Magic, Healing and Cancer - and A Spiritual Response to Critical Times

The Vice President of Argentina : I have come all this way because in response to the crises we are experiencing all around us, most of the leaders of today are using their heads in an attempt to find solutions. Clearly this is not working. Clearly all we are getting is more and worse crises. The only choice is to find spiritually based solutions; that is why I have come. I want to be a part of that process.


Who is speaking?

A most remarkable and admirable woman.

Made paraplegic by a car accident at 28 and a deeply spiritual woman, Gabriela Michetti has risen to be the Vice President of Argentina.

She travelled in her wheelchair (and a plane and car or two) to contribute to an inspired and inspiring conference Ruth and I were also invited to address in Delhi last month.


So this week, more on the conference, a little on the nature of magic in healing, and a visual insight into our hosts - the Brahma Kumaris, plus if you do feel the need for healing and do want to use your own inner healing resources, news of Ruth's Mindbody Medicine retreat with neurologist, meditator and yogi Prof Sanjay Regav, but first

       Thought for the day

I adopted the theory of reincarnation when I was twenty-six.
Religion offered nothing to the point.
Even work could not give me complete satisfaction.
Work is futile if we cannot utilize the experience
We collect in one life in the next.
When I discovered reincarnation, time was no longer limited.
I was no longer a slave to the hands of the clock.
I would like to communicate to others
The calmness that the long view of life gives to us.

                          Henry Ford

THE BRAHMA KUMARIS
The BKs as they are known, began with the teachings of a Hindu living in what was to become Pakistan back in 1936.

From humble beginnings and initially supported by the wealth Brahma-Baba (as they call him now) had acquired as a diamond merchant, they now have over 10,000 centres in well over one hundred countries.

The BKs regard themselves as a spiritual organisation rather than a formal religion. They are affiliated with the United Nations and are known for the pre-eminent role that women play in the movement - both as administrators and teachers.



Our connection is through their Australian coordinator, Charlie Hogg who we have known as a man of wisdom and integrity for decades. So this visit was our chance to see the BKs up close. There are a few interesting things to report.

Firstly, they do care very well. As part of a smallish group of international speakers, we were exceptionally well attended to - made welcome, given time with their senior teachers and shown their retreat centres out of Delhi and at Mt Abu in Rajastan.



They also organise events very well.

There was a 2 day pre-conference speakers retreat attended by luminaries like Gabriela Michetti, the remarkable Vice President of Argentina who was incredibly warm, open and compassionate - very much in Jacinda Ardern’s league of wonderful new women leaders.



THE DELHI CONFERENCE

Spiritual Response to Critical Times drew an audience of around 12,000 people - and yes, that is the biggest audience I have ever spoken to!

Chief guest was the ex President of India, Pranab Mukherjee (complete with machine gun totting guards in the background!).

It seems natural in India to have top leaders speaking about the need for politicians and other leaders to be motivated by service to their people, not by their egos or their need for self-aggrandisement or greed.

There is the sense some are genuine and in Gabriela Michetti’s case, very passionate.




One wonders how else we can address the multiple crises in environment, population, pollution, financial inequality and human rights abuses if not by true altruism expressed through a spiritual framework.


The leaders talked of their reservations when it came to how nations, governments and even religions addressed these issue, and spoke of spirituality being expressed in terms of moral values, genuine compassion and love for everyone within our wide and diverse communities.


Ruth was able to speak to that diversity, and the need for inclusivity amongst peoples from differing faiths. She is seen here with fellow speaker Tammy Roos, also from Melbourne.

I spoke during an interview panel following a magic act!

Next to me is Tammy, and a very successful Russian business man who credits his success to meditating daily without fail.

The interviewer was a woman I last saw around 30 years ago.

Caroline attended a 10 day cancer program just 3 weeks after marrying the love of her life. He had been diagnosed the day after the wedding and died 6 weeks later, yet within that time they both turned their lives around. Caroline shared in the death of her husband so intimately that she experienced a near-death experience with him.

