Chronic Disease and Serious Illness – Part 3

Diagnosed with a Chronic Disease or Serious Illness

Now What Do You Do? – Part 3

In my two previous posts on being diagnosed with chronic disease and serious illness, I wrote about how important your attitude is in facing your illness. I also emphasized how it is possible to defy your diagnosis.

In my second post in this series, I offered some reasons — physical, mental, emotional and even spiritual — as to why your illness manifested. I also offered examples of some superheroes who not only faced what they were going through with dignity and grace, but who also exceeded expectations and rose to fulfill important life missions. Some lived their lives in service not only to help their own condition but to serve as a light of hope and promise to others. And some like Michael J. Fox continue to do so.

This third post is about changing your thoughts and beliefs to help improve your health and well-being. It is also about how “The Law of Attraction” is always in play in our lives, affecting everything in it and all we attract into our lives, including the quality of our health. In this post, I begin sharing some more specific recommendations for those diagnosed with chronic disease or a serious illness.

Changing Your Thoughts, Beliefs and the “Habit of Being Yourself”

Some who are diagnosed with a serious illness often have someone or a number of people and life experiences they need to forgive. Usually there is a lot of negative emotion that needs to be released and possible lifestyle changes to make regarding sleep, exercise, diet, work and play balance, and even spirituality. When you are ill, it is clearly a time for self-nurturing and, for some, a time for big life changes.

It is also a time to change your thoughts and beliefs and your ongoing self-talk — especially if it is mostly negative. Author, researcher, inspirational teacher and man of mystical experiences, Dr. Joe Dispenza, has written several best-selling books  His latest is titled Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon. Another very popular favorite of those who follow his teachings is Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One. He has been holding week-long retreats around the world for a number of years.

Dr. Joe Dispenza was having fun dancing onstage at one of his week-long retreats in Indian Wells, CA. Photo by Donna El Haber, 2020. All rights reserved.

During his retreats, people with some very serious health challenges come in the hopes of transforming and healing. Using meditation and other techniques that can lead to mystical kundalini and “gamma brain wave” experiences, Dr. Joe has posted numerous testimonials of people talking about their healings from some very serious illnesses. To learn more about Dr. Joe and his extraordinary research and work, go to www.drjoedispenza.com.

During a retreat that my husband and I attended in Indian Wells, CA, in February 2020, about 1,000 people from all over the world signed up to experience Dr. Joe in person, learn from his teachings and go deep in his meditations. We came with open hearts and hopeful expectations for a possible taste of a quantum event.

Split into groups of about 60, each group had a leader to help guide attendees through a week of rich experiences. We were each asked if we wanted to receive something Dr. Joe calls a “coherence healing” from a small group of students.  These groups would form circles around participants, send love from their hearts and set the intention for the participants to heal and feel better. I asked to receive one of these coherence healings.

From https://blog.drjoedispenza.com/results-from-a-year-long-practice-of-coherence-healing.

Those like me requesting healings were escorted out of the ballroom into a room that felt very peaceful and sacred. It had very soft lighting and was bathed in a kind of soothing lavender light. After lying down on a mat alongside others, I was asked to close my eyes.

Then Dr. Joe came in to address the group. He explained what would happen when we went back to the ballroom and offered some healing words of wisdom. I recall most that he asked us to forgive anyone or anything that needed our forgiveness.

Back in the ballroom, I was placed in a circle of eight students who were asked to send love and healing from their hearts, using their hands to direct the energy to me. The healings were about love and coherence from the heart. That is perfectly in line with my own philosophy of healing and how I work with my own clients. I believe love is the most potent of all medicine. It is why I named my business Love Healing and Miracles.

They sent their love, coherence from their hearts and intentions for me to heal for about 20 minutes. Lying on the floor with my eyes closed, I felt breezes blowing around me. However, when the coherence healing concluded, I didn’t notice any changes and still did not feel very well. What I did feel was the love and hopeful expectation of those who had tried to help me heal. I also felt a little of their disappointment that no miracle had occurred.

That same evening, following the coherence healing experience, I began to feel very sick. By the next day, I had fever and was unable to finish my last day at the retreat. This happened to a number of students at the retreat. Many of us got sick.

