Purpose in Paralysis: From Chronic Pain to Universal Gain
by Jaisa Sulit
About the Book
While driving a motorcycle, neuro-rehab occupational therapist Jaisa Sulit gets into an accident that leaves her with a spinal cord injury and paralysis from the waist down. Struggling to cope with stress, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and chronic unworthiness, Jaisa discovers the medicines of mindfulness, compassion, emotional energetic work, and shamanism. More than a book about how one learns to walk again, this is a book about the inner journey toward standing in the truth of who we are. Inspiringly honest, this book will leave you believing in the resiliency that comes when we live with meaning.
About the Author
Jaisa Sulit is a registered occupational therapist who has been practising in Ontario since 2004. She is also a teacher who has held instructor and lecturer status at the University of Toronto’s Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy from 2005 to 2015.
While driving a motorcycle in 2010, Jaisa got into an accident that left her with a spinal cord injury and paralysis from the waist down. As a therapist-turned-patient, Jaisa integrated both traditional and non-traditional ways of healing. She completed a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program that helped her to cope with stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. Learning more than how to walk again, she learned how to reinhabit her body in ways she had never done before. Jaisa has gone on to become a qualified MBSR teacher through the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and has been teaching mindfulness to students, patients, and clinicians across Canada since 2012.
From 2015 to 2017, Jaisa lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she experienced the holistic benefits of daily connection with nature. Her curiosity led her to have a deeper understanding of her emotional-energetic body and how energy work and creative expression contribute to overall wellness. Jaisa has since completed certifications in reiki, medical qigong, and Chinese shamanic medicine and has become a keynote speaker, published poet and author.
Jaisa now lives in Toronto where she works as a holistic occupational therapist, integrating both science and spirit into her work. To connect with Jaisa and learn about her ongoing healing journey.
Interview with Jaisa Sulit
Please share a bit about your journey to become a published author?
I have always loved to write and made my first book complete with illustrations when I was in elementary school. I began to write my first non-fiction book when I was in high school but, I couldn’t get over the discouragement, so I never completed that book. In 2010 however, I broke my back and was paralyzed from the waist down. Needing an outlet to express myself, I returned to creative writing and started a blog. My community received my writing well and encouraged me to write a book about my healing journey.
I started working on the book in 2014, but it was slow moving until 2015 when I read the inspiring book “The Autistic Author and Animator” by Influence Publishing author Janet Walmsley. After contacting Janet for guidance, I went on to complete Julie Salisbury’s InspireABook Workshop in the fall of 2015. During that workshop I befriended a handful of other women also on the journey of becoming published authors. We ended up forming a support group for each other, meeting regularly in person as well as online via a private Facebook Group that we called “The Penning Divas!” In this group we served each other’s as accountability partners and offered each other a sounding board for ideas and guidance through the unknowns of publishing.
In the fall of 2016 I moved forward and signed with Julie Salisbury to be my partner publisher. Since then Julie has held my hand, guiding me through the writing, editing, typesetting, printing, distributing, and marketing processes. I also then became part of the Influence Publishing community which has been a great resource, especially since it is supported regularly by you, Marilyn!
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How does the writing process work for you? Do you schedule a time every day, work madly when inspiration hits?
For the first two years I worked on my book I struggled to write. Full of self-judgment and self-doubt, I often procrastinated writing and only wrote when I felt inspired (which was not often). But in my third year of writing I joined a mastermind group that helped me to meet my weekly goals for writing. For instance, I would set a goal for the number of words to complete each week. After six months of working this way I realized that although I was creating quantity in word count. I was not creating quality. So I changed my goals from the number of words a week to the number of hours I would dedicate to writing each week. Writing in this way allowed for more flexibility and creativity. It was not until I committed to a self-care routine that my writing started to flow more naturally.
Why did I finally commit to daily self-care? I had submitted the first several chapters of my book to my editor Nina Shoroplova. Her feedback made me aware that I had been writing from two different voices which can be confusing for a reader. Nina advised me to write from one voice. This suggestion motivated me to make the daily care of my body, mind and soul a non-negotiable. In committing to my healing and wellness each day, I found it easier to write from a place of connection to my inner wisdom and personal truths – my one true voice. From that state of being I was able to write anywhere from three to six hours, four to five days a week.
What did you find most difficult about the writing and publishing process? What was the easiest?
The hardest part about the writing and publishing process was acknowledging when my manuscript was “good enough” to submit to my editor. Not only do I have perfectionist habits, but I also had an old habit of being defensive. Consequently, receiving constructive feedback was something I had to work on. Luckily for me my editor Nina helped me to be open to making large changes to my manuscript by teaching me that we were both on the same page. We both wanted the reader to be hooked within the first fifty pages, and we both wanted the entire reading experience to be an enjoyable and inspiring one for the reader.
The easiest part about the writing and publishing process was going through typesetting with Greg Salisbury, the Director of Operations at Influence Publishing. Greg is both patient and prompt with his responses, which I appreciated as a first time author with so many questions and deadlines.
What title (or titles) have you released?
My first published book is called “Purpose In Paralysis: From Chronic Pain to Universal Gain.” It will be released on Amazon on June 19th.
This book is about my journey of healing from an accident in 2010 that left me with paralysis from the waist down. As someone who lived inside my head for most of my adulthood suffering from chronic unworthiness, my story shows how paralysis was exactly what I needed to get back into my body. Because of my injury I discovered the practice of mindfulness and how it can help with chronic pain, anxiety and depression. But as I moved deeper into my body I also discovered that I had decades of repressed emotions within my tissues resulting in energy stagnation and the need for soul retrievals.
As an academic who had always been skeptical of the intangible, I was amazed to learn about the existence of my energy body and spiritual body. So in a large way my story is about how I went from being an anti-new age scholar to a practitioner of energy work and shamanism. This book is about more than just about how I learned to walk again; this book is about self-discovery, self-compassion and learning to stand in the truth of who we really are.
Do you have any new books in the planning or writing stage?
Yes. My next plan is to write a children’s book teaching about the daily practice of mindfulness and compassion.
What would you like readers to know about you? (please share about your business, career, passions, etc.)
I’m a holistic occupational therapist who is passionate about merging science and spirit together. I offer a range of services and resources to help individuals and groups with their personal growth and healing journeys. These include:
- The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course
- One on one mindfulness coaching and medical qigong energy healing treatments in person, online or over the phone
- Retreats and workshops on mindfulness, compassion and medical qigong
- Keynote talks on mindfulness, wellness, healing and spirituality
- Free streaming of my guided meditations on my SoundCloud account as well as on my channel “The Mindful Soul” on the free app called Aura Health
Do you have any messages for those reading this interview?
To anyone who has been thinking of writing and publishing a book I say: “YOU CAN DO IT!” Just move forward through any doubts, judgments and fears and commit to writing if not daily, then weekly. Consider working on your book a non-negotiable act of self-care. Set a goal for when you want to complete your book and don’t beat yourself up when you don’t meet your expected timeline. Honour the writing process as a sacred act that can’t be rushed. Finally, surround yourself with accountability partners who can be your personal writing and publishing cheerleaders. Now start writing!