How many of us know that junk food is bad for our body and that nutritious food and regular exercise nourishes the body and mind and yet we fail to comply and blame it on our circumstances. Just when I thought I had a complete handle on my diagnosis with multiple autoimmune syndrome including Secondary Progressive MS, I had a rather shocking awakening. A body riddled with MS, RA, Hasimoto’s and fibromyalgia, leaves no room for personal neglect no matter how stressful the outside circumstances might be. As the author of the book, A Flaming Challenge, I have devised a Take-charge Wellness Formula that freed me from a life riddled with symptoms that had me destined to be wheelchair bound.
Armed with all this knowledge I felt that I could take on any challenge life has to throw at me. I underestimated how quickly my body could go right back to a symptomatic state because I chose to sort out the world around me and put my wellness routine on hold. The last four weeks have been extremely challenging as we lost a very significant member of our family, my mother-in-law and my mother was admitted to hospital the day after she attended the funeral. Her cardiologist informed us that mum needs open heart surgery. After further investigation her physician suggested that she might not be strong enough to handle the operation at her age and sent her home with an oxygen tank that has to be on 24/7. All this while my youngest son found himself without a place to stay in his 3rd year of studying at university. My mind was all over the place. How was I to be at three places at once? It didn’t matter what choice I made I just couldn’t shake the guilt that I was neglecting someone else who was also important to me.
In my attempt to get things done quickly so I could move onto the next priority, I neglected my meditation and conscious breathing routine, and I skipped my nutritious meals. I also neglected my exercise and listening to soothing Indian classical music. The weather was sweltering hot which only added to the onset of symptoms. Having the knowledge on how to stay symptom-free is not enough. It takes daily practise! Yet again life is showing me that my Take-charge Wellness formula is my oxygen. There is no room for neglect.
Keeping my mind free of negative possibilities and people’s callous remarks about my mum’s health was indeed a challenge. Becoming symptom free again could only happened once my mind was in a happy positive space. This took profound conscious effort. In the Adi Granth, the Sikh spiritual scripture, Guru Granth Sahib introduces us to the reality of HUKUM. Hukum means Divine law or order that regulates the entire universe. The only way to calm my mind during these challenging times is to submit to hukum, to walk in its way. Trying to change and control everything around me is like trying to swim upstream against the flow of life.
As soon as I instructed my mind to let go and just do my best and leave the rest to the Divine order of the day, I found myself starting to calm down. I let go of trying to please everyone around me. I started to trust that my efforts were making a significant impact, even though they were at times much smaller than the people around me were making. I realised that all I could do was my best and allow the universe to unfold according to the Divine order.
I started talking to myself about everything I had to be grateful for. I reminded myself that joy and bliss is always abundant within me – all I had to do was to become aware of it. The more I spoke to myself in this empowering manner, the more my cells responded to getting better. There is no short cut to staying symptom free after a diagnosis with an incurable condition. By attending to my Take-charge Wellness formula, I am automatically progressing towards my destination of wellness.
The challenges in life are always there. It is a given. Only when we take responsibility for our very own thoughts and our choice to allow negative thinking, will we start to feel positive shifts that will totally surprise us. We are such powerful beings. The time is now for us to believe in our very own super healing powers.