Despairingly I stood, thinking to myself “What am I to do? How can I do it?” I had already walked 50 metres from the car park and the shop where I needed to buy a few things for dinner that night was only another few metres along. I stood trying to decide whether the level of pain would allow me those few extra steps – but then the thought of having to actually walk around the shop as well as the steps back to the car saw the fortitude dissolve. Was I really listening to my body or was I giving up – giving in to the pain?

That was only a few months ago.

The story of the on-again/off-again severe physical pain in my body began more than 30 years ago when a fall on my tail bone at a wet and greasy petrol station in Melbourne caused tears to flow for most of the 2 hour journey back home to country Victoria with 3 young children in the car.

The x-ray suggested a possible hairline fracture of the coccyx, but little did I know at the time that this was to be the commencement of years of pain, incidents and surgeries as I continued in the momentum of pushing myself to cross the things off the ‘to-do’ list and getting the job done.

Yes, there was much for me to learn about listening to my body.

Roberta Himing – ‘I was Owned by Constant Physical Pain’ 

By late spring 2013 constant physical pain owned me. Everything was governed by the level of pain that I was in – where I parked the car, where I would shop and ‘if’ I really needed to shop, who I would visit and could I even manage to visit… did they have stairs? A visit then was not an option.

I was in physical pain doing everyday activities (walking, cooking, weeding etc.), but often my back would also ‘lock’ causing me to stay in whatever position I was in at the time (sometimes up to several minutes where I could not move). Although a level of pain was constant during this period, sometimes it was more extreme than others.

Looking back, ultimately the excruciating back pain saw me calling an ambulance late one night, unable to put one foot in front of the other; subsequently I lay for 5 weeks on my side, not moving. An MRI showed 4 bulging discs and one ruptured disc. I feared I would not walk again.

A frozen right shoulder and a badly torn cartilage in my left knee soon followed, with keyhole surgery resulting for the knee. My knees and ankles would often let me down at the most inopportune times so I resorted to wearing flat shoes, just in case.

Early 2000 Roberta Himing is Introduced to Universal Medicine and the Esoteric Modalities: Beginning to Develop Awareness of the Body 

These incidents were all before I introduced myself to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine. In the early 2000’s I commenced as a potential student with Universal Medicine and the opportunities arose bountifully to observe my previous reckless and disregarding behaviour more honestly. Pain in the body continually resulted in many visits to the G.P. along with x-rays, scans, M.R.I’s etc. Two cortisone needles into the bursa for revealed bursitis produced unsatisfactory results. The x-rays showed then there was nothing wrong with me… I felt to see a hip specialist – but the doctor said not necessary, the meniscus was in great shape, no hip replacement required. Basically they couldn’t work out what was going on. Was it all in my head?

Despite this, we had to move from our house about 15 months ago because it became too painful for me to pull myself up the stairs while gripping the banister to get to the bedrooms and bathroom.

During these past several years I have been receiving the most divine assistance from a few practitioners working esoterically, Neil Ringe being the most regular one whom I visited for Esoteric Chakra-Puncture. During these years of pain his true knowledge, deep love and wisdom were supportive to my healing my body. At an appointment with Neil late last year it was indicated there was a possibility, a potential, dependent on my developing awareness about taking notice of what my body was trying to tell me, that healing for the constant physical pain I experienced could indeed take place. I held onto that, but at that time did not trust myself really. In early 2013 there were another two hernia operations.

In September last year the pain increased. I felt ‘use-less’: I had allowed the constant pain to own me. Further x-rays, scans on ‘whizz bang’ updated machines, and a couple of M.R.I’s later now showed all the degenerative stages of the chronological age of this body, including scoliosis, narrowing of the spinal canal, atherosclerosis etc etc. plus now the new kid on the block – muscles had fallen from my right hipbone. By this point my husband had to take over the household chores and drive me to doctor’s appointments.

It was about this time that the Expo for Body Mind and Soul was to be held at the Convention Centre on the Gold Coast. I felt how important that event could be to expose the Gold Coast to the Esoteric Healing Modalities, however up until days before I had not rostered my name on as a practitioner – after all, I was walking with a purple walking stick – how could I be a practitioner with a walking stick? But I must have trusted enough innately. Unbelievably I had no pain for the 3 days I attended the expo.

However the physical pain in my everyday life returned thereafter. My G.P. suggested a referral to a Neurosurgeon as he indicated that it was difficult to fathom what was going on – he was perplexed but could not help me. Arrangements were made for me to have a ‘Disability’ sticker for my car and a referral to an orthopaedic surgeon was prepared.

My GP said that the body does have an amazing ability to heal itself but meanwhile I had better be in touch with a Pain Management Clinic and continue taking quantities of strong pain relief tablets.

Esoteric Connective Tissue Therapy… The Beginning of a Miracle 

In late 2013 I finally listened to and acted on inner promptings and made an appointment to see Kate Greenaway, a Universal Medicine esoteric practitioner, and commenced Esoteric Connective Tissue Therapy sessions: I recall my level of constant pain then being gauged as at least 8 out of 10. The subtle but ‘power-full’ modality of Esoteric Connective Tissue Therapy began its magic. I diligently did the ‘sliding/gliding’ exercises Kate recommended.

She reminded me that I was not the pain. The physical pain was not who I was. It was my experience, but it did not define me.

These words caused a light-bulb to go on. There was a knowing, a deep awareness that a miracle was occurring within my body: I sensed the connective tissue fibres ‘re-growing’… it seemed as though I could feel the muscles somehow re-attaching themselves to my hip bone, like ‘picking up dropped stitches in a piece of knitting’. There was a knowing that through the Esoteric Connective Tissue Therapy sessions there was the potential for healing. At last I started to truly listen to my body. I knew it was time to share with others my experience of this amazing and awesome modality.

My next visit with Kate Greenaway in early 2014 saw the level of physical pain as about 5 – 6 out of 10 as a constant, but I knew that if I focussed on my body a little more deeply and the fact that “I indeed was not the pain” there were endless possibilities. Just trust. It is almost the end of April 2014 and I’ve not needed to use pain relief nor the walking stick for about a month. The pain percentage now would be about 5 -10% which occurs only when I basically ignoreand stop listening to the signs from my body.

I’m still learning to evaluate and listen to my body as to how far to walk so as not to cause distress and pain.

This evening I walked along the foreshore, not on the soft sand yet, but enjoying nature, feeling the sea breeze and marvelling at the wonder of the body and how it reflects to us just how we have treated it in this and other lives… have we respected it or been in total dis-regard?

I sit here typing this unfolding story with no physical pain evident. The Universal Medicine healing modality of Esoteric Connective Tissue Therapy has revealed to me the depth of healing that potentially is possible when one gets themselves out the way to re-connect with that deep and quiet place within.

This has been a Miracle – (an everyday miracle).

by Roberta Himing, Elder Student of Life

Update: as of August 2015 Roberta Himing continues to live pain free. To this day she regularly does connective tissue exercises and continues to receive Esoteric Connective Tissue Therapy sessions a few times per year. She recently travelled to Costa Rica where she did a days rainforest trek and crossed several swing bridges across cavernous ravines . . . and all with no pain! You can learn more about Esoteric Connective Tissue Therapy and Universal Medicine’s other modalities at Universal Medicine’s website. You can learn more about Roberta Himing at www.RobertaHiming.com