The Lightning Process
Can It Be Dangerous?

...Previous page: The Lightning Process and Spirituality – Are They Compatible?

On this page, I continue to give my opinion on the LP which is offered as a training programme for those with CFS in UK and elsewhere.

A Note of Caution – You Decide How Much You Can Do

The Lightning Process™ is a tool.

Is it dangerous? Well it certainly didn't prove to be so for me. Quite the opposite. But people are people and make mistakes. I would guess practitioner could mistakenly misuse it to try to make you do more than feels comfortable.

It is important to remember that the practitioner can only advise you.

It will be up to you to decide if and when your immune system is reacting in a way that allows you to do more than you could previously do.

It will be up to you to decide when and by how much you are able to increase activity.

If I had done the Lightning Process™ a few years earlier, I think I would have pushed myself too hard and possibly relapsed. In the preceding years I had built up my confidence in my ability to decide for myself how much I could do.

One influential moment was when I had an experience in a church when I had been encouraged to stand after prayer for healing. I had stood up, and had spent considerable time recovering. It was a scary time. When I spoke to the pastor, he was sympathetic, but said gently:
“No one made you walk.”

I understood what he was saying. Yes, there had been pressure to stand, but I could have said no.
He didn't say, well you should have had faith that you were healed. If you had you would have been. If he had said this without love, I would have stopped listening to those particular teachings.
Instead, he said: “No one made you walk”.
He was right. It was my responsibility.

No one knows what your body can do as well as you do.

I Did The LP From A Wheelchair

Katherine T Owen. On the last day of the 3 day LP training. Sitting in the wheelchair for a photo. Anticipating that one day I will have no use for it.

The Lightning Process™ itself includes taking physical steps to symbolise the steps you are taking with your mind. This physical action is an additional aid to establishing new neural pathways in the brain.

The practitioner would ask me if I wanted to leave the wheelchair to do the process, I said no.
For 2 of the 3 days I said no, and so the practitioner pushed me in the wheelchair to mark out the different positions.

It was only near the end of the last day – when I had evidence that my body was reacting differently in other ways – that I said yes.

He never asked twice in a row.
I accepted that he asked.
He accepted that I said no.
He never criticised me for saying no.

The LP includes a follow up support call, and some practitioners will be even more available than that. Nevertheless, after the 3 days, you will still be back home on your own. You will need to be the one to decide how much you can do, as you are now.

It Is The Practitioner’s Job To Raise Your Expectations, Thus Impacting On Your Immune System

The practitioner’s job is to create an environment which raises your expectation that your body can do more, thereby creating new neural pathways and impacting on your immune system. It is not their job to know your limitations.

Please note, this it is not the practitioner’s job to make you do more at the level of health you are at (unless of course this is the reason you are attending the course). It is about using techniques to impact on your neurology, and thereby your immune system. It is about changing the level of health you are at so you can do more.

If you feel easily pressured when others encourage you to do more, perhaps you could work on that before putting yourself in a situation where you might feel pressured.

Or else, remind yourself at all times that you are paying to do the LP.
You have the right and responsibility to say No.
Balance this with the awareness that you are there because you have decided this person has something of value to teach you and that you are willing to experiment with the new ideas presented to you.

How ill you are, how much support you have, – these will be factors in your decision as to whether or not to take the training.

Doing The Lightning Process™ Felt Like A Risk At Such A Low Level Of Health

Doing the Lightning Process™ was a risk for me. A life-or-death risk.

With severe CFS /ME, at a level where I could speak little and worked to be fed a meal, I was struggling to keep going with the care I had. Had I been made worse by attending a 3 day event – and this would have been the case if it hadn't worked – then I probably would not have had the support to allow me to recover to my previous level.

My Personal Experience of Recovery Through The Lightning Process™

I did amazingly well at sitting up and taking in information. There is no doubt that the energy created in the room, the techniques – both those clear to me, and those no doubt woven into the coach’s approach, enabled me to sit up longer and take in far more than I normally could do.

Having decided to do it, I was going to give it all I had.

I was familiar with most of the concepts, including...

• the importance of the language we use to describe our situation,


• the value of positive self-talk,


• the impact of our beliefs on our expectations and abilities.
  
• the awareness that changes in our thoughts could have an impact on physical health.
  

However, part way through the 2nd day, I reached the point where the symptoms were horrendous. I couldn't sit up longer, I was in a lot of discomfort, I couldn't breathe properly – I was in a closed room, with other people and I had MCS.
Most importantly, I was no longer taking in the words. They had become a blur of noise and pain to my nervous system.

I remember thinking:
“Well you have done really well to get this far. We gave it our best shot. I am proud of you.”(I was impressed that I was so nice to myself!)

The practitioner pushed the wheelchair outside to the wonderful fresh air.

After a few minutes he asked, “Do you want to do the Lightning Process™?” I had learned the process by then, and I said “Yes. Why not?” After all, what did I have to lose?

I did the process and I experienced an amazing shift. It felt like a miracle.

Afterwards, I could sit up and I could once more take in the information. I had been taken back in my mind to a time when I felt well. It was such a powerful and real experience for me. It was as if something had been shut off that was keeping my body in a state of illness and turmoil.

OK, now I was really interested. Now, I wanted to learn more.

Disclaimer

The Lightning Process is not a process offered on the NHS in the UK, or accepted by the mainstream.
All I can do is encourage you to make up your own minds about whether or not to try the Lightning Process™.
Please pray for guidance, and know you are the best expert on yourself.
Don't let anyone else tell you you should do it. Your own commitment to the process is essential.

Please Don't Pressure Your Loved One To Try A Treatment

If you are reading this for a friend or family member, please do not pressure them to do the Lightning Process™ if they don't believe it will work for them.

If you feel inspired to do so, pass on the information you find here.
Tell your loved one what it is about my story or what I say about the Lightning Process™ that makes you think it could help them.
But make it clear that the decision is theirs.

I know it is terribly hard to watch someone you love in pain. But, believe me, it is also hard as an ill person to feel pressured to try treatments that don't feel right for us, or don't feel right at this time.

Sometimes someone who is ill with CFS /ME has found that trying endless treatments means they are not giving themselves a chance to get the rest that allows them to feel better, and can allow their body a chance to recover naturally. Many people with CFS /ME do improve or recover when they allow themselves to rest.


Move to the next page - The LP - The Next Step and How to Choose A Practitioner?

Move to the Contents List for The LP – Working With The Mind Body Connection For Health

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