ABOUT ELIZABETH
Elizabeth Kipp is a long time seeker of truths with a foot each in the spiritual and scientific worlds. Her life experiences and training enable her to bridge the gap between the two.
In the months following the birth of her son in 1982, Elizabeth’s burgeoning professional career was cut short by the emergence of a structural weakness in her low spine. She spent the next 31 years in and out of hospitals in pursuit of a way to stabilize her spine and find freedom from the persistent pain resulting from an old injury.
Her deep connection to the spiritual world supported her through mul-tiple surgeries, decades of prescribed medications, and a long persistent search for modalities that would help her to heal. In 2015 Elizabeth entered into
Now in recovery, Elizabeth is a health facilitator, empowerment coach, EFT/ Tapping, Ancestral Clearing practitioner, and kundalini yoga teacher helping people to step into the power of their own healing. She has turned her attention as a patient advocate in service to the alarmingly high population of people who suffer from or are in recovery from chronic pain.
WHY A COMMUNITY FOR CHRONIC PAIN AND RECOVERY?
In 1984, my husband, Larry, my son, Mastin, and I moved to Frederic- ton, New Brunswick, Canada where Larry entered into a post-doctoral program at the University of New Brunswick. I was referred to a highly recommended and seasoned orthopedic doctor there to handle my case. I met with this doctor and, after looking over my X-rays, records, and examining me, he told me something that shook my world like a super-volcano:
“You will be in Level 7 out of 10 pain for the rest of your life — 24/7 — and you will be in a wheelchair by the time you are 40 years old.”
I was shaken to my very core. I fell apart and burst into tears right there in this doctor’s office. The thoughts: “Is this really the life I am meant to live?” and “how will I ever handle living the rest of my life feeling all of this ache in my back?” raced through my mind. These were quickly followed by: “How will I ever be the wife and mother I always dreamed of being if I have to deal with this, too?” and “what about the career I worked so hard to prepare for – what about that?” And then: “What kind of life is this to live?” Finally, “How will I ever survive this? Does my spirit have the strength to endure such a life? Is this all there is for me?”
In that moment, I believed what the doctor had said. After all, I had been raised to bow to the knowledge and, I dare say, wisdom of doc- tors. They had been educated for many years in medical school and, in my mind anyway, were privy to knowledge that was far from mine. When this doctor handed me this prognosis, I believed his pronounce- ment to be true. I did not question it. In all of those years of studying science and the scientific method, I still did not have the razor-sharp point of fine-tuned critical thinking at the ready, but I was to learn this later.
Once I began crying, I found that I could not stop. I am not one who cries easily, so the fact that I was crying so forcefully and freely was a shock to me all by itself. I left the doctor’s office, still in tears, and got in the car where my husband and son were waiting for me. My son was in the car, too. The tears continued to flow freely and fiercely. I felt like a thick black blanket of despair closed over me, encompassing all of me. My whole body was shaking and I felt utterly unable to control myself. I remember getting even more upset that I was ‘losing it’ in front of my son, who was only two years old at the time. He had never seen me cry before, let alone uncontrollably. I continued crying all the way home.There seemed to be no stopping those tears. I cried for two weeks straight – around the clock. I cried myself to sleep, fell asleep exhausted, and awoke only to start crying all over again – until the next time I fell asleep. This cycle repeated itself over and over.
I felt like I was closed tight inside of a small, very tall, but thin, dark closet. I could not find the door out of this closet.
“I kept casting my eye around in this darkness, searching for the Light. Something inside of me urged me to keep looking. Of course, it was either keep looking or give up altogether. Giving up has never been one of my strong suits.”
I went through four of the five stages of grief outlined by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (http://www.ekrfoundation.org/). Even though I felt held firmly and deeply within the arms of despair, I never fully accepted the prognosis or pronouncement that my doctor had given me. I fought against it with all of my strength, despite the tears and the despair. I dug so deeply inside of myself and peered deeply into the blackness inside of this tiny, stuffy, dark closet in which I felt trapped. I went through denial, anger, bargaining, and depression (where I clearly lived for quite a while)…but I never reached the fifth stage of acceptance. Instead I was graced with an epiphany and this catapulted me right out of my depression: “That doctor is not a fortune-teller. He is operating within a scientific paradigm. And I know that scientific paradigms shift. We used to believe that the earth was flat…until we discovered that it was round.”
I finally found the Light I had been searching for in the form of this revelation. In science there is never 100% certainty about anything. Science works only with probabilities and tries to predict the likeli- hood or probability that something will occur. This is the best we can do within the framework of the scientific method, which is rather rigid by its design. Events are never certain in this model. Here was this doctor, a learned man of science, telling me how things were going to be in my life. Well, as I sat in his office, hoping for his help, instead of throwing me a life line and lifting me with the inspiration of possibility, he pronounced to me: “This is your future. Get used to it.”
