PLEASE NOTE: 

There are not a lot of things about which I am 100% sure, but self-healing is certainly one that I absolutely know for sure works. I am proof positive that self-healing is alive and well. I also know that:

I also know for sure that all healing must address the three facets that make up what and who we are. Those are:

MIND, BODY and SPIRIT

Our mind is the creative genius of the universe - the creative force behind everything that is. When we control our mind, the thoughts we think, we control all aspects of our life. Just how does that work?

The formula is:

        THOUGHT (our intention) creates an

                EMOTION which creates an

                        ATTITUDE, which creates

                                FEELINGS, which = THE RESULT

Notice how we have conscious control of the outcome through control of our intention, that is our thoughts. Intention is such a powerful healing tool. Actually it applies not only to healing but to how everything else in our life turns out. Whatever you wish to be, do or have in your life, just apply this formula. Still skeptical? That is OK. Being skeptical is healthy. But I challenge you to try it - just ACT AS IF . . . and you will be amazed at the results.  If you can imagine it, you can have it!

Many times we think we are positive, when actually the words we say belie our true feelings. I have a neighbor who tells everyone how positive she is, all the while sharing her "he/she done me wrong" stories, about everyone and everything. In seminars I teach guarding the gateway to our thoughts, because they are such powerful things.

MEDITATION:  If you truly want to heal your body and/or your life, learn the discipline of daily meditation. It is the gateway to your true, infinite nature and holds the key to the ultimate healing formula. It addresses all three aspects of who we are - mind, body and spirit.

Qi Gong also is a powerful healing tool, which also addresses all these three aspects. Anything that has worked for centuries, as does the ancient healing form of Tai Chi that we call Qi Gong, must certainly have much to teach us.

TIMELESS UNIVERSAL TRUTHS

"When you change the way you look at things,
the things you look at change"

"Control your attitude and you will control your life"

"Consciousness is a field of all possibilities
where intention orchestrates its own fulfillment"

Do you ever wonder why something I recommend so highly doesn't seem to be working for you? Here's a note I received the other day from a reader:

Dear Betty,

I was excited when I found you on the Internet, and I began following much of the program you recommend. But it doesn't seem to be working, and I am confused and disappointed. Can you help me with what I might be doing wrong? /s/ Rebecca

That's a very good question, Rebecca. Perhaps you are doing nothing wrong. Remember that when one wishes to know something, if you are going to get the correct answer, then you must ask the correct question. My guess is that "What am I doing wrong?" is not really what you are asking. Perhaps you should be asking, "Can you help me improve on my program?"

There are many factors involved - your attitude, your belief level, your intention, your commitment and determination. There are many variables in all these things. Often when I counsel people on the phone, and I can ask them in person about what they are doing, I find that in many of these areas they have challenges. Sometimes there is a neurologist or family member who is pushing them to take the often recommended MS drugs. Sometimes they are pressured by family members, and those challenges make it very difficult to ignore the "nay sayers." It is difficult many times to go against the advice of those we have been taught to respect.

I suggest you go back and re-read Four Steps to Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis and really let the words "speak" to you. I truly do believe that it takes a commitment to all the various aspects of self-healing. I so often hear people say something like, "I am doing well following your recommendations about diet, and I am at least partially successful with exercise, but I don't know about meditation - I don't seem to get it."

I truly do know what you are experiencing. I shall never forget when I was newly diagnosed and I spent a week at the Deepak Chopra Center for Mind Body Medicine in the resident program they had at that time. It was held at a hotel in Del Mar near San Diego. The day I checked in the director of the program greeted me and went over our schedule for the week. He began by telling me that we would have three meditation periods every day - two group meditations, each morning follow breakfast, and in the evening before dinner, and one alone in our rooms to practice what we were learning.

I told him that I hated to disappoint him but that I could not do meditation, that I had tried many times and "failed." He just smiled and our conversation went something like this:  He said, "don't worry. You will do fine." I replied, "You didn't understand; you didn't hear me. I cannot do that! He again smiled and said, "Oh I get it, but I assure you that you will learn before the week is over."

Well, you guessed it - before the week was over I not only "got it," I had developed a life-long commitment and belief in meditation as a healing and life-changing practice. Not only had I learned to meditate, I had also been introduced to Qi Gong and gentle Yoga stretches.  In retrospect I realize I had laid the foundation for much of what I know about healing today.

And please do not underestimate the importance of exercise . . . gentle stretching combined with deep breathing is an essential healing tool. It was shortly after my week at the Chopra Center that I discovered Mark Johnson's Tai Chi/Qi Gong for Seniors program, and it became a part of my daily routine. Every morning before going to work I would do half an hour of meditation, followed by the Qi Gong exercise section of Mark's program. It meant getting up earlier in order to fit it all in, but I quickly realized that starting each day with my meditation and exercise ritual made a profound difference in the rest of my day. A year or so later I found the Yoga for MS program while reading a Yoga Journal article about Shoosh Crotzer who developed that program.

I hope this is helpful to you, Rebecca. Please don't hesitate to write to me with your questions and concerns. Remember that when you purchased the Four Steps e-book you acquired me as a coach. I give great pep talks!

