The Search for Connection: A Spiritual Journey to Physical, Emotional, and Financial Health

The Search for Connection

A Spiritual Journey to Physical, Emotional, and Financial Health

Joan Sotkin

Published by: Prosperity Place, Inc. Santa Fe, New Mexico

Joan@ProsperityPlace.com

www.ProsperityPlace.com

Distributed by Smashwords

Copyright © 2017 by Joan Sotkin

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations embodied in literary articles of reviews.

Some names used in this book have been changed to protect privacy.

Go to www.SearchForConnection.com to see a gallery of images that illustrate this book.

Table of Contents

Prologue

Part 1: The Journey Begins

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Part 2. Coming Back to the World

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

About the Author

On the Internet

Prologue

We were off to Las Vegas—quite a drive from the San Fernando Valley where we lived—because my husband, Don, wanted to try a system he had read about that promised great results at the blackjack table. That night, he gambled while I slept. Upon awakening the next morning, six numbers floated through my mind. I wrote them down and at breakfast played the six numbers at Keno. Much to my surprise, I won over $1,000.

Although an avid reader of books about psychic phenomena, metaphysics, and Eastern philosophy, receiving information so specific and correct astonished me. At that moment in 1974, tapping into unexplored realms of consciousness seemed possible, and with this realization came a deep desire to understand from where the information about the numbers had come. The Carlos Castaneda books about his studies with Yaqui shaman Don Juan and others of that ilk further opened my questioning mind to the idea of parallel realities and unseen worlds.

I also read the available books on health and nutrition because of my own long-term struggle with health issues and a deep desire to become strong enough to live on my own. Following the advice of health gurus Jethro Kloss and Paul Bragg in July 1975, I decided to do a 24-hour fast, although I didn’t realize that this could cause a rapid detox and pose a danger for someone like me who had taken prescription drugs for many years.

The first few hours of the fast passed without incident; after about six hours without food, my body started releasing some of the built-up toxins from the drugs. Gradually, discomfort spread throughout my body; my joints ached, and I felt dizzy and generally uncomfortable. The idea of sustaining the fast for a full 24 hours seemed impossible. While lying on my bed trying to deal with the discomfort and determined to continue, in my mind I heard the phrase, I am not my body; I am not my mind, and I began repeating this silently to myself.

After three hours of repeating the phrase, I suddenly felt detached from my physical body, and the pain lifted. Transported into an altered state of consciousness, a vision of a diaphanous entity hovered above, comforting me and filling my heart with love. The air seemed to separate as my being expanded into a wider space, heightening all of my senses. I could feel the air against my skin, hear the blood flowing through my veins, and as I stepped into a bath, smelled the chlorine and experienced the slipperiness of the water.

While lying in the tub, it dawned on me that the emotionally tumultuous and painful years of my marriage were ending, and I had become physically and emotionally strong enough to go out on my own. A lot of healing still had to take place, but that could only happen in a less stressful environment.

When Don came home, after a long talk we agreed the time had come to sell our house and go our separate ways. My spiritual teacher, Swami Parampanthi, told me to put out a For Sale sign and wait. Two weeks later, a woman knocked on the door and asked to see the house, and within an hour we reached an agreement. A month later, with $3,000 in my hand (my share from the sale of the house) and ready for a new adventure, I moved into a spacious, modern duplex apartment a block from Venice Beach.

Here an almost unbelievable spiritual journey began, one filled with awe and wonder. If someone had told me the story that I’m going to share with you, I probably would have approached it with a great deal of skepticism and, perhaps, disbelief.

Fortunately, from July 1975 to December 1985, I kept a Day-at-a-Glance diary, noting each day’s major events and the people with whom I interacted, my emotional state, and the steps taken to improve my health. These diaries have enabled me to remember much of the drama as it unfolded. The story has been begging to be told, but I couldn’t imagine how to present it in a way that would be congruent with my current well-established entrepreneurial image.

Now feels like the right time to share the story. Because of current world events, it seems helpful for others to hear a true story of a relationship with a part of life that lies beyond our conscious understanding and that is available to anyone who wishes to expand their knowledge of reality and connect to something greater than themselves.

I have come to believe that what people often attribute to God, guides, angels, and The Universe actually comes from the part of us that exists in other dimensions. Limited by our three-dimensional concepts and language, an accurate description of this part of us is impossible. Attempted descriptions often satisfy our limited physical brains and give that which is formless form.

