How My Life Has Changed Since Healing from an Incurable Disease
And working with the medicinal plants for the last two years
It’s been over two years now since I first went to the Peruvian Amazon to heal from what I was told was an incurable autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
I have a new life, in so many ways. Not only a body that feels new, but everything about my life and my mindset, to how I choose to live now.
The two things that people always ask me are:
Do I still have symptoms of RA?
And has my diet changed?
I have not had any symptoms of RA since going to the jungle and starting my dieta (a shamanic retreat with medicinal plants). I get the occasional and usual aches and pains attributed to getting older (!), exercising, pulling a muscle, or sleeping in an awkward position.
Sometimes this will unconsciously trigger a fear that my old symptoms have returned. But once I am aware of my fear and accept the pain for what it is-fleeting- it tends to dissipate pretty quick.
When doing a dieta, the diet is restricted and bland. However, my normal and every day diet has not changed. I don’t deny myself anything and I eat what I want, although I’m naturally inclined towards a vegetarian diet most days, supplemented by chicken and fish a couple times a week.
I’m a firm believer that there is no one perfect diet for every person, it’s finding what works for your body.
And if you eat something you want and then feel guilty about it, it is this cognitive dissonance that will cause problems.
Be Joyful
When I wake up every morning, I’m acutely aware that my body is not in pain. Getting out of bed when I was ill used to be the most difficult thing, as fatigue and brain fog were the main symptoms I used to battle. I would stay in bed for as long as I could after the alarm.
Now, when I wake up I feel instant joy and gratitude for my health and my healing.
What will this new day bring?
Lifestyle
My life is … different.
I left behind and gave away all my belongings, and have been living out of a backpack for over two years.
Material possessions freak me out. I have no problem spending money on a good meal, but buying things makes me incredibly anxious. So for the most part, I don’t.
My life is often on the road, and I’ve accepted this instability and the constant changes as part of my new life.
Dying and Being Reborn
I’m more aware of my conditioning, my thoughts, my assumptions, my beliefs. It’s a never-ending game I can play with myself.
The indigenous people in the Amazon that I know and lived with are completely connected to nature and the spirit world. I try to learn from them. The more we look at the world with a narrow focus, categorizing and analyzing everything, the less creativity and spontaneity we feel.
With every new belief, I try to let it go.
As a new world view and perspective rises up, it eventually needs to die.
And so it keeps dissolving and shedding, and new ideas and beliefs lead to new truths.
I’m no expert at this, and what I ultimately keep learning is how I know nothing.
Sharing and Connection
I travel a lot and I’m constantly meeting new people. Therefore I’m constantly telling my story of where am I from and what have I been doing. It’s incredible to share my story with people and to make a human connection.
So many people I’ve recently met have RA. If not, they know someone with an autoimmune disease, or know someone who is ill, or have had a recent loss in their life.
And they end up sharing something personal about their own life, that in turn inspires me.
Gratitude
My gratitude for my healing, for my life, for the curandero (healer) who helped me, and for the medicinal plants knows no bounds. It moves me to tears.
How did I get so lucky?
Every day I feel grateful. I remember how I used to be so sick.