Maybe this is a story for another time…

CANCER, HEALING AND MAGIC
Anyway, I was asked about magic in healing. Magic is where something happens that we were not expecting and/or cannot explain easily. Seems to me there are two types of magic. There is magic based upon illusion, and magic based upon truth.

Magic based upon illusion is where something that is untrue is manipulated to appear true. Something happens like a card trick, we cannot explain how it happened, and yet we know there is an explanation, and it is that the magician is tricking us.

Then there is the magic based upon truth. Again something happens. Again we cannot explain how it happened when first we experienced it, and yet this time there is a truthful explanation.

So snake oil salesman used to offer magical cures for cancer. People used magical thinking based upon illusion to buy and use remedies that commonly ended in disappointment - except that in the interim they did purchase that all important ingredient, hope. But in this process, the snake oil salesmen also gave real magic a bad name.

Real magic is where something new happens that most do not understand. Given this lack of
understanding, what happens appears magical.

A mobile phone is a good example of a device that is magical to the uninitiated. These days most of us take the mobile phone for granted; we regard it to be non-magical as we kid ourselves we understand how it works. Hahahaha! Who knows how a mobile phone works??? One thing we do know for sure, however, is that it does work!

Anyway, in cancer medicine, decades ago when people like me recovered unexpectedly, many thought it was some sort of magic, or maybe something even more than that - a miracle.

Easy enough to think this - given how big and gross the cancer masses on my chest were in 1976...




               and how they were all gone by 1978...

So to be clear, for me, a miracle is one of two things - it is either a genuine miracle with no logical, scientific explanation, or it is an example of magic based upon truth - when something happens that we do not understand, yet there is a genuine explanation that someone else might help us with. In the latter case, what appears at first to be a "miracle", does in fact have a rational and truthful explanation.


I always contended my recovery was repeatable for others and the mechanism of the recovery was understandable. So magic at the time for some maybe, but magic based on truth. Learn the techniques and apply them. No magic in that. Just like the mobile phone. Learn how it works and use it.

OUTREACH

So moving on, then there is the BK’s outreach. This is most impressive.

At Mt Abu - a remote part of India, they have established 2 large specialty hospitals where over 55% of patients are treated free.

They have retreat accommodation there for up to 35,000 people and this is sustained by a huge experimental solar array.

Here is a glimpse into daily life at their centre...

       And the virtues they live by ...













One of the remarkable things about the BKs is that they are a voluntary organisation and all their  programs are offered free of charge. The Delhi conference with 12,000 people attending was free!

Clearly they have many seriously inspired and committed supporters.  Maybe part of this is their attention to care and detail.

Check out the fresh flowers that formed the centre piece for our pre-conference retreat!



And the volunteers!

Here are some of the 500 women who gather to prepare just the chapatis for the thousands on retreat...

And consider the social networking that goes on amidst the chapati making...

This is a community that is flourishing in a way a chapati machine would cripple.






There is a sense on inner peace,
along with a gentle pride
and contentment...

And amidst this is a great generosity of spirit and a strong commitment to inter-faith sharing.

Our group included Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists; and there were some wonderful exchanges.

We were treated to lengthy meetings with the BK's senior people.

Here we are at Mt Abu in a small group with Sister Jayanti.


Sister Jayanti has said "Meditation enables me to feed myself - the soul - with spiritual knowledge that gives me the experience of peace, purity, wisdom, love and lasting happiness. It gradually restores in me the confidence and dignity to live in the light of my original nature and awakens hope in the self".



It was a treat for me to share time and be with an old friend - Bishop Philip Huggins from Melbourne, an Anglican who currently is the President of the National Council of Churches in Australia.









