Persistence, Patience, and Positive Attitude

According to your faith be it done unto you

Matt. 9:29.
Be not afraid, only believe Mark 5:36.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen Heb. 11:1.
When faced with what appears to be an
insurmountable challenge, do you give up in despair or
turn within to your faith? With the following first
hand report we suggest you turn on your faith and use
the gifts of persistence, patience and a positive attitude.
These faith filled virtues will see you through.

Smiling and laughing like old times, David and
Susan were waiting for us at a table in the busy
restaurant when we arrived. For the next hour and a
half we caught up on the incredible journey they had
just been through. The people walking by our table
paid us no particular attention, completely unaware
that they were in the presence of a miracle.
From a medical perspective, David Foege was
given no chance of recovery. From the political side,
he was being denied the one thing that saved his life.
From any perspective, David is one very special
guy! Very bright and energetic, David has spent his life
using his talents, skills, ambition and determination in
the pursuit of success. He has a law degree and a PhD.
He was a White House staffer shortly after college,
and yet he has gone through enough medical
challenges for a dozen people. His failing kidneys
were replaced twenty five years ago thanks to a
donation from his brother, and during the ensuing
years David weaned himself from all transplant
rejection medication, feeling the contraindications were
doing his body more harm than good. He has outlived
UPWARD BOUND J* O* U* R* N* A* L

SPIRITUAL LESSONS FOR YOUR PERSONAL GROWTH
Issue # 23
Art Holt photo
all of the other transplant
recipients of his era. But
his kidneys werent his
only problem. An over-
the-top type A behavior
resulted in a massive heart
attack a few years before
we met at the Unity of
Naples Church in 1993.
Although he recovered
from the heart attack, it
did damage his heart
muscle, and about three
years ago the muscle loss was beginning to become
more and more debilitating.
Everything I know about David reflects three of
the best characteristics a person can exhibit. They are
Persistence, Patience, and Positive Attitude. If any one
of those ingredients were missing I wouldnt be telling
this story. You see, as the heart muscle literally began
to die away, reducing his capacity to pump blood
through his body, he came nearer and nearer to the
conclusion of his life. But an optimistic intelligent man
like David doesnt just give up, he searches for
possibilities, for solutions, and he doesnt give up or
give in. He holds on with absolute faith that a solution
exists.
Stem Cell research provides more than hope or
remote possibilities, it is providing realistic solutions to
seemingly insurmountable circumstances. David began
pursuing a stem cell solution for his own life. But the
political/moral debate shut the door for any possible
stem cell therapy for David here in the United States.
That didnt stop him. There was an excellent program
in Brazil and David and Susan made three trips there,
qualifying and preparing for the stem cell process. Too
much blood thinner was injected before the stem cell
procedure was to start and David succumbed to a
stroke as a result, but that didnt stop him either. It
did require backing off and waiting for several precious
months before trying
again, however. The
final time they went to
Brazil for the
procedure they arrived
just as the medical
community became
embroiled in the stem
cell controversy and
before they could
operate, the program
was cancelled. Davids
heart muscle was now
dangerously deteriorated, down to 20 percent of its
capacity.
Back to Naples they came, seeking another stem
cell program anywhere in the world that would take
him in. They found one, in Bangkok, Thailand.
Heres how the story was reported by WINK TV
News in Naples just a short time ago.
David Foege of Naples doesn't take no for an
answer. Today, he's up and walking after being told he had
no hope. "You can bet I was gonna die," he recalls.
But Foege knows something about determination. Three
years ago, after doctors gave him little chance of recovering
from heart failure, Foege started seeking out experimental
stem cell treatments. After two failed procedures, he
traveled to Bangkok, Thailand in March.
Doctors harvested his own stem cells, then injected
them back into his heart to improve its function.* He's one
of a handful of people in the world to undergo the treatment.
"It re-grows your heart," Foege says of the adult stem cell
therapy. "Your own cells go back into your body and are
injected into the parts of the heart that are not functioning
and these cells have your initials on it, your DNA on
them." In short, the heart helps repair itself. Foege was so
close to death, he suffered a heart attack moments before he
had the stem cell treatment.
Twenty five days after undergoing the treatment, Foege says his
heart function has improved by 50%. He hopes in the coming
U P W A R D B O U N D J * O * U * R * N * A * L
Art Holt photo
months, he will be fully recovered. Not bad for someone who was
told to find a hospice three years ago. "I was in the 30 day range
for morbidity," he says.
Foege's cardiologist, Dr. Carlo Santos admits stem
cell therapy is promising. But he has concerns about the
experimental treatment. "I would want to know what the
long term effects are and what the risks are before I can
prescribe to patients," Dr. Santos says, noting the
treatment is not approved by the Food and Drug
Administration. "Once that's figured out, I think that'll be
the most exciting face of medicine that we'll be going into."
David Foege is excited too. "There are hundreds of
diseases that can be cured with this therapy," Foege says.
Stem cell therapy is believed to be beneficial for patients
with cancer, Parkinson's disease, or who have suffered from
stroke.
Foege hopes his treatment plays a small role in
improving medicine for millions of people.
A lot of us were praying for David and our prayers
were certainly answered. Just a few days after the
doctors had injected Davids heart with 36 million of
his own stem cells, and the heart muscle deterioration
was reversed, we received a call from David and Susan
from their hotel room in Bangkok happily reporting
that things were on the mend. And, oh by the way,
David said, were looking out our hotel window at the
elephants wandering through the grounds below. We
could hear not only the relief in his voice, but the
return of the vigor for life David Foege always
exhibits. Persistence and Patience had paid off, and
the old Positive optimism was leading the way again.
We all have within us the power of regeneration;
in the period of one year virtually every cell in the body
is replaced with a brand new one. Some are
regenerated in a matter of hours or days, some take
more than a year. And some, like the decayed cells of a
large part of Davids heart stop regeneration altogether.
So the repair of Davids heart muscle was, as he
describes, like receiving a slow motion heart
transplant. It was regeneration, big time! David also
says the results of receiving his own adult stem cells
was like getting Gods Warranty work on his body.
As of our most recent check-in with David, we
can report that the regeneration continues its
miraculous work. David noted that an unexpected
bonus has been the disappearance of a bald spot. With
all the other plusses, he can now add hair-growth to his
list. If thats the case, my only question is: where do I
sign up?
Dave is an inspiration to all of us. His depth of
faith in God, his knowing that the Power and Love of
God is always with him, and his ability to release and
trust that his efforts were done with Gods guidance,
are examples from which we all can learn. We can
study the Word of God daily, but unless we live by the
principles we learn, our lives can be fruitless. Dave
lives it! His lesson is ours to learn as well.

