Creative Ways to Transform Challenges:
Deepening Your Spiritual Connection

A Spiritual Focus for Healing Mind, Body and Spirit Donald R. Yance Jr., C.N., M.H., A.H.G., with Arlene Valentine

Commune with your hearts and be silent....

—Psalm 4:4, 46:10

This… is written from my heart—a heart that is touched daily by others who are struggling with serious health issues and have come to me for help.

For most people, when an illness such as cancer occurs, its diagnosis has a profoundly negative impact on their emotional well-being. At a moment in time when one needs focus and clarity in order to face the many decisions required to treat an illness, fear and panic are common and usually result in confusion and a deep sense of being lost.

Aside from any herbal or nutritional protocols that I can recommend as a path to wellness, I am acutely aware of another need that in my opinion is equally important—the need for comfort and support. While we can offer comfort and support to one another, it is the nurturing of our inner strength that brings with it the hope of emotional peace so sorely needed at a time of crisis. For me, this inner strength is faith in God. I honor each person’s indi­vidual path to Spirit; there is no “one way only” formula for faith. I hope that by sharing my beliefs with you, I will inspire you to explore your own deepest feelings about life in general and your own life in particular.

Living Spirituality

I believe that we are first and foremost spirits that exist in physical bodies. To me, spirituality is the pursuit of holiness, and that pursuit is an everyday activ­ity of life in communion with God. I believe that a spiritual life is one that is inspired and guided by the spirit of God and leads us to pursue God’s will in our lives. A spiritual connection with God opens one to the power of love in a very real sense. It is possible to see God’s infinite love in many ways—by opening your heart to someone else and watching a deep relationship unfold; by breathing in the healing aroma of a flower; by marveling at a night sky full of stars. When infused with a spiritual connection, simple everyday life becomes special—cooking a meal together with someone dear can be as flour­ishing as the meal itself; loving care for a sick parent or friend who needs help can be healing to both of you.

As I begin to understand death by coming closer to it in others, and as I reflect on life in general and my contact with all people, I begin to understand that physical cancer pales in comparison with the terrible cancer that grows in the hearts of so many all over the world. The violence, hatred, and lack of compassion that exists in our world today is a worse type of cancer, one that can truly hurt us, which we must avoid if we can.

Someday we will all succumb to mortal death and begin a new life. When we open ourselves to the notion that we have come from eternity and will return to eternity, we will begin to experience a tremendous peace, a peace that shatters the division between life and death. Before we reach this peace­ful place, we need to learn to forgive; it is in our forgiving that we are forgiven. This is fundamental to our spiritual growth. Many Americans have an obses­sion with death, fearing it greatly. Our culture over the years has emphasized aggressiveness, competitiveness, aesthetic youthfulness, and overfilling the mind with information. Unfortunately, it has neglected the soul, the inner spirit from which true strength originates.

When you see yourself as a soul, an eternal spirit ever growing in the pres­ence of God, you will be free of fear. This is the point at which you realize that death is a bridge between the now and forever and it can bring you freedom, peace, and everlasting joy. Every day is a preparation for death, or better put, a transition into eternal life. Death is going back home, in a sense. This real­ization truly helps, because what the dying go through today, I will go through tomorrow. Death is not an end, but a beginning. It is a continuation of life.

To begin the pursuit of holiness and a spiritual life you must first be “poor in spirit” and recognize that all a spirit needs is the grace of God. It will set you free and enable you to be healed. This kind of healing goes deeper than the physical; this is the healing of the soul and spirit, and the soul is eternal. Every religion speaks of eternity, another life. People who fear death believe this life on earth is all there is; when we die it’s the end. If you have witnessed the love of God you will not die in fear. We need to make peace with God daily. People die suddenly all the time, so it could happen to any one of us at any moment. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow has not yet come; we must live each day as if it were our last.

Prayer in Daily Life

I personally believe that true healing must begin with God and prayer. When you have the emotional peace that comes with prayer, fear is lifted and noth­ing, not even cancer, can truly hurt you. In my opinion, this tops the list of factors involved in the healing process.

