Category Archives: Thoughts and Parkinsons

Mind Versus Body

I have a holiday gift for you – a mind versus body poem. When symptoms are unrelenting it is easy to feel at odds with your body. It becomes a Mind Versus Body War. My poem was inspired by this understandable dichotomy between the “you” of the body and the “I”of the mind.

Body Talk
Robert Rodgers

Just as you twitch and flutter out of control
  So I too am lost and restless

Just as you freeze without warning
  So I too am stuck in a lifeless glob of concrete

Just as you talk in a silent whisper
  So I too think thoughts that are timid

Just as you soak my shirt with sweat and wet
  So I too am drenched with the tears of trauma

Just as you wear a mask on your face
  So I too mask my full power

Just as you swallow food with gargles and coughs
  So I too find my sorrow and grief hard to swallow

Just as you endure pain that never forgives
  So I too endure the relentless pain of heartache and regret

Just as you flop and flutter from one step to the next
  So I too rattle thoughts through my rusty hamster wheel

Just as you are tormented by confusion and forgetfulness
  So I too puzzle over what step to take next  

 Just as you collapse to the ground without a heads up
  So I too give up and give out with my head down

Just as you are numb to the pleasures of life
  So I too reject its deliciousness

There is you see only one solution
One road to recovery
One path to health
For you and for me  
We must become one you and I
For I am just like you.

© Robert Rodgers

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
www.parkinsonsrecovery.com
Olympia, Washington

P.S. For a little holiday entertainment read my most recent short story, The Old Geezer:   www.robertrodgers.com

 

 

Positive Energy is My Power Over Parkinson’s Disease

Positive energy is my power over Parkinson’s disease. Some times I want to give up, but when the tremor tries to take over I get the fight back in me.

A Doctor told me to give up my motor cycle. What did I do? I went out n bought a bigger one. Riding my Harley forces my mind to work harder. The tremor slows and my balance improves.

Think positive. I can do this. I have been fighting this for over 13 yrs. I can not  stop as long as there is hope.

Malcolm

What is the Key to Recovery?

What follows is an email I received from Linda, a reader of the Parkinsons Recovery newsletter where I post my current thinking about a key to recovery that is helpful for healing the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. In my most recent newsletter, I suggested it was helpful to simply forget about the fact you have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. As you will read below. Linda found that suggestion helpful.

If you have not already done so, sign up for my free newsletter by entering your email address on the newsletter form here on the website. After confirming you want to receive the newsletter in a subsequent email you will receive you will be placed on the list to receive future newsletters.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Pioneers of Recovery
http://www.pioneersofrecovery.com

Thank you so much for sharing this information with others. It will be very helpful, I am sure. In my case, and at this time in my life, and  with the kind of PD condition that I have, what you are saying is what I believe to be true as well.

Just forgetting about this condition, not giving it power, being as positive, and  getting on with my life works for me. And (touch wood) I am going into my 13th year, diagnosed in 1998 (some symptoms before that) of having symptoms of PD. I do realize that every PD case is different, and that my case may be quite simple compared to that of others. I can only report from where I am in this condition.

When I travel from BC to visit  family and friends in Ontario, they ask me how I am  doing with Parkinson’s. I just say I really do not give it much thought. And other than my most noticeable symptom, a tremor being obvious at times, some folks do not even ask.

A new couple who moved into my building six months ago, said that they heard that I had PD and if it were true? Here again I  could have  built a real sympathetic case around this situation, because they looked so sad when they asked me. However, I said, yes, I do have symptoms of PD but I am OK. Putting a positive spin on  my response helps me and also gives PD less power.

I just returned from my yearly visit to my neurologist at U of BC. He says that I am doing very well. He said to keep on doing whatever it is that I am doing, and did not prescribe any more drugs nor increase my dosages.

I take Axilect, the drug touted as “one that slows the progression of PD “. I also take 100 mg of Sinemet 5x a day, a surprisingly low dosage. So meds at this time are “helping” for sure.

My goal for the future, although a big one, is to heal myself of this condition. I have a good feeling about being successful in attaining this goal. I plan to follow the procedure or recipe  of those who have been successful in  doing so.

Until then, I will continue to be  active, lead a  healthy lifestyle, stay involved in life, keep a positive attitude and push faithfully forward to the day when I will  experience  complete recovery.

Thank you for passing on your very important message, about the Power and Results of being Positive, to your readers.

Linda

How to Manifest Recovery in 2012

Several weeks ago I sent out an invitation to persons who receive my free newsletter to do an exercise I have found personally powerful. The invitation was to jump ahead one year to January, 2013 and reflect back on everything you are grateful for. In other words, you set in motion the ability to manifest your dreams for 2012.