In God's Open Door, Dr. A. J. Cronin said: "The
demands life makes may seem hard at times, yet we
should never whine about it. God never takes without
giving something in return. Disappointments and
troubles are often the instruments with which He
fashions us for greater things to come.
"Life is not a straight and easy corridor along which we travel
free and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we
must seek our way, sometimes lost and confused, sometimes
blocked in a blind alley. But always, if we have faith, God will
open a door for us, perhaps not the one we would ever have
thought of, but the one that will ultimately prove to be for our
highest and best good."
We have to give it a try. Something inside says,
do it! Just Do It! What would life be like if we never
gave it a try? If we conceded to every challenge and
gave up before making any effort to overcome? I'd
rather not even imagine it. I don't think we would
have survived as a species. Human kind would have
become extinct many thousands of years ago.
David Foege certainly would not have made it
without his persistence, and he probably couldnt have
been persistent without the positive beliefs of an
U P W A R D B O U N D J * O * U * R * N * A * L
optimist. Intellectually knowing it could work allowed
him to be patient during the process. But it was all
three elements combined that gave him balance; each
one thus reinforcing the other two.
Occasionally we need to be reminded by someone
who has been there before we can get it ourselves.
Dr. Wayne Dyer was lecturing in a large Canadian
city and after his talk a woman came up to him and told
him about her teen-age daughter in the hospital with a
very rare, incurable disease. Dr. Dyer agreed to visit
the young girl and did so several times. Once as he sat
there holding the young girls hand he noticed a scab
that had formed over a place where an IV needle had
been removed. Excitedly, he pointed out to her that
the scab was proof that God knew how to cure her
body automatically without any external interventions.
The doctors, with all of their knowledge and ability,
could not have created that scab. He urged her to use
that scab as proof that Divine Healing is not just
possible; it is automatic and common and it is Gods
gift to us, available without even asking. He
encouraged her to apply the same faith that she had in
God to place a scab over her small wound - to Gods
ability to heal her whole body. He told her to relax and
allow her faith to bring about her healing.
Applying all the pure faith that her young soul
could muster, the young girl followed Dr. Dyers advice
and was healed.
Her faith was very similar to that of our friend,
David Foege. Her faith gave her optimism - very
positive thoughts; she persisted in her belief that her
healing came from within, and she was patient with the
process until it was completed. Patience, persistence
and positive thoughts may not be a magic bullet, a
cure-all for everything from disease to disaster, but it is
a powerful force when the three are used in
combination.
We all face challenges of one sort or another
during our lifetimes and we can let those challenges
beat us down or make us stronger, more resilient,
more effective and successful in overcoming. And it is
our successes that teach us how to be persistent, patient
and optimistic., for these are the practical cornerstones
of our faith.
So if you should be asked: What would you do if
faced with what appears to be an insurmountable
challenge? Youll be able to respond with confidence,
My faith will see me through.
And so it is.
Art Holt Art Holt Art Holt Art Holt
*(Fascinating medical note: Davids blood was
taken from his arm just like any blood test. The
container was flown from Bangkok to Jerusalem, to the
worlds only stem cell lab of its kind. There the cells
were incubated and all but the heart muscle cells and
heart nerve cells were removed. The resulting stem
cells (returned to Bangkok in seven days) were not only
Davids DNA, but they were specifically his own
muscle and nerve cells, which explains why they worked
so quickly, dramatically and efficiently.)

