Dear loved one.
Many of you are aware, that we are fellow travellers on this pre-determined road of diabetes. We have been travelling on this road for the past thirty years and more, out of which the last five years have been specially educative for us. We wish to share our learnings with you all, in the hope that it may benefit some of you.
We started by trying to get answers for two questions.
1. There was no convincing reason or a obvious cause for fluctuating blood sugar levels many a times. This unexpected fall or rise generated some worry, fear and even guilt. So was perfect balance a myth?
2. Related to the first question was our second query, if the blood sugars do not remain in the narrow range, would it lead to diabetic complications?. If so why does the complication strike some and why did it not affect everyone? Were there any similarities in the diabetics that were afflicted by complications?
Mind does influence matter.
We knew from the start that we were searching for an hidden, almost mysterious cause that “We were convinced” was exerting a greater influence than food and insulin. We deliberately wanted to leave food and insulin and their measurements carb counting and dosage calibration out of the equation. Not because, they are not important but the purpose was to go beyond and find what was exerting pressure on food and insulin to become unstable. We were sure the answer lies in our mind.
The hypothesis that we started out with was, “ though we had the same type of diabetes, and again we are one at the spiritual level, was the difference at the mental level,(and it was our thinking, mind set, attitude and behaviour or in one word our nature) be responsible for making some of us more prone to developing complications”. Mind could dictate matter.
What makes us
It was found out, that three basic instincts Worry, Guilt and Fear (WGF from now onwards ) were somehow moulding our mental structure, making us physically and mentally weak. The process was mentioned in some old metaphysical texts that Gautam came across.( Those who are interested in reading more should read Lectures on Raja Yoga by Swami Vivekananda). Patanjalis Yogasutras explain the connections that run between our body and mind and how their communication affects our insula due to which we may be requiring insulin. (the insula, a brain region that detects cues from the body and processes emotions and empathy. The insula helps to integrate one's feelings, actions and several other brain functions.)
WGF, generated stress which changed our thoughts, thoughts were responsible for manifesting a variety of emotions and feelings, that make up our nature. Some thoughts were adulterating and making our nature impure. And with many of us, the mix of our weakening thoughts and nature are so perfect that, there is no indication of the corruption and we found it was in those people that the effect was lethal. These were the same people who believed everything is wrong ONLY at the physical level. And could not remove WGF.
This adulterated nature, was corrupting our health, and was lowering our strength to fight attacks on our physical body, making us fertile to attract supplementary diseases and disorders along with diabetes.
Reading about the effect of stress on nerves, observing the effects of a weakened system in recurrent infections, wide fluctuations of blood sugar levels, frequent bouts of frustration, flared tempers, and habitually feeling hurt by the behaviour of others, in other words getting affected by everything and swaying like a pendulum from extreme ecstasy to maximum misery, gave the confirmation that WGF was lowering our immunity.
I got support of my hypothesis from literature as old as 1679, where an English physician had linked the onset of diabetes to prolonged sorrow, to 1995 where Thernlund GM, published the relation of psychological stress to onset of IDDM in children, and upto to the recent December 2016 issue of Diabetes Care, where ADA has published guidelines on how important it is to understand the role of psychosocial behaviour of diabetics, since it has been found to play a bigger role in diabetes than earlier believed.
Problem identified, solution in sight.
To rid our nature from the impurities of WGF, should then be our primary pursuit.
To find a solution, we need to first find the source of the problem. The answer to our primary question had raised another question in the answer.
So what caused Worry, Guilt and Fear ?
I could not find any convincing answers but when we connect the theory to the observable facts, we find that the starting point of WGF in diabetics (especially) is the non-acceptance of the fact that diabetes is a part of us and here to stay with us for long time.
