A major milestone - what is there to learn?

Let us travel back in time together. 1981. September the 16th. Thirty people have gathered in a large suburban house in Riversdale Rd, Hawthorn, Melbourne. The mood is subdued, yet infused with a palpable trace of hope. Enough hope for there to be a sense of excitement in the air; as if something extra-ordinary – as in out of the ordinary – is about to commence.

For this is the first meeting of the Melbourne Cancer Support Group. A world’s first where the aim is not just to help those in attendance to cope better with all the challenges cancer is throwing at them, and not just to feel better – although either would be worthwhile in itself.

No, the sense of hope that is in the air is based on a premise that is radical for the early eighties. The premise is that by attending, people will learn how to improve their chances of survival. We will be talking of finding a pathway to a cure when mainstream medicine says there is none.

Radical for then; still radical for now. Patients, the families and friends helping themselves. Not in opposition to the medical mainstream; but not abandoning hope when none is offered from that direction. Instead, looking inwards and realizing the potential for self healing. Looking to gain what we can from our own healing efforts.

On that first day, one woman deliberately chooses the one available couch. She sinks into it and props herself in a corner. This is her way of maintaining her stability. She has advanced brain cancer, a prognosis of 1 to 2 months and is the sickest person in the room; very unsteady on her feet.

This is my first ever group too, and she is so sick, she scares me a little. Most of the others look well despite the fact pretty well all of them are here as a point of last resort – this is something new after all. But this lady actually looks as if she could die during the group session. She scares me a little.

But imagine this… That lady is still alive 35 years later. She, along with another woman in the group with a slightly less difficult version of brain cancer, are 2 of the first I meet to have remarkable recoveries and convince me this new work is worth persevering with.

35 years of lifestyle-based cancer self help groups
So this week, we go way Out on a Limb once more as we recall those two and more from that first ever group that has just passed its 35th anniversary.

Nostalgic for me; not a single photographic record from those early days, but so many good memories, so many amazing people and not the occasional tough challenge, but first

                Thought for the day

          Traveller, there is no path

          The path is made by walking.


          By walking you make a path

         And turning, you look back

         At a way you will never tread again.


         Traveller, there is no road 

         Only wakes in the sea.

                          Antonio Machado


Jan’s uneventful but spectacular recovery
Of the two ladies with brain tumours, the one with the lesser of the symptoms, let us call her Jan, makes a complete and uneventful recovery. She came with her partner, they both embraced the basic message and believed she could recover.

Together, they took up on the therapeutic nutrition with diligence, meditated intensively, took a positive approach to all they did and found new meaning and joy in life through the illness.

Jan made a spectacularly uneventful recovery without any medical treatment. She just got better every week until repeat scans showed she was cancer free.

By the way, Jan had been told by her well meaning and caring doctors that there was no effective treatment available to her, that there was nothing more they could do for her; nothing she could do except go home, get her affairs in order and seek Palliative Care when things got really bad.

Mary’s slow and labored recovery
By contrast the woman in the couch, lets call her Mary, had many ups and downs and nearly did die several times over the next 12 months. I saw more of Mary through necessity and came to know her well.

Mary was determined to recover as she had a young daughter to care for. Amazingly, each time she
fell in a hole, she seemed to find a way through – sometimes via something new she learnt from me, sometimes with help from others. For example, Mary was one of the first I observed who responded well at a critical time to intravenous Vitamin C.

But again, having been given the same story before she joined the group by her treating doctors, “there is nothing more we can do for you”, and having had no medical treatment, around 12 months later Mary was confirmed by scans to be cancer free.

What happened over the next few years to these two women was truly remarkable. One died in extraordinary circumstances and taught me perhaps more than anyone about the need to address a particular aspect of cancer recovery, while the other survived and is still alive despite having had to face the most extraordinary of circumstances.

So next week, Part 2 – What is involved in ongoing, long-term cancer survival.


COMING RETREATS AND TRAININGS

Meditation Retreats
Ruth and I, with the help of Liz Stillwell, will personally lead our next 7 day meditation retreat in New Zealand :  October 22 - 28.

Next Aussie one, April 2017 in the Yarra Valley.

In NZ, we will give attention to the major experiences of deeper meditation – stillness, clarity and bliss. We will explore these states experientially and examine their relevance in an ongoing and satisfying meditation practice.

This promises to be one of the very best retreats – well worth travelling from Australia to attend, or making the journey to the glorious Mana Retreat Centre from anywhere around New Zealand.

ALL DETAILS – CLICK HERE

Meditation Teacher Training 
The program - October 10 - 14 - may be fully booked already – check with the office.
Next year's dates will be available very soon...

ALL DETAILS – CLICK HERE

Specific cancer residential programs 

8 days In Wanaka New Zealand 
- November 3 - 10
This is a comprehensive program focusing on activating and targeting the immune system, accelerating healing, much more on a therapeutic lifestyle, along with a range of strategies for heightening emotional health and wellbeing.

Again we will have the incomparable help of Liz Stillwell and the amazing Stew Burt - the ideal starting point for everyone affected by cancer.

5 days in the Yarra Valley : November 14 - 18
More designed as a follow-up cancer program for those who have done a previous program with Ruth and myself, the Foundation, or one of its affiliates. Call the Foundation for details of eligibility.

ALL DETAILS – CLICK HERE

Has Ian Gawler retired?

This is going to be a somewhat personal blog. Fairly regularly I’m being asked - “Are you retired?” The short answer is no, but maybe the question is coming as I recently passed 65 ? Maybe some people know it is now over 5 years since I did retire from my full-time job at the Gawler Foundation.

And yes, I did stand back for a year after leaving the Foundation and did very little but speak with people who had good ideas, reflected, contemplated, meditated and worked in the garden.

Now, with some new clarity and vigor, I am back doing many things, several of which are pretty extra-ordinary (as in : out of the ordinary). Definitely not retired but doing some different things to years ago, so thought it time for an update.

Also, following on from Paul Kraus’ story last week of surviving mesothelioma comes more good news with a great article in the Melbourne Age recounting Scott Stephens’ recovery from melanoma. Check it out below.

