healing power of nature

There's a lot to be said about the healing power of nature. Today marks 8-days since the first round of chemo. The first four days of the experience basically translated into four days of death, extreme fatigue, poisonous toxicity, nausea, dizziness, chemicals flowing through my body, nasty medicated taste in my mouth, loss of appetite, and of course my favorite - the electrical jolt to the jaw every time I put food or liquid of any temperature into my mouth. That was last weeks Monday through Thursday, the first four days of riding the chemo tidal wave. Day five, Friday was the resurrection, the day I finally had the strength to get out of bed and started to feel normal, it was the first day I was no longer bedridden, and had the strength to re-engage with my life (with some lingering side-effects). Parashakti and I went to the Omega Institute for their Ecstatic Chant weekend where we brought our good friend Vishal Vaid to perform. We spent three healing nights upstate on the Omega campus.

As I said, there is something to be said about the healing power of nature, we all know it; the fresh air, the greenery, being outdoors, sleeping in a cabin in the woods far from NYC car alarms and traffic jams, far from the wonderful air next to our L.I.E. apartment, far from the chaotic frequency of the city. Without question, being at Omega helped me shake off the chemo funk. Today, I feel like I did not have any chemo, I'm really only reminded of it because of the port in my chest (the pain has relatively dissolved), and that Round Two is approaching in less than a week (9/14). This week is all about preparing my body for the next round - fueling my body with healthy greens, regular exercise and prayer, and catching up on some neglected work! I want to say thank you to the Stephan, Ana, Brett & Helema, the Omega family, the Omega piano, the Kirtan crew, the Vaid family and of course my wife for the best few days I have had since the surgery in July. I'm back!