Colette's Hope for Healing 
We have to be patient, take small steps, use few words, and treat ourselves with the tenderness of baby-catching hands, remembering that we find our power, our capacity to heal ourselves and our world, in our deep and abiding vulnerability. -Kat Duff, The Alchemy of Illness I know what it's like to be caught between a rock and a hard place. That's what I thought as I watched James Franco's riveting performance as Aron Ralston in the film 127 Hours, an unflinching depiction of a man inexorably trapped in a crevice of no release. For me, and the 90 million other Americans who deal with some form of chronic illness each day, the process of survival may not be as dramatic, as outwardly heroic, yet a steadfast courage and steely resolve to keep moving forward are required nevertheless. It also demands an unequivocal surrender to Life on its own terms. In the face of profound physical limitations and the accompanying isolation, emotional and mental duress, financial challenges, and a culture that largely misunderstands the unique trials of chronic illness, I have learned, as Kat Duff writes in The Alchemy of Illness, "The best of people get sick, and many of those who do all the "right" things stay sick or die, while others recover for no apparent reason. We would like to think we could banish disease with rest, exercise, diet, medicine, prayer, or positive attitudes, but few so-called cures are reliable enough to trust, as anyone who has been sick awhile can tell you. They're just good ways to live, in sickness or health." In the 8 years that I have been dealing with chronic illness - in the form of Chronic Fatigue, recurrent G.I. infections, weakened immunity, endocrine imbalances, and most recently, Heavy Metal toxicity, I've watched my body and my life be stripped bare repeatedly. It has been a profound alchemical journey of breakdown and renewal, a dismantling and purification unlike any I have ever known. All along I've been attended by the twin handmaidens of hope and despair, one encouraging me to keep the faith, and trust the process of healing, the other insidiously advising me to give up on this life, and wait for the next incarnation. There are jeweled gifts from this journey as well. Beneath the tightrope of hope and despair, a bedrock humility has been forged, bringing with it a deepened presence, and abiding compassion for myself and others in the face of Life's suffering. And despite the inevitable challenges of chronic illness, I have always been committed and engaged in the process of healing. I've been supported by an array of wonderful doctors and healers in an ardent attempt to get well, faithfully following the treatments offered, while always tending to the emotional, mental and spiritual layers that inevitably emerge in the course of such a profound descent. I've done all the "right" things. And still I have not gotten well. No longer do I feel shame about this, or blame myself, as if my continued health challenges are an indication that I have "missed the mark" spiritually. I have found great solace in the recent book by Toni Bernhard, How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers. Toni writes, "I blamed myself for not recovering from the initial viral infection-as if not regaining my health was my fault, a failure of will, somehow, or a deficit of character. This is a common reaction for people to have toward their illness. It's not surprising, considering that our culture tends to treat chronic illness as some kind of failure on the part of the afflicted-the bias is often implicit or unconscious, but it is nonetheless palpable. I was helped by Tony [her husband] and by Spirit Rock teacher Sylvia Boorstein, who kept reminding me that this illness was just this illness, and not a personal failure on my part." In recent months I have experienced an aggravation of the symptoms that have plagued me all along - crippling bouts of fatigue, digestive distress, brain fog and malaise - despite completing my 13th treatment in 8 years. Recent labs tests indicate there has been some improvement, but there's more "detoxing" to go. My body has felt beleaguered much of the time, and once again I have felt despair nipping at my heels. What do you do when you feel like you have done everything to get well? Let it all go, fall into the arms of surrender, and then pick yourself up again, trusting that the slender rays of divine guidance will shower upon you.  Thank God, they have. I've recently found out about Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment (HBOT), a FDA and AMA approved treatment for a variety of medical conditions, such as non-healing wounds, brain injury, and radiation effects. I was delighted to learn that HBOT is also used with great success in treating chronic conditions such as CFS, Fibromyalgia, and Lyme disease. According to Dr. Roberta Eckholm, the Medical Director of Advanced Hyperbaric Recovery of Marin, "HBOT is a treatment where the patient breathes 100% medical oxygen in a hard, medical-grade hyperbaric chamber, which is slightly pressurized to help saturate the body's tissues and fluids with higher concentrations of the oxygen. HBOT acts as a cellular energy catapult, helping a compromised patient heal and detoxify at the same time." In-house studies at their clinic with patients with symptoms of Chronic Fatigue have shown up to 75-90% improvement in 8 out of 10 patients. These types of results are attainable because of the ability of HBOT to increase the saturated oxygen content in cells by up to 230%, which increases the ATP, or energy in the cells to power the detoxification and healing process. (To learn more about HBOT, please visit the clinic's informative website at http://www.improvehealing.com/). I met with Dr. Eckholm to discuss my case history, and for chronic conditions such as mine, she has prescribed 40 consecutive sessions over two months, to help catapult my body to a new level of regeneration and vitality. This is the course I want to take, a new hope for healing. But I need your help. Advanced Hyperbaric Recovery of Marin is a clinic that offers Medical-grade HBOT treatments at a fraction of what they would cost in a hospital, but it's still costly. Even at their sliding scale, I need to raise $12,440 before I can begin treatment (In a hospital, this treatment course would cost at least $60,000). I want to heal, and to bring the gifts of this journey through chronic illness to the world. Not only through the alchemical fruits of my work as an artist, but in tangible service to those who struggle with chronic illness, and their caregivers. I plan to write a blog about my experiences, including the 40-day dive into HBOT, and expand my Alchemy of Creation coaching practice to focus on supporting those with chronic illness. Eventually I would like to create a webinar entitled, The Alchemy of Chronic Illness: Pathways of Initiation and Transformation. If you would like to support "Colette's Hope for Healing," here are the ways you can help: 
-Purchase copies of my book, Gateways of the Divine: An Illuminated Manuscript for the Modern Age. Now available below cost, with an extra 2 for 1 special. Details and ordering information are below, or please visit GatewaysoftheDivine.com. If you already own the book and have been inspired by it, please tell your friends by forwarding this link to the online GATEWAYS FLYER.    
-Colette's Temple Treasures Sale - I am offering a unique selection of art and artifacts from my travels to India, and other exquisite collectibles. This includes an original lithograph by Le Corbusier, a luscious original pastel by Julie Higgins, and my collection of Antique Victorian Marcasite Jewelry. To see the offerings online, please go to:
Colette's Temple Treasures / Temple Treasures Slideshow For more information on any of the items, or to place an order, please contact me at divinealchemy@sbcglobal.net, or call 888.434.1154.   
-Purchase prints from my Alchemy of the Divine and Dancing with the Divine series. For details and ordering information, please see below, or visit Colette's Visionary Art Gallery. 
-Donations: A fundraising web page has been set up at http://funds.gofundme.com/26px8. Secure online donations may be made in any amount, and are greatly appreciated. (Many thanks to Rosy Aronson for her most heartfelt letter in support of this fundraiser.) -Spread the Word - Please post this newsletter, the fundraising webpage, or the links to the various offerings I have for sale on your social networks. Regardless of outcome, I feel a sense of peace and rightness to have found Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. If it works for me, imagine the possibilities it could offer for the countless others who suffer from chronic illness--a chance to be released from a rock and a hard place, to the bright expanse of a new day.  In gratitude and service, Colette
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