I first met Scott at a Foundation cancer residential program 8 years ago. Now, after a couple of early relapses and perseverance and sustained meditation, good food and smart thinking, Scott has been cancer-free for 6 years and he regularly meets with and inspires cancer groups at the Foundation and elsewhere.  Did you see him on that excellent Mind-Body Medicine documentary called The Connection???

Good news to share, but first




            Thought for the day

              I slept and dreamt that life was joy.

              I awoke and saw that life was service.

              I acted and behold, service was joy.


                                Rabindranath Tagore









In stepping down from the Foundation I had worked in for nearly 30 years, the intention was to make way so that the Foundation could establish itself in its own right, free of this founder; and to give me space to re-think what I had been doing for so long and to consider whether there were other ways to be more helpful.

Retiring from the Foundation when all was going well was a huge personal step, but being very conscious of the limitations of habitual thinking, the retirement was actually more an act of principle than of any necessity.

It would have been easy, comfortable and hopefully worthwhile for me to continue working for the Foundation. But when you have worked in one area of expertise, with one group in a similar way for nearly 30 years, there is a danger of a rut developing.

Personally, I like the idea of keeping the “beginners mind” active, stepping back from the norm regularly and considering what can be done to be most effective, most useful.

Also, sooner or later I was bound to leave the Foundation; either because I was too old, or the proverbial bus came to visit. So there seemed real value in having a new association with it in a well-planned, measured way.

So what is the current state of play?


Speaking personally
Ruth and I have been married 15 years now. Wow! What a treat that is being. Just held my fifth
grandchild, Tucker, son of Peter and Kerrielee. The garden is thriving and abundant and we are currently resurrecting the cottage on our property - countering old termite and water damage.

I am planning to go to France for a secluded 12 week meditation based retreat in July this year. It feels like the right time to do something more personal and intense.





1. The  Gawler Foundation
Ruth and I have a great relationship with all at the Foundation and we are really impressed with the services they provide and the manner in which they provide them.

Actually, I rather do hope they will change the name of the organisation to better represent the actual work they do, rather than their origins, but I am no longer involved with their management, so that stuff is all up to them.

Ruth and I presently lead the residential cancer follow-up programs at the Yarra Valley centre. Targeted for people who have done an initial “Gawler” program, either at the Foundation or elsewhere, and it is good for us to be doing a few less retreats each year so we can prepare extra thoroughly for these programs.

2. Working with Ruth – the retreats we present together
It is such good fortune to be able to work creatively and closely with your partner. Ruth being a doctor, with her special interests in Integrative Medicine, psychotherapy, meditation and yoga is such an asset to our groups. And there is always the feminine perspective……. We balance each other well. What a delight!

We do 2 types of retreats

a) Meditation retreats
For those becoming more serious about their meditation, or for those who already are, there is
nothing that deepens the experience of meditation more than going on retreat. So it is a pleasure to lead retreats regularly!

Our retreats are very much styled along the lines of what we would ideally like to attend ourselves. Middle intensity – enough meditation to have real effect, but not too much that you need a holiday when you get home. Enough stimulation via teachings to satisfy the intellect, but the emphasis is on the experience of meditation itself.

Then plenty of free space to contemplate, reflect, do some yoga or Chi Gong, go for a walk, rest and regenerate. Add in good company, great locations and excellent food. Bloody good combination really!!!

Each retreat has the recurring elements of  lots of practise and time for discussing personal meditation experiences/questions; but then each retreat also focuses on a particular theme.

For example Meditation in the Forest is the annual Pre-Easter meditation retreat we hold at the Foundation, and this year the focus is on understanding just what the stillness of meditation really is and how to experience it more directly and more reliably.

Later, in November, Meditation Under the Long White Cloud in New Zealand will focus on contemplation where we learn how to think things through more completely, to overcome confusion, develop clarity and certainty in decision making; and more – how to access insight, intuition and inner wisdom.

I must say contemplation is probably the most important “add-on” to basic meditation and we particularly love doing this presentation! Actually, we really love doing all the retreats.

b) Specific cancer programs

There are 2 types of these
i) The complete, integrated program for anyone affected by cancer and their partners. We call this Cancer, Healing and Wellbeing. Here we give good attention to living well with cancer, but there is a big focus on Accelerated Healing and what helps recovery – along with minimizing treatment side-effects and getting the best results from any medical or other treatments.

We will only lead one of these programs in 2015 and it is in New Zealand in May, organised and supported by Stew Burt and Canlive.

ii) The cancer follow-up programs. As explained, these are for those who are further down the track and we present them either at the Gawler Foundation Yarra Valley centre, or in Wanaka in New Zealand for Canlive. These too have their own specific themes and are designed so that people can attend them regularly and maintain their momentum.

3. Seminars, workshops, conferences
We have presented many of these in the last couple of years, but just for 2015, we decided to limit them. Aimed for zero, but saying no to some people is not easy, so the day or evening seminars we are presenting this year are for an inspiring and diverse bunch of people.

It occurred to me that if we could get our hosts together for a meal, it would lead to quite some conversations. There is Lionel Fifield - founder of the Relaxation Centre of Queensland and while well into his 70s, still totally dedicated to providing access to, and support for personal growth. Then Ani Rinchen Wangmo - a Tibetan nun working for a Buddhist centre in Cairns; Greg and Dawn Fitzgerald – passionate South Sydney naturopaths intent on curing all people of all things; and Rabbi Laibl Wolf – who supports Spiritgrow a Jewish community centre in Caufield that has a major charter to foster good physical and mental health and wellbeing. Would be some dinner!

4. The net and IT
Some know when I left the Foundation that my computer skills made IT troglodytes seem nerdy. So learning about all this stuff has been the big personal step forward. Blog. Facebook. Webstore. I even own and can use (to some degree) a computer. Still keep the old mobile phone – no Smart phone distracts me as yet!

