If you don’t know about Dr.Bernie Siegel and his work allow me to offer to you a brief introduction. Many years ago for five nights in a row I had the same reoccurring dream about my teeth! On the sixth morning I sat in front of a makeup mirror and asked it, "why do I keep having this same dream about my teeth?" On the sixth morning I personally found what was quickly diagnosed as a malignant tumor on the bottom of my tongue. Those dreams were so powerful. They led me to a local and very smart ENT specialist who in turn referred me immediately to a very skilled surgeon at Sloan Kettering. Any doctor that I mentioned the dreams to throughout that time disregarded me and looked at me with a quizzical expression. That was until I met "Bernie."
Dr. Siegel believed what I believed ~ that my “dreams” were instrumental in my healing as they nudged me forward to seek medical attention. I had no symptoms whatsoever at that time. Just these dreams that placed me on my path of returning to wholeness. “Bernie” continues to inspire me and I consider him to be one of my most influential teachers. Bernie taught me at the onset of my challenge that I needed to be grateful for the grace of being alive TODAY, my only day. How important it was for me to develop that attitude of gratitude. He reminded me at that tender age of 33 when I was overwhelmed with the fear of dying that we are all going to die someday....there's no way around it. And, that dying isn't a failure but not living is.
About Bernie Siegel, M.D.
Bernie Siegel is an internationally recognized expert in the field of cancer treatment and complementary, holistic medicine.
In 1978 he originated Exceptional Cancer Patients, a specific form of individual and group therapy utilizing patients’ drawings, dreams, images and feelings. ECaP is based on “carefrontation,” a safe, loving therapeutic confrontation, which facilitates personal lifestyle changes, personal empowerment and healing of the individual’s life. The physical, spiritual and psychological benefits which followed led to his desire to make everyone aware of his or her healing potential. He realized exceptional behavior is what we are all capable of.
One of my favorite quotes from Bernie ~
I am convinced that unconditional love is the most powerful known stimulant of the immune system. If I told patients to raise their blood levels of immune globulins or killer T cells, no one would know how. But if I can teach them to love themselves and others fully, the same changes happen automatically. The truth is: love heals.
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