Of all the comments I received in response to my July 17 newsletter, my favorite one was from a woman who wrote me that “cancer saved her life.”
How this woman put my whole email into instant perspective like this is remarkable.
Because it’s true for me too: cancer saved my life.
Not that there was anything wrong with my life.
For the last five years, my life has been arcing upward into more and more happiness every day. Just about everything on my “manifesting list” (about 90%) has come true already.
I’ve actually had to write up a whole new list! And that was tough to do, since most it what I wrote was simply along the lines of “Just give me more of this, please” with a sprinkle of “going bigger” items.
Being in Flow has caused my entire life to reshape itself and turn inside out. All my priorities have shifted. All my expectations have grown.
When I learned I had cancer, I cried for three days straight and mourned what I thought would be a “loss.”
I had fear that I’d lose my breast, hair, and my once-pretty figure. That I’d lose my health, and even my life. That I’d lose a year to horrible anti-cancer treatment. That I’d lose my company, Flowdreaming, during this year. That I’d even lose my faith, since how did I manifest cancer for god sakes?
None of those things are happening.
Being ill is expanding my life.
Being ill is forcing me to do things way out of my comfort zone.
I get to confront fears and eradicate them almost daily.
I get to face triggers for lack-thinking and decide how I want to handle them.
I get to let go of controlling whole huge chunks of my life that I held on so tightly to before, and see if those areas still “hold together” without me there.
For example, I’ve told my amazing Flowdreaming staff that I need them to completely take care of my “baby business” during the weeks I’m having treatment this year. Can they do it?
Now I get to see.
And as I watch them smoothly handing everything that comes up in a week of M.E. School or with customer orders, I realize that I can now take a week, or two or three, off anytime, for any reason other than cancer. I can go to Tahiti, or maybe start a new podcasting company, or take a ride across the U.S. with my kids in tow.
My need to be controlling and watching everything every minute, was an illusion I created for myself. It was how I explained my success. I can let go of that now.
Cancer is teaching me how to let go.
Cancer is teaching me how to trust.
Cancer has made me open my heart to my friends in family in ways that I never took time for before.
I know that sounds weird, but I’m finding myself more present with them, and more willing to tell them I love them and openly share myself with them.
I’ve probably said the words “I love you” at least three dozen times in the last few weeks. You’d be surprised how people react to hearing that. It’s often so unexpected.
When was the last time you heard those words from someone you don’t expect to hear it from? Like your niece, your uncle, or a friend?
I invite people to be my friend now, straight up. As in, “I like you. We should do stuff together.” All my adult-learned caginess has been striped off.
Being sick is teaching me how not to fear intimacy.
I know, I’m practically making you jealous now that you don’t have cancer, too.
I’m sure there are other ways to learn these things. (wink, wink)
Cancer is just an opportunity to embrace a lot of new things very quickly. It forces your hand.
But, you can use any unexpected bump”¦any curveball in your life”¦to go faster like this.
I wonder if these curveballs are like the levers in a pinball game”¦opportunities to grow faster as you’re forced down a new path. It seems like something Flow would set up for us, and that we would set up for ourselves, doesn’t it?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, please post them below!
XOX with love and Flow
P.S. Even though the playlist “Restored, Aligned, and In Control Meditation Playlist” has “in control” in its name, it’s actually teaching you a new form of control that’s all about trust. It’s a great playlist for people who’re either heading into uncertainty or who’re recovering from any kind of rough patch. This playlist helps you navigate all your curveballs, and drink in the beauty in ANY situation, even in being ill! Think of to as the ultimate “bounce back even stronger!” playlist.
Summer
I have just started your flowdreaming programme and came here to tell you how much I love it when I came across your cancer email…I have joined my husband in his bout of chemo to combat his stage 4 Non Hodgson Lymphoma. He is back to being healthy and a full year into remission…possibly early days but scans are still free of the lymphoma pathology.And yes we both saw it as a journey to be travelled wondering what we would learn from it and it wasnt easy.. especially at times.We were aware of the chemo and its side effects…some were highly toxic but we chose to be grateful for the chance to combat the Lymphoma and blessed the chemo as it was travelling into his veins.We are now so grateful as we both have such a wonderful appreciation for life and each other and family and friends…thank you so much for your sharing and many blessings your way. Kath
Hi Summer, I’m intrigued by this little coincidence. I just finished listening to your talk with Vishen on MindValley and really liked the way you approach things but I was not drawn to the program because it was all about money, career and so on and right now I’m not too concerned about that. My focus is shifting out of an information field that has manifested stage 4 cancer so I was searching to see if you had applied your flowdreaming to health and came across this article.
So that is my question: obviously you are applying flowdreaming to your own journey with cancer, but have you made anything available for this. I am sure the principles applied to money are the same but the Mindvalley course, as you said, has been speciofically tailored to those topics.