A few days after I returned home, I was still dealing with a high fever and finally went to get checked out. My medical test revealed I had contracted the Influenza-A virus. I found out later that a number of others in my group were similarly diagnosed.

The doctor prescribed antibiotics that helped me get better. However, it took more than two months for my lungs to heal and for my bronchial passages to clear. I take many supplements to support my immune system. You can check out my two blog posts about boosting your immune system. Click here to read the first one and here to read the second one or you can click on the photos below.

Sadly, two women who came for healing and miracles passed away shortly after the retreat. One knew she was very ill and the other only learned of her breast cancer diagnosis shortly after the retreat. I believe that our soul chooses the date we will leave this planet before we even get here.

It’s why Bill Murray in the movie “Groundhog Day” can never help the homeless man who dies on his watch despite his character’s many attempts to alter the trajectory of the man’s life. “It just was his time,” the nurse tells Phil Connors over and over again until he finally understands that he cannot alter this reality no matter how hard he tries.

Actor Bill Murray playing a character named Phil Connors tries to help a homeless man in the movie “Groundhog Day.” However, no matter what he does to help the man, like taking him out to a diner to eat a good meal, it does not help. And no matter how many times he tries to alter the trajectory of this man’s destiny, he cannot prevent his inevitable death. Photo from www.Bustle.com.

However, in the course of Dr. Joe’s retreats over a number of years, many who have had serious illnesses have experienced extraordinary breakthroughs. In a blog post that Dr. Joe wrote in May 2020, titled “Results from a Year-long Practice of Coherence Healing,” he shared some very positive statistics and outcomes from just doing remote coherence healings. To learn more about the results, click here.

Throughout the years, Dr. Joe has been refining his techniques, doing more research, inviting more scientific professionals and others like those from HeartMath to do their own research at his events.

You can read many testimonials of attendees who have experienced remarkable results in different areas from healing themselves, others and animals to experiencing miracles, manifestations and mystical experiences. To check out these testimonials, click here.

The secret is in meditating regularly, practicing some of the techniques for breathing he shares, changing your way of thinking and shifting into a state of gratitude and hopeful expectation. The ultimate aim of all this work is to become a channel for the divine and to also have a divine enlightened experience. When you do, according to those who have entered into a kind of kundalini and gamma brain wave experience, there is a deeper connection to Source and the mysteries of a quantum universe. While having that episode — where it may look to researchers like you are having a stroke because of the energy of the brainwaves that show up in a mystical experience – your body can be rewired. When it is, you will experience healing on many levels and a new way of looking at life, yourself and others.

Be in Your Joy and Raise Your Vibration

For help in raising my own vibration, I listen to the teachings and wisdom of Abraham as channeled by Esther Hicks. Abraham is a collective consciousness that shares the wisdom of  the Divine, offering advice on how to feel better about your health and just about anything else in your life.

One of the most important concepts that Abraham conveys again and again is that we are each the creators of our own reality. We actually are always co-creating with Source energy and with the desires that reside in our personal vortices. Your vortex is an energy field that holds all your dreams and desires.

When you are in your joy and vibrating on the right frequency, you are then ready to receive the gifts of your vortex. Synchronicities begin to show up in your life and your heart’s desires begin manifesting in physical form.

When you are in your joy and feeling positive about your life, the “Law of Attraction” will shower you with more joy and happy surprises. Photo by Allef Vinicius from www.unsplash.com.

How we create is through our thoughts, feelings, emotions and beliefs. Whether you are looking back and rehashing all that went wrong in your life or looking ahead with hope and positive expectation to your future can make a big difference in the quality of your health and well-being.

The “Law of Attraction” then interacts with the messages and vibrations that we each are sending out. If you are staying truly positive and are feeling good about life despite any challenges you are going through, then more good will keep showing up in your life.

If you are depressed and complaining and your Spirit is not in alignment with Source energy, then the “Law of Attraction” will send what Abraham calls “contrast” and more unwanted experiences and events that will continue to confirm your negative feelings about life. In some ways, it is a highly ironic law. It seems that when someone is complaining, in pain, and not feeling well, that should be the time when so much comfort and good should flow through from Source. Unfortunately, that is not the way this law works.

