Stories of Empowerment
I met such amazing people through a program called Yes To Success!
Here are some of their stories
Martina
When I was 22 weeks pregnant my baby was diagnosed with a genetic birth defect The doctors saw a lymphangioma but feared that there could be other complications. I was given the option to abort, even though I was already in my 22 week. I did not agree. I was unwilling to consider such a thing despite the doctors urging.
I was given a second option of an amniotic fluid puncture to detect genetic defects more accurately, which was also quite risky at this stage of pregnancy. Again, I did not agree to the procedure. So, the doctor just did a very extensive scan and said, he couldn't detect anything other than the lymphangioma, but he wasn't 100 % sure. From then on, I had examinations scheduled every other week, and each time the lymphangioma had grown larger and the doctors were very concerned. They told me, they would likely have to do a surgery right after the birth. At some point, I got really stressed with this situation. I couldn’t sleep anymore and I wasn't sure if I could handle a child who needed special care, who was ill and maybe couldn't function on his own. After about 4 or 5 sleepless nights I suddenly had this insight, which came to me: I was the only person (together with my wonderful husband) who could deal with this problem in the right way and that's why our baby son had chosen us as his parents. Once this thought had come to my mind, everything was clear, it felt right and I was totally at peace with this situation. And from this moment on, I met the right people who supported me. We found 2 doctors (and even a third one) who were specialists AND did not fear the outcome so much as the ones I had been seen by until that point. So when my little son was born, the lymphangioma was really big. It had expanded quite a bit just before birth. So, they weren’t able to operate on it straight away. After 3 months they did an MRI and found, that the lymphangioma had grown together with the carotid artery, with the arteria brachialis and with the coronary arteries. So, there was no way of performing a surgery. At this time my mum was on holidays at the Semmering, an area in Austria, which was visited by many people around 1900 for rest and relaxation. Close by is a pilgrimage site Maria Schutz. There is a holy well and the water is said to heal all sorts of ailments. So, my mother fetched some water and brought it to me. Who can say whether it was the water, but the lymphangioma became smaller and smaller within a month’s time. When my son Lennard was 4 months old, the lymphangioma was gone. There is only a little pea-size lump that remained of it. I think in this story is quite a bit of what Debra Poneman teaches in Yes to Success, such as surrender and thank God for the challenge, or putting difficult tasks or decisions on the Universe's “to do” list, and to surround yourself with the right people etc. I hadn't heard of any of these tools then, but I seemed to have known them intuitively which I am actually very proud of and grateful to have trusted and followed my internal guidance. :-)
Virginia Beach, VA
Peggy Cross
How could this be? How? Why? Oh NO!!! This is not what should be happening. I had been married for 25 years and separated for 9, enduring a tedious divorce process, after which, contrary to Florida divorce law, I received nothing. It was early in 2003.
He was so very, very clever at hiding money. Ask yourself, how does one support a family in a 4,000 square foot home, create thirty odd tax shelters, develop and run a timeshare resort on Vanderbilt Beach, develop condominiums, own additional properties, pay a dozen or so employees and yet one’s businesses have no value and there is no money for the spouse. It is not possible. I had won the appeal which, I was told by everyone, is unheard of. That took three of the nine years. Still – nothing.
During those years I was working as an interior designer and continually I said to myself…..I don’t know how I will do this, but I will. I will buy my own home, for myself, by myself. That was my vision and declaration, and yet how I came to tell myself that I don’t know. It was not a principal I had been taught. I have to think I was being guided by the universe, for my Highest Good.
One Sunday, as I was leaving Fort Myers to return to my residence in Naples, I had the thought – check the paper for real estate open houses. It was after 3:00pm as I began a 45 minute drive home; as I had no paper I stopped at first one Publix grocery, then another, and finally at the third one I found a copy of the Naples Daily News. Upon opening to the real estate section, within a split second my eyes lit upon an open house advertisement. It was 4:02 and the home was just closing as I called the agent. We met the following morning and, as soon as I walked into that condo, I knew it was for me……lots of light through huge windows, two floors with a staircase placed appropriately from the Feng Shui perspective, a comfortable amount of public living space and a room for an office as well as a guest room. I wrote an offer later that day and it was immediately accepted.
Then the real work began for me, which was also a magnificent exercise in perseverance. Because of my former husband’s tax shelter businesses, which the IRS had disallowed, our tax bill had grown to $2,500,000, ten times the original amount. I had been a good wife and signed tax returns as requested, before we separated. That meant I was also liable for the tax bills. Another consequence was 11 property tax liens had been filed against both of us. This was my time for persistence and I persevered – I found proof that every one of those liens had been satisfied or was no longer valid against me for some reason, gave that documentation to the mortgage broker and completed the purchase.