But also there has been development of the high tech online meditation program, Mindbody Mastery that goes way beyond simply providing meditation instruction online; it provides on-going support via daily emails, weekly SMS and comes with a whole range of other fancy features.

Putting that together with my business partner in the IT adventures, Saurabh Mishra, has been such fun. So much to learn. So much benefit from the “beginner’s mind”. I ask all the dumb questions, and if it can be explained to me and if it works for me, then anyone can do it!

Now Saurabh and I are near to completing the development of a meditation app that will do way more than “just” run Mindbody Mastery (MBM), as many people these days tell us they want all the MBM features via app.

Also we recognized that students at many meditation schools would benefit from having direct access via an app to the specific teaching, practices and support of their own group. Problem is that developing an app that can do all that is a big deal. That we do know!

So, we have developed an app that makes it easy for individual meditation schools to upload their own material and provide their students with all the benefits of a very high tech app for little cost. No doubt there will be more on this soon as it comes to complete fruition – not far away.





And of course there has been development of the Pearl range that provides meditation for stress relief, better sleep and pain control via a mini MP3 player - ideal for personal use or a meaningful gift.







5. Corporate mindfulness and meditation
Recently there has been the opportunity to get to know Rasmus Horgaard from Denmark who runs the Potential Project. In my view this is by far the best corporate program of its type and yes, sharing more on that too soon; also having a small role around the edges of some corporate mindfulness projects has been very rewarding. The response has been very gratifying.

6. Writing
To be direct, with all else going on I have been doing my best to resist committing to another book, but I suspect this will not last much longer. There is one very exciting idea that has been brewing for some time and maybe more on this soon.

So if anyone is still reading after this particular diatribe, it has at least helped to sort out what is going on in my own mind, and no, I am not retired.




RELATED ARTICLE


Scott Stephens story of overcoming melanoma in the Melbourne Age, written back in November 2012 by Sarah Berry, LINK HERE





2015 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Full details are on the website, click here

NEXT MEDITATION RETREAT
Meditation in the Forest        March 27th to April 2nd  2015

During this meditation retreat, we will be focusing upon the deeper stillness of meditation. We will explore the theory, but moreso, the actual practices that help us to go beyond the activity of the thinking mind into a more direct and profound experience of the still mind.

Deep, natural peace. A calm and clear mind. So many possibilities follow…..

FULL DETAILS Click here

NEXT SPECIFIC CANCER PROGRAMS
CANCER and BEYOND  May 2015   Monday 4th at 11am to Friday 8th at 2pm

Five Day Residential Follow-up Program at the Gawler Foundation in the Yarra Valley

This program is specifically designed for those with cancer along with their support people who have attended a previous Gawler Foundation program or equivalent such as with Sabina Rabold, CSWA, Cancer Care SA, CanLive NZ, or with the Gawlers

A unique opportunity to meet with like-minded people once again, to consolidate what you already know, to learn more from the combined knowledge, experience and wisdom of Ian and Ruth, to reaffirm your good intentions, and to go home refreshed and revitalised.

FULL DETAILS Click here 

CANCER, HEALING and WELLBEING
Eight day residential program in New Zealand   May 15th  –  22nd , 2015

All welcome; attendance with a partner/ support person is ideal but not essential.

This program will lead you through all the self-healing options:
. Therapeutic nutrition
. Practical positive thinking
. Therapeutic meditation, plus the healing power of imagery and contemplation
. Accelerated healing
. Healthy, healing emotions
. How to get the most out of mainstream treatments and minimize side-effects
. How to be most effective as a support person/carer, and to look after yourself in the process.

I actually lead most of the main sessions, with support from Ruth and 2 exceptional New Zealanders. We live in for the full program so there is plenty of time for questions and personal interaction.

This program is organized and supported by Canlive New Zealand.

FULL DETAILS Click here

Ian Gawler Blog: Accelerated healing 101 – Part 2

In the last blog - Accelerated Healing – Part 1, we covered the first 2 principles that assist with accelerated healing:

1. Use the power of the mind

2. Have a solid base for healing

Now we pick it up again at the third point, with the specifics of how to Use Mind-Body Medicine. Also, details of the last cancer healing residential program Ruth and I will present this year, and our last meditation retreat for 2014, but first




    Thought for the day

The revolution that will save the world 
Is ultimately a personal one

             Marianne Williamson







3. USE MIND-BODY MEDICINE
The principle
The body has a vast array of healing mechanisms and they are all regulated by the mind – mostly by the unconscious mind. This regulation involves two-way communication – from the mind to the body AND from the body to the mind.

To use the mind to accelerate healing we need to be able to send positive messages from the mind to the body and receive the body’s feedback.

Here, there are 5 core principles to consider attending to:

i) Relaxation is the key – profound relaxation
The principle
When injured or in pain, instinctively the body tenses up. Doing so, blood flow is limited, muscle tension actually aggravates pain and the potential for healing is reduced. The antidote is to over-ride this instinct with deep relaxation.

What I did
I lay down and spent hours deeply relaxing my body generally and the affected area specifically.

This process involved putting the centre of my awareness into the area being relaxed, particularly the area needing healing and it was guided by the pain – see part iii) to come.

Development
This is another technique where having pre-existing skills is so helpful. How nice it would be if everyone knew how to do this by teenage years. However, it is never to late to learn.

Start with the Progressive Muscle Relaxation, focusing upon the feeling of the body relaxing. Learn to take that feeling of relaxation into the affected areas. This does take time. It does take practice. It does bring rapid relief and it does definitely accelerate healing.

ii) Meditation and imagery are the mainstays
The principle
Meditation is highly therapeutic. It leads to a state of deep physiological rest; a state of deep natural balance in which the ideal conditions for natural healing exist.

Imagery provides the means to connect our conscious intention to heal with our mind’s unconscious healing control centre that knows how to do it.

Together, the two techniques are synergistic.

What I did
I meditated in my usual way 3 times daily for 40 – 60 minutes each time. This was done with the gentle but clear conscious intention that this meditation would help to accelerate healing but it was done without “trying” to make healing happen.

