When it comes to progressive sensory loss or any kind of degenerative health condition, it’s easy to feel like you’re losing something. But on today’s episode, Melissa and Sherry talk about reframing this as a healing process, and embracing the spiritual evolution that can come with it. Whether you’re connecting with your higher self, the universe, or divinity, it’s all about respecting the process and accepting that it’s what’s happening. While you may not be able to control what’s happening with your body, you can control your perspective and choose to look at this experience as an inward journey to self-love. 

Our hosts describe this journey of acceptance as a healing process of the soul, the mind, and the psyche - not just the body, and they reflect on letting go of the need for things to go a certain way. Melissa recalls her early experiences of hearing loss, and how a simple switch from spiraling into fear, to accepting that it’s what’s happening, could have changed her perspective entirely. Sherry acknowledges that we don’t have to like what’s happening to our bodies to be able to respect the process and gain something from it. They expand on their own moving experiences along this journey, and describe how music, comedy, and poetry have helped them find light in dark times. Finally, Melissa closes the show with another calming breathing exercise.

This podcast is not psychotherapy and does not contain medical advice, but is simply a recording of two friends talking.

Episode Highlights:

• Melissa’s startling wakeup call
• Sherry is taking care of the logistics before starting her next phase of medical care, and shares how she’s feeling about it
• Sherry’s frustrating experience filling out forms online and lack of accessibility for visually impaired patients
• Melissa is finally going to take a vacation from work
• Sherry is no longer having her recurring dream about getting stuck ever since discussing it out loud, and she’s now able to see in her dreams
• Sherry is using dictation on her phone and computer
• Today’s topic is, “It’s what happening,” or “Respect the process”
• Spiritual evolution that happens in the healing process, whether you’re connecting to your higher self, the universe, or divinity
• The only thing you can control is your perspective and embrace your experience as a journey to self love
• It’s a healing process, letting go of things needing to be a certain way
• You’re healing the soul, healing the mind, healing the psyche - not just the body
• You don’t have to like what’s happening to be able to respect the process and what you can gain from it
• You can’t rush through the pain because it’s a process
• You can experience extreme darkness and pain and peace at the same time
• The Hilarious World of Depression podcast is a great example of finding humor and light in pain
• Opening up to things you can’t see in the world 
• Melissa reads “How to Live With My Body” by John Roedel
• Breathing exercise

Quotes:

“Ever since we talked about the dreams, I have not had one single dream where the road is stopping me or I can't get where I'm going.”

“Now I'm doing all kinds of things in my dreams!”

“If you're listening, and you're having a recurring dream that's bothering you, maybe tell somebody, say it out loud and see what happens.”

“It's what's happening. It's worth repeating. It's worth repeating many times during the day.”

“It's a spiritual evolution that's happening in the healing...