a long time. We all battle ageing – whether it is ourselves, our parents or grand-parents. That’s life! We are no longer invincible and as the years creep up on us sometimes we face unexpected health challenges.
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Addictions and Me by Mel Daniels
Mel from Canada contacted me to see if I might be interested in her article on addiction, after she had found and perused my website. When I read it I saw great value in it. The headings within the article are completely my additions – other than that, all the writing is Mel’s.
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Control Pain
There is now scientific proof that we have the potential to use our mind to control physical pain.
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Controlling Migraines
Chronic headaches and/or migraines can be for some people one of the most debilitating illness to experience.
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How To Fix Addictions
This Mind Matters News is about an attempt to help provide a solution to gaining a good procedure to change any addiction. It will be more than that! This Mind Matters News is a blueprint to achieve change. We need to use effective self talk in the meditation state, along with visualisation and emotion. This, when done constantly - every day for a month, will wire together a new neural pathway so that the new habit is firmly into your subconscious mind, having dropped the previous habit or addiction - "cells that don't fire together will drop away".
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How To Work With Assisting Healing
In the "How To" section of my website there is a guide on Healing which I really want to bring to your attention. I thought the best way I can do that is to reproduce it here as a Mind Matters News. If you have done the seminar then you will recognise the "Building of Your Peaceful Place" and the 22 minute film extract of "Debbie Frank Oggs Story" - both repeated here and both free. Enjoy and send on to others who you know are struggling with their health - it might be useful.
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Improved Health
There is now scientific proof that we have the potential to use our mind to heal ourselves!
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Is It Brain Overload?
Ever feel as though your head is about to burst with information overload. Your poor, tired, overworked brain needs some help.
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Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis
When I was doing a seminar at Mt Gambier in South Australia I had the good fortune to meet a remarkable young lady, Debbie Leahy, who told me of her success in her battle with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). We spoke about Guided Imagery and the methods espoused by psycho-neuro-immunologists whereby, with our minds, we can increase our T4 cell count (the fighting cell) by picturing and imagining the increase of our white cell count overcoming the red cells in the source area of any illness. (Say for example, a cancer in a particular part of our body or an inoperable tumour in our head). What Debbie told me is that the reverse of the above is done when working with RA. That is, picture and imagine that the white cells are "backing off" areas of RA. This is so important that I asked Debbie to tell me more. I now bring you Debbie's exchange of emails with me. Thank you Debbie - there is a book in your journey.
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Meditation and the Mind-Body Connection
Most people have heard of some medical people extolling the virtues of meditation to assist with healing and health. I have previously mentioned Dr Bernie Segal in the USA who facilitates meditation groups as an adjunct to help people heal themselves of cancer and has written several books. Of course there are no guarantees in life …
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Overcoming Cancer
Many people diagnosed with cancer get well again. Those who have written about their journey to full recovery include Louise Hay (vaginal cancer), Petrea King (leukemia) and Ian Gawler (bone cancer).
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The Elixir of Youth and Slowing Ageing
Elizabeth Blackburn's work. I was fascinated by Dr Elizabeth Blackburn’s work (and the work of her colleagues) and spent nearly 14 hours researching it. I am currently doing the 5/2 fast to potentially feel better. Fasting (which is not done for the purpose of weight release although that may occur), may induce a state of stress on the body causing the brain to release proteins that help stimulate the growth of neurons. It may reduce the rate of destruction of telomeres – read this Mind Matters News to find out more.
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Thoughts on Overcoming Addictions
There are many addictions in life that create a great challenge for many of us - such as eating, smoking, caffeine, sex, alcohol, drugs chocolate and more and yet if we really want to do something about them we can - but ....... what can we do?
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What We Can Do Towards Healing
Recently when I was reading a book about the mind ("Your Mind and How to Use It" by W.J. Ennever) I came across the following "experiment" done with a man who was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. The man was hypnotized and the suggestion was made that his arm was being touched with a red-hot iron and that a blister would form. The doctor conducting the "experiment" actually touched him with his finger. The arm was securely bandaged and six hours later when the bandage was removed a blister had formed on the spot that the doctor had touched - it had the exact appearance of a blister produced by heat. Subsequently another part of the experiment was conducted whereby during hypnosis the patient's arm was touched with a red-hot rod and the suggestion was given that there would be no pain. "There was no pain either then or afterwards and there was also no blistering. More detail of this experiment can be found in a volume entitled 'Enquiry Into the Unknown' by C.C. Seligman, M.D., FRS." (Quote from W.J. Ennever's book).
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Why Are Addictions So Tough To Change?
Everything that is consistent in our life will define us because it becomes neurologically wired. When it's neurologically wired (with repetition and emotion), then whatever is consistent is part of us, indeed it is a habit and the habit reaffirms who we are - "our personality". The subconscious mind, that 88% of the mind, deals with all our habits, memory, self image and our personality.
How can I deal with the challenge of anorexia?