What follows is an email from Alan who has given permission to post here on the Parkinsons Recovery blog.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Pioneers of Recovery
http://www.pioneersofrecovery.com

Here is my list of gratitude for 2012. I accompany it with a story from Autobiography of a Yogi, a long-standing classic.

A student went to his teacher/guru, having become quite sick.

I see you have made yourself ill, said the teacher, but tomorrow you will feel better.”

Gladdened, the student went home and regained health. He returned to thank the teacher, who said,

“I see you have made yourself well. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?”

A wave of fear went through the student at the prospect of becoming ill again. He did become ill again and could hardly drag himself back to the teacher. Of course, the teacher said,

“You have again made yourself again indisposed.”

 The student, exhausted, asked the teacher what was going on.

“Really, it has been your thoughts that have alternatively made you feel weak and strong. You have seen how your health has exactly followed your subconscious expectations. Thought is a force, even as electricity or gravity.”

He then went on to explain that the mind is a spark of divine consciousness and that a thought, if believed intensely, would come to pass.  pp.133-4.

I could certainly use some work on the intensity of thought, but doing the exercise that Robert suggested has helped change my thinking. I listened to his broadcast many times to be sure I understood it. Then, I took some planned time and made my list of improvements as if looking back on them from 2013.

The next day, I found that I had planted those “subconscious expectations” mentioned above. For the past few weeks, that phrase “subconscious expectations” has been coming to mind. I wondered how I could set them up to be relieved of the symptoms of Parkinson’s. Without realizing it, this was the answer. Writing things out commits yourself to what you are writing. The next day. I kept thinking that change is possible and started acting as if it was happening.

The support for acting out change comes from within!! It is cool to see thought go to work for you. Everything will correspond. Of course, there is a battle between what is and what I can change. The nice thing is that the writing strongly plants new seeds in the mind of healthy thoughts because it is one of your actions–and it is free!

List of gratitude:

  • I restore full use of my left hand with flexibility and contractions are released.
  • My steady balance is restored.
  • I have excellent bladder control.
  • I regain and surpass the muscle mass that I have lost in the past few years.
  • I turn over spontaneously in bed while sleeping.
  • I live in a manner that improves my health, day by day.
  • As my symptoms disappear, my medications are reduced down to nothing.
  • Complete feeling returned to the left side of my body and face.
  • I advance in my career, personal growth, and wealth.
  • I easily chew and swallow all foods and liquids. Choking has ceased. I swallow saliva spontaneously.
  • I complete all tasks, intellectual and physical, easily with normal speed.
  • I walk efficiently with a normal gait and maintain a completely upright posture.
  • I lift and carry heavy items with ease.
  • I give positive encouragement to others.

It is necessary to have something in your mind besides devastation. I stayed positive and had faith in my first year and a half. I seemed to have spiritual healings but not so much physical ones. I was trying to defeat the “medical model”: it will progress.

That is all I knew and believed (from the Internet), and I did get worse in that time.  I found Parkinsons Recovery at this time of year in 2008-9. I soon committed myself to recovery, starting with vitamins. I’ve had to fight progression, and it has been challenging. What is truly better this year is my eye viewing the scenery, close or far.

I am spontaneous at noticing things.  My eyes flit about instead of stare, and I turn and notice things. Example: I heard some women laugh after a man spoke at the grocery checkout. I turned 180 degrees to see what that was. A tall man had just joked with three women who were facing him. I was surprised at my quick, turn around response. I have become more socially spontaneous, too.

Now,  I hope to get into bodybuilding again. Two years ago, I couldn’t find any thoughts to desire it at all, and it had been a passion of mine. Listening to the music of Johann Strauss has freed me up to start thinking about mobility again. I can picture the ballroom dancers seen on youtube when I hear or think of this music. Prior to this, I couldn’t picture any motion at all.

Now, I need to expand my visualization to other activity.  I used a study where one group exercised, one group imagined exercising, and another group did nothing. The second group improved, though not as much as the first. The third group made no improvement. This study told me that the mind will affect the body in regard to motion.

My biggest crisis this year was whether to go down in defeat or not. Howard Schifke said, if you fight Parkinson’s, it will fight you back. After that, I could see you can fight the whole thing–it may be fierce, but its fierceness does not have to beat you into a hole.

When you set up one therapy or practice you open up other possibilities of  healing. I am excited with the effects already of making this list of gratitude for recovery in 2012.

Alan

Does CoQ10 Really Slow Down Parkinson’s?

Does coq10 in large doses really slow down Parkinson’s?