I had to step out of my vulnerability as a patient desperately searching for answers and step back into my power as another learned person of science and call this doctor on the flaw in his position. Yes, perhaps he was speaking to probabilities and, as he saw things, the probabilities pointed to a rather slim likelihood of the kind of recovery for which I was hoping.
“But here’s the thing – where there is a chance, any chance at all, there is possibility and potential.”
And all kinds of strange and remarkable things happen in this math- ematically slim window of possibility and probability. And, whereas science operates in a strict framework — just a small part of the All That Is, we as living beings exist in the entirety of the All That Is, and so are subject to phenomenon unknown to and outside of the realm of science. This presents an opening of hope.
The realization that this doctor actually presented me with a flawed argument blew my mind. I said to my Higher Power, “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn enough science to see its limita- tions and to understand what those limitations really mean. Thank you for gifting me with the power of logical thinking. Thank you for giving me the understanding and confidence that I can work my way through a thought process with clarity. It might take me a while to sort through it, but thank you for giving me vision in this way, no matter how long it takes to see it.”
It was in this moment, when I realized that my doctor’s viewpoint was limited by the very model in which he operated, that I finally took the responsibility for my healing into my own hands.
Never again would I allow a doctor to work above me. From that moment on, I entered my relationship with all health care workers, doctors or otherwise, on a collaborative level. If they wouldn’t adjust to working with me on the same level with them, then I moved on to another health care worker who would.
My empowerment as a patient began in earnest in this moment. I finally stopped crying and felt empowered in a way that I had never before experienced. It had never occurred to me before this event that my connection to myself, which was really the realization of my Higher Self, was such an integral part of my path to healing. I literally felt a shift in my physical world. I suddenly felt grounded and much more certain of myself. I still felt physical pain, but it did not hold the same heavy weight that it had before. I felt lighter with the promise of hope for healing in the future. I would stay in this empowered position throughout the rest of my journey to healing. I finally was getting connected into a part of me that I had sensed for years, but had never before been able to find. And I continue to this day to feel such gratitude for this crisis in consciousness and the revelation I had around it, or as a result of it.
Chronic pain changes the brain. Addiction changes the brain. I am recovering from both of these conditions and it requires that I build a new lifestyle that nurtures rebuilding and healing these changes that occurred in me.
I am literally rebuilding myself, moment by moment, cell by cell. I am honored that I can include kun- dalini yoga as a powerful practice to help me retrain and heal my ner- vous system. I gratefully practiced hatha yoga for a number of years. It served me beautifully during those many years I suffered from and was on medication for chronic pain. Until I went through Dr. Przekop’s Pain Management Program in 2013, kundalini yoga was too vigorous for the pain I experienced in my low back. I just couldn’t bring the breath I needed to do this form of yoga. When I walked out of the program, having quit smoking, detoxed from pain meds and benzos, and been taken through an extraordinary pain management program where I learned how to live a pain-free life, free of suffering, I went up to Los Angeles and stopped by Golden Bridge Yoga to explore the possibility that I might actually be well enough to make it through a kundalini yoga class. An hour and a half later, having pretty much kept up with the rest of the class – much to my
amazement – I vowed that I would adopt this form of yoga into my recovery program, hoping to up-level the quality of my recovery.
Fast forward to 2015 when I entered kundalini yoga teacher training — something I never would have imagined for myself even a few short years ago. To say that I am grateful is such an understatement. I am not only able to practice this powerful healing technique, but am in a position to teach it! What a remarkable gift the Infinite has graced me with. I have had the sweetest and most inspir- ing teachers lead me along this path. I bow to every one of them as I do my morning sadhana. Thank you to all of the teachers who have brought me this far. I bow to you all. Again and again.
ELIZABETH KIPP CURRICULUM VITAE
Elizabeth is an author and spiritual teacher with a strong background in the sciences. She has a diverse background in plant science, agricul- ture, ecology, environmental studies, and remote sensing. She holds a B.S.Ag. in plant science with an emphasis on agriculture, soil science, and plant ecology from the University of Delaware. She pursued an M.S. in environmental studies at the University of Kansas with an em- phasis on remote sensing, ecology, and environmental resource anal- ysis. She was engaged in basic and applied research in remote sensing from 1979-82. At that time she worked with the Kansas Applied Remote Sensing (KARS) Program, which was funded by a grant from NASA and under mandate from the Carter Administration. Elizabeth has authored and co-authored a number of peer-reviewed research papers in her area of expertise. In addition, she is a professional editor with over 35 years of experience.
