From the Author
There are 53 Self Help Experiences in this new edition. They are: 1. Practice in Self-Awareness Makes Perfect 2. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
3. The Pendulum
4. Developing Inner Peace and Harmonizing Your Thoughts
5. Is "Cancer" a Verb?
6. Questions for Patients with Catastrophic Illness
7. Giving Reasons
8. 21 Questions to Inventory Your Feelings
9. Choosing Thoughts: The Worry Wart Exercise
10. Self-Awareness
11. Changing Upsetting Thoughts
12. Mirror Feedback
13. Names as Seedthoughts
14. Witnessing Practice: Paying Attention to Yourself
15. Questions for Illness
16. Journal Writing
17. Verbal Hygiene I
18. Verbal Hygiene II-Group Seedthoughts
19. Verbal Hygiene III-Words That Wound & Words That Heal 20. Releasing Painful Emotion
21. I Believe...
22. Making Believe
23. Take a Stand
24. Recognizing and Re-Thinking Unhelpful Thoughts
25. Positive Expectations in Negative Situations
26. Helpful Reminders
27. Feedback On Your Style
28. Talking to Children
29. Creating Your Own Self-Help Manual
30. Understanding Pain Messages
31. The Truth Process
32. Relaxation Activities
33. Mindfulness Meditation
34. A Ten-Step Plan to Improve Your Life
35. Personal Prayers
36. Who's Responsible for Me?
37. Chanting Exercises 38. The Breath Prayer 39. Prayers to Memorize for Stressful Times
40. Silent Sitting Meditation
41 Linda Zelizer's Guidelines For Self-Hypnosis and Creating Affirmations 42. Dr. Emmet Miller's Guidelines for Visualization
43. Biblical Scriptures A Affirmations and Change Agent 44. To Sleep, To Dream, To Remember 45. How to Work with Dreams
46 Writing Yourself to Wholeness
47 Visualization for Strengthening the Immune System
48 Changing Attitudes
49 The Daydreaming Exercise; Imaging to Help the Planet 50. Starting a Support Group-The Bliss Group
51. Laughter as Medicine 52. Prayers for Healing 53.
18 IDEAS FOR LIVING
From the Back Cover
Levine's fifteen-year struggle with a then-inoperable brain tumor led her to discover \223seedthoughts\224 and \223core beliefs\224 that link one's mind and body. Levine writes from her own experience having brain surgery to remove her tumor AND includes information from experts in psychology, religion and medicine plus a chapter by Bernie Siegel on dreams and drawings. LEVINE'S BOOK:
Teaches \223Verbal Hygiene\224 to avoid dis-easing language that sabotages wellness;
Traces common phrases like "that breaks my heart" and "it's a pain in the butt" to the underlying beliefs on which they are based and the symptoms they cause;
Lists hundreds of common expressions we use unconsciously every day and illustrates how these seedthoughts can set us up for illness;
Teaches how to decode physical sensations in order to discover the underlying seedthoughts and core beliefs;
Describes how to draw up a customized Operating Manual that you can use to keep your body healthy;
Teaches powerful holistic healing techniques with detailed instructions for 53 self-help experiences;
Shows how to bring disease-causing ideas from your subconscious to your conscious mind\227and reprogram your life dramatically for the better.
"In simple, non-medical terminology, Levine's inspiring story demonstrates how, instead of remaining a passive victim, you can use illness as a tool for increased self-understanding and, ultimately, healing.\224
Rabbi Steven Rosman author of Jewish Healing Wisdom
\223Barbara Levine's journey is one of courage and growth. We can all learn from her experience. She shows us what we are capable of and how to achieve our full healing potential.\224
Bernie Siegel, M. D., Author of Love, Medicine, and Miracles;
\223My twenty years of medical practice has confirmed the truth found in Your Body Believes Every Word You Say. Barbara's message is an eye-opener.\224
Christiane Northrup M. D., Author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom.
