All posts by Heidi

Thriver Soup Thursday–What Gives Light Must Burn

Congruent Care, Night of Mourning,

What is to give light must endure burning.

Viktor Frankl (1905 to 1997)

Viktor Frankl endured Nazi concentration camp life for three years, losing his wife in the ovens. This experience helped him eventually develop Logotherapy and Existential Analysis, using the heat of his suffering to bring more light into the world.

Extreme temperatures, sometimes ranging around 3,000° F, are needed to burn silica sand and metals to create the beauty of stained glass, which is used to provide light in many houses of worship.

st paul tree window webMy son Brennan tried to burn things to get light into his dis-eased mind. Cigarettes. Marijuana. Heroin. It didn’t work beyond a temporary false fix. It only darkened his thoughts further and led to his demise a year ago.

Could I find a stained-glass window that represented him to bring light into the darkness of my pain? I went on a hunt this past June. By a quirk of fate, I walked into St. Paul’s Cathedral in Pittsburgh.

And found it. A small window sitting above a rack of large white candles.

The primary image is of a tall tree in the center, representing me on my cancer journey. When I was diagnosed, Maria Paglialungo drew a tree of life on my hospital whiteboard and urged me to tap my roots into Mother Earth for sustenance. The scraggly black-and-white image from the beginning has been transformed into a straight, lush tree, full of vibrant color.

A brilliant white star streams light onto the tree. To honor the one-year anniversary of Brennan’s passing, my friend Judy Peace gave me an astrology reading which layered Brennan’s life with mine. The primary gift she saw Brennan giving me in this life is illumination for my life’s path. And this star in the window is like Brennan, now in the heavens, shining his light on my life.

On each side of the tree is a fleur-de-lys, symbol for the Christian godhead held together by Mother Mary; symbol for the Boy Scouts, of which Brennan was a member; and the same symbol that was embossed on the mysterious gift I received this past Christmas.

The flame of my son’s love keeps shining on my burning grief, and I am grateful.

Thriver Soup Ingredient:

There are many houses of worship with gorgeous stained-glass windows. If you look around, you might find an image that has a meaningful symbol for you. Perhaps light a candle near it.

Source:

http://renegadeartglass.net/about-us/techniques/stained-glass/

 

Thriver Soup Thursday– Can Our Prayers Influence the Deceased?

Night of Mourning, Soaring with Spirit, , ,

The greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary.

-St. Francis de Sales (1567–1622)

Mary being crowned
Mary being crowned

Is the Rosary, a series of meditative prayers, the greatest method of praying, as this 16th century saint proclaimed? If so, would using the Rosary–or any other method of intercession–have any influence at all on the deceased?

What are your thoughts on this?

St. Francis de Sales must have had some reason for making this seemingly absolute statement. Catholics say the Rosary using a string of beads to keep track of where they are in the process so they can free their hearts and minds to focus on the connection this method makes with the Divine. Each prayer of the Rosary is said to represent the offering of a rose to Mary, mother of Christ, and when the cycles are completed, the person has symbolically given Mary a complete crown.

Maria Luisa Giuliberti, my former neighbor, asked if I would like to come pray the Rosary with her to mark the one-year anniversary of my son Brennan’s passing. Sure!

Synchronistically, Vince Lasorso, a tai chi grandmaster in Cincinnati, sent me a draft of his book, Healing through the Heart of Mary: A Miraculous Journey to a New Spiritual Way. “Mary teaches us, from her supernatural perspective, a spiritual process, The Rosary, that enables us to meld the two realities [the supernatural and the mundane] together in our lives,” he writes, “[to] heal ourselves, our loved ones, and our world through a heart-driven technology of inner peace and resonance.”

Maria and I sat at her dining room table and she showed me a pamphlet containing the rosary prayers. We set the intention of praying that Tristan would let go of shame, guilt, and remorse, and to experience peace. Holding our rosaries, we intoned together for an hour, raising up our intentions and prayers.

I am grateful to my friend for remembering the anniversary and for her willingness to spend time praying with me on my son’s behalf. What a beautiful gift. Was it the greatest method of praying for my son? Did it have any influence on him? I don’t know, yet I felt like I had done something meaningful, a gift from my heart to his and Mary’s. That is enough for me.

