Call-In, Tues. April 29

On Tuesday April 29th, the call-in discussion group will be discussing “Eric's Journey - 3” and “Walt's Journey - 3 (The Good Old Days)” in God Does Not Want You to Be in Pain by forum members @Eric "Herbie" Watson and @Walt Oleksy . (Please note that unlike the previous chapters we've discussed, these two chapters are not available for free. The book is available on Amazon.com as both a paperback book and as a Kindle ebook.)

The recorded discussion will start at 9:00pm Eastern Time. Phone lines will open about half an hour early for folks to talk beforehand, off the recording.

Connection details are as follows (for more detailed instructions, visit www.tmswiki.org/ppd/connect ):

• If you're connecting by phone, dial 1 201-479-4595 and when prompted enter the pin code 18311499 followed by the pound symbol.
  
• If you're connecting via your computer (Fuze Meeting), go to http://fuze.me/18311499 and follow the instructions from there.

For more information about the discussion group, and to listen to all past recorded discussions, visit www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Call-In_Peer_Discussion_Group.

As in his previous sections, Herbie goes back and forth between telling his story - now six years after the pickup football game marking the start of his back pain - and sharing advice and insight around TMS healing. His narrative in this section mainly focuses on his experiences as a roofer and a wrestler. Interspersed are paragraphs that talk about resuming physical activity and the importance of facing emotions. Herbie also devotes a section of his chapter to meditation, in which he provides a detailed background of the practice and shares his own techniques for meditation. He writes about mindfulness meditation as well.

The last couple pages of Herbie's chapter are packed with insight. He comments on the functionality of TMS (it's a defense mechanism), how important it is to be honest with yourself, and why affirmations should include an element of calmness, and then he tackles the huge topic of acceptance. He closes his chapter by saying, "We need to learn what we need to accept, and do it not with anger but with peace. And maybe a good hearty laugh."

Walt's chapter “The Good Old Days” is one of a few chapters that focuses on journaling. This focus, however, isn't advice or tips (though Walt does spend the beginning of the chapter talking about how journaling helps in TMS healing). Rather, Walt expands on some of his own journal entries that he identified as being most important to his recovery. He shares detailed memories from his childhood, which he identifies as involving financial worry and insecurity, and discusses the impact of these experiences. Walt also provides excerpts from discussion threads on this forum, which serve as commentary on the impact his boyhood had on his TMS. He also describes the beginning of his career as a paid writer.

These two chapters are bound to create a great discussion. I hope to see many of you there!

Forest

 

My GF and I are celebrating our fifth anniversary tonight, so we might be a bit late, but I'll definitely be there eventually!

Looking forward to it...