By contrast, I also imagined the injured area healing using semi-literal healing that highlighted the end result of a fully functional, healthy, strong muscle and shoulder, with me being able to move and use it through its full range of movement.

Development
Again, ideally these are pre-existing skills. Good to learn and practice when you are well, but it is certainly realistic to learn and apply these techniques when the need is immediate – see the Resource list later.

iii) Pain is the guide
The principle
Perhaps paradoxically, pain is a great asset to accelerated healing. Obviously pain lets us know something needs attention, but more specifically, we can use it to focus our Mind-Body techniques; and to get feedback.

What I did
With the deep relaxation, I focused upon the painful areas (which did relate directly to the injured tissue), put my full awareness (free of judgement or reaction) into them, and worked on relaxing those areas until they felt the same as the healthy areas of my body.

This took some doing. It required some resolve, some capacity to feel the pain purely as it was, and some persistence. It was often only partially successful in any given session, but then I took heart from any progress made towards a more relaxed, less painful state (rather than bemoaning what was left to do). Occasionally there was complete relief from the pain and a deep sense of healing flowing.

Development
My sense is that this technique is a key principle in accelerated healing. Quite simply it takes practice and while what to do is essentialised above, the details of how to do it more thoroughly are in Meditation – an In-depth Guide and on the CD (or Download) Effective Pain Management.

iv) Sleep is an ally
The principle
While we sleep, the body and the mind are at rest. Sleep provides a refuge, a relief from pain if we need it; and while we sleep there is plenty of energy available for healing.

What I did
Before going to sleep I reminded my body, programmed it really, to continue healing.

Development
This one is simple. In a kind, friendly way, just before going to sleep, remind your body it will be free to heal unhindered, undistracted while it is asleep and maybe even imagine it doing so.

v) Talk to yourself kindly
The principle
Self talk can be very destructive or very self-affirming, very healing.

What I did
I was pleased to notice that after all my years of conscious experience with this principle, the fact was this was easy for me.

Development
For many I have known, destructive self talk can provide a major challenge and can require a concerted effort to transform. What to do?

Firstly, be gentle with yourself. Do aim to remember to notice the conversation/ the thoughts that flow through your mind. Recognise they are but thoughts. They are just thoughts. So even if they are potentially destructive thoughts, unless you take them seriously they are just thoughts – they come and go and no harm is done.

Where the problems arise is when we take our thoughts (especially potentially unhelpful ones) too seriously and allow them to dictate how we function, how we are.

So the ideal is just to recognize thoughts for what they are – just thoughts; to follow through on constructive thoughts and to let go of any unconstructive ones.

Maybe it as an interim measure that is helpful while we work towards this somewhat idealistic goal, it can be helpful to gently correct or to actively dismiss unhelpful inner chatter and to give more weight to positive self talk.

If this area is a major issue for you, affirmations may well be useful.

4. FOLLOW A NATURAL HIERARCHY OF HEALING – use medication sparingly
The principle
In my view, there is a very clear hierarchy of healing. It starts with being so well that sickness and injury are simply no problem, and leads all the way to major external interventions.

My approach is always to focus on what works and aim to do what is easiest, most natural and has the least side effects. So in healing, my personal approach is to start with the most natural thing that is likely to work, to give that some time and be open to noticing the response and moving down the hierarchy until something or some combination of things actually works. Surgery often makes really good sense.

THE HIERARCHY OF HEALING
i) WELLNESS 
Being really well involves consistently living a healthy lifestyle. The emphasis is on recognizing how precious life is – and how fragile. It is a delight to be alive and it makes sense to celebrate life by following a healthy lifestyle.

With a healthy lifestyle, prevention flows naturally, good health flows naturally, wellbeing flows naturally.

ii) PREVENTION
Here there is a more conscious attention given to the prevention of illness.

In my experience, while prevention makes all the sense in the world, people in general are completely under-whelmed by it as a motivator to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Illness is a great driving force, wellness can do it, but not so many are motivated long-term by the notion of prevention. Sad? Maybe. Fact? Absolutely!

iii) RESPONDING TO ILLNESS
The principle
There are two big areas to consider – first what you can do for yourself, and then what can be done for you.

a) What you can do for yourself
This is the vital first arena to consider in response to any illness. This approach to healing and wellbeing is best described as Lifestyle Medicine; not Complementary Medicine (athough it does complement just about everything), definitely not Alternative Medicine or even Integrative Medicine, no, this is Lifestyle Medicine - what you can do for yourself

Maybe you can completely resolve the injury/illness yourself – the body does have an amazing capacity for regeneration and healing. But if you do need any external help, how you respond, what you do, all of that will have a profound impact on the experience you have during the healing process and upon the final outcome.

Break a leg, disregard the healing, eat badly, use it excessively – bad outcome!

Break a leg, work with the healing, eat well, exercise judiciously etc, etc – good outcome!

A healthy lifestyle, Lifestyle Medicine, creates the ideal conditions in which the body can best contribute to its own healing, and in which the body can work powerfully to gain the best result from any treatment, and to minimize the risk and impact of any side effects.

b) What can be done for you – external interventions
Of course it can make sense to seek external help for healing, and this help can come in many forms. Each culture has its own Traditional Medicine. In the West we call this Conventional Medicine, but there is Traditional Chinese Medicine, Traditional Aboriginal bush medicine, Ayurveda, Tibetan Medicine and so on.


There is also Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Palliative Care. The point is that all these modalities involve something being done to, or for you.

The Australasian Integrative Medical Association (AIMA) has recently published a major policy statement on the range of healing modalities on offer and I will blog on that soon.

Again, my personal preference is to use the most natural modality that is likely to work and that has the least side effects. What this is will vary from situation to situation and ideally we can be helped/advised by someone with a broad view that has our own best interests at heart.

This is where it is valuable to have a key health practitioner and in my view the ideal person for this role is a General Practitioner who is trained and experienced in Integrative Medicine. AIMA is the peak body for this group and their website features contact details for accredited practitioners.