I was determined, courageous, and bought my own home, following my guidance and, in Divine timing, it all worked out for my highest good. This was a huge accomplishment for me, and I am very grateful for all the guidance and assistance I received, both from friends on the earth plane and from other realms.
Virginia Beach, VA
Tanna Marshall
Two weeks into my summer vacation after freshman year of high school, I wasn't feeling well. This dragged on for weeks and when my calves became swollen with edema, we went to the hospital where I spent the rest of the summer taking tests. Diagnosis - Lupus Erythematosus. So more tests - blood, urine, EEG, EKG, x-rays...
The upside was that I had lost my appetite and had no energy so I spent the summer resting at my neighbor's pool, so I went back to school in the fall, thin and tan.
I was fatigued all the time and had horrible arthritis all over my body - everything always hurt. And when the weather was cold, it was worse.
I couldn't open the refrigerator door or pick up a carton of milk with one hand. I walked with a limp and had a hard time with stairs. Slumber parties sleeping on the floor? Torture. I had to sit out a semester of PE and write a paper on vitamins instead for a grade.
Gradually I felt better - the arthritis diminished in severity, I wasn't as fatigued all the time, (partly because rest became a regular and mandatory part of my life) and we figured out ways to help me manage the pain.
I was taking 15 Arthritis Strength Bufferin every day (yes, 15!) - 5 in the morning, 5 in the afternoon and 5 in the evening, to reduce the inflammation so I could move and function better. (Fortunately no liver damage!)
My mom gave me fish oil pills - someone had told her that it would help lubricate my joints for easier movement.
The arthritis continued to lessen over the years - until I was working at a flower shop during the winter. It was all concrete and brick, open air and I was standing in the refrigerator much of the day. So, one day I had a horrible relapse - I was so cold and in so much pain and my father had to bring me extra aspirin and another jacket. By the time I left work, I could barely move - I couldn't bend my fingers to wrap around the steering wheel or the stick shift of my Super Beetle. When I got home, I couldn't lift my arms above my shoulders to get my turtleneck off. (My mom was out and I was NOT going to ask my father to help me get undressed...)
Back to the hospital the next day - the doctor made me quit that job and put me on steroids and Darvon. After spending a week in a drugged-out stupor, I didn't like the way the pills made me feel so I stopped taking them.
I felt so much better and thought, "There must be a better way to be healthy..." Thus began my deep dive into all things holistic - natural remedies, alternative treatments, herbs, supplements, energy medicine, etc...
And I got better.
The arthritis all but went away with rare flare-ups during cold weather or over exertion. However, I was still fatigued quite often, but I rested when I needed to. I made sure everyone around me was aware of my health issues so they would understand my lack of energy and endurance at various times - new bosses, new friends, guys I dated...
Because of all my studying about holistic health and learning about others who had healed themselves of all kinds of diseases, I was aware that I could heal the lupus, but I was never motivated to get rid of it completely.
I thought, "If I don't have the lupus to blame my fatigue on, if I rest then people will think I'm lazy and unproductive." No - I needed the excuse to rest.
Then in 2008 while participating in an online course with Oprah and Eckhart Tolle for his (then) new book, "A New Earth", he said something that really hit me - that we identify ourselves with aspects of our lives, be it a role in our family, our job or career, a specific trait or talent we possess...
I realized I had been identifying myself with lupus for the past 26 years. And I was finally ready to let it go.
I felt this internal, mental and emotional shift - that's all it was - and I called my doctor and had her run tests.
A few days later I received the call...I didn't have lupus anymore - I had healed it! I felt so powerful and strong!
This was just before I was laid off from my job of 20 years at Capitol Records as I was about to embark on a new career as a Certified Holistic Health Practitioner, something I had been unknowingly preparing for since I was 18 - perfect timing!
But - as the years went on, I rarely gave myself permission to rest. I had no excuse anymore - no chronic illness to blame for the fatigue. No good reason to rest.
So even when there is a healing, the body will do what it needs to do to get its needs met - so I make a concerted effort to give myself permission to relax (although I don't always do it...) and I remember that I am not a machine - I am human and I need to rest!
I believe any physical issue can be healed, we just need to take responsibility for our bodies and our mental, emotional and spiritual health, uncover and let go of any old beliefs or unspoken needs that may be keeping that physical issue in place, and get out of the way to allow the healing to occur.
LA, California
Jennifer B.
Mission Street, San Francisco
Angelkiss Wellness