So as an organisation, the Brahma Kumaris really are putting their spiritual conviction into practice and run a powerful and committed social agenda for good; they are doing well to demonstrate what everyone at the conference confirmed, we really do need a spiritually based response to the critical times we live in.



MINDBODY MEDICINE   -   with Dr Ruth Gawler and Prof Sanjay Regav

                                 Activate your own inner healer 
                  Support the one you love to heal



We all know healing is a combined effort. It makes sense to benefit from the best of whatever modern medicine has to offer, along with any relevant supportive therapies. But then there is our own side to the healing equation. How do we get the best from our own innate capacity to heal?

What better than to learn from two senior doctors who along with their medical specialties, specialise in teaching and supporting people to activate their healing potentials and recover. This program also specifically addresses the needs of carers - how to look after yourself while supporting the one you love on their healing journey.

This program addresses the basic requirements of how to give the body and mind the best chance to heal. Therefore it is directly applicable to a wide range of illnesses and health disorders including, but not limited to autoimmune or inflammatory conditions, degenerative diseases, mental health issues and chronic stress. 

Join an inspiring and practical program. Interact with like minded people all committed to the healing path, and learn from two amazing doctors!

This I highly recommend!

DATES :  17 - 21 May.   The program will be repeated   29Nov - 3 Dec   2019

VENUE :  The Yarra Valley Living Centre, Rayner Crt, Yarra Junction, Victoria, Australia

WEB LINK :  Click here

ENQUIRIES and BOOKINGS :  Contact the staff at The Yarra Valley Living Centre

             Telephone :      1800 667 576

              Email :            ClientServices@gawler.org

              Website :         Click here

Ian Gawler blog: Something I would not recommend

Some things in mind-body medicine may be just too wild to talk about in public. But with one year about to end and another about to begin, lets go way “Out on a Limb” and talk about something really interesting.

Usually I talk about things I recommend and do myself. It is one of the delights of working in what is best described as Lifestyle Medicine. Whether it be about food, the mind, meditation etc,etc, these are things I have done, mostly continue to do, and generally recommend wholeheartedly through having my own personal experience of them.

However, something happened recently that highlighted something I do that I was not at all sure I should speak about, let alone recommend; until my wife offered her own insight that I imagine you might find really helpful. But first

Thought for the day:
There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as if nothing is a miracle;
The other is as if everything is a miracle
                                     Albert Einstein

So here is the thing. The other day I developed a sore back. Really sore. I could hardly move. Totally unusual for me as despite so many years on one leg, my back is remarkably trouble free.

No idea how this happened. Maybe the golf with my older sister a few days earlier. Maybe something from gardening ? Or sitting too long at the computer?? No idea. But really sore. Hard to stand up. Really painful to sit down. Nothing like it since the darkest days of my cancer when I had a lower vertebrae almost destroyed by the cancer.

So what to do? What would conventional wisdom say? Lie down and rest? Go to the doctor? Get X Rays? Go to an osteopath? Well no, what I actually did was a strenuous days work in the garden; after which it was quite a deal better.

Understand why I am not recommending this? At the time, I just did what seemed to be needed; in retrospect, maybe there was some method in the madness. So before offering Ruth’s insight, here are my own thoughts as to why I did something that in retrospect, may have seemed a little odd.

1. Structure follows function. Way back from my days as a veterinarian, I have held the view that structure follows function. Get injured, do nothing and everything seems to wind down. Yet the body is incredibly well engineered to do what is required of it. Get injured, exercise as much as possible, keep the functions going, and the body has an impetus to heal and return to its healthy structure.

2. Nature is a great healer. Whenever I become ill, which is very rarely, my first reaction is to do nothing. Well not nothing exactly, I give nature the first crack at the healing process. So I do not interfere. I trust and I wait.

Maybe it is like this. Get sick, become inactive, expect the worst, become depressed, and everything shuts down. Get sick, judiciously increase the activity, cultivate all the positive emotions and states of mind, expect to recover, do what is needed, and all the cells in our bodies rejoice and flourish.

