I am so pleased to introduce this author and book to you! I share it because I concur with her belief that our thoughts and emotions affect every aspect of our body's well-being—and our ability to heal.
After reading Leigh Fortson's article, I invite you to share your thoughts about this powerful subject. Leave a comment and you will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of her new book, Embrace, Release, Heal: An Empowering Guide to Talking About, Thinking About, and Treating Cancer.
After her third cancer diagnosis in three years, Leigh Fortson was given few options by her doctors and little hope for a bright future. For weeks, she mourned the life she thought she was losing—until she was introduced to an idea that changed everything: Our thoughts and emotions influence every cell in our body. Embrace, Release, Heal shares insights into the power of our mind-body connection, inspiring stories from people who survived cancer after being given a terminal diagnosis, and interviews with 20 experts on progressive cancer treatments.
Faith – Enlisting Your Innate Power to Heal from Cancer
by Leigh Fortson
There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.
~ Freya Stark
After a cancer diagnosis, many people turn to faith to carry them through the fear and hardship. I’ve been in awe of and marveled at the people I interviewed and the diversity of where they place their faith. It drives home the point that you don’t have to believe in God, Jesus, Moses, Mohammad, or Buddha to heal. You don’t have to change your diet, meditate, or exercise to heal. You don’t have to undergo chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery to heal. But there does seem to be a consistent thread in everyone I’ve encountered who has healed: they placed a positive faith in something and, by doing so, transcended disease.
Faith of any kind is powerful and pure. It is our ability to believe in something—whether Tamoxifen or transcendental meditation—even when we aren’t sure how or if it will work.
By definition, faith is rooted in mystery and uncertainty. But we give ourselves to it anyway and let go of trying to control the situation. That act alone—releasing resistance—clears the way for healing energy to come forth.
The placebo effect is an intriguing display of the power of faith. Thousands of compelling stories have been reported about people cured of just about everything, including cancer, from taking a substance that had no medical properties. Even so, symptoms receded, in some cases to the point of clearing up entirely, because of the faith people had in the mock drugs.
This is the power of our mind, our faith. It’s our own innate power.
It’s essential that we recognize where we place our faith. If we believe that we are not worthy of success, that we are not worth loving, that our dreams will never come true, that we are stuck and can’t leave a marriage or job that brings us misery, that we have no power or voice, that life is not worth living, and that a cancer diagnosis is synonymous with death, then we are placing our faith in limitations, contraction, restriction, and doubt. Ultimately, we are placing our faith in the power of fear and decline. That’s as good as saying, “Life is a brutal and meaningless event. No matter what I do, nothing works out. I’m not sure how or why it works that way, but I have faith that there are forces waging against me and everything will fall apart.” And so they do.
If, on the other hand, we believe we are worthy of being, doing, and having everything we’ve ever dreamed; that we are absolutely lovable and loved; that we can leave any situation that doesn’t serve us because we trust that we’ll be safe and that something better will replace it; that we have power beyond our comprehension; and that we have a strong and important voice; that life—with all of its ups and downs—is an adventure of magnificent proportion; and that a cancer diagnosis can be an awakening to the truth, beauty, and power of who we really are and what life is really about, then we are placing our faith in the generative power of love and evolution. That’s as good as saying, “Even though life can be deeply painful, it’s still a miraculous and worthwhile journey that somehow, some way, balances out. I’m not sure how or why it works that way, but I have faith that there are forces at play that are helping and guiding me, and that things always work out.” And so they do.
When people speak of faith, they are typically referring to religion or spirituality. There is a broader faith, however, that plays out in our everyday decisions. Where we invest our faith can determine the course of our lives.
Faith is intensely personal. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all package. Each of us has the right and freedom to choose where we invest our faith. When we invest our faith in a loving—rather than a random, wrathful, or vengeful—universe, we learn that we are not alone. In fact, when our hearts are open to receiving and our faith is steady, we are supported in unfathomable ways.
