Inspiration for Reclaiming Control over Pain and Illness

A Beholding Forest©

A respite in the Rockies is something my husband and I have enjoyed for thirty-five years and since we are in our sixth and seventh decades of life, we are grateful to have done it yet again. It’s a marriage retreat of sorts, a time to appreciate my husband’s hard work, allowing me to use my photography to escape into the bowels of majesty.

I feel an intimacy with nature, wild flowers coloring the landscape, wild animals outside our RV door, rainbows that astound us and pink sunsets that devour our sensibilities. I am touched by my husband’s desire to find joy in something I love. My soul is awakened when I hear these words…

Come quick; grab your camera!

Young Buck Innocence©

Early fall makes itself known in the mountains where summer is short. The aspen’s are beginning to turn and as their  leaves shudder to meet the sun’s rays, I am reminded that the warm days of summer will soon give way to crisp chilly air that awakens the season of harvest and preparation.

Chronic pain and illness dictates that we adapt to change. But, unlike nature’s beings, it isn’t always instinctive. I know I need daily reminders on how to apply the things I learned when writing our first book  (with contributions of my co-author, Jeff Miller, PhD).

Fall is looming and change is upon us. Find out how you can adapt as nature does by using the daily tips in the Fall Devotions edition of the book series. If you already have the book, it's time to get it out and re-explore. I suspect you will see things from a different perspective this year, and you will learn something new to share.

Find detailed information at CelesteCooper.com:  

• About ​Broken Body, Wounded Spirit: Balancing the SeeSaw of Chronic Pain, FALL DEVOTIONS
• Table of Contents
• Endorsements - Inside the Cover

  

September is pain awareness month and a busy one for those of us who advocate for balanced affordable care for everyone. My greatest desire as an RN is for patients to have choices. It’s empowering to reclaim control over the thing we can change, and I hope you find Fall Devotions helps you do that.

Here’s to a colorful and hearty fall season.

Available:

Amazon in paperback 

Kindle version 

Amazon UK Kindle 

Amazon Canada Kindle 

Barnes and Nobel paperback 

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

"Adversity is only an obstacle if we fail to see opportunity."  

Celeste Cooper, RN

Author—Patient—Health Central Chronic Pain Pro —Advocate

Celeste’s Website: http://CelesteCooper.com

Learn more about what you can do to help your body function to its potential in the books you can find here on Celeste's  blog. Subscribe to posts by using the information in the upper right hand corner or use the share buttons to share with others.

All answers and blogs are based on the author's opinions and writing and are not meant to replace medical advice.  

A Message of Hope from My Guest, Clarissa Shepherd

 “There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow.” 

~Orison Swett Marden, 1850 - 1924

Did you know that March is “Brain Awareness” month? We know the brain is a very complex organ, many people, with many disorders could have many things to say to raise awareness. Being one with a fibro-migrainus brain, I also know how important a message of hope can be for anyone who shares this journey with us. I am truly blessed to be able to share with you a message of hope written for you by my friend, Clarissa Shepherd, the, leader of the Facebook Group, Fellow Travelers. 

Get ready to face illness with courage, a sense of renewal and hope.

Renewing in Hope by Clarissa Shepherd

For those of us who face chronic illness each day, thinking positive is not an easy task. It's not as if we dwell on the negative, yet it finds us. We not only deal with daily pain and many other symptoms – we also deal with all of life's difficulties. I feel we do a magnificent job surviving a long list of daunting symptoms. Following is what you mean to me.

Learning to live within your limitations is not a negative thing; it’s a way to rearrange your life so you can live to your fullest potential. Finding new ways of doing daily tasks is a very creative thing. I find it amazing that you manage so well. You find new ways of healing, new ways of coping, new ways to entertain yourself, new talents that you didn't know you had.

