The Gift of Cancer

Vijay and Nilima’s five years of lived experience and subsequent work with cancer culminated in a seven-day intensive retreat-style residential programme that they delivered for the first time at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi, in collaboration with Dr. Ramesh Bijlani (ex-AIIMS and an expert in mind-body medicine and yoga).

The aim of the workshop was to introduce participants to the latest mind-body-spirit approaches useful in managing cancer, and to provide a safe and supportive environment in which to share their own experiences and learn from each other. The programme consisted of lectures, practical training and experiential sessions.

The retreat brought home the fact that mind, emotion, meditation, prayer, spirituality and other forms of ‘inner work’ turn out to be at least as important in handling illness as diagnostics, drugs and surgery. It is not a question of ‘either-or’ but of ‘this and that’. The main insights gained during the workshop were: One, a life crisis can be transcended by honouring and truly accepting it. Two, it is important to reclaim one’s power after the loss, pain and vulnerability. And three, by accessing deeper resources one can create a new life for oneself.

Sriram Krishnan, one of the participants, says, “The retreat was an eye-opener. After attending the retreat, I tend to appreciate more the good thing that has happened to me after my illness. I am now friendlier with the ‘cancer’ word, and I have the conviction that any illness can be reversed by changing our lifestyle.”

“Over the course of our workshop, I came to understand that my life is purpose-driven, as opposed to a random set of circumstances that occurred to me through a 80-year time span. I came to appreciate these circumstances as “gifts”, wonderfully and uniquely created for me, to move me towards a greater understanding of who I truly am, who I will become, and what I am here to accomplish in this lifetime,” says Juliana Nelson, a participant from USA.

Vijay and Nilima put their experience thus: “The retreat format allowed for some amazing depth of personal awareness and healing to take place on all levels: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. We were humbled by the way the process allowed individuals to open up and come together as such a strong group in support of each other and empowered each to face their own journey with skill and grace.”

“The result was that, as expected, the participants understood cancer and the role of the mind-body relationship in its prevention, genesis and management better,” summed up
Dr Ramesh Bijlani.