The rehabilitation potential of the diabetic.

Abstract

The disease of diabetes has become epidemic so it behooves us to look at many alternatives for creating health. People who have diabetes need to learn how to be pathways for self rehabilitation. Preventing disease, ameliorating disease, and repairing from disease are possible endeavors. Rather than seeing diabetes as something that happens to us, we need to see that we are co-creators of our good or ill health. I believe that it is our choices that create the milieu for disease to enter and our body to take the toll. It is our thinking and how we react to life's circumstances that are integral to maintaining good health. If we transform our lives, we will have an impact on our health.

We first need to acknowledge that we are not our body--we are much more. We are consciousness, thoughts, morals, compassion, joy, and a myriad of nonseeable dimensions and attitudes. I have worked for over 35 years with clients who want to transform their lives. I have seen them improve their health and, believe, prevent ill health by choosing to live a life devoted to higher ideals such as compassion, forgiveness, honesty, and treating one's neighbor as one's self. This article speaks to those with health issues, and in particular, to diabetics in order to help them see the various options they have to improve their health. People learn new ways of thinking and behaving through my [C.sup.2]R Model[TM] (the art of being Compassionately Creatively Resourceful). Creativity and health are opposite sides of the same coin. I talk about the importance of choosing one's attitude and using one's creativity to implement ways of thinking and behaving that result in better mental and physical health. People can take responsibility for their health and well-being. There is a mind/body connection to disease. The idea of a self-cure for disease is a thought worth embodying. It can be viewed as a catalyst to creating a better life.

Article

In the past 10 years there has been a 150 percent increase in new cases of diabetes. The New York Times featured lengthy discussions about diabetes on its front pages in a four-part series January 9 through 12, 2006. The articles described the toll the disease is taking on the lives of those affected and their families. In New York City, one in eight people has diabetes. In February, May and June, The Times published four more front-page articles and a poignant editorial discussing the severe impact this disease is having on people's lives and our culture. The United States leads the world in the per capita rate of diabetes--this land-of-plenty's costliest disease. According to the National Institutes of Health, in 1995 diabetic care in the United States was a staggering 137 billion (that's billion) dollars and continues to rise. Diabetes is epidemic and The Times declared war on diabetes. (1-8)

Thirty years ago, Bertrand E. Lowenstein, M.D., Harvard instructor and a Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons-trained physician and diabetologist, wrote in his book:

   [Diabetes] remains today one of
   medicine's most baffling riddles.
   No one knows what really
   causes it, how to prevent it,
   whether it is one disease or two
   or three, or how to prevent the
   far reaching and devastating
   effects it has on the human
   body. Although we now have
   insulin to keep alive those ...
   diabetic patients who would
   die in a matter of months without
   it, we do not have anything
   that will keep most such
   patients alive and healthy for,
   say, twenty to thirty years....
   There is even considerable
   doubt that the various oral
   antidiabetic drugs that control
   the blood sugar do much good
   for patients with the forms of
   diabetes that do not need
   insulin injections. (9)

Treatment for diabetics now is basically limited to taking insulin and/or oral antidiabetic drugs with the hope of helping to prolong life. Nevertheless, complications such as kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, blindness, amputation, nervous system disorders and more, still occur in diabetics. This relegates insulin and oral antidiabetic drugs to be viewed as stop-gap measures.

In spite of the millions of dollars of research funds and the years of study, the cause of diabetes remains a mystery. Diabetics are advised on the best way to live with their disease (the assumption being that the only option is to "just live with it") and instructed to take their insulin, check blood sugar levels, seek good control, watch their diet, exercise, and take their associated medicines. There is no discussion about the possibility of ameliorating the disease or of rehabilitating one's self. The assumption is that the possibility to self-heal doesn't exist. We assume or are led to believe that drug companies, research foundations and/or universities will come up with a cure; they are working on it and it is only a matter of time, as the assumption goes. Even though money is funneled into research and to those devising new ways to take insulin, no one has come up with a cure since Banting and Best in 1922 discovered insulin is needed in the diabetic's bloodstream. The discovery of how to add insulin to a diabetic's bloodstream was not a cure. It only kept them from dying immediately and the years have shown the ravages of diabetic treatment.