Non-acceptance is the source of fear and worry in a diabetic and the refusal to go beyond the physical manifestation to understand diabetes as having its roots deeper than the physical, creates ignorance. And where there is ignorance, the misconceptions are many and the intensity of fear is enhanced. Here it may be necessary to append that the Katha Upanishad has a beautiful allegory on how the intellect, or the power of discrimination, called buddhi, is useful in controlling our lower impulses of worry, fear and guilt along with many other feelings.
If you tell the diabetic that acceptance of diabetes is not total, the child will immediately negate it, may be even laugh about it.
This is because with most of us, acceptance is superficial and though everything appears fine on the surface, deep down the diabetic child are running rot, apprehensions, anger, doubts and a host of normal failures that the child considers are due to diabetes.
True that, everyone starts with disbelief and rejection of diabetes, but we end up, hiding the non-acceptance deep within and keep feeding it daily with our WGF.
I fully agree that diabetes destroys our initial identity. Suddenly from being normal and ordinary we are transformed into unsound and infected.
But remembering that we are not ordinary is important.
We are different, and we are special. Raising our consciousness from the physical beyond towards the intellectual dimension will give us the opportunity to realise that our physical illness is not a disability but an opportunity to know ourselves and become wiser and fearless. (To know more about the the five dimensional reality of us, how we are affected in each dimension, and how the higher dimension of intellect can correct, manipulate and modify the lower dimensions of mental, energetic and physical wait for my next post)
Remembering that diabetes in no way makes us less human or is a retardation of any kind is the first step to accepting what we are.
This will give us the confidence to realise that we need not fight to fit in a mould set by others for others.
Not being able to conform to friends demands or feeling let down by the societies understanding of a diabetic gives strong sentiments of helplessness and defeatism to the child. From getting accepted by ones own parents to getting accepted by a spouse, a diabetic tries very hard to fit in to the mould that society has preset for everyone.
Meditation is the way.
Dhyana or meditation is the second last step of Ashthanga Yoga and needs to be attained after going the earlier six steps of Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana. After which comes Dhyana or Meditation and finally Samadhi.
Learning the earlier six steps for meditation is very important, since the preparation makes it easy to meditate. Otherwise meditation becomes an exercise, which it is not. But the meditation that we should follow is mindfulness or dhyana or paying attention. This is not very different from the meditation propagated by Patanjali in yoga sutras which is mostly taught in all yoga schools, but easier to inculcate in our daily life.
Mindfulness is witnessing everything and accepting everything and observing oneself.
The technique not only helps in connecting our fragmented life into a complete whole, but it gives many indications and pointers to what we may not be doing right. This can be done by removing judgement from what we see outside and using our energies to go within us and understand and investigate our responses and reactions to people, situations and events outside us.
And once you watch the thief it, gives up its plan of stealing. Just by paying attention, we are able to change our behaviour. (Of course, particle physics insists that the act of observation changes the result. Could be Hawthorne effect, or the Observor effect of Physics) The moment we start to change attention from others to within us, the changes in our physical body are very obvious.
1. Improved concentration.
2. Less irritability and impatience
3. Regular and harmonious breathing
4. Peaceful sleep
5. Reduced variation in blood sugars.
To sum up.
1. Worry, Guilt, Fear could be damaging our physical and mental health, sending us towards trauma, misery or sorrow.
2. Learning to accept everything from diabetes to blood sugar readings will help us to take appropriate steps to control any side effects of diabetes.
3. Learning ways and methods to keep our mind in harmony with our body by using pranayama, mindfulness, or yoga will help along with maintaining a hobby and an exhaustive diary that keeps track of our daily routine. This will also give us a view how intimately our thoughts and emotions are connected to our diabetes.
4. Diabetes is an opportunity to know more about ourselves, and should be used to make our living meaningful by giving it a higher purpose.
5. Last but not the least, move away from people and places that do not help you in your journey to overcome your fears and other weaknesses. Keep in touch with like-minded people who understand you (like your dynamic and diabetic family at JDF) and guide you to give you a stronger will.
With lots and lots of love from. Varsha and Gautam Narang.
