The Politics of Parkinson’s

"Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong." Richard Armour "No one party can fool all of the people all of the time; that's why we have two parties" Bob Hope The National Plan to End Parkinson's Act (H.R.8585) in the …

Word for Wednesday: Resilience

"Resilience is not what happens to you. It’s how you react to, respond to, and recover from what happens to you." Jeffrey Gitomer “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” Friedrich Nietzsche "The greater the force of your compassion, the greater your resilience in confronting hardships." Dalai Lama Defining …

The Balancing Act of Parkinson’s

"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." C. S. Lewis "A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities." J. R. R. Tolkien Introduction: There are a lot of ways one could take the topic of this post, "the balancing act of …

Life in the Presence of Parkinson’s: A Daily Mantra

"Gratitude is the greatest prayer. Thank you is the greatest mantra." Swami Nithyananda "My mantra: Brainless exercise is a lost opportunity for improvement." Michael Merzenich Definition: Mantra, man·tra (/ˈmantrə/) noun: mantra; plural noun: mantras.1. (originally in Hinduism and Buddhism) A word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation. "A mantra is given to a …

Parkinson’s: Here Comes the Sun

"The sun shines on everybody. You've got to keep believing." Dontrelle Willis "After the rain, the sun will reappear. There is life. After the pain, the joy will still be here." Walt Disney Introduction: Recently, I have written several blog posts focused on musical songs that deal with perseverance. And the focus was to use …

Mindfulness Meditation for Parkinson’s

"Mindfulness is the miracle by which we master and restore ourselves." Nhat Hanh "Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." Carl Jung Introduction: This post is one of my repeating themes. This one is on mindfulness meditation. Why would someone keep repeating a topic? Well, why do I do it? For the following reasons. First, I …

Journey with Parkinson’s: During an Intermission

“Hope is a function of struggle.” Brené Brown “What we know matters but who we are matters more.” Brené Brown Why do we learn? “The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in …

Always, With Parkinson’s

"Our illness is often our healing." Mooji "Life was always a matter of waiting for the right moment to act." Paulo Coelho The Beginning of the Thought:  I was at the driving range recently hitting golf balls.  And this guy walks by wearing a T-shirt that said: "Always on, Never off."  It struck me as …

Dopamine Agonists and Impulse Control Disorders in Parkinson’s

"Whenever you are immersed in compulsive thinking, you are avoiding what is. You don't want to be where you are. Here, Now." Eckhart Tolle "Somewhere between obsession and compulsion is impulse." Alexander Pushkin Introduction: In the latest issue of Neurology (June, 2018), Dr. Corvol and collaborators in Paris, France, present the results of a long-term …

Planet Patient vs Planet Researcher: From Both Sides, Now

"I cannot always control what goes on outside. But I can always control what goes on inside." Wayne Dyer "Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers." Voltaire Setting the Stage: This is Mariëtte Robijn-  She lives in the Netherlands and was diagnosed with Parkinson's at the young age of 46.  Mariëtte has …