What I did
I do like to have a sound medical diagnosis, so I did visit an orthopaedic surgeon, had X Rays and an MRI. (I was also curious to see how my lower spine looked on X Ray after all these years - crap basically, but it works well ).

This proved to be a bit of a waste of time because once it was all organized, the arm was pain free and fully functional again. However, the tear was confirmed by the physical exam and on MRI.

I have become pretty good with pain management over the years (have had root canal dentistry without anaesthetic) but this injury was excruciating. I needed to travel and I had commitments to lecture. I took two Nurofen three times and plain Panadol going to bed twice.

Development
Hard to give specific advice here – probably not appropriate either. Situations can be so different. Best to reflect on the principles, discuss your own situation with your family, health practitioners and any other confidants you trust and then decide what works best for you. Taking time to get to a point of confidence, including making time to formally contemplate the possibilities are two things that seem to help most people.

These principles are usually discussed during the specific cancer residential programs Ruth and I present, and in the doing, people are assisted to sort out their priorities and options. Many of the actual Mind-Body techniques are practiced and developed in all our retreats.

5. ACTIVATE YOUR SUPPORT TEAM
The principle
When unwell, constructive support is vital; support from family, friends and health professionals.

What I did
Ruth looked after me extremely well. She also managed her own natural concern for how we would manage if the injury persisted and embarked on the trip expecting the best. It is fair to say that after working initially as a conventional doctor she has needed time, training and experience to be confident of accelerated healing, but having accomplished this, we were united in the possibilities.

I am also fortunate to have a senior orthopaedic surgeon as a friend so I was able to call upon him for early phone advise and then to see him personally when we arrived in Sydney. The injury healed too quickly to call upon any other services.

Development
Seek out the best health professionals in every area of need that you have, ask for help, ask lots of questions, take your time, reflect upon and contemplate the answers and the options, then make deliberate (as in conscious) choices. Then seek help to follow through.

FINALLY
This may be the longest blog to date. If you are still reading, maybe it has been helpful.

Obviously there is a great deal of detail to fully explain what to do to develop each point.

The material presented in this and last week’s blog will be at the heart of the material to be covered in the next specific cancer programs Ruth and I will present – the first, Mind, Meditation and Healing at Wanaka, New Zealand in November 2014, the second, Cancer and Beyond in the Yarra Valley, Australia in May 2015.

(Nutrition will be given thorough coverage as well, while there will be ample time with myself and Ruth for questions and discussion, along with good conversations amongst like-minded people).

To be clear, there is a lot that can be done to accelerate healing. However, in my experience, to do this well it takes some commitment to learning and practice. Both are required. So I have added a resource list below featuring where more details are available via my own books, CDs etc, and I am working on an expanded reading list that I will add to my website soon – suggestions for inclusions are welcome via the comment section below.

In conclusion maybe you know someone else in need and could forward this two-part blog. Maybe together we could help someone else to experience accelerated healing.

RELATED BLOGS
Accelerated healing - Part 1

Radical Remission

NOTICEBOARD
1. Meditation Under the Long White Cloud 
Five day residential retreat in New Zealand with Drs Ian and Ruth Gawler.

It is not too late to end the year with deep natural peace. Profound insight. With over 50 years of leading meditation retreats and a wide variety of groups between us, Ruth and I invite you to join us for a 7 day meditation retreat amidst the beauty of the Coromandel Peninsula.

DATES: Saturday October 25 to Friday October 31

Details, bookings and a flier to download can be accessed by CLICKING HERE

2. Mind, Meditation and Healing
Five days for people affected by cancer led by Drs Ian and Ruth Gawler and where the focus will be on accelerated healing. More details and a flier to download can be accessed by CLICKING HERE

DATES: Arrive 12noon, program commences with lunch together at 1pm Monday 10th Nov.; until 2pm Friday 14th (after lunch) Nov. 2014

VENUE: The Snow Farm Lodge, Cardrona Valley Rd, Wanaka.

BOOKINGS and ENQUIRIES:   canlive.org or call Stew Burt 03 443 4168 OR +64 3 443 6234 New Zealand

RESOURCES

BOOKS 
The Mind that Changes Everything – for details on how to connect the conscious thought “I want to heal”, with the unconscious part of the mind that actually regulates healing.

You Can Conquer Cancer – the complete manual for healing.

CDs and DOWNLOADS
Meditation – a Complete Path – the ideal starting point for meditation and the 2 key guided meditation practices.

Relaxation for Everyone – how to deepen your relaxation – good to use for the purposes described above with the techniques explained and guided on:

Effective Pain Management – how to transform the experience of pain and use it to accelerate healing.

Mind Training – 2CD set that describes how the conscious and the unconscious mind works  and how we can use both intelligently to support healing

Emotional Health – how to recognize and let go of destructive emotions, while enhancing healthy emotions.

PROGRAM TO WATCH VIA YOUTUBE
A Good Life – ABC Compass program outlining something of my life and work.

Link via my website – CLICK HERE 

MASTERS of MIND and BODY

As part of the Mindbody Mastery on-line meditation program I helped to set up, we feature a regular blog series of masters of mind & body..

The aim is to keep going back to that question – Ever wondered what real-life masters of mind & body look like? Who they are? What do they do with their lives? How do they think, speak and act? 

And the answer – Would it surprise you to learn that by and large, they look very much like you and me, and that they mostly live in our own communities? Though some do choose to be renunciate monks and nuns and live in splendid isolation at some of the most spectacular places on earth (like the Himalayas) while yet others choose to live nomadic lives, spreading goodness and inspiration through the world (like the famed Sadhus and Fakirs of India). Invariably each has a keen sense of how they can help make our world a better place, and go about their work in their own unique ways – sometimes in the glare of public limelight, but most often just quietly, and with great dignity.

Having show-cased some who have spectacularly renunciated the world and their identities in their quest for mind-body mastery in our previous two blogs, this time we venture closer to home, with Liz Schiemer of Pt Stephens, NSW, Australia, a Master of Positive Thinking. Her untiring work in improving mental health in her community is an inspiring story as you will see.