I’m reminded of the incident in the book Flatland, a story about a two- dimensional reality written in 1884 by Edwin Abbott Abbott. One day a sphere from Spaceland visits Flatland, appearing as two dots at the points of intersection. The sphere attempts to open the minds of Flatland inhabitants to the idea of a third dimension but meets tremendous opposition. From Spaceland, the sphere observes the inhabitants of Flatland surreptitiously acknowledging the existence of a third dimension while punishing those espousing the truth of Spaceland.

At this point in human development, most people are fixated on three- dimensional reality with many skeptical about the existence of other dimensions. Yet a growing number of pioneers of consciousness recognize that other dimensions exist, even if we can’t describe them accurately.

Complicating the telling of my story are two inseparable, converging story lines. First is the story of a spiritual journey kept mostly hidden for more than thirty years; second is an incredible tale of physical and emotional healing as I struggled to rid myself of a list of long-standing disorders that caused endless suffering, including depression, insomnia, allergies, sinus problems, Candida, chronic headaches, fatigue and more.

In 1970, our family doctor called me a hypochondriac and suggested learning to live with my many discomforts. At 29, the thought of such an uncomfortable life was unappealing, and I convinced myself that with enough research, a solution for my many symptoms could be found.

At the suggestion of my mother’s sister Lorraine, in 1972 I joined a metaphysical healing organization called Astara that offered meditation techniques and some basic spiritual healing methods via a mail-order course and events at Astara’s Los Angeles location. Dr. Robert Chaney and his wife, Earlyne, led Astara, Earlyne as the channel of a long-deceased Egyptian healer who passed lessons on to her, and Robert as the mail-order expert who brilliantly marketed the lessons to members of the organization.

A primary meditation method taught at Astara involved focusing on an image of the Healing Christ, a pleasant picture of Jesus with his hands upraised as if sending out healing energy. A visiting India-born teacher, Swami Parampanthi, taught a more traditional meditation that reflected his Hindu upbringing. A series of compelling lectures given by the Swami entitled Creative Self-Fulfillment, opened up my mind to new ways of thinking and perceiving my role in creating my life stories. The Astara teachings solidified my belief in the availability of solutions for my physical and emotional problems.

In June of 1973, a documentary appeared on television about hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, and I instinctively recognized this as the root of many of my problems. At the time, the American Medical Association (AMA) dismissed hypoglycemia as a disease of thin, nervous women and considered it irrelevant. After insisting that the family doctor administer a glucose tolerance test, the test for blood sugar disorders, he proclaimed that even by AMA standards, I had a raging case of the disorder, although treatment options were unknown to him.

After reading the few available books about low blood sugar and making some dietary changes, I learned of an endocrinologist in the San Fernando Valley, Dr. Harold W Harper, a bariatric physician who, after discovering that virtually all of his overweight patients suffered from the disorder, developed treatment protocols for hypoglycemia. The day I met Dr. Harper—September 13, 1973— was unforgettable. Finally, someone understood the cause of many of my physical and emotional symptoms.

Dr. Harper, an imposing Texan with a charismatic presence, commanded respect. Even though patients had to wait two to three hours to see him after arriving at his office, his intuitive diagnostic talents and willingness to try alternative modalities made it worth the wait. Dr. Harper, who wrote How You Can Beat the Killer Diseases, pioneered the use of chelation therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and other conditions and was considered an expert in nutrition.

After talking to me and examining my test results, Dr. Harper confirmed a serious case of hypoglycemia that needed immediate attention. He handed me a paper that said, No peas, no beans, no corn, no rice, no potatoes, no bread, no grapes, no bananas, no watermelon, no sugar, no flour, no caffeine. He also suggested a supplement program. His promise: following his suggestions would allow the debilitating depression that had been with me for fifteen years to lift and many of my physical symptoms would disappear.

Desperate to feel better, the promise of no more depression motivated me to give up the cookies, candy, sodas, and other junk foods that permeated my daily diet. No simple task. For months, I struggled with cravings for some of my favorite foods. But I was determined not to be depressed again and discovered some simple tricks for moving through the cravings, such as smelling breads and cakes or shouting aloud, Lemon meringue pie. Somehow I found the discipline needed to never knowingly eat sugar again.

Within two days of following Dr. Harper’s advice, my moods improved and the depression lifted. Obviously, I wasn’t crazy and didn’t have to spend the rest of my life on psychotropic drugs in order to keep from killing myself. What a relief!

Yet all was not perfect. Slowly, over the next two months, my energy levels declined. Despite consuming as much as three pounds of protein a day, my energy