  Bon Appétit - Healthy Food Tips and Recipes 

ARUGULA SALAD WITH SIMPLE DRESSING
Serves 2 as an entrée, 4 as a side salad

This beautiful, colorful salad is the world's perfect dish. Because arugula is so flavorful, it only needs a simple dressing. If you don't care for the tart flavor of arugula, then use any leafy greens you love. Always lightly salt your salad greens first.

NOTES:

(1) You may use frozen whole kernel corn that has been thawed.
(2) For a main dish salad, add slices of cold or warm chicken breast on top of salad.

Arrange lightly salted arugula on a platter. Sprinkle the corn on top, then arrange the avocado pieces and tomatoes over the corn. Season with pepper as desired and drizzle the Simple Dressing below over the salad. Garnish with basil.

Simple Dressing

This recipe looks too simple, but some of the best recipes are amazingly simple. You will love this light dressing.

        juice from 1 small lemon
        2 T extra-virgin olive oil
        salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl and taste. If the dressing is too acidic for you, add a drizzle of honey. (Tip: You may substitute lime juice for the lemon.)

WHOLE FOODS VS. SUPPLEMENTS

Whole foods are your best sources of vitamins and minerals. They offer three main benefits over dietary supplements:

■ Greater nutrition. Whole foods are complex, containing a variety of the micronutrients your body needs — not just one. An orange, for example, provides vitamin C plus some beta carotene, calcium and other nutrients. A vitamin C supplement lacks these other micronutrients.

■ Essential fiber. Whole foods provide dietary fiber. Fiber, as part of a healthy diet, can help prevent certain diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and it also helps eliminate constipation.

■ Protective substances. Whole foods contain other substances recognized as important for good health. Fruits and vegetables, for example, contain naturally occurring food substances called phyto-nutrients, which may help protect you against cancer, heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Many are also good sources of antioxidants — substances that slow down oxidation, a natural process that leads to cell and tissue damage, as well as aging.

NUTRITION SHOPPING TIP:

Stock up on healthy, portable snacks. When you are grocery shopping, pick up bags of baby carrots, string cheese, nuts, fresh and dried fruit, single serving packs of applesauce, yogurt, wholegrain crackers, peanut butter, turkey jerky, etc. Having healthy portable snacks around will help you avoid the bad guys that find their way into our kitchen. (Remember to eliminate dairy if you are on Stage 2 of the Best Bet Diet.)

Dr. Marie Savard's Secret Morning Mix High-Fiber Granola
Cook Time: 30-60 min

Ingredients:

        old fashion uncooked oats
        ground flaxseed
        ground wheat bran
        unsweetened coconut (optional)
        assorted seeds - raw pumpkin, sunflower and sesame
        almonds, pecans and/or walnuts, slivered or sliced
        1/2 c. of canola oil
        1/2 c. of natural peanut butter
        splash of water
        1/4 c. of honey and 1 T cinnamon
        dried fruit (cherries, raisins, figs and/or blueberries)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Spread oats in one or two baking sheets/roasting pans with sides. Dr. Savard says, "I make extra to freeze in zip lock bags. I never measure but suggest you use enough oats to generously cover the bottom of the pan. Add plenty of flax seed, wheat bran, seeds, nuts and coconut if desired. I never measure the amount and therefore use whatever I like best and have available."

Mix together canola oil, peanut butter, water, honey and cinnamon in a 2-cup glass measuring cup and heat at 50 percent power in the microwave for approximately two minutes (the peanut butter stays pretty lumpy). You can also heat the mixture slowly in a pan.

Stir into dry ingredients.

Bake at 325 for 20-30 minutes or so, stirring once or twice. Remove when "toasted" to a nice light brown color. On occasion I turn up the temperature to 350 degrees to toast more quickly.

When granola is baked and cooled, add some of your favorite dried fruit such as dried cherries, raisins, figs and blueberries!

This granola is a great gift for family and friends. Cool well before placing in freezer bags and storing in the freezer.

NOTE FROM BETTY: This recipe is exactly as Dr. Savard gave it.  I mixed everything except the dried fruit in a huge bowl, then spread it on my roasting pans, then after roasting for about half an hour (as noted above), I let it cool, then added dried fruit. This makes an "out o' sight" breakfast either by itself or over plain yogurt.

Gary Prichard from Hershey, PA, a long time follower of Journey to Wellness, has over the years communicated with me. As he has battled with severe MS disability, I have often thought that he is probably his own worst enemy - and I think he would probably agree with me. Actually he has a tendency to always put everyone else's needs ahead of his own.  A few weeks ago he sent me an "article" for the newsletter. Unfortunately it is too long and some of it I do not deem appropriate to include here. However, Gary offers some excellent insights and I'd like to include some of them.