About the Author
Barbara Hoberman Levine was stricken with a large, but slow-growing, brain tumor at the age of 32. After being misdiagnosed for years and undergoing numerous tests, she began looking at the role language played in reinforcing her illness. Her discoveries helped her to recover from the ill-effects of the tumor and the 1985 brain surgery which removed what had become a life-threatening "growth." Instead of crippling or killing her, the "growth" made her stronger and led to this book. Levine and her husband have 3 grown children.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter One HOW I CAME TO WRITE THIS BOOK [If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again]
[I can complain because a rose bush has thorns or rejoice because a thorn bush has roses.]
Who would have guessed that having a brain tumor would be the most beneficial, life saving adventure of my life? If anyone had told me the day would come when I would give thanks for having a brain tumor, I would have said, You re crazy. If anyone had told me back in 1970 that 25 years later I would be thanking God for the gift of a brain tumor, I would have thought You have rocks in your head.
Nevertheless, it s true! I would not even have this wonderful, exciting, fulfilling life now except for the fact that for many years I lived with, learned from, and wrote about this awesome brain tumor experience. And I do thank God for the ability to use this seemingly adverse event as a positive one rather than as a tragedy. Make no mistake, going through it wasn t pleasant. There were days when I wallowed in despair, anger and self-pity. I am a master of self-pity. Yet I do give thanks for the many blessings I received from learning, healing and growing along with the tumor.
THE BRAIN TUMOR--MY GROWTH The ideas in this book arose from the life-changing experience that seemed to begin in 1970 with the birth of my third child, Jennifer. But looking back, I see the experience actually began in 1966 when I became an adult orphan. Both my parents died, in their early fifties of heart disease, 10 months apart. This mind-boggling event came as an enormous shock. I became fearful and depressed, but I wasn't adept at handling or understanding my feelings at that time. Then, after Jennifer's birth, I thought I was finally perfectly happy. But the stress of the previous four years had affected me physically as well as emotionally.
I developed a weakness in my voice and could barely talk above a whisper. Doctors told me my left vocal cord was paralyzed, but they didn't know why. I was 32 years old. The pain I suffered searching for a diagnosis was almost unbearable, making me feel even sicker. Every test came back negative. A virus was blamed, when no one could find another cause. After that I lived in terror afraid of getting sicker, afraid of taking more medical tests, not even sure I would live. A year later I became deaf in my left ear. Doctors again blamed a virus.
At that time, I was fat, a heavy smoker, and in poor physical condition. Having a paralyzed left vocal cord and a deaf left ear actually helped push me in the right direction. I realized I needed to find a way to live longer and healthier, so I could be with my two sons and my new daughter as they grew into adulthood. Living to see my children grow up was very important to me, motivating me to survive--no matter what.
I began to live one day at a time, relieving my fear whenever possible by enjoying some of the good things in my life a nice family, good friends, and a comfortable home. After a year, my voice began to improve somewhat, even though the paralysis and deafness remained. My fear became more bearable when I focused on my newly-found-life-purpose, which was to perfect my ability to think for myself and help others to do the same. Working for women's rights, helping women become more self-aware and learning how to heal myself were key elements in this quest. My real growth began when I learned to live each day more fully--- because I didn't know how much time I had left. As I successfully lived through each day, I started to believe that I might live long enough to see my children grow up. "One day at a time" became a guiding principle in my life.
BEGINNING TO HEAL
For the next four years, my doctors and I blamed my debilitating physical symptoms on viruses, because the need to have a reason was so strong. I didn t have any further tests until 1974 when---after getting myself in shape mentally and physically--- I felt I was ready to handle anything that came up. I remember prophetically thinking, "Even if I need brain surgery I can handle it now." After more tests, I finally received an accurate diagnosis, I had a rare, slow-growing, non-malignant tumor. A biopsy, done through my left ear proved that I had a growth in my head.....(TO READ MORE PLEASE PURCHASE THIS BOOK)