How can I deal with the challenge of anorexia

Although I am not a medical person, from my observations and (limited) experience I understand that self esteem can be a major component of anorexia and perhaps not coming to terms with "growing up" and being responsible for one's own life.  There is a very real need to develop new habits. There is a psychological element to this disorder - and there is certainly hope for complete recovery.

When facing any adversity, I believe that it is extremely important to talk about it with an understanding and knowledgeable counsellor.

It may be difficult for someone suffering from anorexia to realise that their eating habits are not "normal" and they may have a distorted view of what is a "normal" body image.  What I believe is that when you recognise a life challenge, or issue, then you're 50% of the way through the challenge.  The next 25% is saying - Yes, I want to do something about it.  The remaining 25% is doing it - that's what my methods help with - and to be more specific about this, it is important to use a goal, with visualisation to help re-establish a healthy, sensible eating regime.  In addition, a goal of body image would be important - to visualise your beautiful self wearing a lovely size 12 dress (instead of size 8).

Recently I happened to be listening to ABC Radio National Health Matters program and heard Dr. Norman Swan interviewing Dr Per Soedersten from Sweden on the topic of Anorexia and Bulimia. 

Dr Per Soedersten goes back to basics, throws out psychiatric theory, stops drugs and reckons these disorders are explained by progressive starvation and the profound changes to hormones in the brain which results from this starvation. His therapy is just about the only treatment for anorexia proven to work in a scientific trial. Dr Soedersten, a researcher and clinician, is Professor of Behavioural Neuro-Endocrinology at the Karolinska Institute, Novum, S-141 57 Huddinge, Sweden 

Dr Soedersten has amazing success results with the rate of remission being 75%, and that's full remission. Out of the 25% who do not go into full remission, half of those go into partial remission. About 10% or 12% do not get better. The risk of relapse is 7%.

In his treatment, Dr Soedersten does not use any medication at all because he believes the usual drugs prescribed simply do not work. In fact he believes that the main anti-depressants prescribed (eg. Prozac) make the condition worse, by producing the very hormone or chemical transmitter that inhibits eating (ie. Serotonin, which is prescribed for obese people to lose weight!).

Patients come in to the Institute for one-and-a-half days, for a very careful clinical examination, and are then divided on the basis of the severity of their disorder. About 30% are treated as in-patients for an on-average 25 days, and the others are treated as out-patients. The treatment consists of four things: training of eating using a computer-scale; warming up in warm rooms; slowing down the physical activity which is very important. The fourth thing is to restore social life and for that there is a range of support such as teachers, hairdressers, dentists and housing officers. 

It was a patient who suggested to Dr Soedersten to use a computer scale, because she said 'I don't know how to eat, I don't know how to feel when I have had sufficient.' So, to train them to eat, a patient is asked to estimate their level of when their appetite is satisfied and they have had enough to eat. The computer scale is used and the bar is gradually raised.
 

I am currently using meditation and deep relaxation and feel I could do more to heal myself. Can you tell me more about the 'healing tape' and how to get it?

I am currently using meditation and deep relaxation and feel I could do more to heal myself. Can you tell me more about the 'healing tape' and how to get it?

