Healing, Intention, and the Journey Within
From John, still joyfully in motion, still involved in search & discovery.
A few years ago, I was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. Like many who hear those words for the first time, I was shocked, jolted, forced to take stock of everything I believed, everything planned, and everything I knew about health, hope, and life.
I chose to undergo traditional treatments - radiation and hormone therapy, as recommended by my doctors. But I also began a parallel journey, an inner search for meaning, healing, and a deeper understanding of how body, mind, and spirit are connected.
I explored all the standard protocols. I studied diet, deepened my commitment to exercise, and opened myself to the practices of prayer, meditation, QiGong, Reiki, and various self-help philosophies. I didn’t do this out of desperation - but out of an intention to live, not just survive. I wanted to outlive the limitations I feared might be imposed on me. I wanted to keep windsurfing, hiking, golfing, and laughing with my family.
Books played an important part in this search. Wayne Dyer’s The Power of Intention stood out. It became both the first and still the last book I return to - its message anchoring me through the darkness and fog. It reminded me of something I already sensed deep within that healing is not simply about medicine. It’s about mindset, spirit, and a willingness to seek. Another recommended, good current read is the revised and updated Reiki For Life (tarcher parigee, 2016, 29th printing) written by Penelope Quest. It’s a complete guide containing excellent illustrations and explanations.
The Search is Yours
I share my story not to prescribe a path, but to say that there are many ways. As with teaching (which shaped much of my life), there is no single one way method to teach, only the possibilities in many ways. The key is the search itself. Seek and ye shall find.
Healing, true healing, can’t be given to someone. It must be owned. If anything in my story resonates, I invite you not to follow me, but to begin or deepen your own journey of exploration, reflection, and intention. The responsibility lies within each of us. That’s not a burden - it’s a source of power.
A Moment of Clarity
On the morning of June 28th, 2023, after many months of physical healing and spiritual searching, I awoke with a clarity that felt beyond conscious thought. Words came to me, clearly, insistently - and I wrote them down. I still reflect on them often. Perhaps they are for you too, if you’re seeking:
On Awakening
Simply let go and let God.
With God all things are possible.
With hope and faith,
And in knowing that your body heals itself.
You can heal yourself
and you can help heal others.
We are a small part of an everlasting, creative universe.
But we are not insignificant.
We are part of a universal mind - A field of intention.
We are spirits on a human journey.
Choose thoughts of healing and intention.
We live, we die, we are born again.
We live again, we die again, we are born again
An everlasting cycle.
We are given infinite chances
To learn. To give thanks. To help others.
Begin with your life.
Then extend to the lives of others.
Let go and let God.
Know you can connect to your Source at any time.
When connected, healing begins
Even before you ask, healing flows through you,
Also to others.
Let go and let God.
With God, all things are possible.
In God, all things are possible.
June 28, 2023 – 8:11 a.m.
In Closing
I offer this reflection not as a doctrine, but as a testimony. Whether you call it God, Spirit, Source, or simply your inner voice - believe that the possibility of healing exists. Not just from cancer, but from fear, despair, doubt, or anything else...
You are mind, body, and spirit. Within you is a higher power, your Source, and it is not separate from who you are. It is the pulse behind your life, the fire of your hope, the reason you’re still here.
This journey of being human isn’t only about enduring or surviving. It’s about learning, expressing gratitude, and helping others. You are a vital thread in an infinite, creative, conscious universe. Choosing thoughts of healing and purpose will not just support your journey, they may become the reason it transforms.
If you are living with cancer, or walking alongside someone who is, I invite you to connect and if my experience can help guide or encourage your own, I am here.
As for me? I continue, with gratitude. At 85, I live in hope and dwell in possibilities. My future is uncertain, yes - but my intention is clear.
I am ready, willing, and able to keep learning, keep giving, and keep healing -- Whatever tomorrow brings.
Maybe even some usable wind…
