Spiritual Causes of MS

[Sequoia]

I think this was posted just to start mess! Congrats!

How ridiculous!

I don't think that was the original poster's intent. Unless we get further evidence to support that accusation, I believe we need to give candycane the benefit of the doubt and assume her post was a legitimate request for information.

There are many people who do believe that spiritual states influence the development of various diseases, and there's a type of alternative medicine practitioner called a "medical intuitive."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_intuitive

[SNOOPY]

I think this was posted just to start mess! Congrats!

How ridiculous!

candycane has been a member since April of this year and I have never run across any post from candycane that would suggest anything other than trying to understand MS.

I don't know a single person who is diagnosed with MS that questions, a some point, the possible "whys" or "hows" of getting this disease. It can be difficult to wrap your mind around.

[mjan]

First of all, I just want to say that I honestly feel MORE spiritual since struggling with ALL my diseases/disorders. That said, I think I have a little handle on what is meant by this. Thanks you too CandyCane to starting this "discussion"..its a good one.

Seems these notions/statements would not make sense on a conscious/cognitive level. BUT.. on a deeper, unconscious level..hmmm..gives us pause and something to think about.

One of the beliefs (and its mine) is before we were born, our spirits or souls, with guidance, designed WHY we were to be incarnated. In other words..what are the issues/diseases/problems that we are going to experience in order to develop more fully our spiritual selves??? Hmm..

BUT ...after we are incarnated into this life, we are born into this world with cognitive amnesia. That is why its not making much sense to us now. But it may on a deeper, spiritual level start to "make sense"..where something on a "gut level" feels right or "familiar".

For me, anger, resentment or just holding (suppressing in fact) NEGATIVE thoughts, feelings and statements DO change us on a cellular level.. and leads toward DIS-EASE

BUT.. what kind of dis-ease??

Try not to look at this too literally, but just as a reflection of HOW having an incurable, challenging disease affects us on a spiritual level? Does it affect your priorities, your appreciation of life and how we function? I bet it does.

Ask yourself.. have I grown as a spiritually functioning person in spite of DIS-EASE?

Jan

[golfwidow]

Thank you Toomnyhats........you voiced my thoughts on the subject perfectly !!!
"We have MS (or any other disease/illness) b/c we live in a fallen, imperfect, sinful world. The End.

I will say that internalized hatred/anger can cause physical health problems, but not all or even most. And some people who have anger issues never get sick. "The rain falls on the just & the unjust." "

[onlyairfare]

I have not seen a shred of evidence that anyone anywhere knows the cause of MS, much less that the cause is certainly spiritual (deficits or errors). I am sure there are many factors involved, one portion of which may be related to spirituality. Or may not be.

But to say that there is definitely a spiritual cause sounds to me as just another way to blame the victim. Yet another someone else telling us that if only we did XXXXX (followed this diet, ate this herb, tried this exercise, believed in this religion) we would not have/would be cured of our MS. Therefore, it is our own fault that we have this disease.

I think that candycane really was just asking for information, not being mean or critical. But I've had MS a long time, and have heard thousands of explanations of why I have MS, usually attributed to something I have done wrong, none of which have proven to be true.

There are a lot of scared people out there who feel that if I have MS, there must be a reason, likely because I did XXXX (something wrong). So long as they don't do XXXX, then they can't possibly get MS themselves.

Blame the victim for getting their illness, very reassuring to some people, gives them way to be "sure" they don't get it.

[DianeD]

Whaaaaat?

If you follow or subscribe to the idea that suppressed feelings cause people to have MS, cancer....or leprosy....or any number of illnesses that man suffers from...then every person on Earth is doomed! No way.

I do not believe God has a thing to so with illness, natural disasters or any other affliction. We are part of a complicated world, that is not perfect. We do not know why we have MS....that has not been resolved ....but I never would say what Dr. Shealy has suggested!

What a reach!

Diane

[Bob698]

I don't think that was the original poster's intent. Unless we get further evidence to support that accusation, I believe we need to give candycane the benefit of the doubt and assume her post was a legitimate request for information.

There are many people who do believe that spiritual states influence the development of various diseases, and there's a type of alternative medicine practitioner called a "medical intuitive."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_intuitive

Sometimes a little preface can save a lot of trouble.
If I dropped a post like "I hate MS World!!" it would look a lot like trolling. If I added a preface along the lines of MS is a nasty disease and how none of us deserve it, therefore I hate the idea that MS World has to exist in the first place, it changes the whole context.

