Take Charge of Your Cancer by Plotkin Norman;

Author:Plotkin, Norman; [Norman Plotkin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
Published: 2019-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 5

THE ONLY WAY IS THROUGH SPIRIT

“All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness … the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.”

Dalai Lama

Deepening spirituality. It is as important as each of the other steps to healing and recovery, but it is a hot potato if ever there was one. People have fought and died over the subject, countries have gone to war. No matter which direction you turn to cover the topic, someone is likely to be offended, so I am going to do my best eggshell walk. I just ask that you keep an open mind and understand the importance of nurturing your spirit and connecting to a divine spirit that is bigger than you, has as its nature unconditional love, and is characterized by forgiveness and gratitude.

Every fall for ten years, I would pull my kids out of school and vacation in Hawaii for two weeks. We went in the fall because, as a lobbyist, when the legislature was in session and my clients could potentially be affected by the plenary power of the legislators, I had to be there standing guard. In 2008, as we were preparing for our annual Hawaiian vacation, I went by the bank where I had my personal and business accounts to take care of some transactions before leaving. As I walked up the pedestrian K Street in Sacramento, I saw a scene right out of It’s a Wonderful Life, where there was a run on the Savings and Loan, and George Bailey saved the day by giving people just enough money to tide them over from his own savings. There were people lined up at Washington Mutual, and the line was pouring out into the street. The bank manager, who I had known for some time, pleaded with me not to remove all of my holdings. I hedged and only moved half, moving the other half to Bank of America because they weren’t selling or panicking, they were buying!

And off to Hawaii I went. But it was very difficult to relax. Our country’s financial institutions were in meltdown. Presidential candidates suspended their campaigns to return to Washington to work on legislation. My bank, Washington Mutual, failed and was purchased by Chase. They were uncertain times.

I was an adventure traveler and was usually off on activities like hiking, golfing, and snorkeling, not one to sit around the pool and read. But this year, I had brought a book that I had been meaning to read, thinking that the flight and airport time would give me a chance to wade in. The book was Zen and Birds of Appetite, by Thomas Merton, and it was a collection of essays between Merton, a Catholic priest, and D. T. Suzuki, a Zen Buddhist, comparing and contrasting Christianity and Zen Buddhism. As it turns out, it was a perfect read for the trying times that were threatening to completely overshadow my vacation.

Each page was filled with deep concepts and needed to be read twice, and sometimes three times, for proper understanding.

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