How Funny, Amy Schumer and I Have a Twist of Lyme in Common!
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“I feel pretty, oh so pretty. So pretty and witty…” I finally ventured out for a haircut after 7 months of staying at home during a worldwide pandemic and being extra careful with my body's immune system.
I never would've grown my hair out this long without these current times, so I appreciate the opportunity to try something new and circulate new energy. So, I’m keeping the long hair! It feels amazing! And, it's remarkable how clear my skin is from eating at home and not out at restaurants all the time!
Today is day #10 of 111 days of my new “heal from Lyme disease” commitment. Sometimes the journey just calls us even deeper, y’know, even after at least 7 years of this. Or 13 years. The doctors can’t agree on whether or not my 2007 bug bite in India was the start of all this. It kind of feels like it was. Mother India “bit me” in more ways than one! It took all these years to finally arrive at the diagnosis this year (ummm yeah, 2020). Some of the things I’ve done over the years have helped, and now with new information, there is a more focused direction. My healing journey details can be found here: My YouTube Channel
My chronic illness journey is so typical of the many who know this path of awakening…spending tens of thousands of dollars on treatments, doctors, expensive out-of-pocket tests outside of health insurance to unravel “the mystery,” and doing everything possible from the East, West, from the most “woo-woo” to conventional, and everything in-between to ease and heal the body, mind, and spirit.
And all the while, trying not to feel like a failure as a healer...having helped so many others to heal and then facing the biggest challenge of all – my own really intense healing. After all, how could I talk about and teach healing if I was "so sick"?! I realized it's not about the situation or circumstance that shows up in our reality, as much as is it about our response to it.
I embody and remind myself of everything I have ever learned or taught over the years to get myself through every day. It absolutely helps to move through things with more peace, ease, and grace. It definitely assists in the process of surrendering to "what is" and acceptance of what is beyond our control as we are further plunged into the relentless unknown. I "Live to Love" and "I Am the Light, the Light I Am."
Just because someone is a healer, or an awakened being, doesn’t always mean their life will be easy or free of dis-ease. Just because tough things show up, doesn't mean they are all of the sudden crappy at what they do, or a fraud. They are having a human experience. But then how do they navigate those rough seas on their voyage?
Jesus was a very high vibe and loving being, and yet he was still betrayed by friends and crucified on every level. Ramana Maharshi, considered by many to be a saint, died from cancer. Prominent Hay House author and speaker Wayne Dyer who inspired millions for decades had leukemia and died of a heart attack.
And Mother Teresa had serious misgivings about the very thing she committed her entire life to. In 2007, “a book of letters written by Mother Teresa revealed for the first time that she was deeply tormented about her faith and suffered periods of doubt about God” (source: Reuters). I read those letters in the book and thought, “She is as beautifully human as the rest of us. She had doubts and insecurities, but kept going, trusting, trying to have faith, and giving.” Ultimately, she died of heart related issues, which is interesting since she gave so much from her heart.
Are those people failures in their careers, or as human beings? Am I? Absolutely not. Are we going to judge them and say, "Oh, I guess they weren't high vibe enough," or fault them for not praying hard enough, not doing enough mantra practice or yoga, or eating the "wrong foods"? Of course not. It's all part of a bigger plan, like everything in life. We can’t mess this up. We are all at the perfect place in our own evolution. We cannot miss out on our destiny.
Apparently my life’s journey includes Lyme disease as surreal, unexpected, and unplanned as it is. Now how do I greet it? How do I react to what is showing up here and now? I love myself deeper than ever before as I go through everything this challenging journey entails. This is loving what arises (in me).
Two days ago, comedienne Amy Schumer announced on Instagram that she has Lyme, too. I've been wading through the 3,636+ comments and suggestions to see how “Lyme literate” I’ve become and if there are any stones I haven’t overturned. A lot of people say that “BVT” Bee Venom Therapy has been a lifesaver for them (getting stung in specific points by live honey bees who then slowly die). I first heard of this therapy just a few months ago, even though it has been in practice for thousands of years.
I’ve gone deep down the research path of this therapy, and yes, have seen the “Unwell” documentary about it on Netflix and “The Heal Hive.”
I do beeeeelieve bees are our healer friends. And, at this point in my life, with what I have gone through with various treatments, I absolutely think I could handle the fears that would arise and the pain. However, with my already high histamine loads, I can’t imagine what that would do to me. I am not ready to dance with possibility of a stroke, coma, and death from the treatments.
When I was stung by a centipede in Hawaii four years ago, my higher self, my inner shaman actually got a bit excited and hopeful that maybe the venom would somehow miraculously heal me. I intuitively was told that venom/poison, if properly administered, can have powerful, amazing, curative properties. That made a lot of sense to me. I was shown images of Suzanne Somers when she went through the controversial mistletoe therapy as part of her cancer treatments.
But risks aside, the biggest issue that I see and would not contribute to more peace, ease, relaxation, and healing in my body is that I would feel so incredibly sad, wrong, and guilt-ridden in taking the life of our precious bees.
Yes, I understand some of them might be willing to give their lives to help us, but I cannot in good conscience, knowing what we know about how important they are to the very future of our planet, be a part of killing them. I am not a killer; I am a lover. I think my guilty, broken heart would reverse any possible healing effects there could be.
And I’ve done the math. Many bees are used per session, over several times a week for years, for most patients. That’s just too awful to think about. I’m a bit concerned that with the rising popularity of bee venom beauty products, and celebrities giving BVT more visibility, how that will affect our planet’s bee populations.
For my own peace of mind and heart, I will find another way. If the bees come to me and choose to offer themselves, that’s one thing. I just know that when my package of live bees would arrive at my doorstep for treatment day, I’d be the first one releasing them to the wild again!
It’s just another day of CHOICE on planet Earth. Every day we choose a path. May we always choose with heart and the greatest amount of compassion for all involved.
No guilt, no shame, let us just take conscious action from a heart full of love. There are many paths to truth and healing. Somehow, we each find our way.
With love,
Julie
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P.S. And, please check out my YouTube video "It's Taken Almost 7 Yrs. to Share This with You." It's an even deeper dive into how life carves compassion in us, shows us how to surrender, and more about self-love through the power of chronic illness in the body.