The Gift of Epilepsy

My work focuses on my lifelong struggle with the still unsolved mystery of the chronic illness of epilepsy. It has affected approximately one percent of the world's population including many historic figures. What I felt was an incessant need to discover what my problem really was by reading a wide range of medical, psychological and philosophical material and then finding myself delving into an endless source of alternative means to deal with it coming from the Eastern cultures. The most powerful discovery that my search revealed was that this illness, for me, was not a setback but actually a stimulus to truly finding my present state of health, happiness and wisdom. As I recalled my meaningful life issues via writing my memoirs and applied the newly-discovered means of dealing with them, it opened up a new, positive perspective that was re-enforced by the many ideas encountered in my reading. Primarily, we all have some problem to deal with in our daily and lifetime endeavors. I feel we all need to come to the realization that our difficulty, be it physical, mental, social or even spiritual, has within it a spark that can ignite an opportunity to view it more clearly. Whatever the problem, its presence is there to stop us in our tracks for a moment in order to pull back from the overpowering routines of our everyday lives and awaken to another level of vision. The most powerful result of all my reading was simply discovering that my illness was not a hindrance but rather a guide to my self-improvement. I realized that accepting it for what it was and being grateful for it and all my other gifts, gave me the inspiration to share my experience with others.