Spiritual Experiences from the Brain

P90X and 'Spiritual' Reps

Years ago, a big part of my life was lifting weights. I was obsessed, you might say. I worked out at least three days a week for 2 – 3 hours at a time.

One day as I was moving from the bench press to the dumbbell rack I thought, ‘I spend so much time chiseling my physical self, if I only spent half as much time on my spiritual life how much better a person I might be!’ But, the thought vanished as quickly as it came to me and I went about with my ‘bicep curls’.

It has taken me many years to get to the point where my spiritual health has taken on a more important role than my physical appearance. Although with my responsibilities at work and the time I devote to my family, helping out with homework assignments and shuttling here and there after school, exercise had been pushed way down on the list of priorities anyway.

Of course as a result my overall health has suffered. Hypertension is something I have had since medical school but diabetes is something I have acquired within the last five years or so and it has gotten worse. So clearly, my health is something I must refocus my efforts on.

But balance is the key. It is important to take care of our bodies and to be the healthiest physical version we can be, but it is equally important to be the healthiest spiritual version of ourselves as well.

 

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and

that God’s spirit dwells in you? If any one

destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him.

For God’s temple is holy, and that temple you are.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

 

Unfortunately, it is not because we inherently want to be the healthiest version of ourselves although that may be in part, or perhaps completely, the excuse; but because we have a narcissistic desire to look better than the next guy, or girl and to be sure the world knows it.

The irony is that to be the best spiritual self we can be is more difficult to achieve. It takes a tremendous amount of humility and ‘strength’ of character; and when we become prime physical specimens it often brings out in us an attitude that is the exact opposite. After-all being in a state of perfection requires us to crush the opposition, does it not?

In reality, I believe we can be both spiritually and physically strong at the same time as long as we keep things in perspective, but it takes work… and more than bench pressing 275 lbs!

Recently I read in the book, The Measure of a Man, the importance of being meek without being weak! How is this possible?

This is an interesting concept because it would imply that our faith can be strong and when necessary forceful but without being puffed up with pride. After all Jesus warned us about showing off how ‘holy’ we are to others but rather we should keep it to ourselves so that only God knows. (Matthew 6:1-6)

Of course we are human and by our nature we often fail.

Recently, a friend of mine mentioned the workout routine P90X and how it was really effective but that the workouts were intense and that the diet was something you had to stick to. So I decided I would try it out. Besides you could do the workout as intensely with resistance bands instead of weights, which appealed to me because I had injured myself in the past with weights.

I admit the food is not always a gastronomic delight but I have lost weight and in fact my diabetes has been impacted tremendously. And at this point in time, practically speaking, I am not taking any diabetes medication at all! So this has been the greatest motivator for me and my appearance becomes a by-product of my health, and not the other way around.

However…just the other day as I left my Friday morning men’s group I was focused on getting home and performing my workout for the day. But the parish school where my children attended was about to go to morning mass and in the back of my mind I thought I should go too. But that workout loomed large over me.

That’s when I stopped and began to listen to ‘God’s’ voice in my head… ‘Here you are being somewhat critical of those who are obsessed with THEIR workouts and now you are becoming the same way about YOURS!’

I knew He was right, and besides I had nowhere special to be that morning and I could exercise afterwards… so I turned my truck around and returned to the church parking lot. Of course it was a wonderful mass and I was so glad I went. To think I could have lost that important moment in my life and that of my children.

The other day I joked with my wife Stacy that not only was I doing the P90X workout but also one that was more important, the Alpha and Omega X workout! She looked at me a bit perplexed, as I reminded her…

 

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,”

says the Lord God, who is and who was

and who is to come, the Almighty.

Revelations 1:8

 

For me, making Christ, a part of my daily ‘workout’ is what helps me achieve this balance… although as with anything that is worth having, it takes hard work.

A Physician Greater than I

I had just finished operating for the day and I had a meeting to attend but I told my wife before the meeting, I would join her and the children for a quick picnic, and if I didn’t leave soon I would be late. To say I was rushed was a bit of an understatement, but first I had to run up to the ICU and quickly see Nora Horace who I was scheduled to operate on the next day for metastatic breast cancer to the brain.

Nora had been diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago and had undergone treatment, including chemotherapy, but a recent PET scan was clear. So it was quite a shock when the emergency room physician told her she might have a brain tumor.

Nora had been having some imbalance and unsteadiness walking but she thought it might have been side effects from the chemo, but when it got worse, she and her close friend Diane felt it best to have it checked out further.

She actually had been admitted the evening before and I had been called during the afternoon and was told of her case. So when I reviewed the CT scan, I ordered an MRI to be done the following morning and told the nurse I would be by to see Nora the next day after I finished operating.

The MRI indeed revealed a large tumor in her left cerebellum which is the area of the brain responsible for coordination; in addition the pressure it exerted on the brain around it, caused compression and partial obstruction of the flow of cerebrospinal fluid within the brain. This was even more critical because if the flow became completely blocked off, the pressure within the brain would reach a life threatening level.

So it was clear I had to operate to remove this tumor. Unfortunately, Nora also had three ‘pea-sized’ tumors elsewhere in her brain which indicated her metastatic disease was more widespread.

As I walked into her room, she greeted me in a warm way similar to what I had experienced at a resort in the Bahamas many years before. This was her nature because she, in fact, was from one of the islands in the Caribbean.

I brought up the images of her MRI on the portable computer to show her and her friend the nature of the problem. After I finished describing the findings on the MRI and explaining the surgery I had planned, I fully expected her to be like most patients, a bit shocked, a bit depressed but resigned to what needs to be done. At that point most patients say ‘ok, whatever you say doc’. My reply is often a bit curt as I nod and tell them I will see them in the morning, as I turn to leave.

And this day I had planned on it playing out that way, so I could be on my way to where I had to be.

But what she said, stopped me… dead… in my tracks.

Nora then replied, ‘I am not afraid doctor… I know the Great Physician… do you know Him?  I said ‘Yes I do…very well.’ She said ‘that is good because sometimes when I ask people, do you know Jesus Christ? They tell me he was just some guy.’ I continued, ‘No, He is way more than just a guy’.

She then asked if I prayed to Him to guide me before I operate and I replied, ‘all the time’. Nora then asked, ‘Well tomorrow before you operate on me’, as she pointed to the sky, ‘I want you to call Him… collect!’ Practically with tears in my eyes, I promised I would.

I shook her hand with both of mine and told her I would see her in the morning, as I slowly turned, to walk out of her room.

Going into the surgery I anticipated that removing the tumor would be fairly easy, since most tumors of this type are not adherent to the surrounding brain. As it turned out removing the tumor was extremely difficult and I spent no less than six hours micro-surgically teasing the tumor out.

The amazing thing to me was that throughout the procedure, ‘ideas’ would pop into my head on how to proceed, which were not necessarily techniques that I usually employ. As a result I was able to completely remove the tumor without any complication whatsoever.

As I was finishing up, I thought about this, realizing that God had been with me and by my side guiding me every step of the way.

The following morning, I examined Nora and found her to be completely normal neurologically. Though the pain of the incision caused her to wince, she said ‘I am grateful to God, grateful that you are a Christian, and grateful that He worked through your hands to help me’.

for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment,

I shall be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said,

“Take heart daughter; your faith has made you well.”

And instantly the woman was made well.

Matthew 9:21-22