So what I do is to deeply trust the healing power of nature, especially when it is provided with the right conditions – good food, exercise, positive state of mind, meditation etc, etc. And because I have been quietly attending to these things for many years, I have good grounds for confidence.

3. If at first you do not succeed, try something more. Usually for me, things get better quite quickly. If not, I have a scale of intervention – from the least to the most. So trusting in time and nature and a healthy lifestyle is where I start; having my left lung removed in 2004 courtesy of major surgery (with a lot of gratitude to the surgeon for solving a long-standing, complex problem), is where I am prepared to go to if necessary. But the surgery came after 25 years of trying just about everything else to fix the damage caused to my lung by TB.


I debated whether to share anything of this via the blog, but then, when consulted for advice, Ruth added her insight. Firstly, she pointed out that often enough I do rest; but then the key point. She suggested the real reason in this particular incidence I worked in the garden rather than do the seemingly sensible thing and do anything but that, was through being a regular meditator there comes this clarity of mind that simply knows what is needed to be done.

Thinking of this, there is no logic in working hard in the garden with an acutely sore back. If anyone asked me what to do in those circumstances, I can almost guarantee I would suggest they take it easy. Yet I had no hesitation. Did not even really think about it.

Had to prop myself up to dig. Had trouble moving all morning; then after lunch a dramatic improvement. Hot bath at the end of the day. Meditated lying down. Good nights sleep and next day almost completely well again. As I write, a small twinge if I really think of it, but basically 100% OK again.

The point is there is seemingly no logic in this; but it worked. Just lucky? Maybe. But maybe there is something in this meditation that can guide us to make good decisions when we most need them.

So do be clear, there is nothing here I am recommending, except that maybe you think about it!

RELATED BLOG

The completely new You Can Conquer Cancer

Slow down, and go faster

VERY SPECIAL NEWS

365 marathons in 365 days by two 60 year old vegans, one a cancer thriver.

Far out!!!  Like to support them?

In 2013, to inspire and motivate conscious lifestyle choices, to promote kindness and compassion for all living beings, to raise environmental awareness for a sustainable future and to raise money for a number of charities including the Gawler Foundation,  Veteran Raw Vegan Athletes Janette and Alan are Running around Australia, 15,500km (approximately), 365 marathons in 365 days beyond 60 years of age! 
Who ever said vegans were wimps! They begin New Year's day from Fed square.

Please consider supporting RunRAW2013. You can donate to this unique and unprecedented visionary cause by clicking here.

NEWS

1. The new, fully rewritten version of You Can Conquer Cancer is now available as an ebook via Amazon and Kindle. I will post details of all my books that are available as ebooks soon. Meanwhile, the book itself should be in most bookshops by now or you can order it via the Foundation: Click here

2. I am really enjoying the publicity around the new book. It is reaffirming to hear all the enthusiasm and depth of understanding of the work coming from the interviewers.

3. If you are interested in why I was very reluctant to do veterinary work with cattle and sheep in my earlier days, have a look at this documentary (or just the trailer) www.peaceablekingdomfilm.org/

4. Pt Stephens workshop coming soon - Health Healing and Wellbeing

My next full day workshop will be at Pt. Stephens on January 15th 2013.

Ruth and I will be happy to meet up once again with people we know in the area, as well as make new friends.

Organised by the local Port Stephens
 Complementary Health Services Association, I will be speaking on the latest research in mind-body medicine and self-healing, coupled with my 30 years of experience in this field. These days are always very interactive, with a gentle blend of theory and practise. There will be good time for questions and discussion.

Venue: Tomaree High School, Salamander Bay

Date: Tuesday, January 15^th from 10am (arrive 9.30 am) to 4pm

Cost $110.00;  Seniors, Concessions $95.00

More details and Bookings www.healthportstephens.com.au

www.facebook.com/healthportstephens 

Email: info@healthportstephens.com.au

Phone: 02 49 846 400

5. I will take a break over Christmas and post a new blog soon.

Enjoy the festive season. Happy meditating!