Stephen

Response:

The framing of your question is fascinating. There is an implicit assumption behind the framing of your question that Parkinson’s disease is a race in a download direction. I fully realize that many people hold the belief that Parkinson’s is a degenerative disease – meaning
that anyone who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease is destined to deteriorate over time, with no hope of recovery.

The mission of Parkinsons Recovery is to provide compelling evidence from across the globe that the assumption Parkinson’s is “degenerative” is misguided and wrong. In support of this mission, I have been interviewing people for the past several years who have successfully reversed their own Parkinson’s symptoms. Stories of former guests on my radio show are featured contributors  in the book just released, Pioneers of Recovery. We are documenting more and more cases of recovery every week now.

There are many treatments and modalities of one form or another that help reverse the symptoms of Parkinson’s. Some supplements will help depending on the factors that are causing the symptoms. After all, a supplement is simply food for the body. You can feed your body with the nutrients it needs by eating healthy, live food or you can acquire the nutrition you need through supplements.

There is a controversy in the research studies concerning the use of CoQ10 to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s. I am about to launch a thorough analysis of the research evidence. At the outset, I suspect the difference in study outcomes (some studies report positive effects and others do not) is due to the type of Co-Q10 that is used.

Some people with Parkinson’s shop around for the lowest cost CoQ10 available. The cost differences are extreme. A search for the lowest cost is a terribly flawed strategy. You might as well be throwing your money into a bottomless well if you purchase and take a low cost form of Co-Q10.  There are only a few forms of this particular supplement that will pass through  the blood brain barrier.

For recommendations, I suggest you listen to my radio show with guest Laurie Mischley, ND who has extensive experience treating people with Parkinson’s and has specific recommendations about the brands of Co-Q10 that she has discovered have been helpful to her patients. I aired two shows with Dr. Mischley in June, 2010.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Pioneers of Recovery
www.pioneersofrecovery.com

Able to Smell the Roses Again – Finally!

Dear Robert,

I write to you on behalf of my mum, Carol, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s just 3 years ago.  She has asked that I carry out her correspondence since she feels she becomes anxious when working at the computer (may be a symptom of her Parkinson’s?).  At the time of diagnosis she was led to believe life was all down hill from there on and felt very scared, vulnerable and of course depressed.  She is reluctant to start on dopamine medication as is the type of person who looks toward trying more natural therapies where possible.

 

It was only by accident that while browsing the internet one evening she stumbled accross your web site (we’re from England, UK) and the rest is history. From listening to your weekly programmes, she has grown in confidence.  The incredibly useful information and advice you give is made all the more inspiring by your optimistic and encouraging style.

 

She has also been inspired by two guests in particular on your programmes – John Coleman and Sharry Edwards.  She followed advice regarding the potentially irritating affects of wheat and since giving up wheat/gluten 6 weeks ago she has noticed she has started to regain her sence of smell.  Only this morning she remarked how she was able to smell the roses in her garden for the first time in years!

 

After listening to your most recent programme on voice anlysis, my mum has decided to take the wonderful oportunity to download the Parkinsons Voice profiling software programs for free to process her own voice profile.

 

Once again, a big thank you for all your hard work and encouragement – it is very much appreciated –  please keep it up!

 

Rachel and Carol.

You can access my explanation of voice profiling below in the most recent radio show that was aired this week. Since airing the show, I have heard from one individual who has taken the voice profiling classes offered by Sound Health. She reports the classes are very challenging and demanding – much like earning an advanced degree. She also reports it has been a fascinating journey of discovery.

The show below previews an offer from Sound Health that expires June 15th. Be sure to listen now if you are drawn to learn more about voice profiling.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease

Listen to internet radio with Parkinsons Recovery on Blog Talk Radio

Expect to Get Better and You Will Get Better

Alan granted me permission to post his reflection below on how thoughts about Parkinson’s Disease have a profound impact on his recovery.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
Five Steps to Recovery

I just took time out to listen to Howard Shifke’s’ interview again.I am re-inspired to keep going. I don’t know if I’m getting better or not, but I don’t worry as much about a bad day or “what Parkinson’s is going to do to me.” I have been working on my thinking that I will get better since the last time that I listened to this interview. I got his point that expecting to get better is the way to get better, but it often takes a million reminders a day and starting over as many times. Yet, I think today, how nice to think it can get better. That was just the vaguest hope since taking recovery seriously in Jan. 09, a year and a half since diagnosis.

Alan

Full Recovery from the Symptoms of Parkinson’s

Hi Robert,

You have been incredibly on point with regard to healing and recovery, although I am not one hundred percent sure how it is I recovered. I know that you have recently expressed the direction I went. I think the study of neurophysiology and quantum mechanics as it applies to neurology forced me to go back and re-learn the mathematics necessary to visualize quantum theory. Furthermore when I would go walking I would of course contemplate these principles. This is a little difficult to explain but it was like a light came on. This event was not sudden but involved significant time with daily study and contemplation although that is not what I intended.

