| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| sensei adam rostocki |
Posted - 09/08/2007 : 18:27:12
So many of you fine people here are very active in this forum. Unfortunately, speaking out here is like preaching to the choir. Most of us here already accept Dr. Sarno’s theories and the entire TMS diagnosis and treatment. Wouldn’t it be a great thing if all of you spent some time developing your own methods of spreading the word to those who suffer with pain, but have never heard of Dr. Sarno? Don’t forget, TMS is a world wide dilemma, but much of the world has limited access to the TMS resources we hold dear.
If everyone here could do something to get the TMS word out, it could have a HUGE impact in the medical system. There are numerous ways you can contribute, such as writing and publishing articles on well known article sites, developing your own website, writing a book on your experiences or simply blogging. Even if you think locally, rather than globally, how about simply sharing your knowledge and TMS books with friends and acquaintances who might be suffering.
Wouldn’t it be such a better use of time than arguing over often small and insignificant details amongst each other? How about the time it takes to simply peruse the forum everyday. If you can spare 10% of that time, you CAN make a big difference to helping people who WANT to be helped, but have not been shown the way yet.
This is the philosophy which I was taught during my 30+ years of martial arts training…
* Help those who need it most.
* Don’t give preferential treatment only to those you WANT to help.
* Don’t waste time forcing your ideas on those who don’t want your help.
* Help all who will listen, as others have helped you.
* You never know who really needs your help, so be available to all.
You might just find that helping others takes the focus off your own symptoms and gives you added incentive to succeed in your own pursuit of health. Dr. Sarno can only do so much on his own. Why not take up the torch and contribute to the spread of TMS knowledge as well? Every little bit helps and your one small contribution might actually be the deciding factor which saves some poor soul from their suffering. I think THAT is worth a little time and effort…
CURE-BACK-PAIN(dot)ORG |
| 18 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| armchairlinguist |
Posted - 09/14/2007 : 13:20:46
I've learned that in general, all one can do is give people the seed. Whether it's about TMS or anything else, I've been trying to move into a mode of "give them the idea and then let go of investment in the outcome". The seed may bloom at any time and we'll never know when or why. This actually worked with my mother, so it appears I've been luckier than many.
I was handed the seed of Sarno at a time when I absolutely ignored it. I didn't even remember I'd been told, until I looked back at a record of it after I had already gotten better and went "Whoa! Someone tried to tell me about this! Wish I'd listened." But I didn't listen at the time. Who knows if having an unconscious memory of that was what pushed me to pick up MBP in a bookstore one day when I was really looking for more physical-solution books...
And sometimes I just don't want to get into it, like when old friends ask me offhand (so to speak!) whether my hands bother me anymore. I just say no and move on. But perhaps I could do a bit better in these situations.
--
Wherever you go, there you are. |
| Baseball65 |
Posted - 09/14/2007 : 11:26:23
quote:
Originally posted by Logan
Which is to say, you can lead a horse in pain to the water but you can't make him drink.
When I first cured myself using Sarno's methods, I felt the desire to tell anyone I met, who was in pain, about it. I wanted to "save" them.
The person I'd like most to save would be my own mother.
She basically said, "that's nice dear, but I have real pain."
As per usual, someone made my post before me (LOL)
In all fairness, I too said the same thing to the gentleman who turned me on to Sarno.
I was the guy who had to go through all the surgery,the treatment and so forth and so on...drama,drama,drama. I try to remember that when my friends and aquaintances look at me like I'm nuts.
I could sort of break the two types of people that benefit from Sarno's work in to two groups.
Group A is people like me. Skeptical,inquisitive,demanding facts and figures,stats,literal and metaphorical proof...combative and argumentative both with themselves and others. I have helped about four or five of these people.
Group B is people NOT like me....Calm, thoughtful, contemplative. They can understand the concept,and recognize the metaphor almost immediately.They appear to be more self assured. Often they don't need to read anything...merely explaining what's going on seems to help them.I might speak to them a month or so after merely explaining TMS theory and they'll say in passing
"Oh, my {fill in blank} pain? It went away a few days after we talked...that Dr. you told me about makes a lot of sense..what was his name again?"
I have helped about 20 or more people like this. I wish it had been that easy with me(B-tards!)
I don't think I have ever NOT mentioned Sarno to anyone I have even half a minute to help. I have also told every single Dr. I have seen for other suspicious ailments.
Some have given me odd looks , but more and more Drs seem to be 'getting it' or at least MY doctor seems to get it.
I was listening to the old HBP CD set yesterday and I thought it a bit of an anachronism that Sarno spoke of 'rank heresy' and 'visceral inability'.... I'm certain that he personally has had to suffer through more scorn and ridicule than any of us. He is a true Hero. His idea's by his own admission are not new or unique, but he had the ability to explain TMS scientifically and therefore appeal to my sense of reason like no other.
I'll say one thing...it is really difficult to figure who is going to 'get it' and who isn't. A close friend is a really open minded 'hippy' type who is in to all sorts of alternative medicine and so forth. He saw me recover, yet now that he himself is now locked in a TMS circle with his neck, he swears by the Chiropractor.