Oh, and I agree with you: I see cancer as a gift from Life, drawing me back into a deeper, more intimnate and ecstatic relationship with her. I also think cancer has a higher purpose of helping usn undersyand how we can bring forth a radical remission to the problems we are collectively manifesting in our civilization today.
Much Love
Alistair
Hi Alistair,
Good question. My own journey with cancer is just 3 months old. I’m still deep in learning what I have to do with myself and it. I have no doubt that some really wonderful healing Flowdreams will bubble up from it though. Right now, I’d suggest Deep Inner Healing and Emotional Detox right off the bat. And you’re right, the Mindvalley program has a strict focus on abundance. But Flowdreaming goes much deeper and broader than that. Please look through the shop and check out my podcast on iTunes to get a really good idea of what we cover. xo and my love to you on your journey!
So you are at the very beginning of this grand adventure. What stage is your cancer if I may ask? Mine is stage 4 so I’m in the miracle realm. I would like to share with you an article that was published last week in Viki Winterton’s new best seller Cancer: From Tears to Triumph. I am one of the people featured in her book and I’d like to offer you the insights expressed in that article. The bottom line of it is:
“My prayer for anybody who is diagnosed with cancer: ?See it as a calling from life to journey with her. See it as a calling to journey to the deepest places of your purpose and your passion.”
Clearly you are already in that place.
If you are interested you can check out the chapter at this link:
http://www.emergentstructure.com/cancer-the-journey.html
Summer, it is my belief that cancer has a higher purpose and that purpose is being awakened at this time through people like you and I. If we can learn the process through which we can heal from cancer then we can apply that same process to the global situation humanity finds itself in. It is part of my mission to bring forth this higher purpose of cancer and reveal its deeper wisdom: its sacred role in the grand scheme of Life if you like. If this is something that resonates with you I’d be more than happy to collaborate and see where this amazing journey leads.
If not, then I wish you the greatest joy on your journey and hope that cancer can be the blessed teacher that it is so capable of being.
Much Love
Alistair
Thinking of you Summer, so proud of how you are handling this xxx
Love you Summer! You will never know just how much you’ve helped me over the years. Thank you for being one of my best teachers and for bringing me along on this wonderful journey of healing.
Thank you for the reminders!
Summer,
You are SO NOT WRONG : ) As a cancer survivor I completely get this in fact, my own battle 10 years ago made me very aware that flow is out there and can change your world if you open up and let it. At the time, I had not yet discovered you, but with two tiny boys, and a wonderful young husband who I needed to have more time with – I decided to turn my fight over to what I called the positive energy and “effortlessness” of the Universe – I needed back-up. I was fortunate enough to fight my battle and win in my early 30s. The perspective it helped me gain made me a better mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend and human being! It helps me make positive choices that speak to MY core and in doing so those choices are the catalyst for making me better for everyone around me. We have no guarantees even in our times of “perfect health” but if we truly live life in flow we will have no regrets. I wish for you the effortlessness and positivity (flow) that brought me through to the other side! The light from this end of the tunnel is pretty spectacular!! Be well! God speed : )
Wow Summer you never cease to blow me away. You’re an amazing soul. Sending so much love back to you xoxo Tameera
Thanks for being an inspiration to all of us!
When did you get cancer? I’ll have to stage six remote view to see if you were part of an abduction prank.
Thank you for updating us and putting a positive spin even on illness. I am healthy but my “dream relationship” is facing some challenges and I did not expect it at all, because I thought I had come past the point of that after all I have learned. I am trying to figure out meaning and I will look forward to more of your posts. All the best.
How lovely to read it’s not all bad! Enjoy booking that vacation time 🙂 That’s a pretty cool discovery!
I think this is amazing and I look forward to reading more about your process of letting go. This resonated with me as I am starting over after leaving a destructive 20-year marriage (yet grateful even for that now) with my 2 young kids on a tiny budget. The last 3 months we have been living with friends and family while I slowed down enough to hear what the next step was-and saved enough money to get our own place. I have never felt more vulnerable, uncertain and raw yet been so aware of the love and abundance all around me. Many people of all levels of closeness to me, from neighbors to friends from high school not seen in 25 years except on FB to my family and inner circle, have stepped up and responded to my situation with love and support. I have dropped my pretense that I can “do it all myself” and embraced the love around me. I tell people how much I appreciate them, I notice where they are strong and where they are hiding and I offer a loving mirror by sharing my own vulnerability. I challenge myself every day to open my heart, to listen to my heart and to share my heart. Next I have to open to what work is wanting to come out but I feel more prepared having learned to navigate through fear and uncertainty and to use those feelings to grow. I now look for that edge instead of avoiding it.
I love this!!! Summer you continue to be my inspiration! Yes, you are so right, we go through life thinking that we have to control to stay in control and this gave me such insight that I don’t need to be in control every day … all day! I need to trust that the momentum I am on will allow me to “ride” through. Thank you!