In those days the talk of any sort of psychic change or shift in consciousness would have been met with laughter, however those concepts are steadily becoming more talked about especially from evolved teachers like yourself. Although not advised I quit taking all of my PD meds which included a lot of sentimet and mirapex. It was difficult for a few days and I was still shaky.

I applied a lot of other things that I had learned including detox, no refined foods, organic fruits and veg’s and a great deal of exercise. Then the symptoms dissipated completely.

Robert I think if there is an effective way to release our minds from the conditioned way of perceiving information or reality as we have learned it is much easier to experience more constructive thoughts. Our new found way of experiencing life is where healing and recovery reside because there is this all important element of belief that plays a vital role.

Bobby

Thanks for Being There

Thank you a million times over for answering the 2021 survey. I will tabulate the results and of course announce them here on the Parkinsons Recovery Blog as well as discuss them on Parkinsons Recovery Radio.

Findings of my annual survey inform all of us which therapies are showing the most promising results.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder
Parkinsons Recovery
Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease
https://www.parkinsonsdisease.me

https://www.parkinsonsrecovery.com
Olympia, Washington
877-526-4646

 

Adopt the Placebo Effect as a Potent Therapy

Question:

I read the book of Dr J. Coleman [Stop Parkin and Start Livin]  as well as many other books & it is encouraging to know we can recover. I understood that 90% of the work is to nurture healthy beliefs, to find & release known & unknown negative images – bottom line to change the mind. It is a daily routine to maintain the focus on wellness & recovery while we are feeling symptomatic. I must confess it is a tough journey but it is worth it. I choose this path & GOD is helping.

I don’t like the way the drugs make me feel & my plan is to reduce the doses when I am ready. I started to take regularly FAVA BEANS as part of my diet, also taking 3 serving of fish/week pm. I cannot describe my way any further because we are told there is no specific programme, everything must be individualized.

at last my question for Dr. Rodgers – What is the best way to trigger a placebo EFFECT & maintain it to reach the recovery.

Thank you for your work

Abi

Response:

I agree totally that the key is a transformation of our negative thoughts. I believe this transformation was so critical to recovery that I recently published my book, Five Steps to Recovery, and recorded meditations that go along with the book that say absolutely nothing about therapies that can help and everything about the five critical steps that are necessary to transform thought forms.

The placebo effect is simply a way of installing the belief that you are going to get better. You have already triggered a placebo for yourself by virtue of your acknowledgment that thoughts are the difference that makes the difference to recovery.

The formidable challenge turns on the second part of your question: How do you maintain the belief that recovery is possible, especially when symptoms can flare at any moment. It is easy to switch a positive
outlook into a negative one in a matter of seconds.

The key is to acknowledge that maintaining the belief that recovery is happening is a moment to moment process. We all can choose in any given moment to criticize, judge and be negative about our situation or to instill thoughts that embrace hope, new possibilities, new visions and new life for ourselves and our family.

We have over 60,000 thoughts a day.  An interesting twist for most of us is that 90% of those thoughts are the same thoughts we had yesterday, the day before and a year ago. We trash ourselves with negative thoughts day in and day out.

Simply put, we humans are really not very creative when it comes to the thoughts that we express to ourselves. Perhaps we have an affinity for being redundant. Perhaps we get negative pleasure in beating up on ourselves.

A practice that works is to recognize the hamster wheel of negative thinking when it starts to turn – to acknowledge the power of negative thought forms when they rear their ugly head – and to release, remove, detach and eject and shield those thoughts from pestering us again. The challenge is to hop off of the hamster wheel and hop onto a vehicle that takes us on a road we do want to travel, the Road to Recovery.

Maintaining the beliefs that will make us well depends on a steady focus and unwavering intention. Day by day negativity is released, allowing new possibilities to become manifest. This is not an easy process. It takes time and focus. But, it is doable.

At Parkinsons Recovery we devote time and attention to helping people who attend our Jump Start to Wellness programs with just this type of transformation. It makes the difference between coming back into balance and nurturing the spirit of our souls or sustaining a state of disharmony that nurtures the symptoms of discomfort and disease.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery

Resources
Dehydration Therapy: Aquas
Parkinsons Recovery Membership
Parkinsons Eye Problems
Vibroacoustic Therapy
Jump Start to Wellness
Parkinsons Recovery Radio CDs
Parkinsons Recovery Chat Room
Symptom Tracker
Parkinsons Recovery Radio Network

Books
Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease
Pioneers of Recovery
Five Steps to Recovery
Meditations for Parkinsons

Recovery from Parkinson’s Disease

Hi Robert,

I have been continuing to follow your work and today I just felt compelled to write and convey my deep appreciation for you. Your work is invaluable and the information you provide is the most probative for anyone interested in recovery from Parkinson’s and other forms of chronic illness. I know that I have already indicated my appreciation in times past but I felt the need to do so again.

