This triumphant email is from someone who had surgery for a hiatal hernia twelve years ago. She was told she’d be back for more repair after five years, but she hasn’t, and she gives imagery some of the credit…

We got this note and video clip from a friend, and it’s really a treat.  He explains that in the lounges of various Mayo Buildings, there is often a piano, and sometimes people stop to play.  This is an enchanting video of two older folks playing a duet in the Gonda Building, to an impromptu audience of delighted and appreciative people.  Click here.

And for a double dose of ‘feel-good’ medicine, this is the story that generated the video.  

A woman writes:

Belleruth,
Your CDs have been with me on a difficult journey. I started with your Surgery CDs before the first of my two knee replacements (within 7 months).  They were invaluable.  

When I had the second surgery, something happened that my kidneys didn't like, and I found myself at the bad end of stage 4 kidney failure.  Even as I followed the nephrologist's protocol, I felt I had to find a way to accept the fact that dialysis was a real possibility and to be ready for it if and when it came.

Belleruth,

This is not a question but a thank you. Your Weight Loss affirmations have been powerful for me. Not even especially for weight loss, but for encouraging a positive approach to life and for helping me let go of the negative energy that I know consumes me sometimes. And, as a musician, I appreciate how the music builds and resolves at critical moments, underscoring the message. The first time I heard ‘ . . the time for reinjuring myself by remembering old wounds is over’ I felt like I'd been hit between the eyes. I repeat it to everyone who needs to hear it (giving you credit, of course). While I still struggle, I hope I am improving ‘more and more’ on my emotional journey. Thank you for helping to guide my way.

Joanne

I am a psychologist who works part-time in a high security prison environment.  (I am convinced this job keeps me real.  My other part-time job is in a private practice in a wealthy suburb.)

I want to report consistent success with the Anger & Forgiveness imagery with my men. I would not have anticipated the dramatic and profound responses I have seen in group.  Several men have had breakthroughs that led to changed behavior ever since.  Many have started to feel emotions again (something other than anger) as a result of the imagery experience.  Much pent-up grief and sadness is expressed.  It sits right under the anger.  The group cohesion has grown just from the experience of listening together.

Dear BR and Health Journeys,

My brother witnessed the violence at Virginia Tech.  Since then, when there is news of a mass shooting his mental health suffers.  He gets insomnia, anxiety, short temper and jumpiness during these times. He also gets an anniversary reaction each April that lasts 2-3 weeks.  

Well, I guess you could say I’m a sap for Youtube footage like this.   If you haven’t seen it already, please watch Susan Boyle bowl over the judges and audience of that exuberant, sometime mean-spirited show, Britain’s Got Talent.
 
Clearly, they’ve perfected their formula, first revealed in the now famous Paul Potts tryout, of juxtaposing unprepossessing outer looks with a dazzling voice. 

OK, so I’m pretty sure the responses are at least partially staged, because these contestants have to be pre-screened by the producers…. but, really, who cares??  

We got this email recently: 
I want to praise Carol Dickman’s Seated Yoga video and Belleruth’s Parkinson’s Disease imagery.  My husband who has been disabled and depressed with his illness for several years responds well to these.  He works with both each day.  He is less depressed, sleeps better and we both think he has gotten somewhat better at getting himself to move when he is “stalled”, which is what we call it when there is a gap between when he wants to use his muscles and when they respond.

My inspiring story doesn’t have to do with mind-body CDs, although I’m a satisfied user of guided imagery, yoga and meditation.  This is about the people I work with. 

I’m a 42 year old husband and father, recently diagnosed with stomach cancer. I have worked for the same small business for the past 12 years.  Currently I am facing several rounds of chemotherapy, with little sick leave left, because earlier this year, my wife had to undergo back surgery. I was needed to help at home.  It never crossed my mind that I might need those sick days for myself.  I never got sick.