About the Author
Leigh Fortson has coauthored and edited numerous books about health, nutrition, and alternative medicine. She spent decades learning about and practicing healthy lifestyle habits and was shocked to find out in 2006 that she had cancer. Today she has a clean bill of health and lives in Colorado with her family. For purchase information, plus links to the experts interviewed in her book, visit www.embracehealingcancer.com
Excerpted with permission from Embrace, Release, Heal: An Empowering Guide to Talking About, Thinking About, and Treating Cancer by Leigh Fortson (Sounds True, May 2011). © 2011 Leigh Fortson
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by Leigh Fortson
There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.
~ Freya Stark
After a cancer diagnosis, many people turn to faith to carry them through the fear and hardship. I’ve been in awe of and marveled at the people I interviewed and the diversity of where they place their faith. It drives home the point that you don’t have to believe in God, Jesus, Moses, Mohammad, or Buddha to heal. You don’t have to change your diet, meditate, or exercise to heal. You don’t have to undergo chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery to heal. But there does seem to be a consistent thread in everyone I’ve encountered who has healed: they placed a positive faith in something and, by doing so, transcended disease.
Faith of any kind is powerful and pure. It is our ability to believe in something—whether Tamoxifen or transcendental meditation—even when we aren’t sure how or if it will work.
By definition, faith is rooted in mystery and uncertainty. But we give ourselves to it anyway and let go of trying to control the situation. That act alone—releasing resistance—clears the way for healing energy to come forth.
The placebo effect is an intriguing display of the power of faith. Thousands of compelling stories have been reported about people cured of just about everything, including cancer, from taking a substance that had no medical properties. Even so, symptoms receded, in some cases to the point of clearing up entirely, because of the faith people had in the mock drugs.
This is the power of our mind, our faith. It’s our own innate power.
It’s essential that we recognize where we place our faith. If we believe that we are not worthy of success, that we are not worth loving, that our dreams will never come true, that we are stuck and can’t leave a marriage or job that brings us misery, that we have no power or voice, that life is not worth living, and that a cancer diagnosis is synonymous with death, then we are placing our faith in limitations, contraction, restriction, and doubt. Ultimately, we are placing our faith in the power of fear and decline. That’s as good as saying, “Life is a brutal and meaningless event. No matter what I do, nothing works out. I’m not sure how or why it works that way, but I have faith that there are forces waging against me and everything will fall apart.” And so they do.
If, on the other hand, we believe we are worthy of being, doing, and having everything we’ve ever dreamed; that we are absolutely lovable and loved; that we can leave any situation that doesn’t serve us because we trust that we’ll be safe and that something better will replace it; that we have power beyond our comprehension; and that we have a strong and important voice; that life—with all of its ups and downs—is an adventure of magnificent proportion; and that a cancer diagnosis can be an awakening to the truth, beauty, and power of who we really are and what life is really about, then we are placing our faith in the generative power of love and evolution. That’s as good as saying, “Even though life can be deeply painful, it’s still a miraculous and worthwhile journey that somehow, some way, balances out. I’m not sure how or why it works that way, but I have faith that there are forces at play that are helping and guiding me, and that things always work out.” And so they do.
When people speak of faith, they are typically referring to religion or spirituality. There is a broader faith, however, that plays out in our everyday decisions. Where we invest our faith can determine the course of our lives.
Faith is intensely personal. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all package. Each of us has the right and freedom to choose where we invest our faith. When we invest our faith in a loving—rather than a random, wrathful, or vengeful—universe, we learn that we are not alone. In fact, when our hearts are open to receiving and our faith is steady, we are supported in unfathomable ways.
About the Author
Leigh Fortson has coauthored and edited numerous books about health, nutrition, and alternative medicine. She spent decades learning about and practicing healthy lifestyle habits and was shocked to find out in 2006 that she had cancer. Today she has a clean bill of health and lives in Colorado with her family. For purchase information, plus links to the experts interviewed in her book, visit www.embracehealingcancer.com
Excerpted with permission from Embrace, Release, Heal: An Empowering Guide to Talking About, Thinking About, and Treating Cancer by Leigh Fortson (Sounds True, May 2011). © 2011 Leigh Fortson
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