Countdown to Bermuda: On Faith, On Our Village and Motivation

This photo popped up in my one year ago today memories on Facebook:



I went to the Bermuda Marathon Weekend website's countdown clock. It's 99 days until the kickoff of Bermuda Marathon Weekend in January 2018.

Another week of training in the books for Team McManus!

Tuesdays are my cross training days at the gym to match Tom and Ruth Anne's Tuesday morning runs.

As I was walking to the gym, everything seemed to ache. Since our 10 mile run in the rain, I had intermittent back spasms, and a lot of joint pain.

I used thoughts that I learned from Candace Pert, Ph.D. and Dr. Joe Dispenza. "I created this I can uncreate it." "This pain isn't an indication that something is wrong with me but rather my body recovers well and with ease from any challenge I put it through." "I am healthy, healed, whole and strong."

It's a little scary training for Bermuda Half Marathon III.

I know I've already healed so much but training for another endurance event brings new sensations and challenges me to have my voice and faith be louder than what I was told by doctors and physical therapists through the years. It also takes strength and courage to trust in my body reversing the thoughts and feelings that were a result of having been conditioned to the effects of polio and trauma. Fear lurks in the background from when I dropped to the ground after contracting paralytic polio at age 5, but I am aware of it now and can bring compassion and Divine healing to the fear.

One painful step at a time I walked to Boston Sports Club. As I entered the Club with people pouring sweat pounding out miles on the treadmill, lifting weights, riding the bike and experiencing the energy of dedication to their health and wellness journey, I came out of the locker room "thinking greater than my circumstances." I remembered the skilled and loving touch of Dr. Ryan J. Means, who reminded me to set goals not limits. I imagined him taping my left knee and calf as he had done in New York in November during one of his visits to the States from China. I felt his healing presence with me reminding me that I have the power to heal.

I plugged in my headphones and got into the rhythm of the Arc Trainer and then the Bike. To my surprise, after my 50 minute workout was done, I had gone 6.4 miles which was the farthest I had gone during my cardio workout! (See it helps to keep a training journal). As I walked back to my car the pain was gone! (Aah the power of endorphins!)

Anytime that I begin to doubt that my body is healed from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma (regardless how appearances may seem) I look at the scar on my nose. For many years it would bleed, crust over and reopen. Many said that I needed to go to a doctor but I had faith and patience. And now it is merely a scar. When I was ready and through the power of my thoughts, I set in motion what was necessary to heal. It did!

Then there was the time that I dissolved a breast tumor shortly after the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome now almost 11 years ago through the power of meditation, visualization, faith and prayers.

The mind/body connection is more powerful than we were ever led to believe; we were led to believe that doctors know best, better safe than sorry and to mind what they were telling us. To better understand how powerful our thoughts are I want you to think about what happens when you see a photo of delicious food. Do you feel your mouth watering? That's because our mind is anticipating how that food would taste. Our body can't distinguish between actually tasting the food and our minds thinking about tasting the food. Our body responds to our thoughts.

I don't have time for a relapse of symptoms or to move backwards in my healing journey despite what may be hurting .... and by the way after a visit to the chiropractor yesterday everything feels so much better!



Whenever I think about easing up on my training, I think about my village that surrounds. Their love fuels Team McManus' journey on the roads and in life. They uphold and uplift me motivating me towards success.

Coincidentally, the link to my blog from two years ago was also a Facebook memory speaking to the power of our running village.


Today, this Youtube video was posted by my friends at Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc:


Team McManus had a wonderful early morning tempo run yesterday with perfect conditions on Day 5/5 of training:



Two days of rest and recovery are on tap before depositing another 10 mile training run in the Bank of Bermuda. The countdown has begun.

My plan is to keep practicing and rehearsing conditioning my body to my new mind healed from the effects of polio and trauma, feeling the joy in the journey and allowing the love that surrounds from my village that propels me forward on this amazing marathon of life!