Data is accumulating that supports the theory that prayer makes a difference and can actually aid in physical healing. Studies have already shown that strong religious belief is associated with lower levels of blood pressure.’ More and more research is under way that supports the mind-body-spirit concept of heal­ing as well as the idea that prayer has a powerful healing effect—on those who are prayed for as well as on those who pray themselves. One provocative study undertaken in the coronary care unit of San Francisco General Hospital showed a dramatic difference in the recovery process between two groups of patients. One group was prayed for regularly by committed church members. The other group did not receive prayers from this source. All patients knew of the study itself but did not know whether or not they were being prayed for; the findings showed that the patients in the unprayed-for control group were twice as likely to suffer complications than were the patients in the prayed-for group.² Of course, spiritual communities have always been aware of this connection. A common practice in many monasteries is to sound bells when a member of the community is sick. Other members are reminded of their brother’s need, and the ailing monk feels a deep connection to the power of his community’s prayers—not to mention the healing sound of the bells themselves.

To bring prayer into your daily life, begin each day by becoming still and lifting your heart to God, praying that all the cobwebs of fear, selfishness, greed, and narrow-heartedness may be cleared from your soul; that the light of the Spirit might descend to give you courage to begin again. Make every effort to keep the presence of God in your daily life, to see God in everyone you meet, and to live your morning meditation throughout the day.

God speaks to us in silence, for those who know how to listen. It is within this silence that faith is built. For me, silent communication with God forms the person—the spirit—that is truly who we are. This is also the place where plants reveal their deep connection to us—a place where scientific and abstract knowl­edge of plants and medicine is replaced with personal communion with life.

At first, the silence may not feel comfortable, but if you give it a chance it will become familiar and at some point you will welcome it more and more often; then there will be a time when it comes to stay. At that time grace will overcome you and you will be fearless and filled with peace and love. This is where you will go to pray. Praying involves going to meet God; it means to be interactive and to listen. One needs to be still and silent, to listen and hear God speaking. Prayer is having a conversation with God who is all love, non-judgmental, compassionate, and always listening.

Prayer must be in solitude, where the mind and heart unite within the soul; the mind should not wander or roam among the things and affairs of the world. It must stay within, in the heart and soul—the poustinia.

The Poustinia

The poustinia is a place (really a state of mind, body, and spirit) where we go to be intimate with God. Literally, poustinia means “to go to the desert,” and a poustinik is one who is living in a poustinia. The poustinik is an eter­nal pilgrim exploring the vast spaces of God. This journey is exquisitely beautiful and deeply satisfying to the soul. Within this journey one becomes poor in spirit and begins to realize “the need to have becomes the need not to have.” This is when one begins to understand that all we really need is God. This is no easy journey and requires the ability to let go, to detach, and to trust.

As we grow spiritually, it is important to remember that our spirit resides in our physical body. Thus, the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and we have a responsibility to it. We need to feed it, clothe it, provide rest for it, and take proper care of it with all the resources available to us. We need to love our­selves and all of creation—the animals, the trees, the plants, and all others—in the way that God loves everything.

Many people live out their entire lives eating right, exercising, being suc­cessful in the world, but never coming close to developing a poustinia. Yet others I have known are just the opposite; they pay no attention to the physi­cal body but strive to be poustiniks in their daily lives.

At one time in my life, I put all my energies into trying to be a poustinik, a modern-day St. Francis. I cared little about anything of the world. I owned practically nothing, lived trusting in God and caring for others. There is a Franciscan saying that goes like this:

The more you own, the more it owns you.

I believe this is true. At the monastery where I lived, we had a retreat cen­ter I helped to run. I cooked, cleaned, made beds, and prayed three times a day. I was fed and given a room for sleeping. I did not make any money, yet my life was full of freedom and joy. After two years I left the monastery to help run a soup kitchen and shelter for the homeless. Two years later, I was ready to return to the field of herbal medicine and nutrition with a whole new light and dedication. Today, I have a successful clinic, a loving and supportive wife, a child, and a vision to create a healing retreat center. My busy life with its added responsibilities has made it more challenging to continue to be a pous­tinik, but my vision has come from listening to my inner self. I still ask myself these questions daily: Where do I come from? Where am I going? Am I trust­ing in God? Am I allowing my spirit to emerge and become who I am? If love is the image of God, how well am I loving?

