Factor Responding to Trauma or Issues by Escaping or Using Some Other Disconnecting Approach Repressed Emotions Using Discipline or Other Motivation to Override Internal or External Conflicts and Modify Behavior Ingested Toxins Using Stimulants to Get Through the Day or in Combination with Strenuous Physical Activity Using Painkillers in Combination With Strenuous Physical Activity Crucifixion Worship Turning the Other Cheek |
ALS Creation |
Explanation One of the key ideas of mind matter involvement is that micro is related to macro. In other words, what goes on in ones body or on a cellular level is related to how one thinks and acts in the world. So what one's nerves do internally is affected by how one thinks and acts in the world. If you respond to problems by in some way disconnecting, your nerves, which are part of you, will do the same in response to toxins, stress or other problems within your body. This manifests as so called als. Repressed emotions build up in your system and cause stress. This stress can set you up for a system breakdown and could possibly actually itself be the trigger for a breakdown. By using these methods to change or direct behavior, one gets a specific desired result, while leaving a conflict in place. This way of overriding conflicts, whether external or internal, creates system problems. Als related examples include its manifestation in soldiers who have arms onset because they are conflicted about the use of weapons and salespeople who have bulbar onset due to overriding rather than resolving conflicts involved in their profession. What is toxic is all relative. What is toxic to one person may not have much effect on another. So what we are really talking about here is internal trauma. In any case, toxins can hurt your system and trigger an als type nerve withdrawal response. If you use stimulants, even caffeine, to get through the day, you could be stressing your system to or past the breaking point. Now, any trauma could trigger a breakdown such as als, not to mention a heart attack or something else. Also the stimulant chemical could be toxic and thus itself act as the trauma trigger to create als. Pain signals that something is wrong. If you cover it with a painkiller, you are covering an important signal that you should be heeding. Instead, you keep going, further stressing your system. Now you are set up so that any trauma could trigger a real problem. Also the painkiller probably has some toxicity which negatively affects your nervous system. It could even provide the trauma to trigger your now stressed system into developing als. Imagery or visualization has effects on one's spirit, mind, emotions and body. Worshiping the image of a man whose arms and legs have been immobilized, who is gasping for breath and who is destined to die when he becomes too weak to breathe is an effective way to create that scene in one's own life. One of the key ideas of mind matter involvement is that micro is related to macro. In other words, what goes on in ones body or on a cellular level is related to how one thinks and acts in the world. So what ones nerves do internally is affected by how one thinks and acts in the world. So, if one really believes in turning the other cheek, one's nerves, which are really part of you, will do something related or even similar to that. Just imagine that you are exposed to a toxin or some kind of stress that hurts the nerve cells. The nerves, in some way, turn the other cheek, only to get slapped again, and again and again. Sounds like a problem. |
In improving a situation, it can be helpful to see how the situation came to be. Here is some explanation of the creation of so called als. |
ALS Creation Factors The list of factors below, while not meant to be comprehensive, is an outline of patterns, factors and inputs that seem in my experience so far to underly the creation of so called als. These factors or patterns can be consciously or unconsciously chosen. The list can be used in the following ways. Someone who wants to avoid developing the disease can go over his or her self and life to see which of these factors are having an effect and make careful adjustments to create a safer situation. Someone who has already developed the disease, can start to see how the creation is occurring and make careful adjustments in order to get healthy. This could be done with or without the help of a mind body practicioner, wellness coach or some other partner. People interested in helping someone to avoid developing als or to get healthier could use this list as a resource for accomplishing those aims. |
How To Adjust Learn to resolve issues and heal situations rather than trying to disconnect from them. Realize that escape is largely illusory anyway. Deal with problems as they come up so that things do not get to the point where you feel that you have to escape. If you already feel that you have to escape, get to work on your life and resolve problems and work things out with people around you. Learn to process strong emotional experiences rather than repress them. Bring up and process emotional stuff that you have already repressed. (Be careful with this. It can be very moving and as extremely affecting as an electric shock.) Learn to deal with internal or external conflict by resolving rather than using force, discipline or other overwhelming motivation techniques. This way you are not fighting to achieve and hurting yourself or others in the process. Either learn to deal with things so they are not toxic to you or avoid ingesting them. This could include things from artificial flavors to large quantities of alcohol to medications to nerve gas. Get more energy by living better. Resolving external and internal conflicts will enable you to do things with less effort. If you can't get it all done without a stimulant, consider