Healing stories inspire and motivate us to reclaim our health by healing. This guest post is a particularly interesting one since Jenny managed to heal herself in just 3 short weeks. Be sure to share it with someone you feel could use a spark of optimism and hope.
By: Jenny Mannion
My life looks nothing like it did a little over a decade ago and I could not be happier! I had suffered from nearly seven years of chronic disease and pain which was not easy being a mother of two young children. In changing the way I looked at myself and disease, I changed my life and completely healed myself in three short weeks. In healing myself, I awakened my passion to help others do the same. What I did was not magic. We are all so much more powerful than we were ever told, and it is my greatest passion to give people tools to help them tap into their inner power.
Chronic Disease & Pain
It began as many people’s illness began. Diffuse symptoms, pain, feeling like I had the flu most days and these overwhelming questions that repeated in my head, “what is wrong with me” and “why me?” Well in seven years and countless doctor appointments and tests I received several diagnoses.
The first was Chronic Mono – my blood always had the Epstein-Barr virus in it. Then there was Fibromyalgia. Next was a genetic blood disorder Factor V Leiden who had the doctors saying I was much more likely to get a blood clot which I manifested along with a four-day hospital stay three weeks after they told me. It also led to me being put on a blood thinner for what they said was “for life.”
The last and most grim diagnosis was Ehlers Danlos Syndrome III- Benign Hypermobility. That diagnosis had the doctors saying since the pain was worst in my legs – it would settle there, and I could be in a wheelchair as soon as a year. The doctors told me to stop dancing which had been my love since I was five as I might hyper-extend myself and further worsen my condition. I was given a lot of limitations, and not one doctor was saying that healing or recovery was possible.
Having been brought up only knowing about traditional medical care, that is the route I went. I read books and online about all my diseases. I joined support groups online and in person. I truly became every single symptom and disease I had been diagnosed with as I knew no other way was possible. I woke up in excruciating pain and my dialogue was “I wonder if I am going to pass out in pain today, I wonder if it is safe to drive my kids to school today, I wonder if I am going to vomit in pain today or be able to eat anything, I wonder if I am going to have to crawl down my stairs.”
That was usually followed up by a barrage of self-deprecating remarks about how I was not a good enough (fill in the blank – mother, wife, daughter, friend) because I could not be the person I wanted to be in those relationships. I even read a book that said to have a funeral for my old self because I would never be that person again. Nothing I read or came across was inspiring or healing. It all contributed to me feeling this was going to be my life for the rest of my life and there was nothing I could do about it.
<
My Healing Process
So what changed and how did I go from this dis-empowered person in constant pain to an alternative healing practitioner that rarely even gets a cold? There were a few things that came into play in my healing process before I even began those three weeks.
First, I was given a book suggestion to read Succulent Wild Woman by a good friend. It is written by SARK and showed me I could write about positive things in my life. I was always a writer – my dad taught me how to read at two and I was hooked on reading and writing very early. While ill, I had gotten in the habit of writing the most when I was in the most pain or most upset. Needless to say that was not inspiring. SARK told me to write about books I loved, fun experiences I had and painkillers began feeling a little hopeful in those short spurts when I would write.
Next was meeting a new friend. She saw me as Jenny, not “sick Jenny.” I was against painkillers, always having a fear of addiction (growing up in NYC can do that to you). But after meeting Angela, I would take a pain killer so I could go for a walk with her at a local park. I was not all the roles I judged myself on and began to feel “Jenny” again.
A friend had suggested I watch the movie “The Secret” and it was about a year before I received it as a gift from my husband at the time and watched it. There were two things I took from the movie that changed everything for me. The first was that our body is 99.999% new every 11 months – our body is always making new cells. It made sense to me as someone with a degree in Psychology that where we put our thoughts and emotions contribute to what kinds of cells are being made. Telling myself how sick and in pain I was every day was not going to help me get any better.
The next was “gratitude.” I spent a LOT of time thinking about the things I was missing, could not do or be and how I was disappointing everyone I loved. I decided to start my day paying gratitude for my little finger (which was sometimes the only part that did not hurt) instead of focusing all my attention on my legs which throbbed. I decided I would cancel my doctor appointments since they were affirming my illnesses and there was nothing critical I had to be there for. I decided I would spend a little time focusing on what I was telling myself and learning from the likes of Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Napoleon Hill and Eckhardt Tolle and see what would happen.
