Walking’s Got Nothing To Do With It
Recently I’ve received several comments that suggest that what I’m encouraging with this blog is “thinking positive” and that doing so will keep you asymptomatic. I’ve also been told that if I were more disabled than I am, my attitude would be different. People have said things to me like “Well I’ve been thinking positive for years and now I can’t walk!” So I need to clarify.
First, I very rarely (if ever) use the term “thinking positive.” When I hear the term “thinking positive” I see pictures of people smiling like plastic dolls while their houses burn down behind them. I think of people in denial.
A Way of Being
What I’m talking about is an ontological position from which to be operating, which is a fancy way of saying “a way of being in the world.” This way of being is one in which you are sorting for possibility as opposed to limitation. Like this, you can be losing the ability to walk and still be noticing for what is possible for you. For example, “I can’t walk and this totally sucks! And…how can I discover and explore every option available to me to improve my condition?”
You get it? There is a distinction here from thinking positive. Losing the ability to walk sucks, and you can simultaneously feel that, acknowledge it, and take action to get better, because you are putting your attention on what’s possible, not how you’re limited. The other important distinction here is the phrase “take action.” Changing your attitude is essential, it’s the first step. But it’s not enough. If you want to heal your body, you need to also change your diet and your lifestyle, perhaps the treatments you’re choosing, you need to be detoxifying, taking supplements to build up and strengthen your system. You may need to switch jobs or cut people out of your life so that you’re creating an environment that’s as supportive and stress-free as possible. There is no magic pill to treat MS. At least not yet. Taking action isn’t optional if you want to get well.
Why Me?
To operate from this position of possibility is to have a vastly different experience of the world than to operate from a position of limitation. You can spot people operating from limitation a mile away, because they are depressed, close-minded, busy feeling sorry for themselves, and usually downright miserable. These are people who are likely passively praying for a cure, getting worse, and asking themselves questions like “Why me?” They enjoy trading stories of their misery online with others who are operating from the same position. They are people who say things like “Well MS has already taken everything else from me, so why shouldn’t I get drunk and enjoy myself?” Chances are, they are not you, because they probably wouldn’t like this blog.
My Message Is Not Contingent on Me Walking
I have committed to living my life from a position of possibility. In so doing, my attention is firmly on how I can stack everything in my favor to keep my body as healthy as possible. Do I believe this is a guarantee? No, I don’t. To believe that would be foolish. Do I get scared sometimes? Yes, of course! But what I know is that my message is not contingent upon my being able to walk. It doesn’t depend on how disabled or not I am at any given moment. In fact, the day I started this blog and wrote the copy on the About page I was barely able to see out of my left eye. In those moments, I dig ever more deeply into my commitment. For me, there is no other choice.
This way of being that I am encouraging you to operate from – this sorting for possibility – is an internal position. Instead of deciding how to feel based on external events (what most people do) I’m asking you to consistently hold this internal position instead, and allow it to change how you experience what’s going on in the world. Because it will. And if you want to get well, there is no other choice.
Want more inspiration? Read What If? or go back to the main page to Get Inspired.
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Yeeha! I really like the image of the burning Barbie Dreamhouse. That whole thing never worked for me. Thinking Positive is behavioral management that doesn’t touch the depth at which the neurochemical process that results in MS occurs. Thinking Positive is about WHAT you think. MS is, in large measure, the result of HOW you think. The importance of this distinction cannot be overstressed.
A really cool way of learning about how the structure of being affects your chemistry can be found in Bruce Lipton’s, “The Biology of Belief.” What Karen is putting out in this blog isn’t the same as what’s already out there, and in many ways goes against the conventional discourse around MS. This is what makes her work so exciting. And useful. So, haters, UPDATE! READ! DO YOUR HOMEWORK! You never know, you just might get better… as for me, I’m glad I didn’t wait till the wheelchair came for me. I want health and all the amazing things that come with it and would rather try somebody’s way that seems to bring them something than cling to the way of thinking that got me into this predicament in the first place. Cheers!
This is honestly the first time I’ve ever read your blog! I’ve been seeing and and meaning to get to it, but I kept forgetting ^_^’
Either way, I really appreciate what it is that you have to say here! I live my life by a similar standard, and reading this made me think of a conversation I was having just yesterday with one of my MS family members. We came to the mutual agreement that we are never defeated until we ourselves embrace the loss. Therefore, nobody can defeat us but ourselves.
Not a popular philosophy, as it requires us to take responsibility for our own current situations ^_~ But I feel it’s ultimately true, and very important to remember ^_^ I’ll definitely be checking in here more often!
Bright blessings sweetheart
Hi,
In our culture there is very little difference between one’s way of being and how we think about one’s way of being. These are very different and involve different reference points. In one’s way of being the body (nervous system, muscles, bones, neurochemistry) is organized a certain way. In thinking the cognitive function or brain is involved.
Thanks for the critical distinction to invite people deeply back into their bodies.
I would be interested in more of your distinctions of one’s way of being right along side one’s way of thinking.
Best,
T