It is more about how “like attracts like.” If you feel good and your spirits are high, you are creating a pathway for more good to flow to you from Source, your vortex and other energetic possibilities. So you always need to raise your vibration and be in your joy whenever and however you can to create better circumstances, events, health and relationships in your life. Being in a high vibration will affect every aspect of your life including career, abundance and love.

I also want to share that I believe there can be divine interventions of grace and goodness no matter what we are feeling, thinking and saying. I have personally experienced these in my own life and have always been so grateful for those kinds of divine and unexpected interventions. However, the “Law of Attraction” is always at work in all our lives, reminding us about the importance of being in appreciation and gratitude for all our blessings and to be in our joy however and whenever possible.

What’s in your vortex and what are you attracting into your life? Photo by Caleb Woods from www.unsplash.com.

Having discussed some metaphysical and mindset issues regarding your diagnosis, I’d like to begin offering some pragmatic steps you can take on your healing journey.

Suggestions and Recommendations for Those Facing Serious illness

Don’t just accept whatever prognosis your doctor has given you. If you do not feel comfortable with what your doctor has shared, or if you would like to know what another doctor or medical professional thinks, you can always get a second opinion. That way you will either be able to confirm how you want to proceed or you can decide to shift to a different course of action. You can compare and contrast styles and recommendations and see which ones make the most sense to you.

Recommendation 1: Step outside the traditional medical model and look for alternative doctors and treatments.

Traditional medical doctors have their own positive merits and help many patients. However, often their treatments are more limited than alternative modalities.

They can offer surgeries to cut out problems like tumors or replace parts like hips, knees and shoulders. They can also prescribe one or more pharmaceutical drugs to help alleviate pain or palliate the problem. For cancer patients, they can also offer radiation and chemotherapy. Many of their protocols either have some harmful side effects or may not be curative or even palliative.

Pharmaceutical drugs often suppress symptoms. When symptoms are suppressed, the real cause of the disease is never understood or treated. Disease that doesn’t really go away usually goes deeper into the body and resurfaces in a possibly even more severe way. An example is that when eczema is suppressed with a pharmaceutical drug, the result is often a patient who will eventually develop asthma.

Pharmaceutical drugs often suppress symptoms. When symptoms are suppressed, the real cause of the disease is never addressed. Photo by freestocks.com from www.unsplash.com.

In addition, many traditional doctors do not view patients holistically, neglecting to see how different symptoms may all be related to a singular cause. They may also not take into account the emotional component that may have caused the illness.

When symptoms are segmented, often a patient has to see several specialists for different ailments and parts of the body. When that happens, the big picture of what is actually going on within a patient can be lost. It is like blind men touching different parts of an elephant and being asked to describe what is before them.

They will all come up with very different descriptions of the reality before them.  And none of them will ever be able to understand how those separate parts are all connected and together make up the whole.

It is like blind men touching different parts of an elephant and being asked to describe what they think is before them. Perceiving an elephant in this way will never enable them to see those aspects as parts of a dynamic whole. Photo by Zoe Reeve from www.unsplash.com.

Recommendation 2: Do your research well or get solid recommendations before contacting a well-respected functional medicine doctor, integrative medical doctor, naturopathic doctor or classical homeopath for a consult.

Before choosing either your traditional or holistic doctor, do research on the subject, digging as deeply as possible, and see what you learn. Check their websites, read reviews about them on Yelp, Health Grades and other sites to see what patients are saying and have experienced. Your research will pay off. Sometimes you can get a strong feeling when doing your research as to who will be the right doctor for you.

Looking at health problems in a comprehensive and holistic way, functional medicine doctors, naturopathic doctors and integrative medical doctors will know about different advanced testing that can help detect what is going on in your body and why you are sick. These tests can get to the root of what has gone wrong in one or more of your body’s systems. Good testing can also help reveal what your next steps should be to help you feel better and heal.  Extensive testing might include a full CBC/chem panel and a complete thyroid panel that includes your TSH, T3, T4, Free T3, Free T4, TPO antibodies, Thyroid Antithyroglobulin Antibody,  Thyroxine-binding Globulin (TBG), Thyroid-stimulating Immunoglobulin (TSI), as well as a reverse T3 test. To learn more about a comprehensive thyroid panel, click here.

