Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Strengthening Mind and Spirit - My Intimate Journey with Cancer Part 5

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

Currency Converter

Lotus flowers in bloom Chiang Mai, Thailand

With my particular heritage, I knew acutely that I needed to guide the wandering of my mind and to strengthen my internal spirit.

I have seen depression, attempted suicide, and oppression close up and how that can ravage perfectly good people - leaving them with no hope or a workable path through trauma or tragedy.

This was not going to happen to me.

I vowed to make the most of this situation, no matter what the outcome might be.

Choosing the path of meaning

Of course, I am aware of the physical components of disease. I’m not denying our physicality by believing there is something more here than meets the eye.

Viktor Frankl in his bestselling Holocaust memoir - Man’s Search for Meaning - about finding purpose and strength in times of despair -– established that those in the Nazi Germany camps who had something to live for, someone to love, the hope of getting out, the belief that their suffering was for a purpose – survived.

Those whose spirits were destroyed, succumbed.

It was pretty clear to me which path I was choosing.

Communing with That Which Is More

Everyone has their concept or style of communicating with That Which Is Greater than Ourselves.

Names like God, or All That Is, or Source cannot capture, define or simplify what soul, consciousness, or spirit truly is.

I am not here to argue or convert. I have no invested interest in how it is you commune with That Which Is Larger – or if you do so at all.

I’m here to share my journey and what worked for me.

Something in my story might resonate with you or you might find a piece of information that is useful, regardless of your personal method of communing with That Which Is More.

Meditations and becoming aligned with my purpose

I began meditating or praying purposefully two to three times a day.

I noticed that as I did this regularly, I was less likely to be thrown off course or taken by surprise by other’s opinions of my diagnosis, their analysis, or by test results that were being explained to me.

I had reached a place of internal calm and acceptance of this journey that I was on. I felt no shame or guilt due to the diagnosis but rather held the perspective that this experience would be altering me for the better in every way.

I researched the spiritual causes of dis-ease and the emotional causes of cancer. I learned how close the feeling of Fear was to experiencing my own Power. You have Fear on one side of the coin, and on the other side is Personal Power. We can choose which one we want to focus on.

I saw how a definition of a circumstance determined how I would be experiencing it.

Based on how I chose to describe the events surrounding me, my engagement with these events followed in sync.

As an example, telling myself “This is as easy as I allow it to be. I take my foot off the brake and move forward” was a much different perspective and experience than saying “This is hard. It’s horrible. I’m scared shitless. What if… what if…”

I had to choose which viewpoint I would be standing in.

I found that I could move emotionally forward and experience less emotional trauma when I was aligned. This helped me to prioritize my thoughts.

I was also reading insightful commentary about emotions and Cancer.

I inwardly cleared out old hurts, grudges or angers and let go of what I could. I worked on the stubborn areas and did my best with them, learning about myself in the process.

This was a huge internal cleaning. Out with the old, in with the new and more useful, supportive programming.

Then... an unusual pivot in my perspective

One place where I was researching spoke about how when Cancer appears, regard it as having information to tell me.

So, for instance instead of it being a war or battle, why not try communicating with it, to find out what that message might be?

Maybe I could learn something beneficial to my life.

I found this far more exciting and possible for me than trying to fight a huge morphic field called “Cancer.” The thought of a battle just exhausted me. I had no inclination for it.

Since I resonated with this conversational approach, I decided that Cancer and I would work together as partners, each transforming the other in the process.

Cancer would be absorbed by my body and be converted into health, something strong and contributory. My perspective would change and strengthen how I interacted with the world around me. This would revolutionize me into someone more wise, clear and powerful for having gone through this experience.

I felt like personal and spiritual doors were being opened to me. Billy and I were having amazing conversations together and we felt energized.

Yes, I might be losing my breast, or I might be dying sooner than I had anticipated, but the calm I am speaking about pervaded my days and most of my nights.

We had a handle on this.

Then we met Dr. Death.

For more information, pricing and perspectives on my Stage Three Breast Cancer journey, click here

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

HOME   Book Store

Retire Early Lifestyle Blog      About Billy & Akaisha Kaderli      Press     Contact     20 Questions     Preferred Links    

Retirement     Country Info     Retiree Interviews      Commentary     REL Videos