Read on...

Accelerated healing 101

The 5 principles you can learn and apply to accelerate the healing of any condition.

Do you sometimes wonder if people who heal quickly are just lucky? Or did a miracle (an unexplained event) occur? Or is the notion of accelerated healing through using the power of the mind actually real, and if so, how best to take advantage of it?

What follows is very personal. It describes my own recent encounter with a major need for healing. And it provides direct advice based on nearly 40 years in this field. It is also a long article as the attempt has been made to make it fairly complete, almost like a healing manifesto, so it will come in 2 parts, but first


Thought for the day

             Without the heart 
             The eyes cannot see 
             And the ears cannot hear


                     Japanese saying





Recently I had the opportunity to put what I teach into practice. Two days before leaving on the recently completed 3 month road trip/speaking tour, I tore the rotator cuff in my right shoulder.

There was the car to pack, the prospect of many miles to travel, many talks to present. And an arm that was completely immobile and excruciatingly painful! Would it heal? How long would it take? How would Ruth and I manage?

Apparently, rotator cuff tears commonly take 2 – 3 months to heal. Some require surgery and some are very slow. Recently a friend was severely debilitated by this injury for 2 years. My rotator cuff tear was diagnosed on clinical examination by an orthopaedic surgeon and confirmed by X Ray and MRI. It was completely healed in 5 days. I decided to delay writing of it until returning home, just to ensure there was no relapse - it remains as strong and reliable as ever.

Just lucky? Maybe, but here then is “Accelerated Healing 101”. The 5 key principles are explained, how I actually applied them to healing a rotator cuff tear is described, and details of how you can develop these principles are provided for whenever you may need healing.

ACCELERATED HEALING 101 – the five key principles

1. USE THE POWER OF THE MIND 
The potential for the mind to limit healing or to accelerate it is vast. This is not about some simplistic “wishful thinking” – hoping for the best with very little action to back it up. No, this is about realizing the potential of our mind, training it and using it intelligently.

i) Have a clear, positive intention
The Principle
Intention is the starting point. Clearly, when it comes to using the power of the mind, the more certainty the better. Dare to aim high. Do expect the extra-ordinary!

What I did
I told my body that it was completely unacceptable to go on a 3 month road trip with an excruciatingly painful, immobile arm. I expected it to heal quickly and fully and I was committed to doing whatever was necessary to bring that about. Healing became my number one priority.

Development
Maybe we are starting with one of the trickiest principles. I have worked with so many people who, when it came to healing, started with doubts, confusion, uncertainty. However, clearly there is hope. This is a skill that can be learnt like all the others we will be discussing; it simply requires some clarity (about what you are really aiming for) and some courage (to dare to commit to that goal and to follow through on it).

ii) Trust in the cause
The principle
A rotator cuff tear is not “an accident”. Like other things in our lives, it follows on from a string of causes and conditions; some of which we will be aware of, some of which will remain somewhat mysterious.

Have confidence that the cause is clearly to do with our life and that it has the potential to be destructive or constructive depending upon how we respond to it.

What I did
Before leaving on this trip, there had been a lot to do. Heaps of organizing for the tour. Heaps of preparation before leaving the farm for 3 months. Heaps of overhead pruning with the chainsaw in the orchard while balancing on one leg.

No obvious specific trigger, but the injury made sense! And while it did provide an excellent and compelling opportunity to revisit and re-examine what  teach, on the surface, it still seemed extremely inconvenient!

Development
The aim is to recognize cause and effect. To let go of any “victim mentality thinking”, the disempowering “poor me” stuff and to recognize that if something has a cause it also has a solution. Logical analysis will get you to this if common sense does not do it even more directly.

It is wise to reflect on all this, to contemplate it and to clarify your own thinking, your own beliefs around healing.

iii) Let go of the past – along with destructive states of mind
The principle
This means letting go of blame, shame (that feeling of not being good enough), guilt and despair. Tough work for some.

What I did
I need to be honest here and at the risk of sounding immodest or deluded, say that fortunately I attended to these destructive states rather thoroughly some years back and they were simply not an issue in this instance. However, I observe that for many people they can provide a major impediment to accelerated healing.

Development
The simple first step here is to work out what you want. If it is to be angry and resentful then healing will suffer. If accelerated healing is what you want, then you have an imperative: work on transforming any destructive mind states you are aware of. For example, forgiveness is possible when you are committed to it and it transforms resentment.

However, there is an important proviso. Sometimes transforming difficult emotions can of itself take a lot of energy and time. Sometimes it can be expedient to focus on getting well in the first instance, then attending to these difficulties later. Timing can be a major issue and the key is to be comfortable with where you are at.

Some people just know they need to work on forgiveness as a major, immediate priority. Others sense that now is not the time; that there is a knowing that these personal issues will need to be attended to, but that healing will be better served by shelving the issues for now and coming back to them later.

The secret is to aim to develop a comfort with where you are at, to avoid beating yourself up and to develop the intuitive skills that give you confidence to know what to do when (this can be reliably accomplished through the practice of contemplation).

iv) Expect healing
The principle
Be confident. The body’s capacity to accelerate healing is truly amazing. There are so many amazing stories to draw upon; to be inspired by. (In the cancer field, read Surviving Cancer and Radical Remission).

What I did
I knew I could heal quickly.

Development
Take inspiring stories to heart. Be comforted by the fact that even if just one person has accomplished remarkable healing before, it can be done again. Draw strength from the growing body of research that documents and analyses many remarkable recoveries.

Avoid negative people. Or better still, use their doubts to constructively challenge and build your own resolve. Remind yourself regularly of the amazing potential for healing you have. Whenever possible, hang out with people who have done it. Attending a well run, like-minded self help/support group can be very useful.

v) Talk to your self kindly and positively
The principle
The messages we give to ourselves directly impact upon our potential for accelerated healing, and on our wellbeing.