Other testing might include checking to see if all your hormonal levels are balanced. These may include estrogen, testosterone and progesterone, among others. There are many possibilities as to why someone has developed either a serious illness or chronic disease.  Tests can help show what might be affecting a patient’s health. Many doctors will test for food allergies, heavy metal toxicity, mold toxicity, viruses, especially the Epstein-Barr virus, Lyme disease and the health of your digestive and elimination systems.

A good functional medicine doctor or integrative physician should also be knowledgeable about supplementation. They can recommend what supplements you should be on and test whether the supplements you are currently taking are working for you. These doctors may also do some muscle testing to see what supplements and dosing will help you most.

Knowing the right supplements to prescribe following testing is beneficial for improved health, recovery and longevity. Photo by Angel Sinigersky from www.unsplash.com.

Here is one site that lists doctors who have been certified by The Functional Medicine Institute: https://www.ifm.org/find-a-practitioner/. And here is a link to an article by Dr. Jill Carnahan, MD, ABIHM, ABoIM, IFMCP, titled “How to Choose a Good Integrative and Functional Medicine Doctor.”

The Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine has a directory that lists healthcare practitioners who have completed a fellowship in Integrative Medicine or the IHeLp (Integrative Health and Lifestyle) program. You can access it here. Amie Valpone shares a number of links  in her post to help you find functional medicine, integrative and naturopathic doctors.

Often functional medicine doctors will not accept health insurance and their consult fees can be expensive. When I lived in New Jersey, I saw a functional medicine doctor in Pennsylvania who did not accept insurance and his office visit fees were expensive. The supplements he suggested I take also added up to a considerable sum of money.

When I moved to California, I eventually found an excellent functional medicine doctor who takes insurance. The drawback of doctors accepting insurance is that they are limited as to how much time they can spend with you. In a traditional medical model, the time a doctor can spend with you is prescribed by insurance guidelines. That means you will probably have to schedule more appointments with your functional medicine doctor.

Unless you are on Medicare, you will still have to meet your annual deductible and also have co-payments for each doctor’s visit. However these are minor drawbacks when considering the incalculable value you can get if you receive a proper diagnosis, are helped and can finally feel better.

Functional medicine doctors and integrative physicians will usually order an array of tests that can also be expensive. Some insurance carriers will cover the tests and some will not. You can submit out-of-network claims or a superbill to your insurance provider. If the doctor you select is highly competent and understands how to get to the root of your health issue, how to help you feel better and lead you on a path of healing, then the fees will be well worth it.

However, you have to do your research first to make sure the doctor is the right choice for you. Doctors you select should also share testimonials from patients on their websites. Yelp and Health Grades can also help you with your decision about whether to see a doctor or not.

Recommendation 3: However and whenever you can, you should take time to nurture yourself.

After receiving a serious diagnosis, you will benefit by taking more personal time off, getting out in nature and just doing whatever will raise your vibration and bring you joy. Being happy and in your joy is the best recipe for healing.

A friend of mine recently lost her husband. I think there was a divine plan in the works to help her because she found a breeder with a recent litter of some precious Toy Poodles. Her energetic puppy came about a month after her husband’s passing. My dog Harry arrived three weeks before my dog Socrates died. Harry was such a big help in raising my vibration and healing my heart.

Our pets can raise our vibration, bring us unconditional love and so much joy. Dr. David Hawkins, author of  Power Vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior, who has since passed, shared something very interesting in an online interview when asked about patients he treated who were depressed. He shared that when a patient came to him depressed, he would tell the patient to go out and get a dog and only come back and see him after the patient got the dog. It’s possible that a new pet in your life would raise your vibration and enable you to open to more healing in all areas of your life.

My dog Harry was a precious puppy and filled my heart with love and joy. He was a healing presence following the passing of my dog Socrates. Photo by Donna El Haber, 2011. All rights reserved.

Recommendation 4: Your thoughts and beliefs create your reality. So keep them positive and filled with lots of hope and joy.