Thriver Soup Ingredient:

If praying the Catholic rosary interests you, here is a link to instructions and prayers: http://www.catholic.com/tracts/the-rosary

Sources:

www.catholicgallery.org/quotes/quotes-on-rosary/

Francis de Sales, a Catholic saint, was a Bishop of Geneva.

Vince Lasorso, Healing through the Heart of Mary: A Miraculous Journey to a New Spiritual Way, draft, pg. 7.

Tapestry: Cleveland Museum of Art

Thriver Soup Thursday–Save Lives by Raising Awareness

About, Events, It Takes a Village, , ,

sarcoma ribbon copyWe must recognize that the suffering of one person or one nation is the suffering of humanity. That the happiness of one person or nation is the happiness of humanity.

The Dalai Lama

Some diseases receive enormous amounts of media attention. Others are sidelined or not even recognized by most people. I had never heard the word “sarcoma” when suddenly I was thrust into the world of a terminal diagnosis with a few months to live.

What if I had known that my symptoms indicated severe danger, when I thought I was just having perimenopausal symptoms? How many lives can be saved by raising awareness so others can avoid the devastation I was fortunate enough to have lived through?

I had an incredibly rare sarcoma—and only one in 100 cancer diagnoses is for sarcoma, which is cancer of the connective tissues. The Sarcoma Alliance and Sarcoma Foundation of America want to raise awareness about this disease to help others recognize it and get treatment fast to save lives.

These foundations are asking the White House to name July as Sarcoma Awareness Month. At least 100,000 petition signatures are required by July 29, 2016 for the White House to consider this initiative.

Please sign the petition and share it with others.

Alongside this petition is a movement to name July 15 as LMS Awareness Day. LMS is short for leiomyosarcoma, a rare and deadly cancer. Ask your state legislators to pass resolutions similar to one passed in Michigan (email me and I’ll send the sample to you). Then ask your federal legislators to support this at the federal level.

The suffering of each individual with a rare disease does affect us all at some level. Advocate for others, and they will probably advocate for you as well.

Thriver Soup Ingredient

Here is a link to contact information when advocating to your elected officials: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

Sources:

www.ineedmotivation.com/blog/2008/04/20-wise-quotes-from-the-dalai-lama/

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?utm_campaign=Bobek%20Ltd&utm_source=39150&utm_medium=Affiliate&tpl=39150-42119&id=163453907&irgwc=1

Thriver Soup Thursdays–Atop Notmilkman’s Recommended Reading List

About, ,

Guest column by Robert Cohen of notmilk.com

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.

― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

There is a phrase which keeps reverberating within my mind: “The New Bible”. I am appropriately worried that if I refer to a new book by assigning such a reverential subtitle, I will antagonize some people who read only a single book in their lives, so I will change my review to “A New Bible” while still believing it to be one of the most, if not, THE most significant book ever written.

This past week, I read three books; Once a Cop by Corey Pegues, once a New York City drug-dealing thug who never got caught for his crimes, and became a police officer, rising to one of the highest ranking officials of the New York City Police department.

Five Presidents by Clint Hill, the secret service agent who was splattered with the blood of John Kennedy whose assassination he was unable to prevent.

Mary’s Mosaic, by Peter Janney, the son of a top CIA agent who gained access to convincing documentation regarding the killing of Mary Pinchot, JFK’s lover (confirmed by her brother-in-law, editor Ben Bradley of the Washington Post). Janney knew the woman quite well during his growing up years and was best friends with Mary’s son.

Finally, the point of today’s column. I have been learning from my fourth book of the week, and while the first three were fascinating and enjoyable reads, I’ve had to readjust my usual “publication attack” mode of “speed reading” to the “savor, enjoy, and digest every word” mode.

The book that I have just finished is Thriver Soup by Heidi Bright. I first heard Heidi promoting that book on the public access radio show of WFAN, New York’s largest-heard radio station. One Sunday 7:00 a.m. morning, host Bob Salter interviewed Heidi and I could not turn the show off and could not wait to read her book!

I heard of a new phrase recently: “Radical Remission”.

I read about a new cure recently: “Thriver Soup”.

I made a new friend recently: “Heidi Bright”.

You want to read and refer back to Heidi’s inspiring book in case a loved one (you are included in this group) ever becomes challenged by a cancer which requires banishment. As one book reviewer recently said:

“She’s written Thriver Soup with 250 tips for remission.”

