In ancient Greece, there were temples of healing that use dreams and dreams incubation for thousands of years to heal physical illness. I think I stumbled into using some of their methods, notably dream incubation. See
Present within most of these sleep temples were elaborate systems of fasting, dedication, lustration, purification, ritual drama, sensory deprivation or over-stimulation, invocation and dream interpretation. These institutions prevailed for thousands of years, so clearly the sleep temple methods were fruitful for many (there are countless testimonies and votive offerings proclaiming successful treatment) but how did they work? Would these old methods of dream incubation work today?
The practice of ‘Temple Sleep’ is well-evidenced in ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman archaeology and literature. I believe the practice of ‘dream incubation’ reveals many secrets regarding the journey of human consciousness, the evolution of memory and language, the mind-body connection, the placebo effect and the unconscious mind’s potent response to imagination, story and symbolism.”
Catherine Shainberg describes meditation to do before and after surgery. Such meditations typically decrease the need for pain medications and speed healing. See:
The following link describes a procedure that eliminates tremors in people who have Parkinson’s disease. It involves and ultrasound, wearing a helmet, and being inside an MRI machine. After an hour, the patient can leave and can walk away tremor free. Amazing! See
The following article emphasizes the importance of lifting weights and working out. The good news is that if you work out at all,your survival time goes up substantially. I know that going to physical therapy and working out played a big part in my MS going into remission:
I attended a seminar by Jungian analyst Jean Shinoda Bolen MD about twenty years ago. I wrote her a letter asking about how to cope with the multiple sclerosis I had at the time. She responded with a hand written two page letter.
The Dali Lama at one point chose her as one of twenty psychiatrists and psychologists to attend a tour. A main value of Buddhists is compassion. It is easy to see why he chose her.
Her Goddesses in Every Woman and Gods in Every Man books helped me learn to interpret dreams. She has written many books. As a psychiatrist, she used to do group therapy with people who had cancer (the book is Close to the Bone). I hope to be more like her someday.
Lemtrada is a once a year infusion that may slow or possibly stop the progression of multiple sclerosis. It is a once a year infusion, but the first year you receive infusions for five days in a row. Subsequent infusions are once a year but occur for three days in a row.
Insurance companies paint it as being for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, MS, after two ms drugs have failed. That is because there is some risk to the infusions.
It reminds me of the procedure used that stopped my MS in its tracks in the early 2000s. I was given big bags of steroids for three days in a row, which dampens the immune system, while also physically making your body stronger. On the third day the infusion included Cytoxan which modifies your immune system.
Because your body is revved on steroids, the immune system modification occurs quickly. This was done every three to six months, depending upon how I was reacting. It worked. My MS symptoms remitted, and have continued to improve until the present.
It is my guess that the Lemtrada may be working similarly. There was a lot of risk with the procedure I went through, and there is risk with Lemtrada. I believe it may be risky because both procedures basically turn your immune system off temporarily, followed by the immune system being less hyperactive about attacking your nervous system.
Both procedures use steroids heavily, which dampens the immune system. I had a severe infection after one set of infusions that landed me in the hospital for a week which I recovered from.
I continued to improve using once a week Tysabri self-injections, which I did for almost ten years; however, there is a danger to using Tysabri. The danger is that you may activate a latent JV virus which then causes multiple myelomas in your brain. They have a test that indicated I was getting close to JV virus activation, so I fortunately was able to switch to the new 800 pound gorilla in the fight against multiple sclerosis, Ocrevus.
The first time you take Ocrevus, it is infusions given two days in a row. The infusions last for six months. Subsequent infusions occur every six months and are for one day, with the infusion taking three or four hours.
My health has steadily improved since my late fifties. At 66, I am in better health than I was in my thirties. I developed MS in 1991 right before the first effective medications for multiple sclerosis were developed. Ocrevus is the best one by far. Tysabri helped a lot, but I noticed that I was more likely to get a cold or the flu on Tysabri. That has not been the case with Ocrevus. Ocrevus is for both primary progressive multiple sclerosis and relapsing remitting MS.
I recently had surgery on my eyes for double vision which I trace back to probably being caused by MS. Visual symptoms were the first thing I noticed in my late twenties which I think was a precursor to being diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis at age 36.
Right after the surgery, the double vision changed. Over the course of three weeks, it merged into unitary singular vision. They do not operate on the eyes themselves. They operate on the small muscles controlling those movements. They ” tighten the cables” leading to your eyes if you will. Anyway, you are put under anesthesia and released the same day so it is outpatient surgery.
I have excessive skin on my eyelids which I think contributed to the double vision (if you put pressure on the outside of your eye with a finger, it distorts your vision which is a similar effect). Surgery can remove the excessive skin safely, so I think I will do it. Anyway, for 2019, “the eyes (ayes) have it.”
“Multiple Sclerosis MISSION REMISSION” by Dr. Fox was both a pleasure and an eye opener to the many aspects of how MS develops and can be managed. The deep insights he provides into his personal and family dynamics are powerful indicators of how dis-ease can be instilled and manifest later in various ways, from psychological to physical trauma. His ingenuity, spiritual insights and dogged determination to regain his life from the debilitating toll of MS is both inspirational and instructive. A very good read from many perspectives! -Dale Miesen, BA, Psycholgy & Philosophy”
