Cancer – a foe or a friend?
Cancer. The big, bad C. The dark monster that has to be surgically excised, chemically eradicated, and battled till our dying breath. We are conditioned to believe that illness needs to fought and gotten rid of. We’re taught to think that illness is caused by foreign influences, outside our body and often outside our control.
However, cancer and many auto-immune diseases arise from the inside. When we pay closer attention to this, we begin to understand the critical role that our inner experiences, thoughts and emotions play in the cause and cure of cancer. We begin to see that cancer, like other serious illnesses, presents an opportunity for deeper self-awareness and growth.
How honouring cancer helped me win over cancer
1. New direction of life
I am convinced that the purpose of my cancer experience was to impel me to take the ‘fork-in-the- road’ and change the direction of my life, which otherwise, I would have resisted.
2. Personal growth
It pushed me to look within and find the necessary resources from a deeper place. The outcome is real and tangible personal growth i.e. arriving at a higher level of equilibrium.
3. Clarity of thought and expression
Post-cancer, I went through a painful process of fundamentally de-constructing and re-constructing myself at every level in the attempt to understand myself. In this exploration my intrinsic gift revealed itself unmistakably – clarity of thought and expression, which makes me an effective communicator and coach. This insight gave new direction and momentum to my life.
4. Finding my true calling
Like most people, Nilima and I began by viewing cancer as a rude interruption to our well-set life. But we soon realised that our experience was not only about us and we felt called to play a wider role. My first career (in Advertising) was a personal passion and very fulfilling, but I had a sense that it was ending.
Post cancer, I first moved from handling clients to a strategy/talent development role. Then I focused on building leaders and leadership teams. Then the big move: leaving my comfortable corporate career, becoming an independent consultant, and returning to India.
5. Contributing towards the greater good
We started by helping individuals informally, slowly moved to organising small workshops, then began to conduct week-long intensive residential retreats and then set up an organisation to scale-up our work so more people can benefit. We are more ‘present’ and more connected to ‘Presence’.
6. The birth of Cancer Awakens
This website is a key marker of our journey and as it has ripened, we have grown enormously. Along the way, new relationships have formed, many have strengthened and some have withered.
We continue to explore a wide range of healing tools, techniques and traditions. Based upon lived experience, a powerful and comprehensive cancer protocol has emerged, which our clients are benefiting from and which we have shared through our work. The mist has cleared and the path ahead is more visible.
This is how we have honoured cancer, and found a new life.
We hope that you will be inspired and find it in yourself to do the same! Please leave your comments, and share your experiences with us in the comments section below.
Reflection
- How would you describe your relationship with cancer: fear or acceptance, friend or foe, trauma or transformation?
- What can you do to ‘honour’ cancer instead of ‘fighting’ it?
- How ready are you to ‘fork in the road’ i.e. change the ‘direction’ of your life and not just re-order your priorities?
- Reflect on your life before and after cancer. What has your cancer experience taught you? How has your worldview changed as a result?