Our Bodies Can Heal | Two Weeks of True Healing

Posted by Ken on November 2, 2012 in Belief systems, Get Off the Sidelines, Ken's Blogs

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Do you believe that our bodies can heal?

I do. Over the past couple of years, I have been researching this topic quite extensively to help me through my own dis-ease diagnosis. I have learned and experienced so much that my belief system has been turned upside down. I used to think that when we got sick we should go to the doctors and specialists to be treated with the best medicine that they could offer. That’s all I knew, so that’s what I believed. I’ve already written a lot about how my belief systems have changed, but that’s not the point of this post. The point of this post is to share how the last two weeks have reinforced my beliefs and fuelled my passion even more.

Two weeks ago I was asked to be a speaker at a Symposium called “New Pathways: Transforming Life With MS”. The event was targeted at people who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune dis-eases and hosted by my naturopath and very dear friend, Dr. Teri Jaklin. For most people who have been diagnosed with MS, the prognosis that has been shared has been roughly along the lines of “sorry about your luck”. There has been very little cause for optimism.

At this symposium the first speaker, Cheryl Gibb, talked about her healing journey and how she had been successfully treated with CCSVI, a surgery that helps to open up a vein in the neck. Research has shown that this constricted vein is common in a lot of patients with MS, and the surgery can alleviate many of the symptoms. For many in the audience, seeing Cheryl’s results first-hand, you could just feel a sense of optimism kicking in.

Another speaker, Julie Vaughn-Graham spoke about neuroplasticity. No, I’m not going to try to describe that here, I’m sure I would butcher the science very badly. The point of the presentation however was that there is scientific evidence that when nerves are damaged in the body, the body can be “re-trained” such that “new pathways” can be created. The analogy used is that if the main highway through the city has been blocked, there is another pathway around the city, and the body can be trained to find and begin to use the new pathway. More optimism for this audience.

Last weekend, I attended a conference inWashington, DC called Take Back Your Health. The event was organized by Robin Shirley, a young lady who had been diagnosed with JRA (juvenile rheumatoid arthritis), and had then subsequently taken back her health. The event featured a wide variety of speakers who were all very entertaining, as well as an exhibitor’s area filled with many folks who were helping people take back their health. I missed Robin’s presentation (chose to leave town to avoid Hurricane Sandy) but had a chance to meet and speak with her, she is a very inspiring lady. I spoke to Robin about bringing the conference to theToronto area, stay tuned for more on that topic.

At the event I met Laurie Erdman, a lady I have been connected to through social media. Laurie describes herself as a “Wellness Super Hero” and her story is very inspirational. She had been diagnosed with MS, and healed herself primarily by changing her diet. We laughed as we talked about what her diet had been like prior to her diagnosis, I’ll leave that to the reader’s imagination. After healing herself, Laurie then left her career as a lawyer and transformed herself into a health coach. Hhmm, another example of how the body can heal itself.

I heard a presentation from Andrea Beaman. Another “horrible eater”, Andrea had been diagnosed with a thyroid dis-ease which presented itself as a huge goiter on her neck. Presented with the medical option of radiation to shut down her thyroid and being on drugs for the rest of her life, she made the choice to work through healing herself naturally. Through a radical change in diet, Andrea healed herself without radiation or medication, and she is now a Natural Foods Chef, author, and television host dedicated to alternative healing and green, sustainable living. Hhmm, starting to sense a theme here.

Sergei Boutenko had been diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at nine years old and his mother was told that he needed to go on insulin immediately. His mother didn’t like the sound of this and literally stumbled on the idea of a raw food diet. I almost peed myself laughing when Sergei described how his mother, in her harsh Russian accent, would approach healthy looking strangers in the street and ask them how they stayed healthy and if they knew anything about diabetes. Sergei has never taken insulin and has been living symptom free of diabetes for the past 16 years.

Ok, I’m getting the message. Diet is very important in helping create an environment where the body can heal itself. And a lot of people are talking about eating organic foods, eating raw foods, green smoothies and juicing, superfoods, etc, etc. So many people have healed themselves by making a radical change in their diet that there can be no question about how important diet is to a healthy lifestyle.

Then my she-ro, colleague, and I’ll even use the word friend, Dr.Lissa Rankin, took the stage. As a doctor in California, Lissa has met many patients who have been eating a natural, vegan, etc. diet for years, and yet they’re still getting sick. While accepting that diet is important, she highlighted that it isn’t the only thing that contributes to dis-ease, and it isn’t the only thing that contributes to healing. Discouraged by the broken health care system, Lissa has dedicated herself to discovering why some patients experience cure from seemingly “incurable” illnesses, while others remain sick even when they receive the best medical care. She is now leading a health care revolution to help patients heal themselves, while encouraging the health care industry to embrace and facilitate, rather than resist, the possibility of patient-initiated spontaneous remission.

As someone who has been encouraging people to start and maintain an accomplishments list, there is one more story I’d like to share. Over the past several months I have exchanged several messages with Dr.Lissa Rankin, including e-mails and responding to posts on her blogs. She is a truly amazing lady who has an unbelievable passion and “calling” to make a difference in fixing a broken health care system. I shared the phrase “putting the care back in health care” with her and she has used that phrase in her presentations. I share my ideas with her of how we can make change to the system, regardless of how crazy the ideas may seem. There are many roadblocks, and yet she keeps moving forward. Oh yeah, about that accomplishment. As Lissa was speaking to the crowd she looked over and asked me to stand up as a colleague who is helping to lead a revolution in the healthcare industry. Thank you Lissa, not only for the callout, but for helping to remind me that I’m “on the right path”.

So it has been an amazing two weeks for me. I have received several more affirmations that our bodies can heal and I have even more passion about how I can make a difference. The journey continues, and I’m loving the ride.

Do you believe our bodies can heal?

Namaste, Ken

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Written by Ken

Ken Jaques describes himself as a Health Care Evolutionary, Community Builder, and Speaker. True healing begins when we treat root causes instead of just masking symptoms. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 2008, Ken has experienced many facets of the health care system. As “the only patient who ever lost their hair on this low of a dosage of chemotherapy” – as spoken by his rheumatologist – Ken has been on an amazing journal of self-discovery, a journey of true healing. In his blog, Ken shares stories of how his beliefs have changed over the past few years, and how they are still changing. Is it possible that our bodies can heal themselves? Do we really have to live without hope after we receive a chronic illness diagnosis? These are the types of questions that Ken encourages people to ask themselves as they embark on their own physical or emotional healing journey.

Ken is creating a platform to connect People, Patients, Practitioners, Partners and Promoters, enabling a collaborative effort to help shift the focus on health from I-llness to We-llness. Check out the pilot at www.myHealthyCommunity.ca.

“When ‘I’ is replaced with ‘we’, even I-llness becomes WE-llness” ~ Malcolm X