For considerably more technical information and a
possible life saving process for a friend or loved
one, go to www.Theravitae.com, and www.vescell.
com.
U P W A R D B O U N D J * O * U * R * N * A * L

Charles Fillmore wrote in his book, Prosperity, a
statement that has become one of my favorites. He
said, It is not sufficient to sit down and hold
thoughts of metaphysical truth without further
effort. That is limiting the law to thought alone, and
we want it to be fulfilled in manifestation as well.
Cultivating Ideas is the first step in the process. But,
the ideas that come must also be used. Be alert in
doing whatever comes to you to do, cheerful and
competent in the doing, sure of the results, for this
is the second step, and the fulfillment of the law.

In our stem cell story about David Foege, we have
a perfect example of Mr. Fillmores statement.
David got the idea to pursue stem cell therapy and
took every action he could until the healing results
were manifested right in his own heart.
I invite you to take a moment now to feel the
joy of relaxation, and the peacefulness of allowing
your concerns to simply dissolve into the invisible
realm of contentment. Slowly begin to take in
and release one or two deep refreshing breaths.
Peace, be still.

All my prayers are answered
as I place my trust in God.

"Into your Presence, Lord, would I enter
now." I turn my attention to the Presence of God
within me. I have unlimited faith that the Presence
is within, around, over, and beneath me. For there
is only one Presence and one power, God the
Good, Omnipotent. There is nowhere I can be
where God is not, and so I give myself completely
to the source of all my good.
All my prayers are answered as I place my trust
in God. Nothing is more important than letting
go and trusting in God, for as I do, everything in
my life improves. With trusting faith, I feel better,
and my life is made richer; I am blessed, and I
become a blessing to everyone I meet along my
path.
And so I turn to God in prayer:
God, I open myself now to Your working in and
through me, for I realize that I am Your idea of life itself in
expression. I give myself over to Your presence, for here I
can feel that my words become Your words being expressed
through me. And as I give myself to Your Divine Will of
Good for me, I begin to feel that I am Your Works being
expressed as well, - and I am filled with joy at my oneness
with You.
I open myself to Your Presence, God, for You know
what is best for me - long before I ask. The closer I get
the more I understand - Your will for me is only good.
I open myself to understanding and expressing the
Presence of Your love God, for I know that You give Your
love to everyone, right here, right now, right where we are at
this moment ... and in every moment. Your love enfolds
me, sustains me, prospers and heals me And as I receive
Your love, Lord, so do I extend that love to others. In the
giving and receiving of Your Divine love, I consciously unify
myself with Your Presence. I feel that Presence around and
within me now. You are and I am truly one.
--- Slight Pause to Silently Listen ---
I fill my heart with Your fullness, God, and I
am lifted by Your answers to my prayers. I know
that my prayers are always answered when I turn,
with faith, to Your Presence that I find in the
stillness within. I remain open to whatever means
You provide, and give myself to follow Your
guidance willingly.
"God is working through me now to fill my
life in ways of good. All my prayers are
answered as I place my trust in God."
Silently I now give thanks, and slowly begin to
return my attention to my breathing and this
wonderful place and time. I inhale deeply to
refresh my body, and bring my attention to my
feeling of well being. I am truly grateful, Father,
and I do give thanks. My prayers are answered as I
place my trust in You.