Diabetes needs to be approached from a different perspective. We need to acknowledge that diabetics can rehabilitate themselves and that the rehabilitation potential does exist. A person can repair and come back better than before. Dedicated and determined individuals can transform themselves and create a better quality of life in this multidimensional, ongoing process.

Being an active participant in the rehabilitation process brings self-empowerment and creates health. Rehabilitation is a complex, though not necessarily complicated, process. It involves several integral factors including mental, emotional and spiritual processes, as well as biological ones. In order to execute the rehabilitation potential, we need to live a life of self-examination. It is necessary to observe, examine, and reexamine what is going on in our internal environment and work to improve our quality of life. Health first takes place in consciousness, and then rehabilitation can ensue.

The activation of the rehabilitation potential is a quest. It is a philosophical examination of our habits, lifestyles and mental/emotional/ intuitive responsiveness. This contributes to our effectiveness in becoming a more fully functioning human being. The rehabilitation potential is a self-empowering tool. It involves raising our consciousness and taking on new behaviors. The search is an accentuation of the self-actualization potentials in our life and is a genuine appeal for an enlightened approach to existence. The goal is to take greater dominion over the quality and course of our lives. It is a willingness to know that through our rehabilitation potential we are much more than what happens to us.

We need to take greater dominion over the quality and course of our lives as we work towards achieving better health. When we practice new thinking and ways of behaving, our consciousness raises and we become more and more skilled at living life. We discover that working on the rehabilitation potential is worth the commitment of effort. We have an opportunity to learn that diabetes is a catalyst toward spending our life becoming a better person. It is when we transform ourselves that our bodies can allow for repair from the disease.

It is necessary to believe in the possibility of our rehabilitation (restored or changed to better than before). While patience, endurance, and hopefulness are needed as we work towards a cure, we never know at what moment that cure can take place. Staying anticipatory for results during the implementation process allows us the best chance for success. Dr. R. Harwood reported:

   Warren and Root wrote in 1925
   that--'The pathology, which we
   find in the pancreas at autopsy
   rarely represents the initial
   damage to the organ, but rather
   the result of a long struggle
   between regenerative activity of
   the pancreas and the degenerative
   changes caused by the diabetogenic
   factor. The pancreas
   is not a static organ ... unable to
   repair itself after injury.' ... The
   process of exhaustion and
   degeneration of the beta cells
   [insulin producing cells] can be
   arrested and reversed by measures
   that lessen the stimulus
   and relieve the hyperglycemia.
   ... When the stimulus is
   removed, the exhausted beta
   cell apparatus has a chance for
   recovery; adequate production
   of insulin becomes possible
   and normal tolerance for glucose
   is restored.... In the more
   severe type of diabetes ... significant
   remissions are really
   quite rare.... Nevertheless, the
   reports of marked amelioration
   in the severe type of diabetes
   suggest remissions in this
   insulin-deficient type of diabetes
   could be achieved more
   frequently than realized. (10)

This research only reinforces the concept that diabetics do indeed have a creative potential for being able to rehabilitate. Current findings in the new field of epigenetics, a new science of self- empowerment, helps to substantiate the above mentioned findings from 80 years ago. As B. H. Lipton, a cell biologist at both the University of Wisconsin and Stanford University schools of medicine points out:

   Genes-as-destiny theorists
   have obviously ignored hundred-year-old
   science about
   enucleated cells, but they cannot
   ignore new research that
   undermines their belief in
   genetic determinism. While the
   Human Genome Project was
   making headlines, a group of
   scientists were inaugurating a
   new, revolutionary field in
   biology called epigenetics. The
   science of epigenetics, which
   literally means 'control above
   genetics,' profoundly changes
   our understanding of how life
   is controlled.... In the last
   decade, epigenetic research has
   established that DNA blueprints
   passed down through
   genes are not set in concrete at
   birth. Genes are not destiny!
   Environmental influences,
   including nutrition, stress and
   emotions, can modify those
   genes, without changing their
   basic blueprint. And those
   modifications, epigeneticists
   have discovered, can be passed
   on to future generations as
   surely as DNA blueprints are
   passed on via the Double
   Helix. (11)

Questions about healing from diabetes are raised by what occurs in individuals with Dissociative Identity Disorder (previously called Multiple Personality Disorder). In our discussions, Lowenstein pointed out that a person with this disorder sometimes had a personality who had diabetes and yet the other personality did not. Furthermore, when these individuals learned to make better reactions to life's circumstances, the personality who needed exogenous insulin, needed less of it. The very fact that on one day, this person needed insulin, yet on another day no insulin was needed, makes a case for the benefits of addressing the emotional and mental aspects of diabetes.

