Watching a video interview of a man (Jim Hamers) who has been called a total “responder” (the cancer disappeared) after going through chemotherapy for stage-4 pancreatic cancer was a rush. News is not always so good.
When asked by the reporter, what they attribute this miracle to, Jim and his wife shared gratitude for the prayers they received, what they called ‘excellent medical care’, and the truth: they do not know how or why the tumors are all gone.
It is easy to expect too much or too little. When given a medical diagnosis, some people give up living and spend the balance of their life trying not to die. While everyone will die of something, living fully in the mystery of both illness and wellness is a more honest (and likely a more meaningful) life.
I saw Dr. Dean Ornish write those two words on the chalkboard: ILLNESS and WELLNESS. He then circled the beginning letters—the I and the We before saying simply, “This is what makes the difference.”
I appreciated his sense of the mystery in the middle of all of the science. I still keep copies of the June 16, 2008 news story about his research:
Healthful Lifestyle Teaches Prostate Genes to Behave
Living right—with a good diet, exercise, and low stress—brings out the best in your genes
By Bernadine Healy, M.D.
Posted June 16, 2008
Adopting a healthful lifestyle can switch on good genes and suppress cancer-provoking ones all in a matter of months, according to a report by Dean Ornish and colleagues from the University of California-San Francisco. In a pilot study of 30 men with early prostate cancer, an association between personal behavior and individual gene expression suggests a biological explanation for evidence from other studies that eating right and improving lifestyle can tame tumor growth.
What we do know is we don’t know everything. We live in the mystery.
Even so, this week, you do well to let your “I” give way to “We” and embrace that.
Tips from 5 April 2010 to 6 August 2012 are here: Archived Tips
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Rev. Debra Basham
Voice or text: (269) 921-2217 Email: debra@scs-matters.com https://scs-matters.com http://ImagineHealing.info http://SurgicalSupport.info Small Changes … Infinite Results™
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” ~ Mother Teresa |