Part 1 – in case you missed it.
During my two years of intense practice of Tae Kwon Do before I met my husband, I had two very interesting experiences. We would meditate before and after each class. Sometimes it would be for a minute, other times it would be for 5 to 10 minutes, but regardless of length, it was a time for us to center ourselves and focus on the class to come or review what we had learned at the end of class. Oh my word! I never realized how very important those times of meditation were – no matter how brief.
The first experience occurred at the end of class. We had started our meditation and for no particular reason, I focused my intention on the front of the room where our instructor was sitting, also in meditation. Then next thing I was aware of is being at the front of the room and yet I knew I hadn’t moved an inch. The realization that I was outside my body was slightly terrifying since I’d never experienced it before. I then felt a tug at my navel and promptly got pulled back into my body, where I sat in shock until our meditation concluded.
The second experience occurred during a relaxation exercise in class. I was lying on the floor, relaxing each set of muscles, until my body was fully relaxed. As my body started to relax, my mind recalled the previous incident and because of the fright of leaving my body, it felt as if I was floating just above my physical body, but my head was still firmly planted in my body. It was truly one of the strangest feelings! I was still in graduate school at the time and didn’t talk about these experiences. I chalked it up to something that was rather scary and tried not to think about it too much.
My husband introduced me to Whitley Strieber’s Dreamland. Whitley and his wife Anne, are two amazing people who have experienced so much and have been kind enough to share those experiences with the rest of us. I recently started going through and listening to Dreamland from the very first episodes. Certain parts of my job allow me to plug into my iPod and blissfully learn new things while working. I came across an episode from 2004 where Whitley interviewed Dr. Hank Wesselman. Little did I know that this episode of Dreamland would be the first step towards a new beginning in my spiritual journey!
Dr. Wesselman discussed his book The Journey to the Sacred Garden: A Guide to Traveling in the Spiritual Realms on the episode of Dreamland from August 2004. I was very excited to hear him talk about his experiences with meditation. It reminded me of my own experiences of leaving my body. However, I was most intrigued by the great healing possibilities one can develop through spiritual work.
I have always been a fairly healthy person. But that changed in 2007 when I started breaking out in hives every evening. My allergist put me on medications to control my hives so that I could sleep through the night without trying to scratch my skin off and not look like a walking disease in the morning. After I graduated with my master’s and my stress levels decreased, I was able to do away with one of the three medications, but I was still dependent on two of them. Around 2011, my mother began asking how long I would have to take my medications to control my hives. I thought it would be forever since my hives would return when I missed a dose. At her insistence (Thank you, Ma!), I went to a new allergist since we had moved to a different city. He told me there may be more to my hives than previously thought and referred me to an endocrinologist. In 2012 I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. I thought the Universe was playing a sick joke on me. I studied endocrinology all through undergrad and grad school and now here I was being diagnosed with a disease of the endocrine system. I failed to see the humor.
My endocrinologist recommended that I be placed on thyroid hormone which is typically what most people with Hashimoto’s are prescribed. I decided to go with Nature-Throid instead of the synthetic Synthroid. Depending on your source, some argue that Synthroid is perfect, others say that Nature-Throid is preferable. Personally, I have done just fine on Nature-Throid. I asked my doctor what would cure my Hashimoto’s because I did not want to be on medications for the rest of my life. The answer was: nothing.
As hackneyed as this may sound, my resolution for 2013 was to lose the excess weight I’ve been carrying around since puberty. I had previously started working out on three separate tries to lose the weight, but life and other responsibilities have always intervened leading to a relapse to bad eating habits and lack of exercise. I was finally sick of it and I decided that 2013 was going to be the year I finally regained my health, Hashimoto’s notwithstanding. I felt the time was right – we were in a new house that had the space for a home gym, and my work scheduled allowed me to work out in the mornings. I was ready!
To be continued…
**Please note: I am not a medical doctor and I am not dispensing medical advice. I am simply relating my personal experiences with disease, medication, and weight loss. If you have questions and concerns regarding your health, please consult your doctor.**
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