I spent a couple of hours a day reading, listening to audios watching videos and also really paying attention to the way I spoke to myself. I was appalled when I began to hear the messages I was sending myself about how sick and useless I was. I started to notice every morning I woke up with a little less pain. I also paid gratitude every morning and night (the two most powerful times) to everything that WAS right in my life. I may not be able to get up some days, but I could read in bed with the kids. I had a wonderful support system. I had a comfy bed to lie in.
There were endless things that I found that were truly beautiful in my life – I had just been focusing on all the limits.
The Pain Was Gone
Within three weeks all the pain was gone. Within a year I got up the courage to go to my hematologist to ask to get off the last prescription I was on – the blood thinner Coumadin. He allowed me to get off the medicine with the words “where my mind was now – it would be more dangerous for me to be on it than off of it.” I was medicine and pain-free and all I wanted to do was to shout from the rooftops “you can heal.”
I initially went back to the support groups to tell them, and some were in disbelief and a few even said mean things to me like I must not have been sick. I now know doing what I do as an alternative healing practitioner that illness sometimes serves us and not everyone is in the right space to heal at that time. I wrote an ebook and learned how to get a website and blog, and I found a new passion. I wanted to learn all I could about the mind/body connection to inspire others to heal themselves.
In studying and writing, I found some modalities that resonated deeply and became a practitioner in a few. First was Reconnective Healing, next was learning how to read and clear Akashic Records, after that was becoming a Law of Attraction Advanced Coach as well as a Certified Ho’oponopono Practitioner—and those are just what I got certified in. I have read hundreds of books on healing and know now without a doubt – there is no limit to what we can achieve.
A Short Path To Change
I began writing my book after six years of working with clients and realizing we ALL have most of the same stuff. Struggling with self-love and self-worth, self-sabotaging and thinking life is much harder than it is. Most of us feel if life is going too well it is only a matter of time before something horrible happens or that all areas of our lives can’t be wonderful at once! Most struggle with the way they speak to themselves and of being cognizant of the energy they surround themselves with. I wrote my book from that space.
“A Short Path to Change:30 Ways to Transform Your Life” is 30 chapters all with short exercises on how to truly transform every area of your life; emotionally, mentally, physically, relationships and spirituality. It is four sections with the first guiding you through letting go of your old past habits and behaviors.
The second section guides people to learn about the chakras in a very easy way. Our chakra system is our inner diagnostic system and though Eastern Medicine is based on it—it is not included in our Western Medical Model. A good example of how powerful the chakras are is the 5th, throat chakra. If we have not spoken our truth or are living in lies, it is very possible to come down with thyroid or throat issues. Every chakra has emotional and physical aspects and learning about them is empowering!
The third section is on how to bring yourself to the present moment – which is where all our power lies. That section will teach you how to tap into your energy body, love yourself, express gratitude, meditate and more.
The last section has some tools for self-sabotage, facing shadows as well as powerful tools like manifesting and setting intentions. I have heard from many people that this book has changed their lives and I use it with my clients to give them “homework.”
“Watch how you talk to yourself about life.”
– Jenny Mannion
Change does not have to be hard or take years to achieve. I have been blessed to see clients heal of Stage 3 and 4 cancer, MS, depression, anxiety and so much more. I have seen people who thought their marriages were over reignite passion and have a closer connection than ever before. I went from being in pain every single day and having no hope to being in good health, having a close relationship with both my teenaged kids, finding a love relationship beyond my wildest dreams, having an amazing circle of friends, getting my book published which was a lifelong dream and working daily with clients that I am passionate about helping as I witness what some would call miracles at least weekly.
Please watch how you talk to yourself about your life. Please know it can be easier and you can transmute almost any challenge in a shorter period than you may have ever dreamed of. Speak to yourself as you would your closest loved one and know that nothing you or anyone else has done so far can stop you from starting a new day today and creating the life that you deserve. I am wishing you love and joy along your journey. I believe in you and if I can do it – you can do it.
Jenny Mannion graduated from Penn State University with a BA in Psychology and is also certified in Reconnective Healing Levels I, II & III and Soul ReAlignment (Akashic Record Reading). Jenny has become an alternative healing practitioner, mind/body mentor and inspires people to connect with their inner power to create the life they desire. Jenny now conducts workshops, is a contributing blogger for “The Huffington Post” and a frequent radio show guest speaker.
Connect with Jenny: Facebook | Huffington Post | Twitter | LinkedIn | Google+