What I did
The pain I experienced with my rotator cuff injury was extreme – for a few days. Over the years I have developed some pain management skills (have had root canal dentistry without anaesthetic) but a couple of times I just felt the need to yell! But then I smiled. It was a release. No need to beat myself up, make judgements or feel guilty in some misguided way. Just let it out and move on the freer for having done so. Move on expecting to heal and thanking the body as the positive signs of recovery began to emerge.

Development
Watch your self talk. Learn to actively participate in your own thinking. Rather than allowing your thoughts to dictate how you feel, take control. Notice when you stray into negative or destructive self talk, recognize it, do not take it seriously, do not beat yourself up and instead, give your energy to creative, constructive thoughts.

2. HAVE A SOLID BASE FOR HEALING
The principle
Accelerated healing is based upon the regenerative powers of the body. Inflammation can be important in the early stages of healing, but chronic inflammation and meta-inflammation are both decidedly “anti-healing”.

What we need for accelerated healing is a solid baseline that is anti-inflammatory and regenerative. This is achieved by living a healthy lifestyle.

So good to be doing this before an injury or illness, but again, it is never too late to begin. Two key points:

i) Nutrition
The principle
High levels of meat, dairy, saturated fats and processed foods are all confirmed to promote inflammation and degenerative processes in the body.

Plant based whole foods, good oils, exercise, high fluid intake – all the things you know about – are confirmed to be highly anti-inflammatory, highly regenerative.

What I did
Thoroughly attended to all this

Development
Simple choice really!

ii) Stress management
The principle
Stress also leads to inflammation and aggravates degenerative disease.

What I did
I knew I was under pressure, so I meditated more. Prior to the injury, I had been doing all possible to minimise the load and making time to exercise more.

Development
Especially when healing, do all possible to minimize stressors and make time for relaxation, exercise and meditation. Make meditation a priority and use CDs to help keep focused if you are distracted or have trouble concentrating.

3. USE MIND-BODY MEDICINE
The principle
The body has a vast array of healing mechanisms and they are all regulated by the mind – mostly by the unconscious mind. This regulation involves two-way communication – from the mind to the body AND from the body to the mind.     To be continued….

NEXT WEEK – Accelerated Healing Part 2
How to use the mind to accelerate healing directly using Mind-Body Medicine techniques.

The hierarchy of healing modalities

Activating your support team

FOLLOW UP – specific cancer residential programs with a focus upon accelerated healing

The material presented in this and next week’s blog will be at the heart of the material to be covered in the next specifically cancer related programs Ruth and I will present – the first, Mind, Meditation and Healing at Wanaka, New Zealand in November 2014,  the second, Cancer and Beyond in the Yarra Valley, Australia in May 2015.

(Nutrition will be given thorough coverage as well, while there will be ample time with myself and Ruth for questions and discussion, along with good conversations amongst like-minded people).

RELATED BLOGS
Cancer survivors? Cancer thrivers!

Radical Remission

RESOURCES
BOOKS You Can Conquer Cancer,   Radical Remission,   Surviving Cancer

CDs and DOWNLOADS
Mind Training,   Emotional Health

PROGRAM TO WATCH VIA YOUTUBE
A Good Life – ABC Compass program outlining something of my life and work.

Link via my website – CLICK HERE 

Truly remarkable healing – Sabina’s story including 12 key points for overcoming cancer

One of the things Ruth and I look forward to during the speaking tour up the East Coast that starts in Sydney on Thursday 3^rd July in Sth Sydney, then Katoomba Saturday 5^th,  Sydney again Sunday 6^th, is catching up with family, friends and some remarkable colleagues.

Sabina Rabold trained with me and has led meditation and cancer groups in Sydney for many years. Recently her loved one was diagnosed with bowel cancer spread to the liver, thoroughly testing all the principles.

So this week Sabina provides a fascinating report on what they did and how things have turned out – an inspiring and informative read that includes her 12 key points for overcoming cancer – now honed by personal experience! Plus details of the tour (you can link here, or see the details below), but first

Thought for the Day

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift 

And the rational mind is a faithful servant. 

We have created a society that honors the servant 

And has forgotten the gift. 

We will not solve the problems of the world 

From the same level of thinking we were at 

When we created them. 

More than anything else, 

This new century demands new thinking.

We must change our materially based analyses of the world around us 

To include broader, more multidimensional perspectives. 
 

                                Albert Einstein 

I have a great deal of respect for Sabina Rabold. Sabina is a counselor and psychotherapist in private practice in Crows Nest, Sydney.  Sabina is authentic, deeply committed, and embodies what she teaches - mindfulness and meditation, as well as a 3 Day Living and Thriving Program for people with cancer and their support people.

So for her loved one to be diagnosed with a difficult cancer challenged all she does and all she believes in. How would all this stuff work when it involved the person she is closest to?

Sabina takes up the story as a guest blog:

Last August my loved one, aged 47, was diagnosed with Stage IV Colorectal Cancer with secondaries in the liver. For some years I had been running The Gawler Foundation’s 12 Week Cancer, Healing and Wellbeing Programs and other related programs and workshops in Sydney. I have worked with hundreds of people diagnosed with cancer and their support people.

I have learnt much from Ian and Ruth Gawler, the people at the Gawler Foundation, learned people in the field of cancer care and also from the many courageous people that I have come to know over the years. Those people who have faced up to cancer in an empowered way, working hard to become well and stay well. Now I needed this knowledge to support my loved one, helping him weather the storms of treatment, heal and stay well myself along the way.

With so much good information on board we were able to step straight into action. The full Gawler program started the very next day after the diagnosis - juicing, diet, extra meditation and more. We found an excellent holistic GP who did a number of tests to help us determine the regime of supplements needed. We bought a better juicer. We bought a sauna. My loved one started on IV Vitamin C. We bought mountains of organic veggies and other supernutritious food. I became the kitchen Goddess, spending hours juicing, sprouting, cooking every day.

The relief that came from knowing what to do was immense.

While I started to research this illness, its treatment and cure intensely, we also stepped on the medical merry-go-round: doctors, oncologist, radio-oncologist and surgeon. Each new meeting saw me give a little speech: ‘Dear Doctor, please assume that my loved one will be a survivor of cancer. While we realize that this is a life-threatening illness, we are doing everything we can to heal and recover. We are going all out for cure. Please support us in this’.