When working towards rehabilitation, a multidimensional and multidisciplinary program is essential. A biological approach alone is not enough, because even if one does ameliorate the physical condition, there are mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions that need healing. The first step is to take responsibility for our own health. The second is to realize that we have an inner life and that it needs to be developed and nurtured. We need to change our attitude and cultivate our character. We need to create inner peace and learn how to live in harmony. We become a participant in the health acquiring process and form a cooperative alliance with our physicians. We begin to implement our new ways of thinking and behaving into our lives.

Courage is needed. When we take responsibility for something, we accept the consequences of our choices. This means that we develop certain habits of thinking and being so that we can do what is necessary to improve our health. Courage is needed to be able to stand up for ourselves. We need to champion what is in the best interest of our health. Each individual is unique and there are specific things that each of us finds helpful in order to achieve an improved quality of life. We become an active participant in the decision making process. We need to trust our own experience about what is going on in our body. We can make a good response because of what we learned from that experience. Courage is needed when we have moments of doubt.

We can maintain the thought that eventually we will be well. In order to sustain positive changes in our life, we need to be creatively determined. We can think positively about the possibilities. If I say, "I am a diabetic," then I limit the possibility about how I am as a non-diabetic. We practice doing all that is necessary to rehabilitate ourselves and await the results of our efforts. We suspend judgment and do not get discouraged. It is important not to label ourselves, nor allow others to label us.

Creativity helps us explore new ways of dealing, rather than repeating error. For example, if anger is the first emotion used when responding to a stressful event, we can decide to use another emotion instead. Anger is a destructive emotion, more destructive to the user than the recipient. We can begin practicing responding to stressful situations without anger. We can implement being fair and friendly. We can still be assertive and set our boundaries, but we don't have to get angry at the people who transgress our boundaries. We educate people how to treat us, and if they can learn how to be mutual with us, then we can continue in our relationship with them; if they can't be mutual, then we can make a better reaction and move away from the source of the unhealthy treatment. If we believe that every problem has a solution, then we will stay open to the possibility that we will, indeed, find a solution.

Procrastination should be eliminated from our life. We can't be like the fellow who wanted to go to the 'procrastinators anonymous' meeting, but he could just never find the time to get there. We need to take action in a timely and thoughtful way. If I am going to work on rehabilitating myself, I need to get started now.

We need to implement new behaviors into our life. By examining our experiences, we can discover what events or ways of thinking and behaving could have contributed to the disease occurring. Perhaps we noticed that the disease appeared shortly after we experienced a traumatic life experience. We can examine how we responded to this life experience and see if we behaved in ways that left us vulnerable illness. We can decide how we want to respond to future stressful events. Even if there doesn't seem to be anything that we did, we can still commit to thinking and behaving in a new way. We decide on the new attitudes and behaviors and implement them. Rehabilitation is possible. We can make it happen by our choices.

Maintaining a philosophy of each man for himself is detrimental. The belief that, "I must get mine" is a violent belief. Violence causes disease. As we explore the ways we are violent, we can begin to eliminate them. There was a famous redeemer who said, "Love thy neighbor as thy self." But it is 2000 years later, and we are still having trouble with just what He meant by that. Nevertheless, we can begin to practice the golden rule. At the very least, we will turn into a kind person. And, at the most, we will cure ourselves of our disease.

