“My world got smaller” – four simple words from a father in New Zealand to explain in a poem to his children how he felt after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
These are indomitable spiritual qualities that truly define us all. Perhaps they’re the kind of qualities that that New Zealand dad was thinking of when, following a litany of examples of how his world had shrunk, his poem defiantly concluded: “I may be smaller, slower … but I’m still me!”
You could say our essence – our essential, divine goodness – remains undiminished, even if the body is dancing to a different tune. But might it be possible that a better understanding of that underlying essence could even help reharmonize mind and body?
Perhaps Fox felt a touch of that when he took a video crew on a search to explore the basis for optimism. When their travels took them to the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, Fox said he felt there was “something special with these people, something special with the way they live their lives, something special about how they look at things.” And, remarkably, he felt something special happening in his body, too. He said: “Ever since I’ve been in Bhutan my symptoms have been really diminished.
“I don’t know whether that’s from the altitude,” he said, “or whether that’s just Bhutan!”
Maybe there’s a clue in the unusual fact that Bhutan’s Tourism Council lists “Spirituality & Wellness” as one of the country’s main activities.
Research is needed to verify any such correlation, of course. But many medical professionals are investigating the health benefits of spirituality, including for Parkinson’s disease. As Patrick McNamara, PhD, puts it: “Spiritual practices are first and foremost about you getting nourished so that no matter what [Parkinson’s disease] throws at you, you can continue to grow and live life with zest and joy.”
Another physician, Monique Giroux, MD, says: “Our discussion of Parkinson’s care usually focuses on the physical body and its treatment. Yet healing and spirituality are of critical importance for progressive illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease since it connects personal suffering and personal meaning. To heal, then, means to achieve a sense of wholeness beyond the physical self by embracing and supporting our spiritual self.”
And she takes it a step further, saying that healing can also occur in the body.
One man had just such an experience (see the Christian Science Sentinel, May 6). He writes: “Three doctors took brain scans and determined that I had Parkinson’s disease. Their prognosis was that I would first need a wheelchair and later on be confined to a bed. They told me there was no cure.”
A neurologist prescribed pills, but they made him feel worse and he was taken off all medication.
Instead of resigning himself to the long-term prognosis, he decided to revert to a spiritual practice, based on the healing ministry and teachings of Christ Jesus, he’d grown up with – Christian Science. Its emphasis on understanding God’s goodness led him to add spiritual thinking, particularly gratitude, to daily walks in which loss of stamina and balance had resulted in regular falls.
Change wasn’t immediate, but it came. As he put it: “On Valentine’s Day in 2012, I received the greatest gift ever. My neurologist told me the Parkinson’s disease had vanished.”
She helpfully also told him: “Don’t come back.”
Referring to a scriptural passage about God keeping us in the “perfect peace” (Isaiah 26:3) we can become aware of when our thoughts are fixed on the divine, he concluded: “I am in that peace. I feel reborn. May everyone be touched by God as I have been!”
If one’s world begins to get smaller as a result of Parkinson’s, or indeed any other ailment, it still remains within us to reach for new spiritual horizons.
We can’t all travel to Bhutan like Michael J. Fox. But the invigorating spiritual beauty and freshness of the divine Spirit – hinted at in those awesome Himalayan heights – are with us here and can lift each of us higher, and bring healing, right where we are.
This was originally published as Parkinson’s disease: Does it have to be all downhill? in The Christian Science Monitor.
TonyLobl.com 
I read somewhere, perhaps Adam Dickie’s Memoirs, that Mrs Eddy asked him if he had lost his way on a road that was winding and treacherous and found his way back would he not have profited from that experience?
This article would not have made much sense years ago. Mrs. Eddy also looked into many types of healing before discovering Christian Science. Had she not slipped on the ice that day would she still have arrived at her discovery? For the record, I don’t believe God caused her to fall. But when she did she was ready for that discovery from all that had gone on before.
I have had the most growth in Christian Science during trials and tribulations. But who would wish for or want trials and tribulations. I even read in a book on Abraham Lincoln that if you want to strengthen the decrepit arch then you increase the weight as the two parts are then joined more firmly together.
One more thing that came as a result from hardship – Gratitude. I am so grateful for everything now and have so much respect for others who have persevered through great hardship. I think the real lie or so-called disease is “entitlement” or being “ungrateful”. It seems to be all around us. But it is really “Nothing”.
One more important thing needed on the journey of life is the ability to forgive. My heart aches just to type this word. Perhaps that is how I know it is the right thing to do. It is also can be the hardest.
Keep up the good work with the articles that are reaching the people who need them. I plan on sharing this one. My motive is pure.
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p.s. Moses did not lead the Israelites out of Egypt by the most direct path but by the path that was right for them.
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beautifully written on testimony of a spiritual healing, when God heals isn’t it wonderful?
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