The Tape or CD  PP4 - Healing Yourself is a meditation where I speak over the music created by Ken Davis - "Our World" from "Pan Flutes with Nature". Using guided imagery and your own visualisation you work towards dealing with an illness by directing your mind and activating your own immune system. And of course this technique is to be used in combination with others including having faith in your doctor, your treatment, yourself and your spiritual faith - whatever is true for you.

You can contact CALM Pty Ltd to get the tape ($20 + $4 for P&P) or the CD ($25 + $4 for P&P) or by using a credit card you can order via the Internet.

I am particularly interested in anything that might help my 13 year old son who was diagnosed with ADHD

I am particularly interested in anything that might help my 13 year old son who was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 7. He was put on Ritalin which really helped with his concentration and self control. Earlier this year we took him off Ritalin because he seemed to have improved so much but unfortunately this has resulted in him having major problems with his learning. He just can't concentrate long enough to learn things like multiplication, long division and all those things he will need when he moves up a Grade next year. The Ritalin certainly helped him with his school work but none of us want him to go back on it again. Do you have a book, seminar, course etc which might help him learn more effectively? 

I can understand the challenge for you, your son and your family and I can also understand that you do not want him to continue on Ritalin. Interestingly enough though, just recently I heard a doctor in the field of ADHD speaking on ABC radio who said that if Ritalin does help a child to concentrate in his study then it is probably needed - he also said that one can come off Ritalin later in life (after completion of studies).

Is your son at a supportive school (and will it be supportive next year)? It is important to shop around for a supportive school - some schools and teachers are much better than others.

If possible, make it as enjoyable as possible for your son to attend school (does he enjoy it?). Is he doing any extra curricular activities that he really enjoys and looks forward to? And it's always good to focus on and praise the things that he's really good at. The ability to relax and release stress - especially for a 13-year old with ADHD - is a very helpful "tool" in study and coping skills. You could work through the techniques outlined in "Students Steps To Success", with your son (13 is sometimes still a little young to do it on his own) - and this will be very helpful, especially the "Peaceful Place" technique, Goals and Self Esteem.

Your son is old enough to understand goal-setting and to work with that concept. You will find information about this in "Students Steps To Success" which works with using both sides of the brain, relaxation, goals, self esteem and mind charting. All of these skills can be taught to children by parents and may offer some additional ideas to use with your son. On my website there are a couple of chapters of some of my books available for reading (unfortunately not "Students Steps To Success" however my book "Piece of Mind" is similar). Most of my books (and sometimes tapes) are available in local libraries and if they're not then quite often libraries will order in items for people asking. 

There are a couple of tapes (or CDs) that complement this book - The Students Steps to Success Audio Pack (tape or CD double) which includes PP2 - Guided Imagery, PP10 - Self Worth and Confidence and PP11-Achieving in Exams and Effective Study. You can read brief descriptions of these at my website. Once again, the content of the meditation is suitable for younger or less mature children when modified (mainly shortened) by the parents. 

If you attend the CALM Life Skills Seminar then you will learn the skills at the seminar, in an experiential way, and be able to pass them on to your son. I do conduct some Student's Seminars in schools and I recognise that students do not think that it is "cool" to attend. To overcome this I have filmed the seminar and reproduced it on Video which, together with a workbook, will replace the seminar.

I recently attended your CALM Life Skills Seminar and bought the book

I recently attended your CALM Life Skills Seminar and bought the book "Students Steps To Success". My 11 yr old ADHD son has difficulty in making friends and thus finds himself becoming the "class clown" to attract attention. He is fine with one kid at a time but in a group he demands attention and puts people off. Other children reject, bully and humiliate him in these circumstances and he now has a belief system that he is unlikeable and will be isolated for the rest of his life. Can he have a goal about friends?