Ian Gawler Blog: Three Things That Have Transformed My Life

Jess Ainscough is an inspiration. A young and energetic cancer survivor, Jess is super enthusiastic about using her experience to help others. She does this through her great website: The Wellness Warrior, where she writes daily articles on courage, kindness, self-respect — as well as practical how-to’s for shopping, cooking, juicing and nourishing your body.

I asked her to share with us the most important things she had learnt. And then there is a fantastic, inspiring YouTube link to click to, but first:

Thought for the Day

When you love your life and body

Miraculous things happen

             
                           Dr Bernie Siegel, author of Love, Medicine and Miracles

Here is Jess on those three things 

I have done a lot of crazy stuff to heal my body and transform my life. I’ve eaten sea cucumbers, drank straight beetroot juice, injected myself with B12, crude liver and mistletoe, drank castor oil, put coffee up my bottom, put castor oil up my bottom, drank hourly juices, turned vegan, seen energy healers, seen psychics, seen crystal healers, had vitamin C IVs, became a yogi, and taken so many pills and potions that it’s impossible to count. However, there are three things that I’ve done that have had the biggest impact and brought me the most benefits.

Healing can be complicated, but when we drill down the principles are actually simple.

These three things helped me heal and transform my life:

1. Making all decisions and acting only from a place self love

Self love is the foundation we need to lay down first, so that all of the other elements of a wellness plan stay in place. Without self love, everything crumbles and wellness isn’t sustainable.

If we aren’t acting from a place of self love, we are acting from a place of fear or self loathing. Instead of doing things out of love, we do things because we think we should do them. This is impossible to maintain, and it’s not much fun either. I’m all about fun.

In the beginning of my journey I was doing things like juicing and meditating because I was afraid of what would happen if I didn’t do them. Everything shifted for me when I started doing these things because I love myself so much that I want to reap the amazing rewards of a super healthy lifestyle.

When you garner a deep inner respect for yourself, you actually want to treat yourself with radical kindness.

To kick off a love affair with yourself, you can just start by looking at yourself in the mirror and saying “I love you”. Do this for 30 days – get over the weirdness of it – and you will start to experience very subtle, but miraculous shifts in the way you treat yourself.

2. Eating nothing but real food

The best change I’ve made to my lifestyle is to eat an organic, plant-based whole food diet. This way of eating has been so life-changing and liberating that I am now in a position where I eat whatever I want, and as much as I want – and I never have to worry about putting on weight or what it’s doing to my health. My body now craves food that nourishes my body and makes me feel amazing.

I eat lots of plants, eat only organic, drink heaps of juice, and indulge in smoothies and raw desserts. I don’t put anything in my body that doesn’t belong there.

Our bodies are living things, and we need to feed them with live foods. They are designed to consume and digest foods that are grown in the ground – that come from Mother Nature. Not food that is only pretending to be food.

3. A daily meditation practice

This was the hardest one for me to master, but it continues to be the most beneficial. In these crazy busy, overly-stimulated lives we live, it is so important to turn within and seek stillness.

I spend 30 minutes each day sitting in silent stillness, focusing on my breath, and training my mind to remain in the present moment.

Meditation allows us to tap into our awareness and creates space in our minds. It enables us to let go of our ego and struggles and makes space for healing, creativity, stillness, intuition and connection to our spirit.

By training ourselves to hang out in the present moment, we are less likely to get caught up in external drama. Worry and anxiety is experienced far less, and self love grows organically.

Jess continues: I would love to know if there’s anything that’s had a profound effect on your personal healing or life transformation? Share away on the comment section below!