To going the distance with strength and courage
From my heart to yours,
Mary


Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


And my latest and greatest book - Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):

Going the Distance: "Messing up people's credibility"

When the Race Director for Bermuda Marathon Weekend, Anthony Raynor came to our house for lunch, after presenting him with a copy of my book, "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance"



he said, "You sure are messing up people's credibility!"

Yes I sure am!



Ten years ago I was told that by now I would be in a wheelchair, probably needing a feeding tube, experiencing chronic pain and fatigue, needing a sleep apnea machine and being on a continuous downhill course for the rest of my life. I was diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine standards. Yikes! My future looked grim to say the least.

I got still and asked for Divine Guidance. The answers to my prayers came in the form of poetry in the cadence of Dr. Seuss. Why Dr. Seuss you might ask? Because while recovering from paralytic polio, my physical therapist, Miss Holly read Dr. Seuss to me before every painful physical therapy session and during the excruciating sessions that involved hot woolen blankets and painful coaxing of muscles back to life, would have me recite lines from Dr. Seuss back to her in tandem.

I messed up their credibility when I ran the 2009 Boston Marathon!



In December of 2014, "they said" I would not run again and that I would need a total knee replacement. I messed with their credibility thanks to the help of an amazing healer chiropractor, Dr. Ryan who turned me onto the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza, prescribed a wonderful strength training routine that I use today and ignited my power of belief to go the distance.

I'm now training for a threepeat of the Bermuda Half Marathon and I must say that I'm feeling strong and inspired to go the distance once again harnessing the power of my mind, taking effective action by training 5 days a week and partnering with Dr. Lizzie Sobel of Wholesome Healing Chiropractic. She heard Dr. Joe at a continuing education lecture and is also familiar with the work of Dr. Candace Pert.



There are two great runners who messed with people's credibility who inspire me to go the distance:

Steve Jones: "Never give up! Never surrender!


I was blessed to meet Steve Jones on a few occasions and he is part of Bermuda Marathon Weekend!

And Billy Mills:


I'm enjoying messing up people's credibility and going the distance healing the effects of paralytic polio and trauma, defying the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome ... because ...



Go the distance with strength and courage!
~Mary

Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


And my latest and greatest book - Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):

Run Bermuda! Run Happy! The Joy is in the Journey: The Joy of Healing

Last week presented many challenges and I found myself in high stress situations. Of course we all know that it's not about the events themselves but how we respond to them. I meditated on peace, equanimity and balance, saying the serenity prayer over and over again. Yet it was difficult for me to get ahead of my feelings and, as always happens with stress, I felt it in my body on Thursday and Friday.

A myriad of physical symptoms surfaced and I knew I needed to take charge of myself.

I returned to the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza and rededicated myself to my healing journey with a passion knowing that I have marked a major milestone -- 10 years -- in my healing journey and I'm training for my 3rd consecutive Bermuda Half Marathon.



I reminded myself that I AM the placebo. My beloved friend, healer and chiropractor, Dr. Ryan sent me this photo early on in our work together in March of 2015. I have it posted on my refrigerator:


I read Candace Pert's book, "Everything you need to know to feel Go(o)d":


Throughout the book, Candace, known to her fans as the "Goddess of Neuroscience" and a major contributor to the field of mind/body medicine, talks about how we talk to our bodies influences our bodies at the cellular level. She just happened to give the example of what happens if you've had a knee injury. You experience pain and your first thought can either be, "Oh no. I am injured again." OR "I love how my body is healing. I can embrace this pain as a sign of healing."

At the end of the book, Candace writes, "Trust. Breathe. Let go. God is in control."

In her Epilogue, she reflects on fear.

"The root of fear, I concluded, is more about being alone, feeling unconnected to others and not realizing that we're all one. As my long-term massage therapist Adam Helfer poetically put it, 'If you're connected to the divine, you'll always feel fine.' Adam had also told me he thought the best universal advice to 'feel good' is to remain in the present moment as much is possible.'"

