#46

June 15, 2010


This issue is written entirely by a subscriber:

Jett, I don’t know if I told you about my going to a lecture several years ago by some old Tibetan Buddhist guy, who was talking about meditation and healing (he had been very ill, and is now healthy — I forget the details.)

One of the things he said was that fear interferes with clear thinking, so our best decisions are made when we are not fearful. That made sense to me, so when the question-and-answer period came I had a question for him:

My partner [I said] is going through chemotherapy right now, and we talk to a lot of doctors about her treatment and the decisions we have to make about her care going forward. Yet, every time we talk to a doctor, it seems like they try to frighten us with stories about mortality rates and the seriousness of cancer and so forth. And THEN we are supposed to make clear decisions. How to deal with this?

He smiled broadly and answered pretty much like this (translated from whatever language he spoke):

“Don’t try to change the doctor; he or she is just doing their job. The doctor’s job is to try to instill fear in you. Your job is to come to a place of fearlessness.”

I think he’s right, and his words just about knocked me over!

I think this is what you are talking about this week.

You have touched me deeply with your past two issues. Thank you, Jett!