After years of observation and study, I see the importance of kindness as it relates to disease, and specifically in the etiology of diabetes. I developed my Compassionately Creative Resourceful Model (C2R) while doing my doctoral dissertations, and I have continued to expand my C?R Model[TM], which helps students learn how to apply creativity to their lives. Creativity is often misunderstood. I define it as an expression of one's individuality, uniqueness, and authenticity in all one does, using one's highest moral understanding and possessing no sense of separateness. When the person stifles compassionate and creative expression; anticreative or uncreative thinking and behaving ensues. The diabetogenic factor takes over and the body then pours excess sugar into the bloodstream in an attempt to satisfy this creative frustration. Because of this misdirection of creativity in genetically predisposed individuals, the diabetes can act as an adaptive disorder. Individuals manifesting this disorder react to life's stresses with psychophysiological responses, which manifest as creative starvation because potentialities cannot be synthesized in a meaningful way. This creative starvation then mimics the effects of physical starvation resulting in the carbohydrate metabolism of the body being affected. There is a relationship between creativity and disease and it has implications for other diseases as well.

When I worked with type I and type II diabetics at my counseling and biofeedback clinic, I observed that some type I diabetes clients were able to reduce their insulin. Some type II diabetics taking oral antidiabetic medicines were able to eliminate them as a result of their participating in counseling and utilizing biofeedback techniques. For the people who implemented healthy thoughts, reduced their stress and made better emotional reactions, their physical health improved. Taking responsibility for our health and maintaining self-regulation has rich rewards. Making the commitment to changing our attitudes, thoughts, lifestyles, selections of food, etc., creates the opportunity for healing.

C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D., founder of the American Holistic Medical Association, in an interview said:

   Even modern medicine
   acknowledges that negative
   emotions clobber the immune
   system with stress hormones
   and other chemicals that are
   disruptive to the body. Stored
   emotions are one of the
   most basic causes of illness.
   The British researcher, Hans
   Eysenck followed more than
   13,000 people for over 20 years
   and found that the vast majority
   of people who died of cancer
   or heart disease had unresolved
   emotions in the form
   of anger, depression or hopelessness. (13)

Since statistics show that diabetics have nearly a five-times greater chance of developing cancer or heart disease, the process of being in control of ones attitude and emotions is very important.

Therefore, we need to be kind. From my dissertation research and further studies in the following years, I have concluded that diabetics need to be kind to themselves and others. Actually, it takes some learning as to what it means to be kind. It is a maturing process learning how to be kind. There are many habits that need changing and there are new behaviors that need implementing. We can stand up for our selves and to do it in a way that is not aggressive. It is an art that becomes more proficient with practice. We learn to be wise enough to recognize different levels of consciousness and know 'who we are dealing with.' Different people require different treatment. A kind, sensitive person only requires a gentle nudge; an insensitive person requires more definite boundary settings. We are principled when we set boundaries. When we stand up, we move up. We learn the myriad of things that enable us to be wisely kind.

The late centenarian and noted psychotherapist, Arnold A. Hutschnecker, M.D, wrote about the relationship of the mind and body in his classic work, The Will to Live. He said that the mind and body were one and believed that we would understand the dynamic interaction between the mind and the body when we were willing to accept psychological principles with the same objectivity as we have come to scrutinize the physiological processes. Hutschnecker said "the aggressive personality is susceptible to heart disease, high blood-pressure, arteriosclerosis and other circulatory disorders, migraine, rheumatoid arthritis, hyperthyroidism. Diabetes and some skin diseases also possibly belong here." (14)

Therefore, we need to make sure to remove anger and revenge from our natures. We can cultivate attitudes that promote kindness wherever we go. We learn to set our boundaries in a firm and friendly way and to react to unpleasant situations without anger or a need to get even. As we practice new attitudes, we get more skilled at handling stressful events. We keep our emotions balanced and allow the body to recover and heal.

We need to stay in charge of our emotions. High arousal is a means of numbing pain, but a change in thinking and behaving can help. High arousal masks the fact that we are uncomfortable with some aspect of our life, but rather than address the underlying issues, which need ameliorating, we create an artificial high. Overloading our schedule and believing that every situation is a forest fire are examples of this. Poor emotional reactions, irrational thinking, conflictual relationships, stress, trauma, losses, etc., all affect blood sugar levels.

In order to make good decisions, it is important to be informed. We can gather information from doctors, researchers, health professionals, and from our own and other diabetics' experiences. Fortunately, the Internet has made finding information so much easier than it used to be. There is a false belief that the only way to find a cure is to leave the job to researchers working in a lab with animals. We need to take dominion over our own microcosm. We can help our health care professionals with our own ideas and find cooperative ways to work with them for our best care.

