April 1, 2009

So if you’ve been following my blogs to this point, you’re well aware of how strongly I believe in the mind/body connection as it relates to cancer survivorship. Recently, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of reading a book that has changed my life. And taken my beliefs and practices of caring for my mind/body health to another level.

The book is called The Sedano Method. It’s written by a gentleman named Hale Dwoskin. I’d like to use this blog to summarize what I’ve learned after reading this book and why I believe it’s so relevant to those affected by cancer.

Hale’s writings help people focus on the negative thought patterns that produce harmful physiological reactions like stress, anxiety, fear, self-doubt, jealousy, etc. But unlike most self-help books in his genre, he doesn’t support trying to “change the way you think.” The human brain is supposed to think constantly and by trying to control the thoughts you have, you actually increase and propagate those negative thoughts. “That which you resist, persists.” -Lester Levenson

The Sedano Method teaches us to “allow those feelings to exist.” Even to welcome them. They are perfectly natural and are supposed to be occurring. But the key is to “release” your intention and desire to CONTROL them. Our goal is to be at peace with their presence. It’s a scary feeling to completely relax into your thoughts and trust that they won’t hurt you. It’s in our nature to worry, and our subconscious believes that if we worry hard enough, we can avoid that which we’re worrying about. We play possible scenarios in our heads over and over again. We imagine what others will say in certain situations and how they will react to us. We replay past experiences, hoping to somehow change the outcome that we’ve experienced.

Unfortunately, this mental masturbation is a massive waste of energy. The more “air time” you give your negative thoughts, the more likely they are to occur. It’s called the Law of Attraction and it’s been studied for thousands of years.

And carrying on negative mental episodes is especially dangerous for cancer patients. Negativity can impact our physical bodies, ultimately decreasing the immune system’s effectiveness. There’s now a whole branch of medicine dedicated to researching just this phenomenon. It’s called Psycho-Oncology.

So now you can see why I am so passionate about promoting a healthy mind/body relationship. And using The Sedona Method is the most effective, easy-to-use form of mental therapy I’ve ever encountered. I could actually feel myself relaxing after only one chapter! By the time I finished the book, I was able to effortlessly summon a state of mind that rivals that which I experience during deep meditation sessions.

The ultimate goal of “The Method,” is to be able to release your negative thoughts in real-time. Essentially, this means that your mind will automatically release or ignore them, prior to you even experiencing sensations like stress, anxiety, fear, etc. Admittedly, I’m not quite there yet. But I’m driven to attain this goal. Being able to call up waves of relaxation on cue will mean a different take on this life for me. You think I’m a positive influence on the cancer community now? Just you wait to see what the coming years bring. I’m not even remotely done improving my Positive Mental Attitude and I invite you to join me on the way!! :-)