Many of you are aware, that we are fellow travellers on this pre-determined road of diabetes. We have been travelling on this road for the past thirty years and more, out of which the last five years have been specially educative for us. We wish to share our learnings with you all, in the hope that it may benefit some of you.
We started by trying to get answers for two questions.
1. There was no convincing reason or a obvious cause for fluctuating blood sugar levels many a times. This unexpected fall or rise generated some worry, fear and even guilt. So was perfect balance a myth?
2. Related to the first question was our second query, if the blood sugars do not remain in the narrow range, would it lead to diabetic complications?. If so why does the complication strike some and why did it not affect everyone? Were there any similarities in the diabetics that were afflicted by complications?
Mind does influence matter.
We knew from the start that we were searching for an hidden, almost mysterious cause that “We were convinced” was exerting a greater influence than food and insulin. We deliberately wanted to leave food and insulin and their measurements carb counting and dosage calibration out of the equation. Not because, they are not important but the purpose was to go beyond and find what was exerting pressure on food and insulin to become unstable. We were sure the answer lies in our mind.
The hypothesis that we started out with was, “ though we had the same type of diabetes, and again we are one at the spiritual level, was the difference at the mental level,(and it was our thinking, mind set, attitude and behaviour or in one word our nature) be responsible for making some of us more prone to developing complications”. Mind could dictate matter.
What makes us
It was found out, that three basic instincts Worry, Guilt and Fear (WGF from now onwards ) were somehow moulding our mental structure, making us physically and mentally weak. The process was mentioned in some old metaphysical texts that Gautam came across.( Those who are interested in reading more should read Lectures on Raja Yoga by Swami Vivekananda). Patanjalis Yogasutras explain the connections that run between our body and mind and how their communication affects our insula due to which we may be requiring insulin. (the insula, a brain region that detects cues from the body and processes emotions and empathy. The insula helps to integrate one's feelings, actions and several other brain functions.)
WGF, generated stress which changed our thoughts, thoughts were responsible for manifesting a variety of emotions and feelings, that make up our nature. Some thoughts were adulterating and making our nature impure. And with many of us, the mix of our weakening thoughts and nature are so perfect that, there is no indication of the corruption and we found it was in those people that the effect was lethal. These were the same people who believed everything is wrong ONLY at the physical level. And could not remove WGF.
This adulterated nature, was corrupting our health, and was lowering our strength to fight attacks on our physical body, making us fertile to attract supplementary diseases and disorders along with diabetes.
Reading about the effect of stress on nerves, observing the effects of a weakened system in recurrent infections, wide fluctuations of blood sugar levels, frequent bouts of frustration, flared tempers, and habitually feeling hurt by the behaviour of others, in other words getting affected by everything and swaying like a pendulum from extreme ecstasy to maximum misery, gave the confirmation that WGF was lowering our immunity.
I got support of my hypothesis from literature as old as 1679, where an English physician had linked the onset of diabetes to prolonged sorrow, to 1995 where Thernlund GM, published the relation of psychological stress to onset of IDDM in children, and upto to the recent December 2016 issue of Diabetes Care, where ADA has published guidelines on how important it is to understand the role of psychosocial behaviour of diabetics, since it has been found to play a bigger role in diabetes than earlier believed.
Problem identified, solution in sight.
To rid our nature from the impurities of WGF, should then be our primary pursuit.
To find a solution, we need to first find the source of the problem. The answer to our primary question had raised another question in the answer.
So what caused Worry, Guilt and Fear ?
I could not find any convincing answers but when we connect the theory to the observable facts, we find that the starting point of WGF in diabetics (especially) is the non-acceptance of the fact that diabetes is a part of us and here to stay with us for long time.