A belief is actually just a thought you have been thinking and practicing over and over again. Scientists, authors and spiritual teachers have all affirmed what an important role our thoughts and our inner self-talk play in creating our reality and circumstances.

To learn more about this, there are many books and articles you can read. You can just select your favorite browser and insert this topic. Many links will appear.

I would recommend listening whenever you can (while getting ready for work or doing chores, etc.) to the channeled teachings of Abraham Hicks.  Usually you can find and listen to excerpts of Abraham Hicks talks on YouTube channeled by Esther Hicks.  Here are some videos on YouTube that offer wisdom on the “Law of Attraction,” health and some other topics to help raise your vibration:

Through Abraham’s wisdom and insights, we can all create better lives for ourselves if we change our thoughts, beliefs, feelings and emotions to let in more joy and fulfillment. When we do, all the unseen elements that we desire in our lives like health, money, love, fulfillment and success begin showing up more and more. It is the universal “Law of Attraction” at work.

When I first learned about this law, I thought that it was unfair to those who are down and out, struggling and suffering. If it sends back more and more of the same kind of vibrations they are putting out to the Universe, then they will just be attracting more negativity into their lives.

Someone who is hurt, angry and bitter and expressing those thoughts to himself and others will attract more of the same into his or her life. People who are consistently feeling negative emotions will attract others into their lives who feel similarly. Negative thoughts and feelings often breed more negative circumstances and events.

That didn’t seem fair to me. Those used to being soothed by family and friends when feeling sad and negative would not receive the same kind of compassion and sympathetic energy from the Universe. The “Law of Attraction” works differently. It mirrors your vibration and sends people, circumstances and events that are vibrating at that same level.

Break through any clouds of negativity and sadness to raise your vibration and let your light shine in the world. When you do, the “Law of Attraction” will send you more love and light. Photo by Nick Sheerbart from www.unsplash.com.

Once you fully understand that law, you also learn why it’s so important to shift your inner talk. You want to cultivate a higher vibration where – no matter what is going on in your life — you can feel happy, joyful, laugh, have fun and see things as always working out for your highest good. The Universe will respond by sending you more of the same.

Recommendation 5: Find a talented and experienced classical homeopath to work with.

Homeopathy is a miraculous healing modality that can help so many people who have been suffering and who have not been healed by traditional medicine. A classical homeopath will do an extensive interview with you to find out the totality of your symptoms and the modalities that affect you positively or negatively.

For instance, you may be someone who easily becomes warm or cold. You may also be someone who likes or dislikes certain foods. Something as simple as wind blowing can affect you negatively or positively. All of how you feel on the physical, mental, emotional and even spiritual levels will be taken into consideration and evaluated to come up with the best possible homeopathic remedy for you.

If the evaluation is done comprehensively and correctly, and if you are not in an “acute” state, your homeopath will be able to prescribe the best remedy for you to address your symptoms, emotional feelings and your state of mind. The remedy that contains the majority of your symptoms and best fits your mental and emotional state is what is called your “constitutional remedy.”

My mother suffered from heart and lung disease, digestive issues and so much more. Her “constitutional remedy” was the only medicine that could relieve her pain and revive her energy and spirit. She was on many pharmaceutical drugs. Sometimes, even being on so many, her pain and discomfort could not be relieved. But when I gave her a remedy prescribed by a classical homeopath, it cut right through the drugs and gave her relief in a very short time. I am so grateful for the wonders of classical homeopathy and how it has helped family, friends and my pets.

I am sure a gifted classical homeopath can work with you and help you achieve a much better quality of life and potentially even ameliorate, reverse or cure your condition.

There are so many stories of success with classical homeopathy. Classical homeopath Amy Lansky wrote a book called Impossible Cure: The Promise of Homeopathy. It is about her autistic son who was cured by homeopathy and shares the story of how she changed the course of her life to become a homeopath.

Recommendation 6: Call in Archangel Hamied for Your Miracles to Manifest.

In previous posts about chronic disease and serious illness, I called in the archangels Phanuel, the Angel of Hope, and Uzziel, the Angel of Faith. For this post, I am calling upon Hamied, the Angel of Miracles. I recommend that you call upon Hamied to shower down upon you untold miracles of healing and joy.