Robert, before I was diagnosed I was a mess, my hands, legs, head and entire body would shake. I have never been fond of doctors and always felt it would somehow subside, I finally went to see my general physician who said I had some sort of advanced PD, he recommended me to a neurologist who told me the same. Not wanting to accept this PD business I just continued to ignore it, then one day I was with my children at the mall and fell down a long flight of steps and unable to get up.

Still resistant I did agree to talk with Abraham Lieberman and he and I wrote back and forth for a long time, he agreed to treat me at no cost but I would of course have to get to Miami, instead he procured an appointment with Dr. Jankovic at Baylor University. They examined me for 4 hours and the diagnoses was the same. I started the medications that improved my condition substantially.

The long and short of it is I no longer have any symptoms of PD nor do I take any meds. This was the result of about three years of research and slowly making changes in all aspects of my life. I do have a good understanding of why and how I recovered however articulated this might not be so easy, it was not simply changing modalities but the capacity to perceive life and my existence in a way that is contrary to all I have been taught and conditioned, changing my perspective was not an easy feat but when that occurred I realized that healing and restoration was possible.

Bobby

There is Nothing Wrong With You

Below is a follow-up correspondence from Brad whose story appears on my blog yesterday:

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
www.parkinsonsrecovery.com

I got “PD’ed” at church today.  I was a visitor and had no sooner entered than I was greeted by a young man with very obvious Down Syndrome.  He instantly spotted my shaking hand and said with a big smile,

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to be nervous, it’s only Ash Wednesday.  Or perhaps you’re very excited because you have such a beautiful wife!”

From his perspective there was absolutely nothing “wrong” with me; to the contrary everything was “right” with me.  My partner and I agreed that there was a profound lesson to be learned from this man’s innocent and perceptive observation.

Brad

Alternative Therapies for Parkinson’s Disease

What follows is a fascinating e mail I received from Brad who has given me permission to post it here.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
www.parkinsonsrecovery.com

I am still “in the closet”, so to speak, that is to say I have not publicly discussed my diagnosis.  I am very new to this discovery as I received my diagnosis one year ago (at age 52).  Sometimes I get “PD’ed” by strangers who notice my symptoms and ask (or tell) point blank that I “have Parkinson’s”, which I cannot evade.  The only purpose for taking the currently available meds is too hide the condition from others during, say, public speaking or other event which might lead to self-consiousness or embarrassment.  The meds serve no other purpose, they do not treat any underlying condition whatsoever.  I suspect this denial, or hiding from PD symptoms, is very psychologically damaging (Michael J. Fox treats this in depth in his books).  It leads to over medicating and adds stress, thereby worsening the condition.

In my case, I was lead to believe that the use of L-Dopa would provide dramatic relief and thereby confirm the diagnosis (remember that PD is a “negative” diagnosis, that is, it is indicated by ruling out all other possible explanations, however, in reality this is impossible to do.  So PD is labeled “idiopathic”, or of unknown causation).  Instead of relief, absolutely nothing happened, except that I immediately worsened and developed new symptoms in addition to a multitude of side effects.  My brain has resisted L-Dopa therapy over these twelve months.  L-Dopa is only sporadically effective and is very hard to predict.  It takes very high doses to alleviate all symptoms (breifly) and during periods of high stress (particularly social stress) it does not work at all.  So I have made a conscious decision to  minimize my use of L-Dopa and seek alternatives right from the start.  Sometimes I go for days without medicating at all and my symptoms usually stay about the same or sometimes better.

Things I am doing that seem to help:

Continue to ride and race bicycles.  I have had to give up certain types of racing that require extremely fine motor skills, but I ride with accomplished groups regularly, at least 5,000 miles per year.  Balancing a bicycle utilizes different neural circuits from your center of gravity than balancing on your feet, so I actually cycle better than I stand or walk.  Some medication is required to control dystonia and keep my “slow” leg in sync with my “fast” leg, but I have experienced symptom-free rides occasionally.

Continue serious weight training.  Since lifting weights does not involve high speed movements, it is largely unaffected by the symptoms.  I have always been very strong and have become even stronger with pd symptoms than I was previously.

All other forms of physical activity, such as stretching, hand and finger exercises, table tennis, hiking, walking, basketball, anything that involves motion.