There is a multitude of avenues open to the person who wants to be informed. The creative diabetic researcher discovers that there are energies beyond the visible light spectrum that have an effect on the organizing principles of all living things. In the future, scientists will be more interested in doing research into these energies that are outside the physical body. When these energies and wave lengths are better understood, we will learn how they affect the human body and how they might contribute to restoring and maintaining health. (15-18) Attention also needs to be given to researching distance healing (healing that occurs with aid from a person at another location). (17-18) Prayer could be thought of as a form of distance healing; in fact, prayer has been called a phone call to God. Some scientists have called prayer positive thinking (or used other terms to label it), yet many have concluded from their observations that prayer has a beneficial effect. We can each decide what prayer means to us. Regardless, praying for others and us can benefit everybody.

There are practical measures and everyday healthy behaviors that all diabetics or anyone can practice. Exercise helps to remove toxins, keeps the various organs working efficiently, and regulates and keeps blood sugar levels more manageable. It is time to stop using insulin as a way to cover eating highly caloric foods; it puts too much insulin into the body and creates a rebound effect. It is important to eat nourishing foods and preferably follow a low fat vegetarian diet. Dean Ornish, M.D. espoused low fat vegetarian diets as a way to rehabilitate heart disease and related conditions without using drugs. (19) The body seems to process vegetables and fruits more efficiently, thus putting less stress on the digestive and evacuative systems. This allows fewer toxins to build up in the body. The glycemic index of foods ranks carbohydrates according to how much they affect blood glucose levels. There are various factors involved when using this index; however, the information can help us balance our choice of foods with the amount of energy we are expending. Many have found that grazing (small, frequent feedings) puts less stress on the system and helps control blood sugar levels. Besides self-testing with a blood glucose meter, there is a way to get feedback about blood sugar levels. There is a laboratory test called glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C), which shows the average amount of our blood sugar during the previous two to three months. The results of this test can give us information about how well the changes we've implemented in our diet, exercise, lifestyle, attitude, etc. have improved our well-maintained blood sugar levels. Also, it is important to become familiar with the use of herbs, to pay attention to our own chemical individuality, and to develop our own kitchen science. "Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food."(Hippocrates)

Circulation issues affect all diabetics and many have found Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) to be helpful. In fact, the use of HBOT can be traced back to 17th century England. HBOT is a healing modality, which allows a person to breathe 100% oxygen in a pressurized chamber at about 1.3 to 2.5 times greater than normal atmospheric pressure. It enables the participant to carry more oxygen into his circulation system. While the chamber is pressurized, the participants wear a mask through which they breathe pure oxygen; hence, the oxygen enters the system under pressure. There are protocols for the treatment and when followed, the treatment is very safe. (20-22)

HBOT research that I have conducted demonstrated an improvement in circulation, increase in wound healing, recovery from strokes, and enhancement of the patient's general well-being. (20-22) I have observed successful outcomes for many diabetics who received treatment at Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy of Arizona. There are many HBOT studies dealing with improvements for diabetic neuropathy, retinopathy, diabetic ulcers, wound repair, gangrene, strokes, and microcirculation. Because diabetes is a small blood vessel disorder and HBOT can help with this circulation issue, HBOT is very effective. (20-22) HBOT for diabetics should be given more professional recognition. Both mainstream and alternative medicine should become more knowledgeable about its benefits so they can help their patients by recommending this treatment.

Lowenstein and Preger cited that in 1957, the American Medical Association reported the life expectancy of physicians was longer than that of the layman. (9) The AMA went on to say that physicians have lower death rates in most age groups and are less susceptible to the leading causes of death. However, there were two exceptions: Diabetes and heart disease. The death rate for physicians from diabetes was 35 percent higher than the laymen. Lowenstein asked: "Did the treatment kill them?" If physicians died from diabetes more often, perhaps it was because the accepted treatment for diabetics was at fault--for doctors were apt to adhere more strictly to their treatment methods than the layman. Lowenstein and Preger went on to say:

