I have been on the same medications for heart failure and hypertension for many years. My hypertension went down a little, but it did not go down dramatically until I started my spiritual practice two years ago. I still had the symptoms listed above while I was taking the medications for all those years, until I began my spiritual practice in earnest. They all went away two years ago, and there were no significant med changes.

I made myself sick by thinking I had to ward off the thoughts that frightened me, a process that made me go to war against myself. The body will only put up with such internal strife for so long; then it must do what it is charged to do. It must get your attention. It must deliver the message when your mind insists on giving credence to fear over the flow of Life. What I learned was that I did not have to resist my thoughts, nor did I have to magnify them through worry. I learned to become the observer so that "I" became the one who was at peace while watching; allowing my thoughts and emotions to be fully felt, but not to define me.

My health challenge was caused by fear and the inability to let go.