Healthy food, water, and sleep/rest.  Avoid all trauma and toxins insofar as possible.  Drama-free social life, mental engagement and exercise, healthy spiritual practices.  These seem to be so “common sense” that they may be overlooked, but the proof is in disrupting any one of these and the symptoms immediately worsen.  Improve them, and they immediately get better.  Simple.

“Alternative therapies” that I am trying or considering include mercury detox.  This is very dangerous, because disturbing mercury in dental work and/or chelating mercury that has been bound to brain tissues for a long time can worsen matters by “stirring up” heavy metals that may then be reabsorbed or recirculated prior to elimination.  A personal decision has to be made balancing the risk/possible benefits of this approach.  It is too early to tell what impact this decision will have on me because I have only had mercury-free teeth for less than thirty days after more than thirty years.  I do believe eventually mercury will be banned in dental work.  There are better alternatives available.  My dentist conceded only after agreeing that having already developed pd symptoms, the levels of mercury that may be safe for a normal healthy adult might not be appropriate for me.

Hypnotherapy is showing great promise.  If nothing else, achieving relaxed states reduces stress.  However, even western medicine recognizes “psychogenic Parkinson’s”, from which full recovery is possible.  It distinguishes this from “real” or “organic” Parkinson’s which by definition precludes recovery.  So if you recover, it must have been psychogenic and vice-versa, if you don’t recover it’s not psychogenic.  This is circular reasoning.  Self-observation proves that all PD is at least partially psychogenic.  Besides, it is a Western assumption, wholly based on faith, that there is any real difference between the mind/spirit and body at all.  There is plenty of evidence, including in Western science, that there is no difference.  One cannot exist or be healthy without the other.  During hypnotic states (basically that relaxed dreamy state just before falling asleep), observable symptoms abate.  What more proof that these symptoms are controlled by mental states (or brain waves, if you will) is needed?

Long held attitudes and “belief systems” are hard to change but they clearly play a role in recovery.  There is a website with which you may be familiar, it’s www.pdrecoveryproject.org, I think, that discusses this in depth.  It’s chapter 45 of a lengthy treatise.  It’s basic theory is that negative self-hypnosis or “accidental” hypnosis is a causitive factor in PD symptoms.  At home, we avoid using the term “disease” or even “Parkinson’s”, instead referring to “Mr. P” or “my condition” or “symptoms” because one thing is for sure, if for one minute, you believe that you will not recover, your prophecy will be self-fulfilled.  On the other hand, if you believe improvement or recovery is possible (not guaranteed), then that will be true also.  Cancer victims refer to “fighting” cancer, PD’ers often talk about “accepting” PD.  While “accepting” oneself as one is or accepting the public acknowledgement of your symptoms may be helpful, the will to live (not mere survival, but living well) is the driving force behind recovery from any illness.

On the drawing board: acupuncture.  The brain is an electrical system.  Western science proves this through DBS.  DBS, however, is a crude and intrusive means of maintaining that system.  Again, the website mentioned above details how electrical disuptions in other parts of the body (particularly the foot or ankle) may affect the brain.  I had such a traumatic injury in which the tibia was fractured and did not “knit” after 99 days in a cast.  Subsequently, a “TENS” unit was utilized passing an electrical current, night and day, for several months through the fracture.  While this did cause an 80% “healing” of the bone to occur, there may have been electrical side effects unbeknownst to me from this therapy.

I realize that this is rather lengthy, but PD is a vastly complex and mysterious condition.  The mere lack of dopamine is neither it’s cause nor solution.  I agree with you that the current scientific research will never result in a “cure” because there are a multiplicity of causes and therefore a multiplicity of “cures”.

I appreciate this opportunity to share my thoughts in writing because it has helped me be a little more organized in my own research and thinking.  I do not yet know in what way my experience may be used to help others, but I will consider your idea.  Thank you for your time and the work that you are doing.

Brad

Positive People Positive Results for Parkinson’s

Below is an e mail I received from Rose with encouraging news of recovery from the symptoms of Parkinson’s from a “healing.”

YOU ARE SO RIGHT ON!  NEGATIVE THOUGHTS=INSTANT FAILURE!  BAH!  HUMBUG!


THERE IS THIS OTHER BOOK, CALLED “THE SECRET”..POSITIVE PEOPLE ATTRACT POSITIVE PEOPLE = SUCCESS…WORTH READIING.

I WENT TO MY HEALER FOR THE FIRST TIME HERE IN NASHVILLE. SHE WAS WONDERFUL.  WE FOCUSED ON SOME BAGGAGE I’VE BEN CARRYING….NOT THE PARKINSON’S DISEASE…AND WE IDENTIFIED SOME OF THE BIGGER PIECES AND I ‘GAVE’ THEM TO OTHERS AS IT WAS THERE:S TO HANDLE.

