21 Dec Thanks

At Storyofpain.com we are going to start posting a lot of stories and information about pain in relation to our work in progress documentary about chronic pain and the work of Dr. John E. Sarno.  To kick off the site I’d like to start with a short meditation on the idea of giving thanks.

As the Christmas season swings into high gear I have been thinking a lot about the idea of thanks.  In the past I felt a little uncomfortable sending thank you notes or calling people to say say thank you.  However, this summer I had an experience which taught me the value of being vocal with my appreciation.

Starting in June I had some very severe back/leg pain.  In early July it hit me like a thunderbolt and I was slammed to the floor in agony.  I was stuck on my home office floor for over a week basically unable to do anything at all.  While I knew the pain originated with my stress, I had this feeling that a great deal of energy was trapped in my hip.  I’m a big believer in the work of Dr. John E Sarno who believes that the vast amount of chronic pain is psychosomatic (our next film is a documentary about him).  He frowns upon the idea of physical therapy and chiropractors etc, but I was in a pretty desperate state, so I was looking into anything that could help me to get moving.   I had never even thought about Reiki healing before but it popped into my head in a powerful way.  I reached out to friends for advice an one suggested Paradis Partow, who lived around the corner from me.

By coincidence she was married to an old friend of mine, which instantly made me more comfortable with the idea of working with her.  To be very frank, I was highly skeptical but desperate and the sense that I needed help getting my energy to flow was extremely powerful.  When we talked on the phone it was clear that she was a great listener and extremely intuitive.

Paradis came by the following day and with some effort I was able to get on her table, but not able to lie on my back.  I won’t go into the details of the Reiki process, but I will say that it was an intense experience that definitely freed up the knot of pain in my hip considerably. In addition, at the end of the session she talked me up the stairs.  It took a while and all the strength I could summon, but escaping from the office floor was a huge step forward for me.

As I lay in bed for the first time in over a week we talked some more.  The most important thing she told me was to be thankful and to be vocal about that thanks.  I heard her and since then I have made an effort to express my thankfulness for everything from a stranger holding the door for me to another parent for all that they do for my children and their school.  In the past I might have hedged and felt silly saying thank you as much as I do now.  However, each time I give thanks, I feel the power of that simple act.  People appreciate being recognized and it makes them feel powerful and appreciated.  It also makes me feel good as well.  Giving thanks IS important.

So my Holiday wish and my new years resolution is continue this process into the new year.  I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who have given us so much support this year with our film. The love and backing has been powerful and healing.  I’d like to thank our families for all everything.  I’d like to thank Clinton Hill and Fort Greene for being an awesome place to live.  I’d like to thank my school community for being such an incredibly supportive place for my family and my children.