The response of each of the physicians was interesting: from doubtful, to silence, to enthusiastic encouragement (from the oncologist - we will always love him for this). 

Then came chemotherapy: six months of intense chemotherapy, IV for two days, every two weeks. Throughout this time we continued all out with the Gawler Healing Diet, six juices per day, as well as meditation, about 35 supplement tablets, IV Vitamin C, saunas, exercise and so on.

While my loved one lost a bit of hair, he gained a bit of weight. He worked part-time throughout the treatment, never threw up, never spent a full day in bed and continued to feel reasonable most of the time. Some unpleasant side-effects from the medical treatment came and mostly went again soon.

The first glimmer of hope came in October: the CT showed indication that the tumours were shrinking. This was confirmed by a PET scan in November that showed that the primary tumour as well as all five liver metastases had shrunk significantly. Hearing this was wind beneath our wings.

Despite the significant shrinkage of the tumours we agreed for my loved one to undergo five weeks of daily radiotherapy parallel to the chemo in January 2014. Despite being advised to cease holistic treatment during radiotherapy by the radiotherapy doctor we continued, after having done much research and in-depth discussions with our holistic GP.

Again, my loved one came through this ordeal with flying colours, worse for wear of course but nothing like what had been predicted. Then a Godsend break from treatment and a further PET scan that confirmed that there was no observable tumour activity in the colon or liver. This was confirmed by the biopsy done on the remaining tumour tissue that was removed in an operation some weeks later - no live cancer cells detectable. Phew.

Now we are under no illusion; cancer is an unpredictable illness and these are early days. But we are trying to stay a step ahead. We are continuing indefinitely with all the things that we have found to be helpful; the holistic treatments, the check-ups, the diet and juicing. If need be we will draw in any medical treatment that seems helpful.   I am also researching preventative treatments that will see the cancer ‘nipped in the bud’ should it decide to come back. So the effort continues.

Twelve things that I have been confirmed in through my experience so far:

    After a cancer diagnosis how we respond matters a great deal. The sooner we respond the better.

    In order to heal from cancer, we need to consider all options that are available.

    Knowledge is power, the better informed we are the more confident we are in making good choices.

    A holistic path is essential, for healing and for wellbeing and conventional medicine is a powerful ally.

    Listening to the needs of the body, the mind and the heart is confirming of self and healing.

    The Gawler Program offers a solid foundation for this holistic path, other aspects can be added from other sources. A good holistic GP is important.

    It takes an empowered and courageous person with cancer to participate fully in the healing journey and go all out for cure.

    A good support team is worth their weight in gold. It takes a dedicated, knowledgeable, determined and resilient support person or team to last the distance.

    The task of the support person is different but also enormously challenging and we often do not get the care and attention that the person with cancer gets.

    It is important to ask for help and support and let people know what help is best at what time

    It helps to hold 2 realities lightly: the reality that the future is uncertain and life is finite; and the reality that there is much that can be done to be well and healed each day.

    To accept that this is a difficult journey and to be ok with ‘whatever gets you through the night’

There is of course so much more knowledge, experience, insight and understanding that this last year has added to my understanding of the Cancer Healing Journey. 

I have re-commenced offering my 3 Day Living and Thriving Programs for people with cancer and their support people in Sydney, and I will teach this program with renewed energy, increased depth of faith in the possibility of healing and greater knowledge in how to approach the healing journey.

Right after the journey with cancer started, Ian and Ruth advised me to prepare for a marathon, that this is the long haul….. and they are right. I am happy to say that so far, I have lasted the distance. And in this moment my loved one is cancer free.

If you know someone who needs some inspiration, some hope, some direction; perhaps this is a blog to share.

Next Living and Thriving Program starting in July 2014

The 3 Day 'Living & Thriving" Program is a unique educational program specifically designed for people with cancer (whether newly diagnosed or long-term survivor) and their support people. The program brings together the best of the various holistic methods and approaches available and introduces participants to various lifestyle medicine options that help to live well with and overcome the challenges of cancer. There are no prerequisites for this program and everyone is welcome. The approaches taught are additional and complementary to any other treatment choices.

NEXT PROGRAM   •Day 1: 26.7.2014   •Day 2: 3.8.2014   •Day 3: 17.8.2014

More information about the program can be found on www.WellforLife.net.au

or contact Sabina on 0419 980 923, or email: Sabina@WellforLife.net.au.

RELATED BLOG

Ilana’s story

RESOURCES

BOOK You Can Conquer Cancer

CD and Download : The Gawler Cancer Program

What to do when someone you love has cancer

NOTICEBOARD

1. IAN’S EAST COAST TOUR – 

HEALTH, HEALING and the MIND 

– from JULY onwards

Only a few days now and Ruth and I will in Sydney for the first of our series of speaking engagements up the East Coast.

Thursday July 3^rd we are in Sth Sydneyfor an evening public talk.

Saturday July 5^th it is Katoomba for a day workshop.

Sunday July 4^th Sydney again – this time centrally at Camperdown for another day open to all.

Then we head for Pt Stephens on Saturday 12^th, before continuing right on up to Cairns with a few talks along the way, across to Mt Isa and Alice Springs for Meditation in the Desert, then down to Adelaide. A road trip with a difference.

Know someone who might benefit from attending? 

Hope to see many of you along the way. There will be the chance for a refresher, to help get back on track if needed; but also exciting new information and the opportunity to meditate together and to deepen the experience of what meditation really is.

A good opportunity to share what we do with family, friends and colleagues.

FULL DETAILS – CLICK HERE  and please do share the link.

2. Meditation in the Desert : August 29 – September 7

Still a few spaces available, so come, join Ruth and myself along with like-minded people for 7 days of meditation in the extraordinary atmosphere of the Central Australian desert, followed by several days of close contact with senior local indigenous leaders.

Secure your place with a deposit. For details CLICK HERE