Need solutions for the medication, medical appliances and/or medical travel that you can't afford? READ EMPOWER Yourself.
A Health Information Management professional, I survived a life-threatening emergency with information that only a person of my professional experience would know. And I’m sharing it!
B'SD 18 Cheshvan, 5778 Headlines continue to hold evidence that malcontents already on law enforcement and mental health services radar remain free to strike defenseless innocents once again. It's becoming somewhat of a repetitive pattern in the USA and elsewhere. Survivors are increasingly focused on finding motivation to continue their lives, sad as they may feel. They struggle to face the future despite a painful past. They and you might appreciate this article about a hero who proved the efficacy of his teachings.
B'SD 26 Cheshvan 5777 Emotions are roiling across the world due to gut-wrenching, heart breaking incidents. Too many to list, and some are intensely private. They might never be recognized by the wider public. What all of us need to know in the depths of our despair is that a future awaits. We can help to mold it in our favor somehow, even if that means to simply avoid becoming bitter. That takes a sense of increasing calm, patience and curiosity. It also means focusing on insight - analyzing what's going wrong and what should be happening instead. Care to think that through? Perhaps the thoughts I shared during a public appearance last year can help you:
Viktor Frankl said "When we are no longer able to change a situation we are challenged to change ourselves." I'd like to add, "When you’re going through hell, don’t stop. Find the exit. Or create it."
All of us are here to heal. It might be from physical, emotional, mental or spiritual issues. As you move through the throngs of people and exhibits, you feel an energy coursing through and around you. Use it. Memorize it. Cradle it. That energy can motivate you when you're feeling drained, clueless, and hopeless.
As we move through our healing experiences, we grow in insights, compassion for ourselves and others. We learn not to assume, but to observe, to wonder, to be in awe. Respect, on many different levels, becomes one with our identities. The universe is filled with answers, and it beckons us to grow, even as we hardly realize that we are growing despite our agony.
Accept the invitation. Fulfill your destiny as a spiritual creature. Let the wonder fill your soul. Let the wonder heal you. The adventure is a gift from GOD, though it sometimes feels like a punishment. It is not. It is a path. Humanity tends to berate itself. But HaShem's nature, so to speak, is to forgive. Take Her/His lead. Go, find yourself in the universe, with every bit of your pain, doubt and fear. Access its healing powers. GOD put them there. The goal is to grow your soul. Open your eyes, mind, your gut and your heart to healing possibilities. Find the love that awaits you. GOD put it there.
Read a book that medical and mental health professionals recommend. It helps readers past many problems.
Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Fill your sense of sadness with self compassion.
B'SD 2 Elul, 5775 The Jewish year is ending with the month of Elul. It's a time for introspection. This article addresses the topic of remarkable resilience to suffering. The words "resilience and recovery do not require extraordinary resources or an innate toughness, but rather a willingness to adapt to circumstances" strike me as profound.
The 44C/107F-plus weather in Israel has been brutally hot and physically plus mentally draining this week.
I was simply too tired with the rest of life and the high heat to post messages on this blog. But I had a moving experience yesterday that I want to share with you. I often volunteer my time, insights and efforts to help people or organizations in need of them. I tend to interact with people and situations involved in medical and/or emotional and mental health stress. One of the people I'd recently helped took me out for a cup of coffee in an outdoor cafe as the excessively high heat cooled down for the Middle East night. We spoke of the person's life history (I had not previously known it), attitude toward the future, and assessment of a highly problematic past. The conversation became charged with spiritual implications and realizations. I do Self-Help Coaching with clients who are uncertain of how to proceed with their futures because of their medical conditions. I help them to clarify their challenges, identify their goals and to create an agenda for achieving those goals. Then they're on their own, to make necessary efforts. The person before me had done this without my input. I found the courage, clear headedness and humility captivating (please notice that I'm intentionally avoiding pronouns such as "him" or "her" so I can protect the person's privacy). With further discussion, we agreed that such a mindset is due to one specific focus:
You're not searching for your life's meaning.
You're creating it.
So many people trek around the world, ingest (usually illegal and unsafe) substances or indulge in unproductive self-analysis as they seek emotional comfort. They remain stuck, not necessarily knowing why that's so. People who are "looking for themselves" tend be trying to escape their thinking processes and emotional tendencies, not in finding their true self and then making progress.
The solution to the problem is attitudinal.
Choose to make progress instead of swirling in the aftermath of unpleasant circumstances. Make incremental changes, one at a time. The person before me at the cafe had done so despite horrific betrayals and medical manipulation. I was awed at the result: A face glowing with self respect, a person making sensible choices, and a life going forward despite the bumps that tend to whack us mortals when we least expect them.
I then explained that
shows readers how to do much of that
with the cooperation of loved ones,
their medical professionals,
or all on their own. The book holds fill-in-the-blank lines that you and/or they can fill in together or individually.
I came away from the conversation happier for realizing that I'd made a choice to empower my readers. It's no simple matter to carry on with heartache, debts and illness that seem to impede many simple choices. Over time, some of those readers have contacted me to express their gratitude for the content. I pray that the book will help you to create some of your life's meaning. I salute you for your determination and your focus on a better tomorrow. Here's an insightful look at what you're accomplishing.
Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Fill your soul with spirituality, positive growth beyond your present limitations.
B'SD 21/22 Tevet 5775 I found myself struggling to enjoy this past Shabbat, wondering all the while how shoppers in France's Hyper Cacher were faring. I could not and would not access media until after sundown Saturday night. A lack of updated information was hard to endure.
I prayed for the world's well being,
and an immediate end to terrorism.
I pondered how some of the survivors of past terrorist attacks are able to thrive despite agonizing memories and perhaps injuries. Westerners tend to believe mass media's message that life is for happiness. That elusive (and imaginary) goal tends to shepherd people into therapy. Let's clear up some misperceptions, and focus on the fact that...
Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Find meaning that builds the world and your self respect.