Throughout my healing journey I have called upon the power of Divine Intelligence that is within and around me. When I first set out on my journey, I imagined God as my master electrician helping me to rewire my body in the wake of paralytic polio and trauma. I harnessed the power of my imagination thinking beyond my circumstances of having a diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease using a leg brace, a cane and a wheelchair at times for mobility.

I have documented my journey through poetry and in two memoirs (see below) sharing how the power of my imagination and harnessing the teachings of Dr. Bernie Siegel, Dr. Joe, Candace Pert, and What the bleep do we know helped me to transform my physical state and alter the course of my diagnosis.

Since last Friday I have given myself more time for meditation going deep into that space that Dr. Dispenza notes is where we are able to create our physical, mental and spiritual reality.

I dismiss thoughts of injury and bathe myself with healing light knowing in every fiber of my being that I am and continue to heal from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma.

The road I have chosen is a difficult road. I could have easily succumbed to my diagnosis and my beliefs that were so deeply ingrained in mind, body and soul.

I experience so much joy when I am able to experience my power of self-healing; to transcend ingrained beliefs, move beyond habitual responses and open my heart and soul to feelings of gratitude for my strength, my courage and willingness to partner with the Divine to go the distance. The joy is in the journey and there is so much joy in experiencing and bearing witness to the miracle of healing in my life.

To going the distance with strength and courage!
~Mary

Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


And my latest and greatest book - Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):

Going the Distance: Celebrating 10 Years of Healing: It's All In Your Head

Facebook reminded me that two years ago today I watched, "What the bleep do we know...". It was recommended to me by Dr. Ryan.

Early on when I first started experiencing this array of symptoms that was eventually diagnosed as Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine standards, my primary care physician at the time told me it was all in my head. He prescribed Paxil which I quickly flushed down the toilet and told me to see a psychiatrist. He could not find anything wrong with me by objective internal medicine tests and so deduced that it was a psychiatric problem.

When I went to the Spaulding Rehab's International Rehab Center for Polio and Post-Polio, they focused solely on my physicality.

Truth is what was happening to me was a result of having contracted paralytic polio at the age of 5 followed by 9 years of unrelenting violence against me mind, body and soul.

Candace Pert, Ph.D., one of the teachers in What the bleep do we know... who, coincidentally Dr. Ryan met while studying chiropractic medicine tells us that it was all in my head and that the mind is everywhere in the body. Our thoughts create our biology.

I had dissociated, despised and ignored my body in order to survive. However, I paid a terrible price for that survival coping mechanism.

As I wound and wielded my way through 8 years of my healing odyssey I was desperately trying to find a way to heal mind, body and soul. Writing inspirational poetry sparked my imagination to see myself as healthy and whole and certainly took me far - 26.2 miles to be exact in being able to run the 2009 Boston Marathon.

Once I met Dr. Ryan, he reopened my mind, body and soul to the world of quantum healing. I'd experienced the power of the mind/body connection with Dr. Bernie Siegel.

Bernie knew the power of the subconscious mind and what happens when we get out of the way and allow our subconscious mind to take over. He would use the power of positive suggestion while his patients were under anesthesia. I was blessed to find an anesthesiologist who knew about Bernie's work.

From "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility":
I knew the power of suggestion and visualization. I was diagnosed with endometriosis in the 1980’s. I would always get sick after anesthesia. I talked with my anesthesiologist before yet another gynecological surgery to repair my reproductive organs. I asked him if he heard of the work of Bernie and if he would be willing to give me the suggestion “You will wake up comfortable and hungry and pain free,” while I was under anesthesia. He was on board.

I woke up in the recovery room after the procedure. I felt a wave of nausea wash over me and then in the middle of the wave of nausea, it stopped. I suddenly had a craving for a barbequed hamburger.

“Can I have a barbequed hamburger?” I asked through the haze of general anesthesia.

Everyone in the recovery room laughed. They knew what the anesthesiologist had said to me while I was under anesthesia.

With the compilation of stress and trauma in my life coupled with the unhealed effects of paralytic polio and trauma, I wasn't able to get traction on my healing journey.

