Judith Erel talks about World Cancer Day as she shares her book Dancing with Cancer: Using Transformational Art, Meditation and A Joyous Mindset to Face The Challenge.
Cancer does not have to be a death sentence.  Even with a stage four diagnosis. Judith tells us how she beat cancer using conventional and complementary medicine. Combining the personal and the practical this book mixes the author’s own cancer story with the tools she discovered and adapted to support her treatment.
We talk about

The stages of cancer
How mind, body empowerment augments the healing process
What to do before Chemotherapy
The importance of journaling through your healing experience
Setting the right intentions for healing
Creating joy using the attention. Intention, and desire formula
The importance of belief and positive thoughts
How to engage ThoughtWork
Support system for caregivers

 

Part I allows the reader to gain inspiration and reassurance from Judy’s personal cancer story, as well as put into practice her Thought Work suggestions, which include revelatory questionnaires and journaling, creative exercises (such as drawing healing mandalas) and guided meditations. Part II gives a more detailed description of the Thought Work tools, including instructions for setting healing intentions, for using mindful breathing and for cultivating an attitude of gratitude, as well as meditations for a range of cancer situations and step-by-step instructions for creating artworks. Throughout the book are examples of Judy’s own transformative artworks, which she offers along with the reminder that any creative self-expression can be healing – it is not the outcome but the physical process of doing that matters, enabling multi-level transformation.

 

Bio: Judy Erel is a painter, a poet, an art teacher and a meditation guide. In 2009 she began providing guided meditations and mandala-drawing activities in the haematology and oncology departments of major Israeli hospitals supported by the Roche Pharmaceuticals ‘Roche Lends a Hand’ project. Her degrees include a BSc in human development from Cornell University, as well as a senior fine arts and art teachers degree. She has also completed MA studies in educational psychology.