Emotionally Surviving a Catastrophic Diagnosis
by Michael Shaules
Receiving the news of a catastrophic diagnosis such as cancer, HIV or any other potentially life changing or ending ailment is probably the most devastating news anyone can receive. You are faced with the deepest and darkest feelings about oneself and the reality of what tomorrow might bring. Feelings of hopelessness and total despair can overwhelm you.
Believe it or not this time can also be a gateway time for you. As you are stripped of the emotional crutches of the physical world we live in, you will start to realize your own true beautiful and powerful immortal spirit self. You are able to get in touch with and start to use your unlimited personal power. You as a spirit being can do anything, create any life you want, maintain your health and even heal yourself. You just have to work through your own self negativity and realize your own beautiful self and the power you possess.
While you learn to deal with your issues there are huge benefits. Your emotional state not only affects your daily life but it also affects your health. The stress created by dealing with such diseases can be all consuming. Staying in a positive emotional state is paramount in maintaining not only a comfortable emotional life but a physical body that can deal with the illness at hand.
My life as a clairvoyant specializing in the process of dealing with emotions and self esteem did not save me from the devastation of an HIV diagnosis before modern drugs that help to suppress the disease were effective. However I did have the tools that I needed to deal with it. My goal in life became to remain optimistic and to learn to unlock the unlimited potential we all have as spirit beings to maintain my health and provide the highest possibility of healing.
My perspective on life was the best thing I had going for me. When you are faced with your own mortality it is so incredibly important to focus and maintain a correct perspective. The perspective that you are a spirit being who lives on beyond this physical body is paramount. As you are forced to look into that mirror at yourself and deal with what comes up you will begin to discover strengths you never knew you had. Yes it sucks to deal with. But the rewards of dealing with it head on and searching for your own truth will reap benefits never even dreamed of. Would I give up HIV today? Yes. But that being said I have such an inner peace, joy and happiness known only to those who have experienced such emotional devastation and who kept positively walking forward. The benefits have far outweighed the costs by a long shot. I have no regrets.
The first step is to deal with all the overwhelming emotions that come with a potentially life threatening diagnosis. Remember that fear is just an emotional belief that you can't emotionally handle a particular situation. Like any other belief it can be changed. One of the biggest tools I had was to use an affirmation that literally states the fear. I use " I don't know if I can emotionally handle ___________ happening." What this allows to happen is to first and foremost vent the fear. But it also allows your mental mind to process the fear more effectively.
There is a definite process that is involved. By affirming the fear you will firstly get more in touch with it. This is important as we all have our own method of avoidance. You will actually feel it more intensely. But again this is only just getting more in touch with it. As you continue to deal in this fashion with the fear it will start to diminish. The terror will be less consuming, and you will start to think more clearly. You will start to see options that you could never have seen before because the terror prevented your mind from seeing them. You will eventually realize that fear really can't hurt you, and it is generally the fear of the fear that creates the most overwhelming feelings.
Make sure that you balance out the hard times with good times. This is so incredibly important. Start to really appreciate the beauty of things around you, have fun. Admire nature, listen to your favorite music, pamper yourself. If you are in a relationship, find that spark that ignited a passion inside of you, tap into it. We are told that faith is believing that something is true without fear. Imagine for a moment that your ills were instantly gone. Think of the joy and happiness you would feel. The goal is to feel that happiness right now, don't think about it in the future. That is where the health and healing takes place. So focus on the good things in life and feel good and healthy as often as you can and live in that moment of joy.
Take the time to do healthy and attractive things for your body. Eat right, start getting exercise, no matter how limited it may be. It is a way of feeling good about yourself and your body. Don't forget to take time on your appearance. Feel as good as you can about how you look. Some people who have have issues with attractiveness have past histories with physical illness. Nobody thinks of their sick body as being attractive so start to see yourself as physically beautiful. When you truly feel beautiful, you will be and it will only help to promote healing. This is part of feeling like you are already healed.
You will encounter times when you are totally overwhelmed, all sorts of thoughts that you never thought you had in you will come up. There were times when I was so overcome with the possible future I literally could not function. What I found most helpful is to just keep repeating to yourself that you are OK right here and now. Just repeat this over and over, time after time, if it takes an hour so be it, just keep telling yourself that you are OK right here, right now. These times will be taxing but these times are also when you get more and more in touch with your spirit self, you will be more centered and calmer after you work through it.
You must remember never to dwell on the disease. Yes you have to deal with it but do not identify yourself with the disease, you are only putting more negative energy into the situation. Focus on health and healing. This is so incredibly important. What you focus on you create, so focus on health. If you have never seen the movie "The Secret" do yourself a favor and buy or rent it. It will show the importance of focusing on the positive. When you focus on the positive you will attract the answers you need. You will continue to attract more positive people around you, people that bring you up instead of bring you down into the pit of self pity that so many people buy into.
Your emotional state also dictates the energy flow of your chakras which are energy centers in your body. Negative energy restricts the energy flow that your physical body needs to operate correctly. Do your body a favor and work through your emotions, learn to be happy again. Open up your chakras and heal yourself. You might want to think of healing as a part of the process of evolution. You are enabling your bodies immune system to find a solution to the disease. Not some unreachable goal of a "miracle" healing. the more plausible it feels the closer you are. It is just that we in the human experience over many lifetimes have forgotten how beautiful and powerful we all are. You have the ability to enable your body to heal.
The single most valuable tool I have had is meditation. Meditation is simply the ability to focus on one particular thing for an extended period of time. When you can still your racing mind and find that center spot in your spirit. Many years ago I struggled with learning to meditate, reading books and getting nowhere. I finally gave up. However at this same time I was using affirmations in my daily life. I had discovered that I could use that talking little voice in my head to say my affirmations while I did such things as watch TV or drive. As long as it did not require 100% of my focus I could say them. I will never forget the day when I was dumbfounded to realize I could focus on something for a very long time. I had stumbled on an easy way to learn to meditate.
I still meditate 2-3 hours a day, focusing on dealing with any emotions that have me feeling less than healthy or beautiful. I then follow that up with visualizations and awareness of my own health and ability to heal. Essentially removing the negative images of myself and replacing them with positive can do images. The point you are at now may be one of despair, not really able to see this in your future. Remember that it is only a feeling and despite popular belief, you can change such base belief systems to empower yourself to use your own healing ability.
What is the single most important thing you can teach yourself? That you are lovable and beautiful and that perfection is in the eye of the beholder. Be gentle and compassionate with yourself. You will be faced with your own demons of self doubt and false images of your own ugliness. Stay positive, let the love of others in. I was so amazed at the love and support I received from people I never expected it from. It was an amazingly scary but rewarding experience to be that open and vulnerable, yet still be loved. Again, do not identify yourself with the illness.
Be the person who others look at with amazement, They will not understand how you can be so happy with such a diagnosis, but you can and will be if you decide to be. The strength of the human spirit is absolutely amazing and unstoppable. All of our bodies will give out at one time or another, some last longer than others. You have the opportunity to not feel like a victim. Empower yourself and realize your own eternal spirit and the power it has. May life's challenges only strengthen you and make you whole with rewards of peace and joy. You are not a victim. It is possible to break through the traditional perceptions that you are doomed to a life of depression due to your current circumstances. I have done it, my life is incredible and full of love, inner peace and happiness. I now share my knowledge and techniques with others on this same journey, How can I help you find your own beauty and power?
Michael Shaules can be contacted through his web site ZENpeace4U.com