Your journey may be very difficult. It may be very long and tiresome, yet you do it with such grace. A grace like I've never seen before. You're learning a new way to live, a new way of thinking, and ways of doing it soulfully. You've learned how to rethink what being productive means to you now, and you acknowledge that everyone's yardstick for measuring what’s productive isn't the same, and that's OK. You're still alive and moving ever forward as you learn to maneuver this new way of life. You've accepted the challenge and looked it right in the face. I call you—courageous.

You are a vital human being. This illness is not of your own making, and it does not define you. It just is. You show your strength and courage with each breath you take, every obstacle you overcome, and every new way you learn to cope. You are fearless, even in your pain.

Now I want you to take this truth into each day. Allow it to cover your entire being. There will be those in your life that don't, or won't, understand what you face each day. Chronic illness has taught me this…

Some people will fill you up,

Others will drain you of energy better spent,

So, choose wisely.

The reality is you are wonderful—just as you are. Your bravery is unparalleled, because you live it in solitude. Believe in yourself, as you renew in hope. Just as the season's change, so does your strength. Hope, courage, and renewal define you. They are in you, beside you, in front of you. Know this, and let the beacon, your bright light, guide you, hold you, and sustain you. You are brave. I applaud the person you are.

~ ~ ~

I am constantly encouraged by Clarissa and her generous spirit. Following is perhaps one of my favorite affirmations from her, which is included in one of our books.

"Be kind to yourself.

Respect who you are.

Walk in the light of your fearlessness."

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

"Adversity is only an obstacle if we fail to see opportunity."  

Celeste Cooper, RN

Author—Patient—Health Central Chronic Pain Pro —Advocate

Celeste’s Website: http://CelesteCooper.com

No regrets – Finding Value in My New Life

I could regret losses associated with a chronic pain life, but regret only leads to stress, something which our body already understands biologically and struggles to overcome. 

An effective tool for combating the effects of stress is positive thinking.  So next time your stress meter is about to blow mercury into the universe, get out your tool kit.

Say no to negativity.

See opportunity in adversity

Say, “I will.”

Think kindness.

Create a positive word list.

Imagine positive energy.

Have a positive dialogue with part of your body.

Biofeedback works.

Try meditative movement.

Write an affirmation. 

https://thesethree.com/Key_to_Affirmations.html

Find  more helpful tips in our new book, BrokenBody, Wounded Spirit: Balancing the See Saw of Chronic Pain.  Fall devotions has been discounted for the holiday and is the  first in a series of four.  It has gotten wonderful endorsements by some heavy hitters, but we need more reader reviews.  It is for ALL chronic pain patients.  

Please spread the word. I hope you will copy and paste the blurb below and share it with those who might want to learn ways of coping with chronic pain that will perpetuate the balance we so desperately need.  

In healing and hope, Celeste

 

Here is our first Kindle reader review:

“5 of 5 stars. Very helpful November 20, 2012

By Cecily T.

I already bought the earlier book,"Integrative Therapies for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue and Myofascial Pain", so I got this on the recommendation of my pain specialist. It's nicely done and very helpful. The authors give suggestions, assignments and advice on a page per day basis. I like the format because I can focus on one thing at a time to help myself with my chronic pain condition. I can also go back and review information and rate my progress. I think this is a good tool for participating in my treatment

Holiday price reduction.  Kindle $2.99.  Please gift a review.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=broken+body%2C+wounded+spirit

Free Kindle app for PC and androids. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=sv_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

Available in Paperback.

 http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Body-Wounded-Spirit-Balancing/dp/0615638082/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349707879&sr=8-1&keywords=Broken+Body,+Wounded+Spirit:+Balancing+the+See+Saw+of+Chronic+Pain

"Essential and inspiring!" - "With heartfelt passion and self-awareness." - "Best wishes to all who use this book to reclaim life day by day." - "From the dark world of pain and suffering comes the voice of human courage." - "This will help individuals engage in their own care and personal growth. "

Full endorsement-reviews at https://thesethree.com/Broken_Body_-_Fall.html#.ULEL64fLQyI