MY TALKING SPEED WAS VERY MUCH IMPROVED THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS!  I STILL HAVE A WAYS TO GO, BUT I AM EXCITED ABOUT THE RESULTS WITH JUST ONE SESSION AND WILL SEE HER AGAIN IN MARCH.
ROSE

P.S. The deal of a lifetime to join us on the Parkinsons Recovery cruise to Alaska expired February 12th. Meet other people on the road to recovery.  Take advantage of free Parkinsons Recovery workshops on the cruise.
http://www.parkinsonsdisease.me/alaska


Five Steps to Recovery

Perhaps the most formidable challenge for everyone on the road to recovery is to persist, stay on track and maintain the commitment that is needed to recover. This I must say is no minor challenge. People
tell me consistently that when they take a vacation from eating healthy food, exercising or abandoning therapies that help them, their symptoms worsen. Guaranteed.

How does anyone maintain the focus that is needed to stay on track? It certainly helps to have a daily infusion of hope which is why I invented the member website and the Parkinsons Weekly Reader.

New Year’s resolutions can also certainly help us all sustain the discipline and commitment that is so critical to a recovery program.

My exciting announcement for the New Year is that I just released my book, Five Steps to Recovery, as a paperback. Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease was released Christmas. It has been an exciting
month for me and Parkinsons Recovery.

Until now, Five Steps to Recovery has only been available as a download (or desktop). I kept promising many of you that the print book would be available soon (but it has been six months). Five Steps to Recovery lays out the five steps  that are necessary to transform negative thought forms into positive ones. When we hold positive thoughts moment to moment, day in and day out, we can manifest whatever our heart desires – health, wellness,
abundance, happiness, joy – you name it.

You can find out more about Five Steps to Recovery and how to order the paperback by visiting:

http://www.fivestepstorecovery.com

Information on ordering Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease is here:

http://www.parkinsonsdisease.me

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery

Walking and Balance Problems

Today, I was looking for new inspiration and direction. My walking and balance is a little more wobbly, but the feeling on my left side (once quite numb) is much better in the last month now. So, in a way, I feel that I am doing better. I no longer feel like I have two different sides but have one body. I can make my left hand do things like brush teeth and type. (Having Parkinson’s does not make you ambidextrous; it is just that your non-sided hand must help out if it need be. There’s no comfort in that: it doesn’t have the coordination that the sided hand does, if that is the one that is affected). I hope that this (one-body experience) is part of my recovery. I want to work harder on my health, as I keep thinking of the interview of the woman who had deep stimulation (not the poetry writing lady, the one before that). She said if she had it to do over, she would have given the alternative therapies a better chance.

Searching around the recovery website, I read many blogs as well as listened to past interviews and this week’s interview, which included mention of stiffening in the chest related to the breathing. Taking your suggestion of working on one symptom, I decided to compensate for my shallow breathing for a week, moment by moment. I’m always deflated, and I know that I have not been getting enough oxygen. Starting that, I decided as well to root out one thought form that may be contributing to this condition. I thought that it would take some time to discover one, but it came up immediately. The woman with the CORD therapy said, in general, that Parkinson’s people have a reality print of
‘I can’t quite do this, or measure up’.
I understand that. I can affirm, I can do this, I can, I can–anything. Believe me, this is a different type of energy to have within myself, though I have accomplished a lot in my life. Idid it by simply pushing. I want my brain to learn something new here of real confidence.

I found a boost in this story from my own saved archives.

This story makes you think about your potentials, as the woman in the story did. She went to college in her 60s and got the geology degree that she always wanted. I can at least accomplish everything that is before me this week. Thanks for your site again. I’m working on getting it to two other people with Parkinson’s.

Alan

Train Your Mind. Change Your Brain

Here are some resources to share:

http://www.befitoverfifty.com/pages/thera.htm?source=OverTo

Although the first part is “depressing” to read, the section on “Why Exercise Is So Important” is simple and motivating. There are yet more exercise programs for people with muscular and neurological disorders on this link, but I am not sure of their availability.

I am reading a new book (to me), Train Your MIND, Change Your BRAIN by Sharon Begley, (Ballantine). This is a survey of how the brain adapts to the kind of thinking we do and the feeling modes that we experience.

The Dalai Lama figures in this story with his patient challenge to neurological researchers on the reverse of the belief “the brain creates the mind or the mind is the result of brain activity”–doesn’t the mind affect the way the brain operates? Beliefs in science are hard to confront.