If you feel you need extra help transforming your life, or there’s someone you love who you think needs extra support, I would love for you to check out an online program I’ve just created called The Wellness Warrior Lifestyle Transformation Guide. It’s a gentle, step-by-step guide that is designed to educate, inspire and make transformation easy and sustainable.

Check out the promo video (I’m super proud of this) and join up for the Guide

Get an empowering reminder that your health is worth fighting for via my website at The Wellness Warrior , or you can follow me on
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/JessAinscough
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewellnesswarrior

RELATED BLOGS
The Wellness Warrior

NEWS
1. Check out this really inspiring YouTube clip – and be prepared to be delighted!

2. Last chance to join the Gawler Foundation conference

Ian Gawler Blog: St Petersburg and telemorase

This blog brings news from Russia, and fascinating research demonstrating how meditation can increase your levels of telomerase. But first -

Thought for the day:
Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
                                                          - Mark Twain

St Petersburg. City of Tzars and Tzarinas, revolutions and opulence. A somewhat decayed edge with multiple restorations in progress. More like Paris than anywhere we have been; the similar pale blue/pink light and routinely beautiful.

Catherine the Great. Now there is a woman. Supplanted her husband when Tsar, installed herself as Tsarina, took multiple lovers and ruled over all of Russia from 1762 to 1796. Quite a role model for Queen Victoria in the next century - although not so sure about the lovers for the English Queen!

St Petersburg. Home of Ruth’s two grandfathers. Jewish men living in a city that did not welcome your average Jew at that time. Two men with enough talent to over-ride the obstacle of their bloodline. One a musician, the other an architect. Living in a city within a land that challenges conventional thinking.

Churchill’s famous quote “Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”. At times there seems to have been scant regard for the blood of men when it came to revolution and staggeringly harsh reforms. There have been times too, marked by the excesses of power and the willingness to display it in lavish and finely adorned palaces. Long live the revolution!

Everyone we meet is warm and friendly, but this is a land where one is forced to think of man’s potential to wield power over his fellow man. Of what is fair and reasonable and just and honourable. And what to do when it is not. Of when to stay, and when to go. The grandfathers left in 1921, just before Lennin closed the doors and the intelligencia began to suffer deeply. Long live the revolution!

We take the soft option and tour the Hermitage. Get up close and personal with Leonardo – da Vinci that is, along with his mates Michelangelo, Raphael and Caravaggio. Close enough to examine the masterworks intimately and to almost feel we are in the presence of Rembrandt’s subjects; their psychology captured in time by strokes of paint that are either precise or imprecise as the occasion demands. Awe inspiring craftsmanship. Such a privilege to see it all so close.

On another day we enter the Cathedral of St Isaac, adorned with mosaics so fine they appear to be paintings. We move past the array of icons tiered on high, enter a vestry, and join with a Russian Orthodox service where the chanting reaches deep into the heart; stills and stirs it simultaneously. The growling depths of the men’s bass amidst those ethereal harmonies gets me every time.

Next we walk at the speed a tourist’s schedule requires in an attempt to find the Conservatorium of Music and the Marinsky Theatre, two venues for the violinist grandfather’s St Petersburg life.

For joy we manage to find them, enter the Conservatorium and persuade a warm-hearted but rather incredulous guard to let two Australian’s enter. The building is old and evocative. Maybe not so much has changed since grandfather’s day. We walk down creaking wooden halls with pianos, violins and operatic singing reverberating off the walls. I find it almost as moving as Ruth, who is delighted to connect with this part of her history.

We walked so far in St Petersburg I do not mind saying it took me a couple of days to fully recover. But then, recovery touring up river to Moscow, stopping now and then to visit Russian families, the most amazing wooden churches and recently revived monasteries; this is the price one happily pays for travel.

Tomorrow? Oh yes, tomorrow it is Moscow.