Regarding your son having a goal about having friends - it's a good goal and yes of course it does depend on other people being willing to be a friend. Remember the statement: "You put out for what you want". In other words, if you want more love in your life ... you give out love (in the face of difficulty - which of course can be challenging). In your son's case, he is going to need to hold the focus in the goal of having a couple of friends and at the same time he will need to be very friendly. Use what he is good at, that is "he is fine with one kid at a time" - expand this to include two and three friends - the visualisation process is good to use. This means he will need to do everything that a good friend does. Have a chat to him about this and see if you can reason with him about the demanding behaviour that at the moment he does exhibit. Teach him about goals, visualisation and positive self talk. All of this is in the book you bought "Students Steps To Success". There are no guarantees in life, but we do the best that we can do.

I'm having hard time setting my goals. My husband is now diagnosed with cancer.

I'm having hard time setting my goals. My husband is now diagnosed with cancer. Before this happened my goals were letting go anger, releasing weight and forgetting about pain in my broken leg. Now, I can't set my goal to be healing from cancer because I'm not the one suffering from cancer. I wonder if making my goal as self discipline or self control or something like that is valuable? Maybe in this way I won't fall apart emotionally as I'm going through the situation I have now. But I wonder if they are not specific enough to have as a goal....What I'm doing right now is meditation to help with stress in my confused state. Could you please advise me what to do?

The first thing is to look after yourself so that you can help your husband. This means that you must be totally relaxed, focused, positive, confident and supportive. You cannot do your husband's goals for him. Much as you want him to get better, he is the one that has to do "the work". All you can do is support, encourage and be really positive about his recovery. So I'll address your goals first.

The Meditation - PP3 - Relasing Hurt, will address the pain in your leg. The Meditation PP9 - Letting Go Anger, will address the anger issue. I would tend to not concentrate on weight release right now - do this later. By doing these 2 tapes (or CDs) on alternate days, you will also address relaxation and help with the anxiety in your life. This will also help with being emotionally strong and stable. One goal for you to work on as outlined in the book "Piece of Mind" could be ... "I am a positive, confident, stable person, supporting my husband effectively." And then of course you would be visualising all the situations that you find yourself in - being able to show confidence, stability, strength, etc...

Now, as to your husband. Get him to read "Piece of Mind" first and understand it. Get him to go to my website and read the paper on healing, which includes some testimonials. The link is: http://www.calm.com.au/pages/02cancer.shtml 

The next step is for him to read the book "Switch On to Your Inner Strength" which covers the topic of cancer and what you can do with your mind. And then get the tape (or CD) PP4 - Healing Yourself. This one should be done at least twice a day.

You could start investigating other material in this area, particularly by Dr. Bernie Siegel - "Love, Medicine & Miracles", "Peace, Love & Healing", etc... 

It is important to get onto a good diet and probably some immune-strengthening supplementation. He should be under a good, supportive doctor who indeed also supports and monitors him in doing every alternative therapy that he can. The main thing is that hope can heal - hope is a "live" message (hopelessness is a "die" message). So being very positive about the illness and looking at it as being like a "Re-set button" - another challenge in life (albeit a big one). All this is described in "Switch On to Your Inner Strength". I've also attached a Protocol (program for people with cancer to follow).

My mother has a cancerous growth where she had a hysterectomy 2 years ago.

My mother has a cancerous growth where she had a hysterectomy 2 years ago. She has had several courses of chemotherapy but the latest one has been unsuccessful in shrinking the growth and her negative state of mind does not help the situation. Her attitude is "it is still there and I'm dying", regardless of the fact that she is still alive and there is hope. My father died of cancer two and a half years ago and this plays on her mind to a large extent. Do you have any suggestions? Which one of your products do you think will assist us the most?

One of the things that you would really need to do, is to actually ask your Mother does she want to get better, or does she want to die. 