I cannot put my finger on any one of those tips by labeling it more important than the others although the advice given on page 269 is brilliant, and a way to avoid a trap many victims fall into:

“If a person suggests something is a cure for cancer, skip it. If it truly cured cancer, everyone would know about it quickly enough”.

Although the greatest part of this book explores the spiritual, you must also demand the practical. If you should be diagnosed with a cancer, do not hesitate as others do. Instead, do what Heidi suggests on page 94:

“I think obtaining at least a second opinion-if not more-is essential.” On every step of her journey, Heidi insisted on three opinions. If and when insurance companies do not honor a request, “appeal your case”.

Reading the book in its entirety can turn a one-way journey to the land of cancer into a roundtrip from “hell and back again” to “health and healing”. This is a book to have and to hold for when it is needed, just as one might hoard healing medicines.

Unlike most books, which I end up giving to friends after finishing, this one is a keeper. My friends must purchase their own copy and can do so by saying hello to the author and picking up a copy of THE book:

http://www.ThriverSoup.com

or emailing Heidi: Heidi@ThriverSoup.com

I just know that I will continue sipping “Thriver Soup”.

* * * *

“If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.”

– Oscar Wilde

Fearless Fabulous You

Conventional Methods

His high endeavors are an inward light / That makes the path before him always bright.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

 

fearless fab copyThe high endeavors of many women who light pathways for others are featured by Melanie Young on her weekly “Fearless Fabulous You!” show. My story was included this past Monday.

http://www.iheart.com/show/209-Fearless-Fabulous-You/?episode_id=27548445

Melanie Young wrote, “Diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer, Heidi Bright endured 24 months of treatments and a dire prognosis. Now in radical remission she’s written Thriver Soup with more than 250 practical tips for healing.”

May my high endeavors bring light to your path.

Thriver Soup Ingredient

Fearless Fabulous You! is broadcast live on Mondays at 4 p.m. EST on W4WN Radio – The Women 4 Women Network (www.w4wn.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (http://www.talk4radio.com/) on the Talk 4 Media Network (http://www.talk4media.com/). Listen and be inspired.

Burning diamonds

Night of Mourning, , , ,

tristan candle web

You have the glittering beauty of gold and silver, and the still higher lustre of jewels, like the ruby and diamond; but none of these rival the brilliancy and beauty of flame. What diamond can shine like flame?

Michael Faraday (1791–1867), English scientist

What diamond can shine like flame? More than a million diamond nanoparticles that are created every second in a burning candle flame.

Chemistry professor Wuzong Zhou at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland discovered during 2011 that diamond nanoparticles exist at the centers of candle flames. The diamond particles are burned away in the fire.

This explains part of the natural human attraction to candle light for sacred rituals, including lighting candles for the deceased.

I recently lit a candle for my deceased son Brennan while visiting St. Paul’s Cathedral. At the time I didn’t know I was burning up millions of bits of diamonds. How like the life of my brilliant son, shining brightly for nineteen years, burning up in the heat and pressure of his life, and then adding illumination to my life.

Thriver Soup Ingredient:
Lighting a candle to commemorate the passing of a loved one can bring a momentary, tiny sense of peace. Many Catholic churches are open during the day and have candles that can be lit. You will be creating and burning diamonds that can ascend, as heat and carbon dioxide, with your emotions and thoughts  toward the heavens.

Source:
Michael Faraday, lectures on “The Chemical History of a Candle,” 1860.
http://phys.org/news/2011-08-candle-flames-millions-tiny-diamonds.html#jCp
https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/archive/2011/title,72748,en.php

 

 

Thriver Soup a #2 best seller on Amazon

About, Events, Resources, , , , , , , ,

lit candles Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.

Buddha, The Dharmapada

By lighting a candle through Thriver Soup and sharing its message of options with others, the light of genuine hope among cancer patients is increasing.

On Saturday, Jessica Brown with the Fox19 Morning Show in Cincinnati shared the camera with me:

http://www.fox19.com/clip/12485852/thrivers-soup

On Sunday, many tips for cancer survival were shared through Bob Salter’s show on the New York City CBS radio station WFAN:

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/audio/bob-salter/  (Click on the June 5 / 7am show; it’s 40 minutes)

By Sunday afternoon, Thriver Soup became a #2 best seller on amazon.com!