BOOKS
The Long Unwinding Road: A Memoir of Healing & Recovery (In Prep)
ANTHOLOGIES:
365 Moments of Grace (June 2016)
365 Life Shifts: Pivotal Moments that Changed Everything
(365 Book Series) (Volume 3) (Feb. 2017) – Complied by Jodi Chapman & Dan Teck
Dare to Be Sober (Feb. 2017) Compiled by Mari Mitchell.
Village Pearls: Sacred Practices to Nourish Your Soul (anthology)
365 Ways to Connect with Your Soul (365 Book Series) (Volume 1) – Compiled by Jodi Chapman and Dan Teck
Global Voices of Social Media: 25 Women Share Stories of Strength, Love and Triumph (Feb. 2015) – Compiled by Shelley Costello
Empowered Women of Social Media (TM): Over 100 Women Found Their ‘Voices’ in Social Communities (Oct. 2014) – Compiled by Carla Hall and Joshua Mancil
RESEARCH PAPERS:
1989.Influence of Resource Topography on Pollinator Flight Direc- tionality in Two Species of Bees.J. Insect Behavior 2(4): 453-472 — Larry R. Kipp, William Knight, and Elizabeth R. Kipp
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF01053341983.
The Application of Remote Sensing to Resource Management and Environmental Quality Programs in Kansas.An Annual Report of Work Performed Under NASA Grant. — Barr, B. G. & Martinko, E. A. No. NGL 17-oo4-024. — Editing and illustrations were provided by Elizabeth R. Kipp, who also contributed to specific projects within the annual report.http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19850003128.pdf1982.
Crop Phenology and LANDSAT-Based Irrigated Lands Invento- ry in the High Plains.Conference Paper. — Martinko, E. A. & Kipp, E. R. http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=198300571391982.
The Application of Remote Sensing to Resource Management and Environmental Quality Programs in Kansas.An Annual Report of Work Performed Under NASA Grant No. NGL 17-004-024. (April 1, 1980 – March 31, 1981) — Barr, B. G. & Martinko, E. A. No. NGL 17-oo4-024. — Editing and illustrations were provided by Elizabeth R. Kipp, who also contributed to specific projects within the annual reporthttp://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19830007486.pdf1981.
Crop Phenology and LANDSAT-Based Irrigated Lands Inven- tory in the High Plains.Final Report. National Aeronautics and Space Administration 139. — EA Martinko, J Poracsky, ER Kipp, H Krieger, K Gunn https://biosurvey.ku.edu/crop-phenology-and-landsat-based-irrigat- ed-lands-inventory-high-plains1980.
The Application of Remote Sensing to Resource Management and Environmental Quality Programs in Kansas.An Annual Report of Work Performed Under NASA Grant No. NGL 17-004-024 (April 1, 1979 — March 31, 1980) — Barr, B. G. & Martinko, E. A. — Editing and illustrations were provided by Elizabeth R. Kipp, who also contributed to specific projects within the annual report.http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19800024317.pdf
WORKS OF FICTION:
INDEPENDENCE DAY SEQUEL
A Sequel to Independence Day: The Movie written by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich Twelve years after the alien invasion the world is recovering, but the emergence of a new disease, Alien Syndrome, and recently discov- ered alien survivors intent on harvesting Earth continue to threaten our existence. By Larry Kipp, Elizabeth Kipp and Mastin Kipp Copyright 2012 https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10847925/1/Independence-Day-II
INDEPENDENCE DAY III
Humanity is still recovering from the last alien invasion and learns the main force of over half a billion aliens is speeding towards Earth. By Larry R. Kipp, Elizabeth R. Kipp, and Mastin Kipp Copyright 2011
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11077996/1/Independence-Day-III-v2
DISCLAIMER
Elizabeth Kipp, Elizabeth Kipp Media, LLC and/or Elizabeth-Kipp.com (author) present the entire contents of this website for educational purposes only. This information is not intended to diagnose or prescribe medical or psychological conditions nor does it claim to prevent, treat, mitigate or cure such conditions, nor is it intended to be any kind of substitute for any diagnosis, prescribed medical treatments or therapies. By presenting this information, the author is not in any way making an attempt is to provide diagnosis, care, treatment or rehabilitation of individuals, or apply medical or mental health principles to provide diagnosing, treating, operating or prescribing for any human disease, pain, injury, deformity or other physical condition. The information within this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a doctor or any other qualified health care professional. Any techniques the author addresses herein are solely for educational purposes.
