Category Archives: From Tipping Point to Turning Point

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Feedback From My Book

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I have to say the feedback I’ve received on “From Tipping Point to Turning Point” has been heartwarming…and in some cases heartbreaking too.

There are two “topics” in the book – one is about vol state in 2022 and the other is about the effects of things in our lives on our health.

The first topic doesn’t really warrant much feedback. The second, however, does. And it has. It’s just that it’s a really personal kind of feedback that readers obviously don’t want to broadcast to the world.

I am so appreciative of the personal messages you all have sent me even if you don’t want to write anything here.

To know I’ve “reached” some people is what it’s all about for me.
Thank you all so much.
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Your Body is Talking to You…

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 Believe me I know.

Words have so much power and we often don’t realize it. Maybe we do when it’s too late. Our subconscious minds take what it “hears” and acts upon it.
It’s very symbolic in its language and it’s our job to interpret the hieroglyphics…and listen to them.

How many times have you said “I’m sick and tired”? Have you noticed that you get more “colds” or that you’re so tired?
Try telling yourself “Despite the circumstances, I have so much energy” or something similar. You don’t have to believe it right now. Just keep saying it and you will eventually believe it and your body will act in the appropriate way.

One of my most used terms especially when I was in the Navy (most of my life) was “I’m p*ssed off” or “that p*sses me off” or some variation. So, when my body was finally screaming at me with the power of the Incredible Hulk, guess what body system it showed up in? My kidneys. The entire saga is in “From Tipping Point to Turning Point.”

My body’s inner volcano began to erupt in 2016. And what a great metaphor it chose – I got Shingles which is definitely an eruption in/on the skin. Shingles is the chickenpox virus which stays buried in your system (as when we bury our emotions). When we are under stress, it makes itself known again becoming manifest in a horribly painful condition (Shingles) – the energy of your emotions has to be released and if you don’t deal with it, your body will do so eventually. Since I’m such a stubborn person, my body had to jack up the stakes. So I developed that horrific post Shingles nerve pain (“getting on your nerves”). it felt as if i was being stabbed in the back. And guess what. that’s exactly the type of situation that was occurring at work and i wasn’t able to deal with it. So this plagued me for 13 months causing me to almost end my life 3 times during that period.

At this point maybe there’s a better word to describe me than stubborn because I still wasn’t listening. Work was the pits. I had never been under that degree of stress at any point in my medical career – not even in the Emergency Room. I just kept plugging along, beating my head against the wall.

Then the lava flow started…in 2017 I almost died. In 3 months I was in the hospital for 5 weeks and out of work that entire 3 months. The stress had gotten to a point where there was no escape. My body’s goal, however, is first and foremost to survive. So, it found a way. It took me out of action for all that time. Talk about a humbling experience. I finally woke up – after all, that lava was hot! Since then I’ve grown in that I will listen to what’s going on inside of me.

Take some time – i know that’s dirty phrase nowadays but it shouldn’t be. Ask yourself what your body is telling you. Become an expert on body language – your own body language. You have your own dialect and it’s time for you to learn what the innuendos are. You will eventually find out but hopefully, you can nip any eruption in your own life.

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How Good Are You at Body Language?

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No, I don’t mean the kind where you can tell someone is defensive when they cross their arms.

What I mean is really looking inside yourself and seeing what your body is (or has been) trying to tell you.

Two authors (other than me..ha ha) you really should read are Gabor Mate and Bessel van der Kolk. They are both the go-to experts on how many illnesses are caused by the suppression of emotions.

This is also what a major portion of my new book, “From Tipping Point to Turning Point” is about.

I’m also working on another book which involves even deeper personal discoveries. I’ve been “researching” this – going back to try to excavate my memory, looking at my brother’s and my baby books, trying to find high school yearbooks, etc. – for a few weeks now.

As you will find out in “Tipping Point…” my childhood contained some significant experiences that weren’t, shall we say, pleasant.

I really only  remember 18 things from that period. I’m trying to increase that number as I said but that’s a major archaeological dig.

What has happened though, is that my brain has turned on its “survival at all costs” mode and has definitely let me know it doesn’t want me going on this “dig”. There is stuff back there that it doesn’t want me to discover.

How do I know that? Because for the past few weeks and especially last week, I’ve been fighting unremitting fatigue (so tired, i couldn’t work on the book – imagine that), and then other systemic symptoms – so much so that it prompted me to go to the doctor (so you know i had to be worried).

When I decreased the work on that book and my brain was able to distract me with the physical symptoms as well as other “interests” (all meant solely for distraction), my symptoms improved. I was able to recognize what was happening and calmed my brain with very simple measures (breathing, singing safety, reciting safety, somatic tracking, etc.). A year ago, perhaps, I wouldn’t have been able to do that and I am sure my symptoms would have progressed.

Another example is a lesion I had on my neck earlier in the summer or late spring. I finally went to the dermatologist and lo and behold it was squamous cell carcinoma. Why now at age 74? My theory is that I have been delving into my soul and my emotions for over a year now and in so doing, I have purged a lot of the hidden fear, anger and even resentment. So, it came to the surface – just as my work had brought the emotions to the surface. Voila – there was a skin cancer – the body was trying to express the “bad stuff” and that’s what happened.

If you read my book, you’ll see so many more examples of this but simply knowing that your body will let you know that you have emotional issues to address can make you more aware and maybe even prevent more serious complications if you can take action.