NEWS
1. Correction. In a recent Blog, I inadvertently claimed Dean Ornish demonstrated how a lifestyle program very similar to that in You Can Conquer Cancer and taught at the Gawler Foundation could lengthen telomeres. This was not correct. The program led to significant increases in the enzyme telemorase, which has many positive benefits as highlighted in the new study below. My apologies for this error and thanks to the reader who corrected me.

2. Meditation retreats – good for you, good for your telomerase. Good for longevity? Probably!

In 2010, Alan Wallace, a renowned meditation teacher, writer and researcher, brought together a remarkable team for the Shamatha Project. During an intensive 3 month retreat led by Wallace, a vast amount of scientific research data was recorded. Analysis is on-going but already some remarkably significant findings have been recorded.

Telomeres are protective DNA—protein complexes at the end of chromosomes. Telomere shortness is emerging as a prognostic marker of disease risk generally, along with the specific progression, and premature mortality in many types of cancer. Once telomeres become too short, we die! Happily, telomere shortening is counteracted by the cellular enzyme telomerase, but this shortening remains one of the root causes of aging. Delay telomere shortening, delay aging.

While in 2008, Dean Ornish showed that a lifestyle-based program, very similar to the one I have been involved with for 30 years, could increase telomerase levels, Wallace showed meditation could also achieve this outcome.

Collaborating with Elizabeth Blackburn, an Australian Nobel Prize laureate, Wallace demonstrated that meditation may improve a person’s psychological wellbeing and that when it did, these changes are related to telomerase activity in cells. Telomerase activity was 30% higher in the meditators compared to matched controls, and these changes have the potential to promote longevity in those cells.

Ref: Jacobs TL, Wallace A, Blackburn E et al, 2010 Psychoneuroimmunology Journal

The Wellness Warrior

Jess Ainscough’s transformation from self confessed, twenty something “champagne-guzzling, Lean Cuisine-loving magazine writer to all-out nutrition nerd” was made after she was diagnosed with a rare, “incurable” cancer back in 2008. This week, full of beans, Jess shares her remarkable story. 

It is a challenging story. Medical treatment is declined, self-healing comes to the fore. There is total commitment, nutrition is taken to the limit, and the capacity to find meaning and joy amidst real adversity is revealed. But first:

Thought for the day

If you want something you have never had, 
then you are going to have to do something that you have never done.
                                                                                                                    Drina Reed

Some months back, when I was eating out with members of the family at one of Melbourne’s great vegan restaurants, Yong Green Food, I was approached by a vibrant young woman and her equally healthy boyfriend. It turned out to be the remarkable Jess and she was celebrating coming off the Gerson Therapy.

After her diagnosis, Jess had “decided I was not having a bar of that “incurable” nonsense, and I took responsibility for my condition”. Jess came to the Foundation’s residential program and then completed two years of Gerson Therapy.

These days Jess is a writer, holistic health coach, and the creator of the excellent health and wellness website, The Wellness Warrior  which I highly recommend. Via her e-books, daily blog posts, and videos, Jess’ goal is to empower people to take control of their health and to show that the quality of our lives is directly linked to how we treat our body and mind.

Here Jess shares her story.

What Cancer Has Taught Me – by Jess Ainscough, the Wellness Warrior

For the past four years, I have been living with the knowledge that I have cancer in my body. Like anyone who has ever been given a terminal diagnosis, this experience has changed me. I have gone through the usual changes – life becoming that little bit more precious, petty drama becoming totally insignificant, and priorities being completely reshuffled. However, there has been so much more.

Before cancer I was a big meat eater, now I am vegan. Before cancer I drank a lot of alcohol, now I am sober. Before cancer I was self-critical and full of self-judgment, now I love myself unconditionally. Before cancer I associated the disease with pain, sickness, hair loss and death. Now, cancer is my greatest teacher, my guru, and the catalyst that lead me onto a path far brighter and more fulfilling than I ever knew was possible.