On the other hand, my old guitar player who is a very conservative Fundamentalist type of guy who laughed out loud the first time I mentioned Sarno has been cured of his TMS for about 5 or 6 years now and is out there evangelizing about Sarno as I write.
I think, as Adam posited at the start of this post, the more of us there are out there being passionate about our recoveries, the more the world will HAVE to acknowledge the mythology they so desperately cling to... I guess the only question is how may of us will it take?
The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up. |
| guinevera |
Posted - 09/14/2007 : 09:58:17
I've tried to talk to people about it, but they don't want to hear it. I have to admit, on the face of it it sounds like a crazy theory so I sympathize with people who don't believe it. I didn't believe it myself at first and then...it worked! I'm fully recovered. But I'm tired of people thinking I'm a nut job, so I just keep it to myself for the most part. |
| Penny |
Posted - 09/14/2007 : 09:26:29
quote:
Originally posted by mikescott_98
After my last post, I just wanted to ask "Do we have any billionaires on the forum?"
Sarno deserves to be, but he's such a humble guy, he couldn't possible be. How bout we all send him $1. We could all send it the same week, so he'd get tons of $1 bills with a little note from each of us saying thanks. This could cause a frenzy, and give his Institute something to report to the media. "Sarno office inundated with mail from around the world"
Dear Dr. Sarno,
Just a dollar to thank you. You and your life's work has completely changed my relationship with pain. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Iwish that this dollar could be one million!
>|< Penny |
| Penny |
Posted - 09/14/2007 : 09:17:24
quote:
Originally posted by Logan
I've realized I can't save anyone. About all I can do is show them the opportunity to save themselves and then work very hard with myself on not taking it personally if they don't start down the Sarno path.
Great insight! Part of my problem has been that I want to save the world, and since adopting the airline-O2-mask theory "Please assist yourself before assisting other passengers" I'm healthier. We must "be the change we wish to see in the world" first. We can't save anyone from themselves.
My family is exactly the same. They saw me in agony, get up and get better after reading Sarno, and they still claim "my pain is real"--somehow more REAL than mine. (This happens here on the forum too.)It's very much a metaphor for my family's belief of self-superiority and my self-imposed "I'm always misunderstood" feeling. They are more important than me, their pain is stronger, real-er, etc: I can never get them to understand where I'm coming from or how I feel. This drama goes on, but now I understand it, I've been liberated.
>|< Penny
"Feeling will get you closer to the truth of who you are than thinking."
~ Eckhart Tolle
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| mikescott_98 |
Posted - 09/14/2007 : 06:23:12
After my last post, I just wanted to ask "Do we have any billionaires on the forum?" |
| mikescott_98 |
Posted - 09/14/2007 : 06:16:55
I think that it will take a billionaire that is cured by Dr. Sarno to get it to the next level. Once you get enough people curios, the buzz will start to spread. If someone can afford to put a billboard up in major cities saying, Cure Your Back Pain! And a website with testimonials and the books, CDs and videos, it would be a good start. Maybe have some of the famous people's picture that have been cured by Sarno. I also think a wealthy person will need to do it to legally stand up to all of the conventional medical people that would undoubtedly sue to keep this info from spreading.
Another idea is to have our brave rich person to sponsor late night adds on TV; Insomnia is a TMS equivalent isn't it? I remember 20 years ago the adds for the book Dienetics had an add that was intriguing. I think it got my 6 bucks, but I do not believe I finished reading it.
Although Dr. Sarno deserves every penny he ever gets, if he ever give up the copyright to his books so anyone can publish it for little or no money, I would make a few hundred CDs and pass them out at chiropractor's office. |
| Logan |
Posted - 09/12/2007 : 09:18:01
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.
Which is to say, you can lead a horse in pain to the water but you can't make him drink.
When I first cured myself using Sarno's methods, I felt the desire to tell anyone I met, who was in pain, about it. I wanted to "save" them.
The person I'd like most to save would be my own mother. I told her about TMS and how I was finally free from the pain that she'd seen me crying desperately from. I told her the cure was miraculous but simple, that she could do it too.
She basically said, "that's nice dear, but I have real pain." She thinks she has sciatica, chronic fatigue, fibro etc. What she has is severe depression and TMS but no one is going to convince her of this.
My mother-in-law recently had a spinal fusion for her "sciatica." She's had multiple "RSI" surgeries on her hands and shoulders. She knows that I've recovered from debilatating pain without surgery or drugs yet doesn't see any connection to that with her own pain.
I've realized I can't save anyone. About all I can do is show them the opportunity to save themselves and then work very hard with myself on not taking it personally if they don't start down the Sarno path.
I pretty much have a "don't speak until spoken to" policy about TMS. If someone asks me how I recovered or how I deal with stress, I tell them. But I figure that since I wasn't able to consider Sarno's work with an open mind until I'd been in pain for four years and had exhausted all other medical and holistic healing modalities, that I need to let people walk their own paths and not be a "butt-in-ski," however well meaning.