Non-acceptance is the source of fear and worry in a diabetic and the refusal to go beyond the physical manifestation to understand diabetes as having its roots deeper than the physical, creates ignorance. And where there is ignorance, the misconceptions are many and the intensity of fear is enhanced. Here it may be necessary to append that the Katha Upanishad has a beautiful allegory on how the intellect, or the power of discrimination, called buddhi, is useful in controlling our lower impulses of worry, fear and guilt along with many other feelings.
If you tell the diabetic that acceptance of diabetes is not total, the child will immediately negate it, may be even laugh about it.
This is because with most of us, acceptance is superficial and though everything appears fine on the surface, deep down the diabetic child are running rot, apprehensions, anger, doubts and a host of normal failures that the child considers are due to diabetes.
True that, everyone starts with disbelief and rejection of diabetes, but we end up, hiding the non-acceptance deep within and keep feeding it daily with our WGF.
I fully agree that diabetes destroys our initial identity. Suddenly from being normal and ordinary we are transformed into unsound and infected.
But remembering that we are not ordinary is important.
We are different, and we are special. Raising our consciousness from the physical beyond towards the intellectual dimension will give us the opportunity to realise that our physical illness is not a disability but an opportunity to know ourselves and become wiser and fearless. (To know more about the the five dimensional reality of us, how we are affected in each dimension, and how the higher dimension of intellect can correct, manipulate and modify the lower dimensions of mental, energetic and physical wait for my next post)
Remembering that diabetes in no way makes us less human or is a retardation of any kind is the first step to accepting what we are.
This will give us the confidence to realise that we need not fight to fit in a mould set by others for others.
Not being able to conform to friends demands or feeling let down by the societies understanding of a diabetic gives strong sentiments of helplessness and defeatism to the child. From getting accepted by ones own parents to getting accepted by a spouse, a diabetic tries very hard to fit in to the mould that society has preset for everyone.
Meditation is the way.
Dhyana or meditation is the second last step of Ashthanga Yoga and needs to be attained after going the earlier six steps of Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana. After which comes Dhyana or Meditation and finally Samadhi.
Learning the earlier six steps for meditation is very important, since the preparation makes it easy to meditate. Otherwise meditation becomes an exercise, which it is not. But the meditation that we should follow is mindfulness or dhyana or paying attention. This is not very different from the meditation propagated by Patanjali in yoga sutras which is mostly taught in all yoga schools, but easier to inculcate in our daily life.
Mindfulness is witnessing everything and accepting everything and observing oneself.
The technique not only helps in connecting our fragmented life into a complete whole, but it gives many indications and pointers to what we may not be doing right. This can be done by removing judgement from what we see outside and using our energies to go within us and understand and investigate our responses and reactions to people, situations and events outside us.
And once you watch the thief it, gives up its plan of stealing. Just by paying attention, we are able to change our behaviour. (Of course, particle physics insists that the act of observation changes the result. Could be Hawthorne effect, or the Observor effect of Physics) The moment we start to change attention from others to within us, the changes in our physical body are very obvious.
1. Improved concentration.
2. Less irritability and impatience
3. Regular and harmonious breathing
4. Peaceful sleep
5. Reduced variation in blood sugars.
To sum up.
1. Worry, Guilt, Fear could be damaging our physical and mental health, sending us towards trauma, misery or sorrow.
2. Learning to accept everything from diabetes to blood sugar readings will help us to take appropriate steps to control any side effects of diabetes.
3. Learning ways and methods to keep our mind in harmony with our body by using pranayama, mindfulness, or yoga will help along with maintaining a hobby and an exhaustive diary that keeps track of our daily routine. This will also give us a view how intimately our thoughts and emotions are connected to our diabetes.
4. Diabetes is an opportunity to know more about ourselves, and should be used to make our living meaningful by giving it a higher purpose.
5. Last but not the least, move away from people and places that do not help you in your journey to overcome your fears and other weaknesses. Keep in touch with like-minded people who understand you (like your dynamic and diabetic family at JDF) and guide you to give you a stronger will.
With lots and lots of love from. Varsha and Gautam Narang.
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