that maybe you need to make some changes or adjustments one way or the other. Learn to feel and heal. Learn to live with pain and see it for what it is and means. Maybe if you are in too much pain to keep going, you should reduce your activity or heal the problem. Use some common sense. If an indicator light in you car lights, do you cover it with a piece of duct tape and keep driving on the highway or do you fix the car? Learn to use the positive aspects of Christianity to improve the way you live while being careful about how you handle this particular aspect of the faith. Use meditation or another technique to adjust the way this image is involved in your being. See the positive message in the concept of turning the other cheek which is way way better than the previous concept of an eye for an eye. At the same time, realize that actually turning the other cheek is an approach that could use some improvement. If someone or something slaps you, choose to do something different such as resolving the issue or healing the situation. Your nerves which are part of you, will do something different as well. |
Illustrative Cases Now that we have some of the key factors that create the disease, here are some cases to illustrate its development. Let's start with the case of a guy who served in the first gulf war and later developed so called als. This guy had a tough childhood during which a largely absent father's rare presence often meant it was time for harsh discipline. So here we have two of the factors already. Emotional trauma and escapism on the father's part. Escapism also will be seen being used by the son. At this point, he decided to leave home, and served in the first gulf war. So here we have more factors including serving in the war to escape rather than deal with and resolve the issues with his father, exposure to trauma of various vaccines administered by the military, exposure to various war related toxins in combination with strenuous physical exertion and stress and, due to his Christian upbringing, extreme internal conflict between what he was doing and his values. As his life continued, he was very physically active while ingesting huge amounts of caffeine, in the form of artificially colored soda, and alcohol. So here we have the use of stimulants and painkillers and the ingestion of possible toxins in various forms combined with regular strenuous physical activity. On top of this, he worked in a very stressful situation where he did nothing to resolve conflicts with his employer. When all this is considered, it makes sense that this person would become develop some illness and given the person's tendency to deal with problems by escaping, it makes sense that the illness developed would be als. Now, let's go over the case of, of all people, Lou Gehrig. (Source: Luckiest Man, by Jonathan Eig, Simon & Schuster, 2005) Lou Gehrig had a turbulent childhood during which siblings died, his parents often argued and his mother was a stressed out breadwinner. So there is factor number one, emotional trauma. He also was a positive guy always putting a brave face on things so we can guess he was repressing a lot. In addition, his parent's used discipline rather than conflict resolution to keep him in line, so there is another factor. 'Those who knew Gehrig as a young man used words such as "worried" and "harassed" to describe him.'p19 As he got older, "He was a worrier, obsessed with pleasing others." "...he always approached his job with a grim determination and a deep fear of disappointing his employers, his teammates, and his fans." page 12 In their first year of marriage, Eleanor realized "how sensitive and uncommunicative her husband could be. He was an Iron Horse, but his ego dented as easily as aluminum foil." page 177 "Eleanor wrote: So he wasn't simply the strong silent type; he was...easily hurt...when he thought he has treated me brusquely, he'd go around the house and refuse to talk to me for what seemed like hours...exiling himself...sulking at his own moodiness." "He had never known...close love before, and when he found it, he grew frightened to death that he might lose it." That pretty much sums it up in a way. The "sulking at his own moodiness" is the exact kind of cycle that creates chronic, progressive illness. The fear is also a common ingredient. Unresolved inner conflicts regarding baseball can be suspected here as well. His mother had wanted him to take up a more serious career. Could it be that he always felt that maybe that would be a good idea. As he gained wealth and fame, did this shy guy feel funny about those he had left behind? It is interesting how quickly he moved back to New York City and jumped into a more serious community service job upon retiring from baseball. In any case, it has been observed that Lou accomplished academically and athletically through hard work and when you hear the words hard work, you have to wonder what made it so hard. Inner conflict seems likely here and so the running roughshod over inner conflict factor seems evident in the case of Lou Gehrig. One time when Eleanor and Lou went to the opera, he started sobbing. This seems to indicate a deep well of pent up emotions. Lou smoked and drank alcohol. Both of these substance habits could be looked at as using painkillers, especially in the context of the way Lou Gehrig was living. For instance, x-ray examination indicated that he had played baseball with fractured hands. It is possible that his use of tobacco or some other calming or numbing substance played a part in his ability to do this. A more clearly connected example can be seen in one extreme case where a pitch hit him in the head, knocking him down. His response, go back to his hotel and have a beer and play the next day. In addition the toxic aspects of alcohol and tobacco use could create system