   More and more frequently one
   sees articles in medical journals
   suggesting that perhaps one of
   the causes of the many severe
   health problems diabetes
   patients have is the treatment
   itself. And in recent years,
   changes in treatment have been
   tried here and there. We have
   already seen two reasons for
   skepticism: the prevalence of
   arteriosclerosis and the many
   complications of diabetes, even
   among patients whose conditions
   were thought to be 'well
   controlled', and the substantially
   higher death rate from
   heart attacks, strokes and kidney
   failure among diabetics, as
   compared to non-diabetics.
   Another reason was the startling
   discovery that at least half
   of all diabetics have very high
   levels of insulin in their blood,
   while their blood sugar levels
   are also high. (9)

From the many conversations with Dr. Lowenstein when he was my doctoral advisor, I know he felt that supplemented insulin was a catch-22: Lowenstein believed that exogenous insulin worked like a double-edged sword. It was necessary to take insulin to keep the person from dying, yet at the same time poisoned a person drip by drip over a long period of time. He felt that many of the complications of the disease were actually caused by the insulin that stayed in the blood after the blood sugar levels were brought down. He advocated reducing the insulin and/or oral antidiabetic medicine intake to the lowest amount possible, with a quest towards eliminating the need for replacement therapy.

It is certainly time that the three cardinal principles of diabetes--diet, insulin and exercise--should be amended to include a fourth principle--the activation of the rehabilitation potential. I have had type I (juvenile onset), insulin-dependent diabetes for more than 45 years and have spent that time researching and exploring the rehabilitation potential. I practice the principles and teach them to others, so that they can regularly go after their greatness potential (one's highest capacity for love, truth, wisdom, creativity, and health). I developed the [C.sup.2]R Model[TM] as a means for people to learn to be Compassionately, Creatively Resourceful in all they do. Individuals develop a way of living, which allows them to continually improve the quality of their lives in spite of the difficulties, or perhaps because of them. The [C.sup.2]R Model[TM] is a program that helps individuals learn about themselves; discover creative, compassionate solutions, and work towards self-actualization. It is a cross-cultural program, which addresses the underlying problems of a suffering humanity. Creativity and healing are opposite sides of the same coin. We can learn to be creativity specialists and activate the greatness of our rehabilitation potential.

The constant search for health breeds health. The realization that on the highest level we are already healthy and happy is an eye opener. Right now, diabetes may be something to contend with physically, but we can look through the disease and awaken our greatness potential. This higher order outlook on the richness of our life-giving heritage is achieved through inspired living and higher vision. This is the higher self's zest for expression and not the personality's Pollyanna wish. It means learning to live with continued hope. Even in the most wretched states, hope breeds the possibilities of growth, healing, and enlightenment. We awaken our rehabilitation potential and set forth on the creative path to wellness.

Norman Cousins was a writer, editor, advocate of holistic healing and editor of the Saturday Review for the better part of 40 years. He also taught at UCLA School of Medicine and researched the relationship of attitude and health. He discusses the availability of the vast regenerative resources open to the creative individual in his book, a frontier science work. Cousins was medically diagnosed as having a 'fatal' disease, yet was able to develop his own self-conceived rehabilitative program (adjunctive advice from his sometimes skeptical physicians) and made a complete recovery, wrote:

   I have learned never to underestimate
   the capacity of the
   human mind and body to
   regenerate--even when the
   prospects seem most wretched.
   The life-force may be the least
   understood force on earth.
   William James said that human
   beings tend to live too far within
   self-imposed limits. It is possible
   that these limits will
   recede when we respect more
   fully the natural drive of the
   human mind and body toward
   perfectibility and regeneration.
   Protecting and cherishing [and
   working] that natural drive
   may well represent the finest
   exercise of human freedom. (23)

It is extremely important that one self-examines and finds self-solutions. "The unexamined life is not worth living." (Socrates) One can learn to know the self, acquire new attitudes, implement new behaviors, and set oneself on a path towards healing.

The rehabilitation potential of the diabetic is a multidimensional, multidisciplinary process that needs to be worked on daily. Diabetes is a disease to see through, not just "live with." Our entire being; physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, is involved in this creative rehabilitative effort. Each aspect of our nature needs to be addressed if rehabilitation is to be complete and ongoing, and set the milieu for a physical cure. We need to stay in training, develop as an individual, and effectuate rehabilitation.