[SNOOPY]

There are many people who do believe that spiritual states influence the development of various diseases, and there's a type of alternative medicine practitioner called a "medical intuitive."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_intuitive

Sequoia, I had never heard of a medical intuitive. Very interesting.

[barbie]

We're back in the dark ages!

[candycane]

it was a real question, geez.....

This was not asked to start trouble.

I just can't believe how bad I have been feeling lately, and I recently had a discussion with someone who is into holistic medicine about she suggested EFT or "tapping" which is based on restoring meridian energy flow (or something like that--I was trying to figure it out.) I had some exposure to the health food world decades ago & let me tell you, this is not a new concept. There really are people out there that believe this (Louise Hay is another good example--thanks to whoever brought that up. I need to go back & re-read responses, but wanted to let you know I wasn't trying to start trouble)

I'm not saying I agree with the concept but if letting go of resentment & negativity will help me get well, I hope to get up the energy to do so.

[onlyairfare]

I didn't think you started this just to cause trouble candycane and I suspect that letting go of negative energy and resentment is usually a really good idea. Here's hoping that you can indeed do that, and feel better.

There is a reason that some forms of alternative medicine have been used for centuries, and even millennia - they have helped some people, and "modern medicine" doesn't even pretend to know everything about what causes MS, how best to treat it, and most of all, how to cure it. So keeping an open mind toward alternatives sounds like a good idea to me.

I just draw my own line when somebody tells me "It's your own fault you have MS - you aren't spiritual enough" or "You won't take the right food supplements, no wonder you are sick."

[Thinkimjob]

Could not agree more, onlyairfare, if I hear, 'You've got MS because you drink too much Diet Coke', one more time, I will, as they say, do time.
It's like throwing salt over your shoulder, if you spill some, to knock the Devil off.
It makes people feel 'safer'. They're doing all the 'right things', so nothing bad can ever happen to them. You've got MS, so you must have done something wrong.
I figure something bad happens to everyone eventually.

[Redwings]

I just can't believe how bad I have been feeling lately, and I recently had a discussion with someone who is into holistic medicine about she suggested EFT or "tapping" which is based on restoring meridian energy flow (or something like that--I was trying to figure it out.) I had some exposure to the health food world decades ago & let me tell you, this is not a new concept. There really are people out there that believe this (Louise Hay is another good example--thanks to whoever brought that up. I need to go back & re-read responses, but wanted to let you know I wasn't trying to start trouble)

Hi candycane:
You're right -- this isn't a new concept. It might have been the phrasing of "spiritual cause of MS" that struck a cord.

There is a perception by some that anything that can't be seen has to be "spiritual" or "mystical." Considering that our bodies are really just big bags of chemicals that run on energy, it's probably no surprise that there are different ways of considering what that energy is. Some people find great spirituality in quantum physics.

But I think the common ground is that energy can be spiritual, but it's also represented physically (or vice versa ). Different posters have brought up different ways of looking at it, from the chi of Eastern philosophies to the Louise Hay concept that disease is the physical representation of "spiritual illness."

If you're looking for more viewpoints about where the body, mind and energy (spirituality?) meet and interact, you might be interested in reading Energy Medicine by Donna Eden and Energy Psychology by David Feinstein, PhD.

And, by the way, don't feel the need to apologize because someone misunderstood you. That's not fair to your own energy.

[tommylee]

I'm not saying I agree with the concept but if letting go of resentment & negativity will help me get well, I hope to get up the energy to do so.

Letting go of resentment and negative thoughts, forgiving those who have offended you is good for everybody. MS or other or healthy.
Dark feelings of angst bring everybody pain and suffering?

I never thought you were trying to start trouble and took no offense.
It just sounded to me like someone was feeding you the;"it's your own fault" crap.

Like lots of other posters have said; People like to find a way to blame the afflicted to calm there own minds.
(that type of thinking really gets me cranked up.)

Don't buy into it.
But you will still feel better if you can forgive and get on with life. Carring a grudge takes lots of energy.

[billiejeane]

There is quite a bit of information about Pediatric MS that can be found, the first child/baby diagnosed I don't know.

There is a news letter put out by the Rocky Mountain MS Center (InforMS) and the Spring 2007 issue was dedicated to Pediatric MS.

This is the URL for the Spring 2007 issue. It does take awhile for it to load and is a PDF:
http://www.mscenter.org/images/stori...ormsSpring.pdf

MSWorld had a long time member who had stated he had been diagnosed at the age of 4 (dave \o/). There are also several pediatric MS centers.

There are quite a few adults, myself included, who can take MS symptoms back to childhood.

Yeah,myself as well.