trauma. While the regular use of these substances may not necessarily cause significant nerve degeneration, Lou's use may have helped him strain his system to the breaking point. Another possible trauma trigger would be the x-rays used to check him out on multiple occasions during the course of his professional career. He had his playing streak to keep alive so he played through sickness, exhaustion or injury. So basically, he was pushing himself very hard. When he developed als, the comment was made that he had worn himself out trying to keep the streak going. While this has been discounted given the misconceptions concerning the condition, it was probably a good insight. Lou had a tendency to get angry, yelling at umpires and others involved in baseball who did not measure up to his standards and reacting very negatively and suing a journalist and the owner's of the Daily News when it printed a story that was incorrect. While negative ways always create disease, the particular type of negative response determines the nature of disease created. Eleanor called Lou her "unforgiving man." This showed up when he had a falling out with Babe Ruth, which resulted in the two not speaking for years. Another time it showed up when his mother made a comment about his wife and he "vowed never to see his mother again." p330 After one problematic event Eleanor spoke of "a long siege of no-speaking, one of his Lou's spells of speechlessness." p 191 This pattern of behavior indicates the key response type which creates als, disconnection. Another account says "But Gehrig traveled New Rochelle like a tourist, never staying long in one place and never making any deep connections." Once again, the lack of connection that would manifest in the nerves shows up in his way of living. At this point more and more factors are turning up. Look at the stress, the fear, the emotional issues. See the way he handled problems. It is not surprising that he got seriously sick and once one examines the exact patterns and factors, it becomes clear that this man would end up in experiencing the condition called als. The three key components are there, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual stress, trauma triggers and disconnecting patterns. When Lou Gehrig was a child, his mother saw how the stress and other factors in their situation were killing chlldren, including three of her own. Determined to keep Lou alive, she always fed him well, feeling that in developing strength, he would become safe. It worked in a way. Lou did survive childhood. And the physical power he developed contributed to his achievements. At the same time, brawn can only get one so far, and, in a universe where fear and conflict are involved in it's very structure, Lou Gehrig was faced with the truth that the success of any escape attempt, even one that takes a person from a tenement to a life of glamour, is largely illusory and that escape tends to land one in a situation similar to that which one has left. After retiring from professional baseball, Lou Gehrig joined the New York parole board, where, as he was becoming a prisoner in his own body, he was involved in a program that focused on release and healing. That could be seen as an acknowledgement of the task at hand and as a step toward resolving some inner conflict and getting onto more of a healing path. |
ALS as a Created Situation Als, rather than developing randomly or being caused by genes, is a created problem that arises when various factors come together to create it. As discussed in the Intelligent Creation section of this site, all creations, including als, are directed by intelligence and can be changed by changing the choices of intelligence. This is great news for anyone experiencing als, because it means that by changing the underlying choices and factors, one can change the situation. |
How to Look at Genes Genes, rather than creating our destiny or really causing problems, are more mechanisms for the creation of problems. Like other tools that people use, genes can be activated or deactivated. Also, genes are creations that can be changed. So even though there may be genes involved in the creation of als, the problem is still solvable by using approaches that change the way the genes are being used or that change the genes themselves. One thing a person experiencing als could consider is the fact that the degeneration seemed to just start recently while the gene that may be supposedly causing the problem was there all along. |
The ALS Creation Pattern While the way als develops varies from person to person, the general way it happens is the following. For some reason, whether the person has experienced emotional trauma, the person has had a physical injury, the person is under severe strain or for some other reason, the person approaches the situation by problem. The person chooses this disconnection consciously or unconsciously. For instance the person may consciously decide to stop communicating with a particular individual, or the person may unconsciously choose to emotionally disconnect in response to a problem. In the case of unconsciously chosen disconnection, the person may in a way not be aware of the ongoing process. This disconnection approach can be used on multiple levels in the person's life including the interpersonal level and the cellular level. Sometimes cellular level disconnection can be a response to cellular trauma, such as might be created if the person is exposed to damaging substances. What is called als is the result of cellular level disconnection. Maybe when the approach or response is first used it does not cause much of a problem. The problem gets worse when the disconnecting approach is used repeatedly. The degeneration and progression called als is the manifestation of repeated use of disconnecting approaches. |