But I support what you're trying to Sensei. Education is key. The more info that is out there on the web, the better. That way people who are seeking a teacher can find one. So rock on! |
| mamaboulet |
Posted - 09/10/2007 : 07:33:53
quote:
Originally posted by armchairlinguist
I find that it is rare that anyone is willing to take the step of considering TMS, and I usually am looked on as a bit crazy for even suggesting it. I do try, but the appropriate opportunities for it are small, and still leave me plenty of time for contributing here. ;-)
--
Wherever you go, there you are.
This reminded me of something somebody said to me years ago. They accused me of being "excessively openminded." You've just got to laugh at that kind of "insult." Maybe that's why I'm here. Just too darned openminded. lol. |
| sensei adam rostocki |
Posted - 09/10/2007 : 06:22:58
quote:
I understand the value of passion, but surely you also see the value of good science.
Good science? Have you ever participated in a clinical study from the inside (planning) end? If so, you will realize that these studies are set to succeed before the research even begins. The results are skewed, sometimes laughably. You give me a product, theory or treatment and I can show you a study or 100 that “proves” that it works. I guess the average person does not realize this, which accounts for the hundreds of millions of lost souls in the healthcare system.
CURE-BACK-PAIN(dot)ORG |
| stanfr |
Posted - 09/10/2007 : 03:14:14
quote:
Originally posted by sensei adam rostocki
Passion and conviction will get you further than medical studies. There are 100 studies which confirm every medical theory under the sun, and these mean nothing. Results speak louder than skewed clinical testing any day of the week.
I respectfully disagree. See Ralphyde's wikipedia thread for evidence of how lack of studies leads people to believe that an idea is worthless. Studies go hand in hand with Academia, which=teaching. The only way TMS/mindbody is ever going to make major inroads is when it makes it into teaching curriculums. Until then, its no different than any other idea fighting for public popularity. There are plenty of people passionate about everything under the sun. I understand the value of passion, but surely you also see the value of good science. |
| armchairlinguist |
Posted - 09/09/2007 : 23:24:35
I find that it is rare that anyone is willing to take the step of considering TMS, and I usually am looked on as a bit crazy for even suggesting it. I do try, but the appropriate opportunities for it are small, and still leave me plenty of time for contributing here. ;-)
--
Wherever you go, there you are. |
| JohnD |
Posted - 09/09/2007 : 11:09:50
It is also important to keep an open mind when trying to help someone, since we aren't in their body its impossible to know whether they are suffering from TMS or pain that may have a different cause |
| gezondheid |
Posted - 09/09/2007 : 11:04:12
Yo Sensei,
Great idea. It could help those who want that to put the whole idea in a structural context. Maybe a site with subsites for each country or state. So one can always refer to a central point with the information.
I don't know how to realize this. We al have jobs, children and so on.
Anyway, in my opinion the following should be available:
-basic TMS pack (books,tapes,DVD)
-a heavy disclaimer
-links to TMS related sites
-the site must made in away that people have the idea of a serious webhelp institute
-association with Sarno, Brady, Sopher, Schechter etc
-maybe the MD's can help via internetconsultation
-successtories
-forum, this forum linked to it
-possible questions to people who work long with TMS
-lists of psychologists / doctors around the world who can diagnose tms
-list for self diagnose
etc
Anyway, i start small.
Greetings from Holland
move-on |
| sensei adam rostocki |
Posted - 09/09/2007 : 08:58:56
Passion and conviction will get you further than medical studies. There are 100 studies which confirm every medical theory under the sun, and these mean nothing. Results speak louder than skewed clinical testing any day of the week.
In order to recover from TMS, you have to truly believe in TMS. If you truly believe, it should not be difficult to share the knowledge. Sometimes, you have to just put yourself out there and take the heat when it comes. For every 100 patients that write to me on my site with thanks and gratitude, there are at least 5 who say my ideas are crazy and I don't know what I am talking about. You simply have to get used to that, and concentrate on helping the other 95...
CURE-BACK-PAIN(dot)ORG |
| mamaboulet |
Posted - 09/09/2007 : 06:27:25
I haven't even told my husband yet. |
| stanfr |
Posted - 09/09/2007 : 06:03:40
Among my friends and people i know, ive had decent success in 'getting the word out'. Among strangers or aquaintances, its a bit trickier, and you have to be careful at how you approach the subject. I think our real target should be academia. I'm not sure how receptive i would have been to the TMS idea had i not done research into back pain/sciatica at a local library and med library in conjunction with finding Sarno's book. The problem with delivering the message is the unfortunate lack of studies regarding the whole concept of mindbody as it pertains to TMS-related conditions. Until more research is done, it's a big uphill battle, IMHO. |
| ralphyde |
Posted - 09/08/2007 : 21:20:37
Excellent idea. I've already been doing this as best I can, have helped cure two of my friends of chronic back pain, just by giving them Dr. Sarno's Healing Back Pain. Have also been posting to other websites and editing Wikipedia to get the word out.
Unfortunately, however, the one person I really wanted to help heal couldn't accept the diagnosis, and remains in pain.
If TMS had been more well known and accepted, she might have been able to accept it. So, you're right. We need to spread the word, far and wide.
Ralph |
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