If You Have Cancer...

If you're reading this article, then it's especially meant fornyou or someone you love.

Don't read this one in a hurry. Print it out or set it asidento read when you have a few quiet moments...perhaps before youngo to bed tonight.

Now...there are many conditions that can be just as serious orndevastating as cancer...cancer just seems to be one that manynof us have encountered at some point in a loved one, and whichntaps so deeply into our fears and feeling of lack of control--nas health practitioners, as family members, and as individuals,nlooking at our own bodies.

My own mom died of cancer, and today I spoke with two friendsnwho are walking through cancer with a loved one.

So today the thought of cancer, as representative of any seeminglynimpossible situation, and our response to it, has been on my mind,nand I have a few thoughts to share with you that I believe younwill find of benefit.

If you're currently dealing with an outwardly impossible condition...none that you feel like you don't have the ability to control ornresolve, then today I'm going to share with you a couple storiesnand thoughts that will open some doors for healing for you.

For some of you reading this, your impossible "condition" may notnbe in your body...it may be in your finances, circumstances, ornrelationships. The thoughts and principles you read today willnassist you as well.

Okay, on to some thoughts for you...

To begin with, I have come to believe that anything is possible.

What do I mean by this?

That no matter what my condition or my circumstances are, itnis possible for them to change for the better, even when Inpersonally don't see any evidence or means that this could benso.

It doesn't mean things WILL change, or that I'll discover ornallow the changes "in time"...that comes next...but the firstnstep for me is believing that anything is possible.

I love living in possibility...how about you?

And opening the door to possibility just requires a little...neven just cracking this door open can open worlds ofnpossibility for you.

So the first step is, believe that anything is possible.

Believe that anything is possible without immediately jumpingnto whether what you want will happen or not...or whether itnwill happe
"in time" for you...

I'm reminded of two phrases you may be familiar with as well:

"With man it is impossible. With God, all things are possible."

And what Jesus said to the man whose daughter had just diednwhile they were on the way to her, "Do not be afraid.
Only believe."

In fact, these are my first words for you to take to heartntoday:

Do not be afraid. Only believe.

Believe it's going to be okay. Believe anything is possible.

Now, "okay" may or may not be in the form you currently wantnor expect things to be...or it may...or there may be a processnfor you to go through to get there...but start from a placenof believing that "it’s going to be okay."

A practical way to "feel" this that I learned from Carol Tuttlenis simply to put your open hand over the center of your chest,ntake a deep breath in and out, and then breathe in and say 6nor 7 times,

"No matter what happens, I am okay. No matter what happens,neveryone is okay."

Try it now. See how it feels.

Did you do it?

Okay, do this again before you go to sleep tonight.

Next, find ways to feed your belief.

If you've been diagnosed with cancer or some other seriousncondition, or you feel like your life is falling apart in somenother way, you're going to have plenty of "evidence" thatnthings aren't okay, and plenty of other people and stories tonlook at that could reinforce a feeling that you're doomed...

So your next step is to consciously and intentionally findnways to feed your belief--your belief in possibility, yournbelief that it's going to be okay.

Start by remembering times in the past when things haventurned out okay for you despite how they looked...when you'venexperienced or been met by some unexpected grace that wentnbeyond your direct control or beyond what you thought wasnpossible by the "evidence."

This may run contrary to others' advice to you...to not buildn"false" hope...so be prepared for that.

Whatever your condition is, I'd start reading and listening tonstories of other people who had wonderful experiences,nmiraculous turnarounds, or some other result that was unexpectednand brings you relief, hope, or joy when you read it.

And for the benefit I'm pointing you toward here, right now youndon't need to focus on HOW they did it, or HOW it happened,njust focus on the fact that it did!

I'd also focus on all the things, people, and experiences younlove in life...things that make you feel good and put you inntouch with feeling well and embracing life.

Now, rather than paying attention to all the signs that you'rennot doing well...and you may have plenty of them, start notingneach day any signs of wholeness and take note of them.

Give thanks for them.

Embrace and celebrate them.

It may be simply awakening to a new day, taking in a big, deepnbreath of life, smiling at your grandchild, or looking at anbird soaring in the sky.

It may also be a moment of increased appetite, energy, ornmobility, or clarity, or a few moments without pain.

Take note of these "signs" and embrace and celebrate them.

This is key to enjoying the "process" you're in, and to openingnthe door wider to new possibilities of healing and well-beingnfor you.

A great example of this comes from Louise Hay in her book
You Can Heal Your Life. She compares the process of manifestingnany desirable change in your health or your life, to plantingntomato seeds.

When the first shoots start to appear above the dirt, you don'tnstomp on them and say, "But I wanted a tomato plant!"

Rather, you know those shoots mean the tomato plant is coming,nand you water and nurture them and celebrate them, and soon younhave the whole plant and then the fruit—the tomato—you werenintending to grow.

Remember this story of the shoots the next time you're temptednto "stomp" on any signs of response to the steps you're takingnnow...

Okay, now how about the time when the plant is still germinatingnbelow the surface and there's nothing to see?

When there's no outward "evidence" that anything good is happening?

Well, here's another story.

This one's directly about cancer, though the process can benextrapolated to any situation you're experiencing.

And note, whether or not you identify yourself as a Christiannlike the couple below, pay attention to the PROCESS this couplenwent through of believing in and affirming something that wentnagainst the "evidence" and even their own experience until whatnthey were affirming actually became their experience!

Joyce Atkinson had a mole on her right arm which begann to grow and bleed. Medical specialists diagnosed it asn melanoma and advised the amputation of her arm.
Even so, they said this would give no assurance of healing.
Joyce and her husband Robert decided against the amputation,n and prayed the prayer of faith for healing. They weren both informed Christians and knew what it was to exercisen faith for healing. They accepted healing so that it wasn what they accepted—by faith.

Joyce was no better at first; indeed her conditionn continued to deteriorate. But they believed they weren drawing on a promise of God and they thanked God so thatn they did not doubt. This meant that they continued ton affirm healing by faith until the pain and distress felln away. It was anything but easy. It took discipline ofn mind to react to the difficulties in that way and to don it consistently.

The nights were the worst. They would just "walk the floor"n affirming what they were believing by faith until it becamen what they had by sight. As they continued in this way,n the intervals between the attacks of pain increased andn relief from it became easier to draw on. After some ninen months of affirming healing by faith in this way, then symptoms finally disappeared completely. Joyce has sincen been cleared by her medical advisers and continues inn perfect health. (p 47-48, Your Healing Is Within Youn by Jim Glennon)

Now regardless of your religious belief, I shared this storynto illustrate the power of tapping into something beyond whatnwe see with our eyes.

So today, whatever condition you're facing, however impossiblenit seems, crack open the door of possibility, allow yourselfnto tap into something beyond what you see, and celebrate everynsign that something good is sprouting for you.

Enjoy the journey.

"Do not be afraid. Only believe."

To your well-being,

Dr. Be

Copyright 2007 Ben Lo, MD