Lifting Fear and “Worriment of Mind”                                          -

Incorporating prayer and a sense of spirituality into daily life is one of the best ways to ease mental stress, an essential part of healing. Worries and anxieties have been shown to be a contributory cause of cancer. In 1889, Eli Jones wrote in Cancer, Its Causes and Symptoms that “Worrying weakens the nervous system, lowers the nerve power and thus opens the way for the invasion of cancer.” Jones believed the number-one cause of cancer is “worriment of mind.” Today, over a hundred years later, clinical studies that link depression with cancer are beginning to be published.’

Dismiss all anxiety from your minds. Present your needs to God in every form of prayer and in petitions full of gratitude. Then God’s own peace, which is beyond all understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and minds.

Letter of Paul to the Philippians 4:6—7

A positive mental attitude is essential for true healing to occur; in fact, some regard toxic emotions as a major cause of cancer. A long-term emotional state of fear, hopelessness, helplessness, depression, and even anger can all contribute to an impaired immune system and susceptibility to cancer. I believe fear is one of the primary contributing factors to ill health of any kind. On the other hand, a positive mental attitude can contribute to the healing of cancer. Through guided imagery and other psychological techniques, recovery can be enhanced. A new branch of medicine called psychoneuroimmunology has documented this.

Many of the cancer patients I see tend to dwell on their past with anger; for example, one patient with lung cancer had a hard time getting past his self-inflicted anger at having once been a smoker. However, what is important is the present, the past must be let go. The past is like a cancelled check, and the future is like a promissory note. Leaving the past with all its anger and pessimism behind is an important step in alleviating fear about the future and allowing hope to emerge.

We live in a culture where stress is an integral part of our everyday exis­tence. In order to grow in health, happiness, and wisdom, we need to contin­ually create ways to rise above it while discovering and becoming comfortable with the true meaning of life as well as death. I have found the Serenity Prayer extremely comforting both for myself and for the patients who often ask me, “What are my chances?” or “Do you think I’m going to make it?”

God, grant me the ability to change the things in my life that I can change, the seren­ity to accept the things that I cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference.

When a patient is told he has an incurable form of cancer or when all pos­sible forms of therapy have failed, the main focus must be prayer. Clinics in every part of the world claim to have a cure for cancer, from enemas to mag­nets and everything in between. These claims offer false hope.

What is real is prayer and support by family and friends. We need to believe that God is forgiving and merciful and can offer help, love, and peace to troubled souls. To do God’s will involves patience, persistence, and surren­der. If one is able to focus on God and not on cancer, guidance and direction will follow. When we pray, we are able to understand and receive grace that inspires the depths of our spirit to allow room for peace and healing. Prayer is to the soul what breathing is to the body.

If the only prayer you say in your whole life is “thank you,” that would suffice.

Meister Eckhart

I have seen people dying of cancer, but only in the physical sense. In the greater, overall view of existence, however, they are living because their spirit and soul have emerged. I have helped a great number of people who have come to me for herbs and nutritional counseling in their last months, weeks, and even days. I have helped people leave their physical existence without debilitating pain medication, yet often without any pain at all, possessed of all their cognitive fac­ulties, at home with their family members and most of all, in peace. I have gained a deeper sense of inner peace myself by being involved with so many of these people. I have stacks and stacks of letters written to me by people in their final days; these letters do not depress me, they inspire me. These people have shown me the face of God within their own spirits. They have given me insights into my spiritual life, a sense of my soul, who I am, and where I am going. What I have seen of God in others has brought me to a deeper understanding of God’s spirit. Even the immense beauty of nature, which is so deep, wonderful, and dear to me and has so much to reveal and teach me, could not teach or touch me more profoundly than the contacts I have had with other human spirits.

A Special Message for Healers

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a “preacher,” nor do I try to con­vert anyone to my personal religious beliefs. I am merely trying to share God’s love so others may have true joy and peace by learning to pray, thirst for love, and experience the healing power of compassion. This is important not just for those who are ill and seeking to be healed, but for those who are healers. This includes natural healers, such as herbalists, naturopathic physicians, mas­sage therapists, and natural-food chefs, as well as conventional doctors, such as oncologists and surgeons. All healers need to be:

·         Compassionate. People who are very ill with cancer are afraid and need to be loved and nurtured.

·         Humble. Nobody has all the answers, particularly when it comes to cancer.

·         Open to a variety of healing modalities. When people are striving together to bring about a healing of the sick, especially those with cancer, miracles can happen. I can’t tell you how happy it makes a person who is following one of my protocols to report back to me that their oncologist has been supportive rather than critical of my approach to cancer.