The treatment regime for when people become diabetic should include the ways and means to go after their rehabilitation potential. It should not be a life long sentence from the outset, even if for some it does, unfortunately, turn out that way. Why should it just be assumed that it will turn out that way for everyone? Sir William Osler, M.D., father of contemporary medicine, said it well: "It is much more important to know what sort of patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has."

As we evolve, we discover that the search for enlightenment and the search for a cure to a disease are one and the same. We realize that the pursuit of health is a multidimensional and multidisciplinary one. We learn to come out of our higher self with its zest for expression. We live with hope and learn to be a fully functioning human being. We align with our greatness potential and therefore, activate our rehabilitation potential. "Although the world is full of suffering, it is full of the overcoming of it." (Helen Keller)

Our rehabilitation potential and the development of the inner life take place during the [C.sup.2]R program. It is an ongoing process that works over time. It is the doorway to cosmic science--science of the inner life and the inner navigational system. We learn how to be in harmony with the universe. It is growing a new way of being and aligning with our highest attributes and awakening our greatness potential.

References

(1.) Kleinfield, N.R. (2006, Jan. 9). Diabetes and Its Awful Toll Quietly Emerges as a Crisis." The New York Times. A1, A18-19.

(2.) Kleinfield, N.R. (2006, Jan. 10). Living at an Epicenter of Diabetes, Defiance and Despair." The New York Times. A1, A20-21.

(3.) Urbina, Ian. (2006, Jan. 11). "In the Treatment of Diabetes, Success Often Does Not Pay." The New York Times. A1, A26-27.

(4.) Santora, Marc. (2006, Jan. 12). "East Meets West, Adding Pounds and Peril." The New York Times. A1, A20-21.

(5.) Editorial Desk. (2006, Feb. 5). Declare War on Diabetes." The New York Times. 4, 11.

(6.) Urbina, Ian. (2006, May 16). "Rising Diabetes Threat Meets a Falling Budget." The New York Times. A1, A25.

(7.) Perez-Pena. (2006, May 17). Beyond 'I'm a Diabetic,' Little Common Ground." The New York Times. A1, C18.

(8.) Kleinfield, N. R. (2006, June 12). "In Diabetes, On More Burden for the Mentally Ill." The New York Times. A1, A17.

(9.) Lowenstein, B.E. & Preger, Jr., P.D. (1976) Diabetes new look at an old problem. New York: Harper, viii-ix, 18.

(10.) Harwood, R. (1957). Severe diabetes with remission. The New England Journal of Medicine, 257-261.

(11.) Lipton, B.H. (2005). The biology of belief unleashing the power of consciousness, matter & miracles. Santa Rosa, CA: Mountain of Love, 67.

(13.) Hall, Lucielle. (1999). A conversation with C. Norman Shealy, sacred life, sacred healing. Intuition, 28, 21-25; 49-52.

(14.) Hutschnecker, A. A. (1951). The will to live. New York: Crowell, 94.

(15.) Wagner, E.O. (1995). Waves in dark matter. Rogue River, Oregon: Wagner Physics Pub (originally published 1991).

(16.) Burr, H.S. (1972) Blueprint for immortality. London: Neville Spearman.

(17.) Targ, R. and Katra, J. (1999) Miracles of mind exploring nonlocal consciousness and spiritual healing. Novato, CA: New World Library. (originally published 1998).

(18.) Barrett, J. (1999) Going the distance. Intuition, 28, 26-31; 53-57.

(19.) Ornish, D. (1990) Dr. Dean Ornish's program for reversing heart disease the only system scientifically proven to reverse heart disease without drugs or surgery. New York: Ballantine.

(20.) Jain, K.K. (1999). Textbook of hyperbaric medicine. (3rd ed.). Kirkland, WA: Hogrefe & Huber.

(21.) Neubauer, R.A. & Walker, M. (1998) Hyperbaric oxygen therapy. New York: Avery.

(22.) Usher, R.W., III. (2005). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy. M.D. News, 5(3), 24-27.

(23.) Cousins, N. (1979). Anatomy of an illness (as perceived by the patient). New York: W.W. Norton,43.

Steven Patascher, Ph.D., CPC, ABMPP, CCMHC, NCC 

14401 N. 10th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85022

E-mail: [e-mail]