This book is about research on this confrontation. There are stories of experiments in re-training the thinking of people with depression and obsessive/compulsive disorders. As they corrected for their distorted thinking, they experienced relief, even when medication was supposed to give them relief. Re-training our thinking is crucial because our brains respond to the perception of our reality. The experiments related in the book can inspire ideas on working our own programs. Parkinson’s isn’t even mentioned, but strokes are.

The evidence shows that plasticity or brain/neural changing doesn’t occur only in childhood but throughout life. A Tibetan monk, whom the Dalai Lama knew, was imprisoned by the Chinese for 18 years, a time which included torture. When freed, he was found to be the same gentle, mentally sharp man that the Dalai once knew, just like he was before the imprisonment. Was he ever afraid? Yes, he was afraid that he would lose his compassion for the Chinese.

“Because of forgiveness, his bad experience with Chinese not got worse,” said the Dalai Lama.

This anecdote shows that mind is over matter. The book goes on to explore, from the Buddhist perspective, what mind is or does. The link between Buddhist thinking and scientific neurological research is attention and attention training.

Thanks for all that you do!

Alan

I Never Saw It Coming

I never saw it coming.
My life’s been rearranged.
So altered, not original,
I’ll never be the same.

The breath I breathe reduced,
The functions that I had,
the limitations place on me,
sometimes, it makes me sad.

I struggle almost every day
to do those basic things.
Can never plan what I’ll do next,
not sure what next, life brings.

My heart still has the want to…
My head might misdirect,
but I get up, keep going.
My feelings I protect.

I’m not the kind to give up.
I’m not the kind to quit.
Sometimes, I’m very mobile.
Sometimes, I have to sit.

So, if your body’s healthy,
your mind is good and strong,
today’s the day, give life your all,
tomorrow, it could be gone.

Kenneth Allen Patrick

Dopamine and Parkinson’s Disease

Question:

You do not believe that Parkinson’s is a disease!!!!!

Do you not believe that there is physical damage to the part of the brain that produces Dopamine?

Do you not believe that the damage has been verified by examining brain tissue from deceased Parkinson’s patients?

“The body is not broken. The body is not diseased. It is simply out of balance”

Is the brain not part of the body? Is the brain just “out of balance”?

Dennis

Response:

Thanks so much for your e mail and your question. I know many people think the same way you think.

I am not a medical doctor. I am a researcher. I find that the Road to Recovery involves examining our thinking about “disease.” – any disease. In this case of course it is Parkinson’s Disease. If we focus on the “disease,” we are holding very negative thoughts about what is happening by thinking:

“My body is broken.”

Since thoughts can manifest anything our heart desires, holding this thought will insure that our body will forever remain broken.

What percent of the body is “broken” in the case of Parkinson’s? I assure you that answer varies widely across persons. My hunch is that a tiny proportion of cells are problematic: perhaps 1%; maybe 3% for some people. At least 97% of the cells are working perfectly. I would say that is close enough for me to say that the body is working perfectly. Speaking for myself, I get much more energy by focusing on what is working than what is not working.

You say that damage has been verified by autopsies. This is certainly true, but only in a minority of autopsies. For a majority of autopsies, they find no substantia nigra damage. Don’t take my word for it. Do your own research on the matter. I have been surprised myself to see how low the percent actually is.

My point is that you are holding the belief that cells in your brain are dead. It may be the case that a tiny fraction of cells in your brain are dead,  but cells are dying throughout the body all the  time.  It is the natural process of life and death.

It is also possible you are one of the majority where there is no damage to your substantia nigra. There is no way to tell without an autopsy.

A third of the people who have a diagnosis of Parkinson’s are misdiagnosed. It happens. There is no definitive test for it. Perhaps you are one of the one third who have been misdiagnosed? There are certainly many possible causes for the symptoms. For example – perhaps toxins are the culprit and not cell damage in the substantia nigra.

Let’s say all of these speculations are wrong and that yes, you do have neural damage in the substantia nigra and that yes, you do have Parkinson’s Disease.

New cells can be created anywhere in the body anytime. If you happen to have an overabundance of dead cells in the substantia nigra for the moment, you can set your intention to grow new ones. If the body can make new cells, I would say it is working perfectly.

Here is the rub: If you focus on the dead cells (assuming they even exist) you are assuring that new cells will not be created. Your  thoughts are centered in a negative sphere. If you focus on the reality that your body can heal itself, it will heal itself.

This is what I have learned from my research. At the core of  all healing are our thought forms. If you think your body is broken I can assure you it will remain “broken” and become more “broken.” If you believe your body can heal itself, new cells will be born, hormones will be balanced, and your body will return to health and wellness.

The most powerful force in the universe are thoughts. When we change how we think, we change the course of our lives. This is what motivated me to write The Five Steps to Recovery which is all about how to transform our thoughts.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
www.parkinsonsrecovery.com