December 31, 2004
The Experiment
I propose an experiment over the next year with myself as guinea-pig. It is to be an experiment in health and wellness in which I shall do all I can to assist my body/mind/spirit in it's (my) healing journey. Now, instead of making unattainable "resolution" or rules for myself that can only result in failure, I propose guidelines, trends to follow that should, if the experiment goes well, lead to more wellness.
I'd like to achieve wholeness by concentrating more of my efforts on the following:
*Positive Reading - engaging my mind more fully in the discipline of reading and concentration, feeding my mind/spirit with nourishing thoughts and perspectives.
*More accesss to humor in the form of movies, books and recordings.
*Re-expose myself to music, listen more to music I enjoy.
*Regular intensive exercise 3 or 4 times a week.
*Respecting my body by eating better. Less sugar and fat and more fiber and whole foods.
*Less time spent online and more time spent actually engaging life.
The purpose of the experiment is to discover mind/body connections and to see if the mind/body connection can truly assist in wholeness and healing.
We have already started excercising this week and have been to the gym 2x already. I'm not going to try to fool you into thinking it's not difficult, but it does feel tremendous to be "in my body", aware of the things that do work well in it, not focussed on what does not. I think this is, at least for me, a crucial link in the importance of exercise, it does show you, if you choose to focus on it, what DOES still function well. Too often I've allowed my illness to dictate to me what my body can and cannot do. With exercise I allow my mind and body to agree to focus on what remains, work with that, and strive to increase functioning.
I am thinking too that I have been far too passive in my physical caretaking. I found myself waiting for the doctor to say "Do this or that", and when a need wasn't being met I was staying quiet like a poor neglected soul. I feel like, and I hope the feeling remains, maybe writing it out will etch these realizations more indelibly, that I can pick up the reins of my own health finally. Maybe I am getting a little past the initial fear and shock and coming to a feeling of resolution with Parkinson's. I can accept I have it, but I don't have to take it passively, you know?
Maybe I'm just getting tired of just putting up with the dragon and feel it's time to put up a fight.
Posted by Lalo on December 31, 2004 4:02 PM