Other interviews for National Cancer Survivors’ Day (June 5) included:

  • Dr. Christine Horner with “The Radiant Health Show” (about 30 minutes)
  • Judy Peace with WAIF 88.3 FM, Cincinnati, OH
  • Chad Young, Program Director with WKCT-AM, Bowling Green, KY
  • John Maciel, KW Magazine on 98.5 FM CKWR, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
  • And a prerecorded show with Matt Nie, Community Focus, 89.1 WBSD FM, Burlington, WI, will air this summer.

By sharing the light, we can make it possible for more people to survive beyond a cancer diagnosis. Thank you for sharing the light with me.

Thriver Soup Ingredient:

Sharing these links with others can light even more candles of hope with options. I would love to hear how the tips in Thriver Soup are lighting your way.

Source:

http://www.viewonbuddhism.org/dharma-quotes-quotations-buddhist/joy-happiness.htm

3 tips for celebrating on Nat’l Cancer Survivors’ Day

Conventional Methods

natl canc surv day Of all gains, good health is the greatest.

Buddha, Dhammapada 204a

 

Of all the things humans can acquire, the Buddha recognized nothing was more important than good health. This Sunday, June 5, is National Cancer Survivors’ Day, a day I celebrate my good health with nearly five years free of evidence of cancer and free of residual medical treatment.

There are nearly 14.5 million people in the United States living after a cancer diagnosis, according to the National Cancer Survivors’ Day Foundation. Some are still in treatment, others are post-treatment.

I am blessed to have learned about and applied so many solutions to these issues. More than 250 practical tips are shared in the book Thriver Soup. My top ten tip list is available free when you subscribe to my blog in the right frame of the page.

A few easy tips were shared on Waves of a New Age through a conversation with host Judy Peace this past Tuesday on WAIF 88.3 FM. Watch for a recording of our conversation to be posted.

Here are three of several shared on the air:

  • Start every breakfast with a cooked apple (Thriver Soup pg. 113);
  • Focus on body sensations when meditating (Thriver Soup pg. 338); and
  • Put on some lively music and move your body (Thriver Soup pg. 171).

Small yet incremental changes can make a big difference in our health and enhance our long-term survival. I’m sure the Buddha will be smiling.

Thriver Soup Ingredient:

Solutions to hundreds of healing issues are available at your fingertips through Thriver Soup.

Sources:

http://www.unification.net/ws/theme018.htm

http://www.ncsd.org/news-1/for-immediate-release-NCSD-2016-communities-to-celebrate-June-5

Watching for family patterns

Complementary Therapies, Mending the Mind, ,
hildegard von bingen
Hildegard of Bingen

Rivers of living water are to be poured out over the whole world, to ensure that people, like fishes caught in a net, can be restored to wholeness.
Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen, German Benedictine abbess and founder of scientific natural history in Germany, believed that the Divine pours out living water upon the earth to bring healing to all. She believed people can be restored to wholeness.

It has happened for me. This year I celebrate that I have lived longer than my mother lived.

This is significant in my eyes, because she passed from breast cancer. I, also, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I now have flowed past her last birthday and have outlived her. I have exhaled a huge sigh of relief.

I’m not the only one snared by the family cancer net. My mother was diagnosed when I was a tween. One of my sons was the same age when I was diagnosed with a sarcoma. It definitely appeared to be a pattern. A pattern that needed to be eliminated.

The first step, of course, was being aware of this pattern. On its own, this acknowledgement reduces its strength. It frees us up somewhat from carrying out the repetition compulsion. Now at least part of the burden has been lifted from his shoulders. Of course, this brings me even more relief.

And a restoration of some wholeness.

Thriver Soup Ingredient:

Sometimes families have patterns of illness or of passing. Being aware of the patterns is the first step in healing them.

Source:

http://www.azquotes.com/quote/865103, possibly from Hildegard of Bingen, “Book of Divine Works”, Part III, Vision 3

Image is in the public domain.

Community Press shares Thriver Soup’s message of hope and healing

About, Complementary Therapies, Congruent Care, Conventional Methods, , , , , ,

“There were times when Heidi Bright prepared to die after being diagnosed with a terminal cancer in July 2009.

“Today Bright delivers a message of hope and healing through her book ‘Thriver Soup’ and speaking to groups. This is the third traditionally published book by the Milford author.”

Please read more at

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/milford/2016/05/17/milford-womans-book-shares-tips-surviving-cancer/84500320/