An alternative experiment to counteract shingles

After watching a Charlie Rose segment on the brain—dealing with pain, (Bain Series 2 Episode 11: Pain, I decided to renew my Mind over Shingles approach to the aftermath of my shingles that has afflicted the area around my left eye, forehead and scalp for more than four years. In reading the notes in my shingles file, I realize I tried meditation, NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) and Herbert Benson’s relaxation response at times over the past four years with some success, but did not keep at it or note the progress or lack of it on a daily basis. I am inspired to renew my mind over shingles experiment by a comment from Dr. Eric Kandel, Charlie’s co-host on the Brain Series, that perhaps researchers should examine pain from the brain to the site of the injury or disease rather than tracking it from the injured site to the brain. And, one of the panelists suggested alternative approaches to reducing pain could be used, which he defined as yoga and tai chi—NOT mentioning mediation, NLP or Herbert Benson. I might note that I have done tai chi on an almost a daily basis for at least 20 years only allowing it to pass from my daily routine a few months. Starting today, I will meditate instead of napping unless I am exhausted or fatigued and will apply NLP and return to tai chi. I plan to keep a journal of the impact, if any. Currently, when the sensations get too bad, I find brief relief from my aftermath of shingles (or more precisely my Postherpetic Neuralgia) with occasional hot compresses and occasional doses of Motrin. I will report my findings next month and periodically after that if the experiment seems to have results.

A suggestion: My novel, THE PENCIL ARTIST is available as an e-book on Smashwords, Kindle, and Barnes and Noble; as a paperback on Amazon.