Attitude is an enormous component of recovery. Hope can heal. My book "Switch On to Your Inner Strength" is one that actually covers this area (as does my CALM Life Skills 2-day seminar.) In the book and at the seminar we actually discuss a true story about a lady who also had the attitude of "Nothing can be done" - she also had the thought of "runs in the family" because her mother died of cancer. Luckily, with help and support, she changed her mind and actually put her cancer into remission. Meditation has helped many people in their fight with cancer and I would also suggest my guided imagery tapes or CDs: PP3 - Releasing Hurt, PP4 - Healing Yourself & PP5 - Meditation (you can see brief descriptions of all of these on my website.) Dr. Bernie Siegal's books are also excellent - two that immediately come to mind are "Love, Medicine and Miracles" and "Peace, Love and Healing". Petrea King and Ian Gawler are people who have written books after healing their own cancer.

Has your mother taken a nutritional approach at all? I know of many people who have gone down this path with a very superior nutritional product which has produced great results.
 

My mother is very sick with cancer and I have had a recommendation to look at what you do. Could you please give me a brief summary of your philosophy before I take any action?

My mother is very sick with cancer and I have had a recommendation to look at what you do. Could you please give me a brief summary of your philosophy before I take any action?

The proven science of psycho-neuro-immunology is such that with meditation we can actually increase our T-4 (fighting) cells within our immune system. Sometimes this strengthening of our immune system can be sufficient to neutralise cancerous cells and thus put the cancer into remission. Of course, other than the physical causes of cancer, there are many other factors that can cause or contribute to cancer, for instance the increased stress that we have within the body, caused through negative emotions such as blame, guilt, anger, revenge, hatred, grief, mental self-abuse, and more. Indeed there is a cancer now known as stress-induced cancer. 

All of the things that we do in life, which can contribute to ill health, we can undo - specific meditations are one of the best ways towards this. Many doctors teach about this and I would recommend the books by Dr Bernie Siegal - being "Love, Medicine & Miracles", "Peace, Love and Healing" as being particularly useful. There are no iron-clad guarantees in life and not even the medical profession speaks of "cure" when they're dealing with cancer - they speak about "remission". There are many positive outcomes of healing from people using the methods that I espouse - including many successes of coming through cancer.

Many people are unaware that their own thinking is negative and that this negativity can contribute towards illness. Awareness here is the key - and it is 100% correct to say that one thing we do have control over is how we handle whatever happens to us in life. I certainly believe that many times people can get cancer and the end result can be death - I say that this means that it is their time to die. I also believe that many people who are given the "death sentence" of say six months to live, can increase their life span or indeed overturn this "sentence".

It is important of course to have the best medical attention available - and then to have faith in your doctor, yourself and your treatment. Spiritual faith is also very important for a lot of people. I think it is extremely important for people not to just entirely rely on what others can do for them but to take a pro-active role and be involved in their own healing. This includes that for any illness or disorder that one may have, learn about it and get to know all the "ins and outs" and "dos and dont's". Check out relevant websites and nutritional supplementation. Shop around for a good doctor - one whom you trust and who will support you - this is all important.

A lot more detail about this particular subject is in my book "Switch on to Your Inner Strength".

One of my family members has recently been diagnosed with schizophrenia. We're all feeling pretty out of our depth and were wondering if you have any comments to help us?

One of my family members has recently been diagnosed with schizophrenia. We're all feeling pretty out of our depth and were wondering if you have any comments to help us?

Not being a medical person, it is difficult for me to comment. There was a wonderful film produced, not that long ago, called "A Beautiful Mind" based on the book by Sylvia Nasar. It's a true story and I believe it has almost revolutionised thinking about schizophrenia, and certainly provides a lot of hope. Hope is a "live" message.

Meditation and relaxation techniques could be useful - certainly working with improving self esteem and positive self talk would be very helpful. I have had people who are suffering from schizophrenia attend my seminars after they have received clearance from their doctor that they can do meditation. In addition I received the following communication from somebody who has experienced schizophrenia, which is encouraging:

I have had four brief episodes with the illness and for each encounter I have made a full recovery back to normal health. People who meet me now would have no idea or any inclination about my past association with schizophrenia and those who do know me even find it hard to believe that I ever suffered from such an illness considering my present well-being. Although I rely on a small dose of medication to sustain "normal" regular health, I no longer have the symptoms of the illness. Many people take certain drugs to sustain normal health, even having regular exercise sustains normal health. Having overcome this illness, the most frustrating aspect I find is still being categorised and labelled as a schizophrenic by the doctors and psychiatrists in the field of mental illness. This is very inaccurate, and I will explain why. Health and harmony is the natural state to be. Illness and discord prevents us from keeping that natural state of being, and therefore any illness, no matter what that may be, is something we are not. If we are fortunate, we may suffer for a short duration and recover. If we are unfortunate, we may suffer for a long duration and may never recover, but no matter what length of time it is upon us, we are not that illness, because it is not the natural state of health. You never hear someone who is diagnosed with cancer being called "a cancer." They are addressed as "having cancer" or "suffering from cancer." Just as when we have a cold, you do not label someone as "a cold." They are addressed as "having a cold" or "suffering from a cold." Keeping this in mind, there are many other illnesses that we label and categorize people as. Take diabetes. It would be far more accurate to say, "they have diabetes" or "they suffer from diabetes", rather than to address them as "a diabetic." I have met many people who do and have suffered from schizophrenia, but never in all my life have I ever come across "a schizophrenic." This is an issue that needs to be addressed, because for those of us who have struggled with mental illness, and now lead normal lives; being categorised as a schizophrenic (as opposed to being labelled as a diabetic) can be very offensive and demoralising to who we truly are, for there is so much prejudice and negative stigma, as mental illness is an issue that is shunned and rejected by mainstream society. First and foremost we are a Human Being who may just be struggling with, or may even have overcome, a particular illness that prevents us from normal health. Either way, we are people of equal value, just like anyone else. 

Just recently I have written a book called, "Into The Light Again." I wrote the book to provide hope for those families and individuals still caught in the illness. It gives my personal suggestions from my own experience on how to overcome this horrible nightmare of the mind. These helpful suggestions can also be found on my website UNITY at www.freeman33.com .

One of the things I want to do is get rid of my migraines.

One of the things I want to do is get rid of my migraines. I know they are related to both stress and muscle tightness in my shoulders and neck (which in itself is stress related). Since doing your CALM Life Skills Seminar there is some improvement although I have still had several bad migraines. I do my PP on average about 15 times a day. Weekends are still a bit of a challenge with a different schedule, but I am starting to make a difference there. I have also tried the healing meditation you taught us, and while this has made some difference, I have not yet been able to remove the pain of the migraine completely. I had a migraine last Friday and then again on Sunday, and tried the healing meditation on both days. It did make some difference, but I had to resort to taking painkillers on Sunday to be able to keep going, and spent several hours in bed on Friday. Could you please pass on any suggestions you might have?

If your stress increases migraine, then what you can do is get rid of the stress. The best way to get rid of stress is to meditate for half an hour daily (going to PP will help - but deeper stress is released at the deeper Theta level achieved during meditation).

Do you feel a warning that you have a migraine coming on? If you do then it's good to at least have a warning signal because then you can start doing something about it. What do you do? I recommend that you learn PP3 - Pain Release Tape or CD so that you can basically do it in your mind in about 2 or 3 minutes. The only thing is, you will not be able to go down to the Theta level in this short time frame - that's OK. When you feel the signs of a migraine coming on, then immediately go to your PP and do the Pain Release meditation (PP3) - you can continue to do this as often as you wish. I think this will be more effective than doing PP4 - Healing Yourself.

What else have you done about your migraines? I know many people who have also taken alternative health treatments, including vitamin supplement therapy - perhaps you could consider this approach as well

Which would be the better state in which to control pain?

Which would be the better state in which to control pain

The Theta state is a better state to use for controlling pain, but it can also be done in the Alpha state. Care must be taken with use of language, because pain is a signal that something is wrong with our body; it is necessary to find out what causes that pain. It's the hurt that is in the pain that can be released.  My tape or CD PP3 - Releasing Hurt, is a meditation which goes for about 20 minutes.  This meditation takes us down into the Theta state where then the Guided Imagery steers us through releasing the hurt out through the top of the head, and then bringing in a healing colour to settle in and around the area of the pain.

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