A few days ago, I received a message from long-time correspondent, Ralph Haulk, in which he related some personal healing experiences that are rather astonishing. Mind over matter? Here it is below; you can decide for yourself.-t.h.g.
As a result of injury in the marines, I had knee surgery on my left knee, and as I got older, it began to get weaker, stiff, and I couldn’t support my weight. Just after I got out of the marines, I was working on a roof when the roof collapsed and fell through, injuring my right knee.
As a result, by the time I turned 60, both knees had begun to grow bone spurs that caused pain, and my right knee had a spur that grew through the knee(as shown on an x-ray), and it looked nearly big as my thumb. It was pulling my knee inward, throwing strain on my hips and getting my back out of alignment, so I had to be careful how I walked, or bent over, or even sudden movements in my sleep.
I couldn’t sleep well, because the strain on my hip would build up if I turned at certain angles. I went to the VA, and they said nicely “Get in line. We got more severe problems to worry about”.
So, because I had nothing better to do, I started doing what I did for the growth on my skull. I began rubbing my knees and imagining the bone spurs dissolving into my bloodstream, with the calcium going to more useful places. I imagined my hip coming back into alignment as my right leg straightened out.
Until that time, the misalignment of my hip and knees was so bad I had to walk in a modified sideways crab-step, pulling myself forward with my right leg, and bracing with my left , making “Chester” on the old “Gunsmoke” show look graceful by comparison.
I have begin to study and think about the way our minds work, and how we focus and adjust to trauma, rather than guiding our minds toward healing. Many ideas are resulting from this that may be useful in personal therapy. I’m looking for courses in that area that perhaps may qualify me to help others in this discovery. Any ideas?
Ralph