Somehow deep inside Gary he knows that exercise holds an important key in his own search for wellness. He had regained much of his functionality in the past, not only once but twice, only to lose it again due to stressful situations that caused him to "fall off the exercise wagon" as it were. He then found himself having to start his program totally over. Because of his overwhelming fatigue, Gary has come up with an approach to exercise that he calls "Easy-by-Slow." Here is a quote from him:

"Do you want to feel and do better? Then easy-by-slow. Have you failed with exercise before? Then easy-by-slow!. Do you want your life back? Easy-by-slow can regain years of capability for you, and do much more. Easy-by-slow is an approach to exercising rather than an exercise program as such. You choose exercise that is suitable to and enjoyable for you."  Gary emphasizes that progress is possible, even if slow. 

I have often written about the great book The Healer Within by Chinese Medical Doctor Roger Jahnke. It is the perfect example of what Gary describes. This book is the bible of very simple, easy Qi Gong movements and breathing exercises, all of which may be done lying in bed, seated in a chair, or standing. And all are illustrated in the book. Gary goes on:

". . . Some of you might consider your activity during a normal day as exercise, and in a quite limited way that might be true, but generally "exercise" is something structured and extra . . . [think of] exercise as something to balance you and improve your functionality, though it also does many other good things for you. . . . The most important two factors about exercise may be that you do something that's appropriate to you, and that you do it consistently."

Gary offers an excellent suggestion in that he selected one very simple Qi Gong movement from a DVD program he has and for 12 months he just did that one exercise for about 2-1/2 minutes, gradually increasing it to two times each day. Now he is ready to select a second movement to increase his program.

Thank you Gary for sharing your story. With your determination I'm sure you will be back on top of your wellness game soon. Do let us know how you are doing.

   

I recently had an interesting e-mail exchange with reader Kevin S.  He had ordered Four Steps to Overcoming MS, and his questions were follow-ups.  I asked him for permission to share them with you, because his questions and concerns are so universal. I know there is some duplication with other material in this newsletter, but they bare repeating:

Hi Betty, I just purchased your eBook. I'm very excited to reap the benefits by following it religiously! Just one question I was curious about. How long did you continue to work after being diagnosed? I'm 45, and am hopeful that through following 'four steps' I can continue to have a fulfilling career.

It took 2-3 years for my diagnosis, and I was hardly able to work before they finally made the diagnosis. I was finding it difficult at that time to work all day (I was a marketing executive), so I took a leave of absence for six months, and by then my neuro insisted that I go on disability. I was 59 years old at that time.

I lived in San Diego, but after about five years my son (an attorney in Sacramento), persuaded me to sell my home and move to the Sacramento area to spend my retirement years near him. About 6-8 months after getting settled into my new home, I told my son that I was bored, and to make a long story very short, I ended up doing the accounting for the law firm for whom he was the managing partner. It was supposed to be a temporary assignment while they replaced someone who left very suddenly, but it turned out to be a five-year three day a week job! I loved it and continued to work until I was 71 years old. If I hadn't lost my son to lung cancer three years ago, I'm sure I'd still be working. I am now 73.

So, the answer to your question is, you most surely can continue to have a fulfilling career. You just have to make up your mind that you'll be committed to lifestyle changes. I really believe - from the vantage point of having reversed my MS and being symptom free today, that the two most important aspects of the program I recommend are daily gentle stretching exercise, combined with coordinated breath work, and meditation.

Hi Betty,

I've been on the Best Bet Diet now for probably seven weeks. I haven't noticed much difference in my symptoms, albeit probably no signs of worsening either. Out of curiosity, did it take awhile before you began to notice improvements in your symptoms? Not that anything is guaranteed for me. Let me know, thanks.

Hello Kevin. I think I was probably on my program for about a year before I noticed much difference. If you are just staying even you are really winning the game already! For me improvements were very, VERY gradual. It was just sort of that I would suddenly one day realize that there was some improvement in one area (like maybe less fatigue, which was I think the first improvement I noticed). All those a-ha's were very gradual.

If you will really get into the meditation, it will change your life on many levels. Just keep keeping on!

Thanks Betty. Great insight. Primarily doing BBD with only a small mixture of meditation. Tough to incorporate all at once, but most certainly want to involve meditation and QiGong more thoroughly as I move forward on my lifestyle changes.

Did you ever do medication and then avoid after a period of time? Or were you successful in steering clear? from the beginning? They can be tempting as a quick fix, but I know the real solution is your program.

Hello again Kevin. To answer your question, first I have not taken any meds at all . . . in fact I don't take meds for anything! I stopped taking meds about 25 years ago, and many off-and-on physical problems I had (like chronic bronchitis, etc.) all went away. Right now I can't even remember the last time I was sick with even a cold. I think dollars are much better spent on healthy foods than meds and even most supplements.

Frequent deep breathing several times during our day, and the fuel (food) we put into our bodies, are also very important. I cannot overemphasize how important it is to get the "white stuff" out of our diet; that is, white flour and anything made with it, processed sugars (white or brown), white rice, etc. If we just do that much, we will really help our body to heal. All these foods are nutritionally depleted non-foods. (The only exception to that rule is if we have food allergies or sensitivities, which should of course also be removed). Allergies are another way that our body talks to us saying, "I can't handle that!"

When we add a foundation of an "I CAN DO IT" attitude, we can all be winners.

I absolutely do not believe anyone can prevent
the tendency of MS to progress without a
consistent gentle stretching and deep breathing exercise program