TWO HOURS AT A PAIN CLINIC
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Recently, June 20, 2009--as our earth approached the summer solstice north of the equator--I had a day I will long remember.

It began as a night filled with a deep, dark water-filled-overcast sky--the classic "dark and stormy night"--punctuated with heavy showers--the result of a wide-spread thunder and lightening storm in the Toronto area--all over the GTA. At 4:30 that afternoon, I was scheduled o officiate at an open-air marriage ceremony at a golf club. Jean and I were invited to the reception and dancing following. She loves to dance and was looking forward to it.

A PAINFUL EXPERIENCE

The night before, my wife and I went to bed with the hope that things would clear up by noon the next day. In addition, we both hoped that the niggling pain in her foot, for which she was being treated with electronic stimulation, would subside enough so that she could enjoy the ceremony and the dinner following, especially the dancing.

Morning came. More rain, accompanied by more pain. To add to the pain, it seemed that even the elements were conspiring to create problems. In addition to this, Jean told me that she was in terrible physical pain, which was now located, not in her foot, but in her lower back and left leg. She told me that it was so excruciating she could hardly move her leg.

What to do!

I asked myself and the Holy Spirit:

WHAT MUST WE DO NEXT?

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At that point it looked to me like I was destined to officiate at a rained-on-late-afternoon wedding all by myself. Yes, I was free from physical pain, but I began to feel lots of mental and spiritual pain--pain originating in the psyche and pneuma. Jean and I argued heatedly--yes, I have a loud voice--with one another as to the best way to handle the situation.

Loudly, I told my wife: "Jean: what really bothers me was what I feel is pour passive attitude towards authority figures--doctors and the like. Sure, experts deserve respect, but, in my opinion, we give too much deference to experts--for example, doctors, lawyers, preachers, bankers and the like. This can get us into all kinds of problems, especially if we are afraid to ask questions." I said.

Not having met or spoken to her pain doctor, I was concerned that she wasn't getting the attention she needed. I said that I wanted to speak, personally, to Dr. Cheng, who operates a pain clinic, and find out what he and his clinic has to offer.

TAKING POSITIVE ACTION WAS REWARDED
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After the wrangling, back and forth, we decided to make an appointment, as soon as possible, with Dr. Cheng. Jean agreed to make the call and I got on the line with her. To my surprise, we got through to his nurse right away. It was agreed that we could see the doctor at 10:30.

At the consultation again I was pleasantly surprised. He told us that, while his approach to pain is based on the medical model--a somatic approach--he was not adverse to involving the mind (psyche) and the spirit (pneuma).  He is an MD with a PhD in pain management.

"Now and then" he said, "for interested patients, I give classes in tai chi--a kind of physical meditation which involves the mind and the spirit."

Then I told him about the classes in pneumatology (study of the spirit), which I gave all the years of my ministry. I said, "I did not just speak about the spirit; I included the mind and the body and I worked openly with doctors and other members of the healing arts." This conversation with Dr. Cheng was most positive one.

At this point, he greed to do acupuncture, plus using an electronic machine, on my wife. He also agreed to have me present and he allowed me chat with him and my wife as he did so. Touching the area of the spine and getting feedback from my wife he found the points where he chose to place the needles. A very efficient nurse assisted with the equipment. I explained to the doctor what I was going to do and got his permission to apply pneumatherapy--the positive application of words--as he went on to tend to other patients.

I BEGAN TO APPLY PNEUMATHERAPY

--auto-hypnosis, without the hocus pocus
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To Jean I said: "You are already familiar with my use of the colours RED, YELLOW & BLUE.

"Now, do some deep breathing as you visualize RED ... (I gave her time to do so...)

"Now: Think of your heart and lungs, which are connected, via the nervous system, to the veins and arteries. In fact, they, like other vital organs, are connected to every cell of your body. They are working together, as you breathe, feeding and healing your whole circulatory system. This process is purifying the venous blood and creating lots of rich, red and warm arterial blood cells which are flowing to all the cells and nerves, calming them and healing them."

I then instructed Jean to do some deep breathing, on her own time, and let me know when she had finished...This allow the patient to take their time and to participate in the healing process.

USING THE COLOUR YELLOW, I followed the same process. Again I had Jean do some deep breathing; but this time I said: "Think of your brain and nervous system, which extends to every cell--billions of them--in the whole body. Now do some deep breathing, focusing on the brain and the nervous systems--the central and voluntary system, by which we can consciously control all our voluntary movements. The autonomic or involuntary system--reacts to the way we feel or imagine things to be. You cannot directly control the beat of your heart, but it will beat faster if you see something frightening. The fear can be real, or imagined. You can control your breathing, but it too can be influenced by how you feel, emotionally. Now take some time to do some deep breating and to meditate on how you handle you emotions...."

USING THE COLOUR BLUE, once again using the same process, as above, I told Jean:

"Pay attention to your breathing, but this time think of the spirit-like aura which extends beyond the body. It mediates who you are and how you relate to your family, your friends and community, including strangers.

"Now do some deep breathing focusing on the aura, which vibrates with colour-like vibrations not visible to the naked eye ... Later, in your imagination, you will be able to remember and repeat the feeling you are now getting from this treatment, including the virbations from the needles. While breathing deeply and relaxing, think about some of the things said above and Let me know when you are finished..."

The overall process, involving periods of silence, took about 25 minutes. When she finished her breathing, I called the nurse. Gently, she removed the needles and turned off the electronic device and told my wife to dress herself.

For the first time that day, Jean moved with relative ease. She was even able to stand, for some time, in line in another building where an X-ray was done. I wanted to know if there was much degeneration in her spine. Dr. Cheng agreed that it would help to check the structure of her lower spine where she had felt the worse pain.

We then went back to the house and she took the time to have lunch and rest. By four o'clock when we went to the wedding, all the pain had gone. This, thank G0D, held true for the rest of the evening.

About the weather: By the time the wedding was over--during which there was a heavy shower--things had calmed down. Because of this, people were able to have a drink and stroll the beautiful area next to the Club House while the couple had their photos taken.

Then the bride and groom, and well over 120 guests, sat down to an excellent dinner, followed by dancing.

It was a very pleasant evening.

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