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Thirty-six Core Beliefs Influence How She Lives

By Barbara Levine, reprinted with permission

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I believe that when we see our tough experiences from the perspective of distance in time, we often recognize them as blessings in disguise. At times, I asked myself, "If you know so much how come you couldn't heal your- self without surgery? How come it's taking so long to fully heal? Why do you still have physical limitations? Why did you have to go through all this?" But the answer came quickly, "Because going through all this taught you what you are sharing. Perhaps more importantly, your journey of tumor/growth/release allowed you the time and experiences you needed to change and improve yourself." The fact that things take time to resolve is truly the gift of time.

I believe that if we give people information and time, they will find truth. As Phil Donohue often said, "Let's hear some wisdom from the audience." Oprah Winfrey picked up where Donohue left off, respectfully trusting her audience to make good use of the information she and her guests shared with them.

I believe each person has the ability to think for themself and discern what's right for them.

I believe and trust in serendipity, those accidental (or maybe not so accidental) happenings in life that might actually be God working for our highest good. Watching televangelists on cable TV helped build my faith during the early stages of my healing. They propelled me to seek out a Rabbi who taught me what I hungered to learn and needed to know. I am grateful to those evangelists for their faith-filled preaching. I am especially thankful to my Rabbi who brought me back home to Judaism where I belong. It is said: "When the student is ready the teacher appears." That's true. During the worst times, right after my brain surgery, when I was wheelchair-bound and unable to focus my eyes, I never lost hope. Deep inside, I always expected to get better. Prior to the surgery, I expected I'd be back to normal within a few months. I was really surprised by how physically damaged I was post-surgery. The degree of my difficulties caught me off guard, which could have easily led to despair. In fact, I had trouble even realizing what had happened to me. By the time it truly sank in how disabled I was, I had surrendered to the healing process. Some years later I recognized a seedthought "I was ambushed." I've changed the 'ambush' programming. I see now that my faith was very deep. Given my prior emotional track record and my typical pattern of worrying, I could have been in a panic. But in fact, I was too busy doing what I could do, planning how to get well and following through, to spend time speculating that I might not recover. I used to think that I needed to worry in order to protect myself from some feared consequence or event. That belief has dissolved.

I believe in dwelling on best case, not worst case scenarios. Worry will not protect me from a disaster over which I have no control. If I feel a worry attack, where I am "awfulizing"-planting seedthoughts that say "this is awful"-by visualizing all kinds of unwanted occurrences, I turn to prayer or another activity to occupy my mind in a positive way. I use all the tools in this book and they help me. It is my dream that each reader of this book will continue the journey within, arriving at better health and a richer, more rewarding life. It is my hope that each of you will think for your self-that inner Self-and recognize who and what that Self really is. It is my hope that you will be committed to your path, a peace-path, not a war-path, and that you will have faith that your journey through life will bring you the rewards you each deserve.

I believe you don't have to be sick to get better. It takes courage to live life fully, exploring and experiencing all that is there for you. I applaud your persistence, even as I have applauded my own. My beliefs gave me the strength and will to survive the ordeal of brain surgery and the long recovery period. The more I understand who or what my Self really is, the more I believe in thinking for myself and in Self-induced healing. Jewish mystics known as Kabbalists as well as mystics in many religious traditions point out that "the body is not the self. Since 'I' can speak of 'my body' the body cannot be 'me.' The body is 'mine''-something associated with the 'me;' but the ultimate me is something much more profound than the body. "170

Test the principles in this book in your own life. Use the exercises in this book to help you become more aware-of how you think, what you feel, and what you say. Recognize the creative power of your words and thoughts and see how they con- tribute to your version of life. Accept only that information which you know is for your highest good. Ignore what doesn't help you. Follow your intuition and your heart.

© Copyright 2001, Barbara Levine, owner of Aslan Publishing — Page One