excerpted from Kaiulani Facciani’s book, Whatever Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Strong.

 

When you think everything is someone else’s fault,
you will suffer a lot.
When you realize that everything springs only from yourself,
you will learn both peace and joy.
– Dalai Lama

Something that I don’t accept about many of the religions I’ve studied is the concept of punishment… that the bad things that happen in our lives are some sort of divine retribution in order for us to take responsibility. What I reject is that there is this god or gods (or aliens?) up there watching us with a scorecard for each one of us, keeping track of our deeds, and doling out the appropriate punishment. No disrespect intended… but don’t you ever feel that if that is truly what’s happening, then they are doing a really crappy job? Seriously, look around.

But I do accept the concept of karma. I have learned to trust the universe to return the energy that I give. That what goes around comes around. That, in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. That you should do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. This all relates to positive energy attracting positive energy and negative energy attracting negative energy. If one makes a mistake, one must take responsibility for it in order to not attract negative energy.

In ancient Hawaii, it was thought that illness was caused by the bad things that you had done. Perhaps the gods were angry, perhaps it was too many withdrawals from your karmic currency, perhaps it was the negative energy attached to guilt. In order to get well, you needed to take responsibility and ask for forgiveness. You needed to make things right.

This evolved into the concept that the entire world you live in is of your creation and is therefore your responsibility. Not only are you responsible for the ugliness you directly create, you are responsible for all the ugliness around you, even the ugliness that others perpetrate onto you. You must take responsibility and ask for forgiveness for all of it. And sprinkle lots of love and gratitude around. This is my interpretation of Ho’oponopono or, making things right and healing ourselves, island-style.

There was a psychiatric doctor in Hawaii, Dr. Hew Len, who achieved great success in a previously hopeless hospital for the criminally insane by putting these concepts into action. Simply by forgiving the patients for their transgressions, accepting responsibility for his part in how society had failed them, asking for forgiveness, thanking them, and loving them, he healed the part of himself that had created them and everything changed dramatically for the better for both patients and staff at the hospital. He apparently did this from within his office and not in the physical presence of the patients, which is what makes it really interesting.

I imagine these criminally insane people had been surrounded for most of their lives by negative energy. They probably had not experienced much of the positive energy that would accompany the concepts of gratitude, forgiveness, and love. How could bathing their psyches in positive energy NOT have a positive effect?

Having experienced powerful distance healing from energy workers, I have accepted the concept of energy traveling in ways that we do not detect with our 5 senses. Perhaps through quantum sub-space? It doesn’t necessarily matter. All we need to do to control it is generate positive energy by harnessing the power of love, responsibility, gratitude, and forgiveness.

My new healing mantra to my body has become “Thank you for all you have done for me, I’m sorry for all I have done to cause you pain, I love you for who you are…. I love you, I’m sorry, thank you… I love you, I’m sorry, thank you.”

I have a little dance that goes with it. : )

excerpted from Kaiulani Facciani’s book, Whatever Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Strong.

 

You don’t “beat” stage IV breast cancer.

The most you can do is grab the snarling wolf

by the throat and hold it at arm’s length,

trying not to be intimidated by the fangs

and the spittle and the intensity of its desire

to rip you to pieces.

 

If you’re lucky, you temporarily tame it

or it may tire itself out for awhile

but you are always on your guard,

knowing it will eventually awaken and attack again.

 

Right now, he is snoring softly at my feet.

Be vewy, vewy qui-yet.

 

 

…

excerpted from Kaiulani Facciani’s book, Whatever Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Strong.

 

The diagnosis of cancer left me reeling and disoriented. I stopped at the store and spaced out… staring… in front of the dairy section. “So what does this mean? How long do I have? Do I buy a pint… or a gallon?”

Time slows down; mouths open; people talk; nothing makes sense; the non-existent wind howls in your ears; time speeds up; you don’t know where you are or how you got there. So much is unknown and there are so many ramifications. So much information. So many emotions to process. And your loved ones need to process. And everyone is watching you process. All you want to do is curl up in the fetal position and hope it just… goes… away.

Ultimately, you must choose a path. Cycle through the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Inform yourself. Commit to yourself. Choose a path that honors you.

My own path began in 2007. I’ve survived against all odds and prognoses. As of this writing, I am healthy and vibrant, in spite of having a terminal diagnosis and been given just weeks to live… twice. They say that it is incurable and that it will kill me, sooner than later. But that maybe they can buy me some time. Screw that! Who are they to give me weeks? I’m gonna take them. And I’m taking as many as I want, dammit!

The truth is… they don’t know, nobody knows. There are many people who beat the odds they were given simply because they refused to accept the odds and took action. I am a single mom and I have chosen to do everything I can to defeat it, or buy as much time as I can. I’m buying the gallon… not the pint.

I have chosen to fight. I have chosen to be the author of my destiny. I employ naturopathic protocols and toxic modern medicine. Radiation shrunk tumors and chemotherapy stopped the advance of new growth. I cleanse my body of toxins and provide nutrients and anti-cancer remedies from around the world to change the bioterrain that allowed cancer to thrive. I choose to view cancer as a gift and explore my emotional landscape for opportunities to grow and cleanse my mind and soul. The healthier my emotions, the better equipped to fight and win my body will be and the less likely cancer will dominate. And I will show my son what it means to not give up. That is the path that I have chosen. Because I know that if I don’t choose that path, there is no chance of winning. And I will win.
And if I die? I will be a better person for this path!

While shopping in a consignment store near the oncology clinic, a bald woman in a turban was trying on some white pants that she liked. “You know the rule about white pants after Labor Day, don’t you?” her friend commented. “Yeah, well, I’m into breaking rules right now,” she replied.

A second friend entered the store and joined them. “There is nothing but snow and mud back home!” she exclaimed. “Why on EARTH would you be trying on white pants?”, her Southern lilt demanded. “Because…” our shero avowed firmly and testily. “…I will wear them next SPRING!” Buying those pants was a symbol of hope… a way of thumbing her nose at the prognosis. I completely understood. She was buying the gallon.

She stood at the cash register, white pants firmly in hand. She fidgeted nervously, still upset at her friends who obviously doubted that she would survive the winter to wear those pants in the spring.

“I floss my teeth,” I offered.

“Excuse me?” she said, puzzled.

“And I use wrinkle cream. These are MY affirmations that I will be around long enough to be happy I did these things.” She hugged me gratefully. And, I returned it. A nice, long hug.