And so it is. Amen.

M E D I T A T I O N
WORDS TO LIVE BY

We are guided by our knowledge that our thoughts and
words create our reality. Let us acknowledge another word that
will impact our lives in wonderful ways if we give it its proper due.
The word... "Stretch"

The word "Stretch" brings up the image of calisthenics
and exercise, but, it also means to get out of our comfort
zone, to let more of the potential we were created with come
out and become expressed.
Stretching has a very practical application. We are all
Spiritual Beings of Infinite Possibilities, and we all have to
stretch to meet God's expectations if were going to become
all that we were created to be.
One Sunday my minister came down from the platform
and asked the congregation, What do you want? Sitting in
the front row I recall saying to myself, I want you to call on
someone else. The fear of public speaking had me frozen
and my mind went blank. But in a very few minutes I had a
wonderful realization, my fears were holding me back. I
made a resolution that morning that this was the year I would
face my fears and walk through them, proving to myself that
my fears were powerless.
Within one week my minister called, asking me to conduct a
workshop, and a day or two later I received another call
inviting me to speak to a professional group. Facing my
fears, I stretched beyond my earlier limits and took the first
steps that eventually led to a career in the ministry.
We are called upon daily to step up higher, to stretch,
and sometimes that stretching may be as simple as using our
head and doing what we know is right.
Alan Cohen and his fianc were about to return to
Hawaii when they found out that she had to make an
emergency stop in Los Angeles. They checked their tickets,
saw in the fine print, the tickets were non-refundable, non-
transferable.
Knowing this, they told the airline representative their
story. He brought their ticket information up on his
computer screen. Making a change was going to cost $1000.
The clerk stared at the screen as he pondered; he checked the
reservations and saw all the flights had ample room. Finally
he said, "You know, with this computer screen, I often have
trouble reading the fine print." Then without another word
he quietly rerouted them and handed them their new tickets.
No hassle, and no charge.
The clerk stretched beyond the comfort zone of
following the rules to the letter and took a personal
responsibility for letting his heart guide his actions. Perhaps
that's all that is required when we become willing to
Stretch.
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A Unity Publishing Ministry
Rev. Arthur Holt,
Unity Minister

Dottie Holt,
Licensed Unity Teacher




Upward Bound of Unity, Inc.
10870 SW 71st Circle
Ocala, FL 34476
Phone (352) 861 - 5518
Email: UpwardBoundRev@aol.com


Upward Bound Journal
is a Unity publishing ministry based on Biblical
teachings and dedicated to writing and presenting
spiritual, inspirational, and metaphysical principles
which empower people to enrich and transform
their lives.



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Issue # 23



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A FEW PASSING THOUGHTS
Jesus said, What things so-ever you desire, when you
pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have
them. (Mark 11:24). We have often said that it is
our beliefs that determine our reality. The depth
of our faith is a mirror of our beliefs.
The more optimistic our beliefs; the more
willingness we have to pursue our desires; and
the more were able to release not only the
outcome, but the time it takes, the more were
demonstrating an
unwavering faith in God.
Simply put; were guiding
our lives with persistence,
patience and positive
thinking, by trusting in a
Power greater than
ourselves.

Reverend Jim Rosemergy has written: Each
day is a new beginning, but one day can blend
into another until the adventure that is life is
disguised as just another day like the one before.
This occurs because we begin again instead of
beginning anew. When we begin again, we do
the same things weve done before. Our actions
today are just like yesterday, because our attitudes
and beliefs have not gown.
For example, a man passed up for the job of
foreman went to his boss and complained.
How could you pass me up? I have 17 years
experience.
Not quite true, the boss replied. You have
one years experience, youve just repeated it 17
times.
Rev. Rosemergy concludes: If we are to begin
anew, we must be new creations. Only by letting
go of the past can we begin anew.