I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself.
Marlene Dietrich
Well, the last few days has been normal days for me. Normal is good because it means there are no developments of pain or other negative developments.
Some three weeks ago I met Debbie during lunch at Freddie's place and now she insists on visiting me. We actually had a firey exchange that day. This time round she used the pretext of wanting to learn jucing from me but I think her real motive is to help me to juice. She is also bringing a friend Janice along. I thought I only read it in other people's blog but now I have someone that I have just known for only a few weeks and wants to volunteer to help me out even just for a short while. That's really sweet.
Dr Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
CL wrote me an email and she asked if I had watch Dr Pausch's Last Lecture? Yes, I did sometime in 2008 and it was not only inspirational, he left behind a legacy called Entertainment Technology. So it was just another inspirational lecture soon to be forgotten for me at that time.
Now that she reminded me and since I now had cancer, would my views be different if I watch his Last Lecture at Youtube again?
He had dreams and he used unconventional methods to persue his passion that not only left a legacy at the University but also enabled the dreams of others. It's moving and his lessons were:
a) Have Fun,
b) Never Give Up, and
c) Look Into The Good of Others
He started saying he has some of the best doctors in the world. But what caught me now as I rewatch the video was that he casually joked about people with herbal supplements and remedies to stay away from him. Like the rest of the audience when I saw it in 2008, I too laughed. Now I see it differently. I see the doctors playing God. I felt he believed what his doctors said, he had only 3 to 6 months to live. We are told to get our affairs in order and then live the rest of the days like you never had.
Having cancer and now rewatching the same video, my thoughts are different from my pre-cancer days. Actually I am disturbed. My thoughts were why didnt this brilliant man use the same passion and unconventional methods to treat his own cancer?
Clinical Hypnosis
My hypnotherapist, Dr Chong has shared with me some information about the benefits of hypnosis and how it can help in cancer therapy. Well, what I did was to share verbatim with what she wrote to me for your reading pleasure.
Neuroscientists have known for some time that the limbic system is the emotional center of the brain. The limbic system includes the amygdale, a brain structure that is connected to FEAR and PLEASURE, the pineal gland, which monitors the hormone system and releases the powerful endorphins that, not only act as painkillers but also as anti-depressants. This indicates that there is a definite relationship between the mind, the endocrine system and the nervous systems.
This is the connection between how you feel and how you behave, between your emotions and physical state. "Discovered in 1975, endorphins are among the brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters, which function in the transmission of signals within the nervous system. At least 20 types of endorphins have been demonstrated in humans, and may be located in the pituitary gland, and other parts of the brain, or distributed throughout the nervous system". Excerpt: Your Guide to Stress Management, Melissa C. Stoppler, M.D.
"Since they were first discovered within the delicate, complex biochemistry of the human brain, endorphins have presented doctors, scientists with what may well prove to be revolutionary medical breakthroughs-for they may be the most powerful "natural" opiates known. They have been called the body’s "natural pain killers". At least one type of endorphin has proven itself to be more than 700 times as powerful as morphine. Experiments now under way to determine if they will, perhaps, be effective in the treatment of alcoholism, drug addiction, and other forms of substance abuse." Excerpt: Endorphins. New Waves in Brain Chemistry, Joel Davis, The Dial Press, New York. 1984
"Endorphins are the miracle hormones-found in everybody-that kill pain, provide the foundation for good health and create physical sensations of enjoyment. They are responsible for the euphoria of athletes and the pleasure of lovemaking." William Bloom, author of The Endorphin Effect.
During the hypnotic state of mind-altered state, trance - even if no specific suggestions for endorphin release are given- the body releases endorphins. Perhaps this is why almost all hypnosis clients seem pleasantly groggy and disoriented after the hypnosis sessions. Endorphin secretion prompts mental and physical relaxation, diminishes physical and emotional pain, and enables ideal functioning of immune system. This is one of the simplest reasons why I want all my clients to understand and do self hypnosis or guided imagery at least twice a day.
According to Melissa C. Stoppler, M.D. "In addition to decreased feelings of PAIN, secretion of endorphins leads to feelings of euphoria, modulation of appetite, release of sex hormones, and enhancement of the immune response. With high endorphin levels, we feel less pain and fewer negative effects of stress."
If you are doing self hypnosis exercises, you will be able to enter your mind’s "control room" and release your endorphins. I hope you remember this exercise; it is most beneficial for your inner peace. Endorphins are naturally released in the body to help negate any physical pain that occurs and also to diminish any negative effects of stress.
It is believed by some that people who experience frequent headaches, as well as people who experience other forms of chronic pain, may possess low levels of endorphins-or faulty endorphin (opiate) receptor sites.
Each part, or system, of your body, is listening and responding to your mental chatter, your every thought and feeling. "Without the feeling there is no hormone; without the hormone there is no feeling. The revolution we call mind-body medicine was based on this simple discovery: WHEREVER THOUGHT GOES, A CHEMICAL GOES WITH IT", writes Deepak Chopra in Ageless Body-Timeless Mind.
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