Those who choose to work with the sick need to understand that this is not a profession but a vocation. The sick do not need pity and sympathy; they need love and compassion. When someone very sick enters my office, the first thing I do is pray in silence. This is private, between me and God, and not a process that anyone else is aware of. I feel, however, that it is crucial to what I do.

Modern medicine today has become a big business, an institution—and also, alas, a formula. The responsibility for healing is often in the hands of a faceless medical establishment, not accountable, caring human beings. Time after time I’ve had cancer patients tell me they’re going to a famous hospital that specializes in treating cancer. Such a hospital may know the latest in treat­ments for a particular kind of cancer, but what can it offer or teach about heal­ing? What wisdom does it have that can help a person heal?

In traditional healing practices, prayer and medical treatments were applied together to heal the sick. Today, we separate the two. Why the sepa­ration? Why can’t we use prayer with herbal medicine, with nutrition, and with conventional treatments to heal the sick? Hopefully, this concept is beginning to gain more credibility, and we will see a change before long.

Listen To Your Heart

After you have decided on a form of treatment and have incorporated prayer into your daily life, I urge you to try to make every effort to be positive and take charge of your life and your treatment in a proactive way. You may need the help of a therapist or a support group. Commit yourself to living long and well. Seek to understand who you are and why you are here. This will give you a sense of identity as well as peace of mind. Believe that you have a purpose in life and go about seeking that purpose with passion, allowing your heart to guide the way. Learn to forgive and allow room for laughter and joy in your day. Once you have a sense of purpose, let it be guided by your heart and your spirit and pursue it without fear or doubt. Most important, spend time in meditation and prayer, help others, build relationships, show compassion and humility, be a peace­maker, and offer love. Sharing your love is profoundly healing.

Remember that the mind, spirit, and body are inextricably interrelated. The mind affects the brain, and the brain affects all physiological systems of the body.

We are spiritual creatures. I believe that this life is but a beginning to another life, and death is a transformation into that life. I deeply believe that a good herbal­ist understands that the clinical practice of herbal medicine requires a balance between science and art. I myself ny to maintain this balance in my practice. As I am thinking about which remedy or remedies I might suggest and blend for an individual, I look to my spirit for help and discernment. I also add faith into the mix when I explain my personal practice of herbal and nutritional medicine.

I end this…with a wonderful text written by St. John of Kronstadt, a Russian Orthodox priest and teacher who was beloved by the people of Russia for his unwavering faith and compassion for the human struggle to attain spirituality. He died in 1908 and was canonized as a saint in 1964. These words of wisdom are especially helpful for those who need healing.

You are accustomed to look upon your body as upon your own inalienable property, but that is quite wrong, because your body is God’s temple. Afflictions are a great teacher... [they] cleanse the soul. My brother, bear your illness bravely, and do not be despondent, but on the contrary, rejoice if you can in your illness…This sickness of yours may be the opportunity of a lifetime. Listen to God while you are on your back recuperating. Much good can come out of this experience that you might not gain in any other way. We know that for those who love God all things work together for good. Let there come to you out of this illness a blessing instead of a breakdown. Do not let this sickness get your spirit down. While lying on your bed, look up instead of down. Look into yourself and see how helpless you are without God.

Finally, whatever your choices, as this anonymous saying counsels: Do the best you can and don’t worry about the rest. Angels do no more.

Excerpt from the book, Herbal Medicine, Healing & Cancer: A Comprehensive Program for Prevention and Treatment by Donald R. Yance, Jr., C.N., M.H., A.H.G., with Arlene Valentine (Keats Publishing, a division of NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, Inc., Lincolnwood, IL). © 1999 Donald R. Yance, Jr. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted by permission of Donald R. Yance, Jr.

Donald R. Yance, Jr., C.N., M.H., A.H.G., is a certified nutritionist and clinical master herbalist who specializes in nutritional and herbal approaches to cancer, AIDS, heart disease, and other chronic health conditions. He has been a contributing writer for a number of books on healing. For more information about the book and Yance’s work, contact Yance at: Centre For Natural Healing, 300 N. Pioneer Street, Ashland, OR 97520, 541-488-3133 or visit his website at www.centrehealing.com.

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