Once I had the power of therapeutic touch, healers who could join with MY intention to heal, and infused myself with the works of Dr. Joe Dispenza, Dr. Candace Pert and allowed the teachings from "What the bleep..." to settle into my cells, I was able to experience a quantum leap in my healing journey. I experienced the physical manifestation of the transformation, mind, body and soul I had written about for years in my poetry.

Tomorrow marks 10 years since I left my 20 year award winning career as a VA social worker to heal my life. If ever you wonder about the mind/body connection, I'd like you to do a simple little exercise. Take a moment to think about the menu at your favorite restaurant. Think about your favorite dish on the menu. Do you feel your mouth salivate and have a sensation of anticipating the delicious food you are about to savor? That's the power of the mind/body connection! Remember - it's all in your head!

Tomorrow I officially celebrate 10 years of healing and am so excited to see what the next 10 years will bring!

To going the distance with strength and courage!
~Mary

Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


And my latest and greatest book - Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):

The Anticipatory Joy of Healing! Focus on the Healing Not on the Wound!

Ever since the diagnosis of Post-Polio syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine standards ten years ago, I have been on a quest to heal my life from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma.

Creating a new reality began with my writing poetry starting with the poem, "Running the Race" in February of 2007 as I faced a grim diagnosis, a poor prognosis and an uncertain future in life and in my career as an award winning social worker at the VA.

I did a wonderful job harnessing the power of my imagination through writing poetry to create a new reality for myself seeing myself running unencumbered and free, practicing an attitude of gratitude, allowing joy to flow AS IF everything I yearned for - reclaiming my life unshackled from the pain of my past - was in existence in my current reality. I was in a leg brace, using a wheelchair at times for mobility; had never run a day in my life and was experiencing chronic pain and fatigue. I was depressed and anxious but when I wrote poetry I lived in the world I wanted to experience.

I worked so hard to heal mind, body and soul from the ravages of having contracted paralytic polio at age 5 followed by 9 years of unrelenting abuse and torture at the hands of family members beginning at the age of 8 years old. I sought out healers and did my absolute best to take the best of what they could offer me but everything fell short especially after the added stress of my nephew's suicide on 3/4/2011 and the traumatic events of 4/15/13.

A very serious knee injury turned into the greatest blessing of my life! All that I set forth in motion through the power of my pen, my Divining Rod for healing began to manifest in the wake of that knee injury in December of 2014.

First I met a chiropractor healer, Dr. Ryan J. Means. He was the one who urged me to read Dr. Joe Dispenza's book, "You Are the Placebo," Candace Pert, Ph.D.'s book, "Everything you need to know to feel Go(o)d" and to watch the movie, "What the bleep do we know...."

It was exactly what I needed!

There is also exhilaration to experience the transformation and the easing of the pain focusing on the healing not on the wounds!

I feel this incredible stirring in my soul to experience this power of creation and transformation from a survivor of paralytic polio and trauma to a whole, healthy, vibrant, radiant woman being able to now heal.

I could probably go to a doctor and get a diagnosis of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome or a resurgence of the cervical spine disease that caused radiating pain down my arm or carpel tunnel syndrome that was diagnosed on an EMG 10 years ago and nerve damage from the initial polio virus or some kind of "itis" in my elbow. Instead, I choose to harness the power of Divine Intelligence within me. Whenever I begin to doubt and there are times when the pain is quite intense, I think about that wound on my nose and remember how Dr. Joe healed the fractures in his spine after a devastating accident - yet an accident that would define his life's purpose and his work.



Having the goal of running my 3rd CONSECUTIVE Bermuda Half Marathon is also a powerful stimulant for healing and leaves me with little time to focus on the pain and the wounds. Instead I experience the anticipatory joy of feeling only the soreness that comes with training, being able to get stronger and continue to build confidence memorizing this new self healed from the pain and horror of the past.

Go the distance with strength and courage!
~Mary


Be sure to visit my newly designed website at marymcmanus.com

My latest book, 'Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance' is available on Amazon chronicling my journey to health and wellness as a survivor of paralytic polio and trauma and a woman who refused to quit!