Skip to main content

New Beginning Again

Well, a new year has started and I feel a rush of new enthusiasm. This morning i was directed to a blog and the words of an MS patient from New Zealand.

Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis - Multiple Sclerosis, Ms Cure, Early Symptom Multiple Sclerosis

This blog/website written by a doctor (George Jelinek) is strong, clear, and, in my opinion, right on the mark. It basically proposes that MS can be successfully managed with a healthy lifestyle. He proposes the Swank diet (low fat, no saturated fat, high in fruits and vegetables, high in fish), regular exercise, daily meditation, vitamin D, regular sun. Basic. Not fancy. Very "doable". He clearly reviews how this has helped him and helped MS patients in the past (Dr. Swank's research). He has written a book (Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis) of his experience and his recommendations and is truly an inspiration.

For me, these are old lessons learned yet again. I learned of the amazing benefits of a truly healthy lifestyle back in the 90's when I was fortunate enough to work as Medical Director for the Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease. I live the recommended lifestyle and preach its value for all people whether they have heart disease, MS, diabetes, cancer, or are trying to prevent any of these. The piece that I let myself slide on is meditation. While I have intermittently meditated through the years, I am not consistent. Not surprisingly, my biggest weakness is a racing mind (I realize I am not alone). I don't sleep well and know full well that the reason is the "monkey mind" that I have not harnessed. So, for me, it is "physician heal thyself"; back to the cushion and getting control of my mind.

The lesson goes deeper for me. I have been working with these lifestyle approaches to healing my entire career in medicine. I am a true believer. However, I have struggled to find my place in medicine and the world. I have toyed with the idea of writing a book. I have worked at every medical opportunity that San Diego has offered to an internist with my eclectic skills. I am deeply grateful for the wide range of experiences I have had but I feel so strongly in my heart that there is a better way: a way that honors all that we know and all that we truly believe and goes ahead in spite of the financial fears.

I am now in a different place. I am on my own, free to proceed as I see fit. Now again, I realize that my soul burns for the chance to help my fellow travelers in this world to get well. I realize that getting well myself is the first order of business. The next is adding my piece to the healing puzzle. The missing link is the role of belief and our capacity to change our beliefs("how do you stop believing what you believe" and learn to believe something that is better for you). This critical element unlocks our capacity to change, to transform, to heal. Most of us know what the right thing is to do, but we drift from this correct path because our unconscious beliefs lead us astray. The monkey mind (which belongs to the unconscious) allows us to drift back to old, bad habits (explains the incredibly high rate of failed New Year's resolutions). The key is bringing the unconscious to consciousness and then getting strong in our new found consciousness.

Meditation is definitely part of this but it must be combined with a belief-changing mechanism. My good friend Robbie Goldstein has developed this process. He is getting clear himself on this very challenging opportunity. He is writing a book on this exact topic and I am fortunate enough to get to learn from him. This is the missing link. I read all over about the changing consciousness but the "how-to" is missing. It won't be missing much longer. Stay tuned for the details.

I truly believe that this year will bring the start of a true revolution in health care. Not a revolution in just insurance coverage but an evolution in the way we view healing and disseminate the knowledge. The time is near and we are ready.

Comments

Katie Kobayashi said…
Hazzzzaaaa, Dr. Kalina!!! You said it....calm the mind...Be Still and Know that I am....one day at a time on that quieting the mind...I go back in my mind to the beautiful Zen gardens I visited in Japan and keep my focused on the child Buddha statues I saw. It really is like going back to Kindergarten and learning all over again....I Love reading your inspiring blog!! ~Katie
Katie Kobayashi said…
Oh...and one more book to add to your must reads: ....."Full Catastrophe Living" by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PH.D ~ Next to all of Kabat-Zinn reads..this book has helped me to move beyond my physical(and mental)limitations...I hope it's helpful for all "New Beginners" in 2011. ~ Love, Katie
Anonymous said…
Only if it was possible for healthcare workers and policy makers to remember “ …health (or ill-health)is an ever evolving state of mind, body and relationships perceived by an individual, a family, a group, or a community for self in a particular space, time and context.”
(Dr Suresh Vatsyayann 1995)

Popular posts from this blog

$$$

I received my bills this week. $ 32,000 for the Liberation Procedure. $1200 for MRV. Amazingly, my insurance(Blue Cross) covered all but $5000 of the total. I feel so fortunate that it was largely covered. I have sat on Utilization Review Committees(when I worked at Scripps) and thought the insurance company would deny coverage based on the experimental nature of the procedure. Luckily for me, I was wrong! I guess they just cannot deny need for treatment of blocked blood vessels.

IT'S HAPPENING

Wow, the information available on CCSVI on the internet is truly amazing! I have to admit: I did not research this topic as well as I could have. I did not read the study from Poland before my procedure. I did not realize all the excitement combined with incredible knowledge that is coming out of Georgetown. I am just reading them now and I can hardly contain myself. There is so much data available on CCSVI from around the world. I acted more on a deep gut feeling that CCSVI was real and was my path to healing. I was a little desperate as I felt myself sliding over the last year and didn't feel right with the auto-immune drugs. CCSVI just made sense to me; really good sense. Now reading the data, I am so excited for huge numbers of people to get healed/opened/freed! After doing a little research, it seems that nearly all people with definite MS have CCSVI. It also seems that people with MS who have the procedure have less flairs over time and a better quality of life. Some get a lo...

Placebo

Someone recently asked me in response to my blog as well as to the success of the Liberation Procedure, "Is it just placebo effect"? This is truly a loaded question. After my initial defensive reaction, I gave it deeper thought. Placebo is truly a giant word and concept. It has negative connotations("he is just better because of the placebo effect") but it has immense power and strength. In research studies, experimenters often compare a new treatment with a placebo. In order for the treatment to be accepted, a new therapy has to be better than placebo. In most studies placebo does remarkably well ie 30-40% benefit. So 30-40 per cent of people get better with a sugar pill or an inert substance. This speaks strongly about several points. First, approximately one third of people get better with no intervention with placebo or time or just believing that they will get better. This has enormous power. Harnessing the power of this safe intervention can be amazingly hea...