I was one of the lucky ones – conventional medicine had no answers for me. My doctors wanted to amputate my arm to remove the cancer, but they said there was a high chance that the disease would come back somewhere else in my body quite rapidly. I decided that this wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t ready to die, I wasn’t willing to be an amputee, and I wasn’t willing to hand my power over to some people who didn’t really know what they were doing with it.

So I became one of those difficult patients and started thinking for myself. I researched anything and everything to do with healing cancer, and what I discovered is that our bodies have this incredible ability to self heal – as long as we provide the right environment for them to do so.

The first stop on my healing path was The Gawler Foundation. My boyfriend and I spent 10 days soaking up every bit of wisdom and comfort we could at the Life and Living retreat. We learnt how to meditate and how to express our emotions in a healthy way. But most importantly, we learnt that cancer does not need to be scary. It can be empowering, and the catalyst to an amazing life.

The other healing modality that resonated most with me was Gerson Therapy, so a few months after Gawler, I flew to Mexico with my mum to spend three weeks at the Gerson clinic. Here, I learnt how to implement the therapy, which involves hourly juicing, a specific vegan diet, various supplements, and up to five daily coffee enemas.

When the three weeks was up, I came home to carry out the Therapy for two years with the help of my family. For two years I dedicated every waking hour to saving my own life. To thriving against the face of adversity, and carving a new reality for myself based on the wisdom and inspiration I’ve gathered along the way.

It has been far from easy. For two whole years I have not been able to go out for lunch, go out for dinner, go out drinking with my friends, or even sit through a whole movie without having to get up and make a juice. But I would not trade one moment of this journey for anything. The power, wisdom, and deep self-respect that have been born of riding out these challenges is something I feel incredibly blessed to have.

When I was first diagnosed with cancer, I thought I had something in my body that needed to be “killed”, “eradicated” and “beaten”. Now I understand that cancer is not the enemy. I have realised that you cannot wage a war against yourself and win. No one wins when you go into battle with something that is part of you. And contrary to conventional belief, cancer is a part of you.

Cancer doesn’t need to be “killed”; it needs to be “healed”. Cancer is simply your body’s way of giving you one final opportunity to clean up your health.
I have completed two years of Gerson, but healing doesn’t end now. Healing is ongoing, and I will live the rest of my life being as kind and respectful as I possibly can to my body.

Even now, after two years of intense natural treatment, I cannot say that I am cured. I’m not sure if I will ever be “cured”, but I will always be healing. Cancer is something I will always manage with my clean lifestyle.

I don’t plan to have any scans, partly because I don’t want to subject my body to the poison and radiation, but also because prior to my diagnosis scans were not detecting that I had cancer. Only a biopsy did this, so I don’t really see the point.

Many people think I’m crazy for not “checking up” on the status of my condition, and once upon a time I would have agreed. My path is not the right one for everyone, but it is right for me. The moment I stopped struggling, and fighting against myself and the cancer, was the moment that fear left my mind for good. Now, I never fear that I will die of cancer – and that is the most empowering feeling ever.

The number one thing I have learnt over the past four years is that our bodies heal in their own time. Sure, it is our job to do whatever we can to make sure this is possible, but we can’t force anything. Our bodies are incredible, and as long as we listen to them – truly listen to them – give them what they need to heal and remove any obstacles that will prevent the process from happening, healing is inevitable. Healing is possible for all of us.

Connect with Jess on …

Twitter: twitter.com/#!/JessAinscough

Facebook: facebook.com/thewellnesswarrior

Website: thewellnesswarrior.com.au

NEWS

1. Overseas travels

Ruth and I will be in Russia, Israel and France over the next months for a combination of presentations, holiday and retreat. The winter being in full swing at home, it is a good time to be heading for the warm side of the planet. The garden is in winter hibernation, we have a house sitter looking after things and after a full on year so far, it feels timely to be having some time away.

People aware of the trip have been encouraging me to write more personally in the blog as we are going to such interesting places and will be meeting with interesting people, so maybe I will.

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