Robert V. Bursik

I would also like to invite you to other pages part of this website, and other related webpages listed at the bottom of this page.

I wanted to make this page for people who have migraines, and for people who do not. It is my hope that my story will be able to help people who suffer the pain and debilitation of migraines, as did I for so many years.

The story you are about to read is true. It is about the pain, and about the solution that I found.

You can believe it, or you can not believe it. That's the way it always is. Those who want to see, will, and those who don't, will not. I hope some will try my method, and will find the relief that I found for the last 35 years. The solution is simple, the believing is not so easy. But I can only believe that if it worked for me, it can work for other people too.

I suffered migraine headaches for 7 years as a teenager. I would go blind, my hands would go numb, and I would have to be in a dark room for 2 days. The pain was unbearable.

When I was 19 years old, I felt a migraine coming on. I always know when it is starting, because I can perceive a slight distortion, or blind spot, in my vision. I sat down on the floor, and closed my eyes, and looked inside my head with my mind's eye. And what I found changed my life, and ended the migraine pain for the last 35 years.

What I found was a place of fear. I recognized it as fear. I perceived it as a solid place, like a walnut. I let it dissolve, and instead of a migraine headache, I had my first aura.

It started as a flickering light in the corner of my vision. It got bigger and bigger, colors of blue, yellow and pink, in zig-zag or diamond shapes. It lasted for 20 minutes, and finally disappeared to the sides of my vision.

I never had a migraine headache after that, but I have seen my aura 1,000's of times over the last 35 years. When it starts, I just ignore it, and continue with what I am doing. This helps me to ignore the fear that still tries to come over me. I say, "Oh, good, my aura is back." I can't see through it, I just work around it.

Sometimes, I will lie down and close my eyes, and watch my aura. When I do this, it slows down, and I can see it more clearly. It is so beautiful. I now consider it part of my life, and miss it if it is gone for too long.

From these 2 experiences, I can only conclude that there is a direct relationship between the mind, and the expression of the migraine. I no longer consider it to be a disease, but a gift. I consider that there is a function of control. And I consider that because the doctors don't know what it is, my solution is just as valid as their's. Maybe more so, because mine has worked for me for 35 years.

And I have other types of auras, also, that happen in other ways. Some I can start and control, and others come of themselves.

Early in the morning, when my mind is at peace, and I am asleep, comes to me most beautiful visions. They are like a living persian rug, moving shapes and colors. I watch it like watching television. I have learned that this vision emerges out of the darkness, first as a barely discernible shades of gray, and if I watch with more intensity, the shapes come into focus, and intensify into a living panorama of light and color.

At other times, comes to me the most beautiful sparkling white light, shining in the darkness, first as a barely discernible pinpoint of light. And if I let it, without fear, it grows increasingly larger, until it fills my vision.

And at other times during the day, comes to me an aura similar to a migraine aura, shapes and colors of electric light, which I see externally. And if I let it, and take time, and watch it, it slows down, and I can enjoy the simple beauty of it for what it is.

Saint Thomas said, "Angels are being of light, each as different from the other as an elephant is to a flea." - Written in "My Way of Life", by Saint Thomas - And I ask, "How can this be?"

Buddha said, "Within each man are endless forms, as endless as the sands on the Ganges. And again, within each form are endless forms, as endless as the sands on the Ganges. This is the purvue of the human experience." Written in "The Sutura of Innumerable Meanings" - And I ask, "How can this be?"

The Koran states, "There are 1,000 veils from darkness into light" - Written in "The Mystic Verse of Light, The Koran" - And I ask, "How can this be?"

The Dalai Lama told me, in 1986 in Washington, D.C., "It's very simple. Calm your mind, and take a white surface, and focus your attention, and watch the emanations of the mind." - And again I ask, "How can this be?" And I tried it, and found it to be true.

I have found that migraines (my aura) comes at all times. It comes when I am happy & when I am sad. It comes when I am stressed, and when I am at peace. It comes at work, when I am driving, when I am standing, sitting, or lying down. It comes when I eat well, or not eating well. It comes when I eat meat, or am a vegetarian, when I take vitamins or don't take vitamins. It comes in the light, or in the dark. It even comes when I am asleep. I can only conclude that there is no specific "trigger". The cause must be elsewhere.

And so, I can only conclude that the doctors are only treating the results of the migraine. They have not found the cause. And the symptoms they treat are the result of migraines not allowed to develop. The light is blocked by the fear, and becomes pain in its attempt to become free. I have found that if I meditate from time to time, and let the light come out, that the spontaneous occurrance of the aura stops for a while. I can only conclude that the migraine is a natural event in so many peoples lives, not to be feared, but to be enjoyed. I view it as like static electricity, and if it builds up in the mind, it needs to be released. And if we don't fear it, we can use it for our own beauty. I can only conclude that these experiences are related to the alpha wave. And that's all I can say. That has been my experience, and I can't deny it.

I can only conclude that the mind is a powerful and beautiful thing. No one can prove or measure this power. One can only experience it for oneself. And one can only infer, from the experiences of others throughout the ages, that there must be a truth in what they say. And that is the beginning, and the hardest part. The process is simple, the believing is the hard part.

I say, "Where you place your attention, multiplies. Do not dwell on the fear. By the elimination of fear, pain becomes great beauty. Therefore, focus on the beauty. This is the simple condition of the human experience." And I say again, "Those who want to see, will. And those who do not, will not." This is the way it always has been.

I am an architect, as well as a painter. I consider my work to be of the highest integrity. I would like to invite you to visit my web page of my work, where are also numerous letters of recommendation. My web page address is: here

I would appreciate any comments you may have. My e-mail address is: RVB3D4@AOL.COM

Other related web pages:

Migraines & artwork: here

York University Studies: here

"I see a strong relationship between my art making and headaches/migraine - mainly, the relationship is philosophical. Furthermore, some of my migraine visualizations, without the headache, have played a part in my art."

On the metamorphosis of the migraine into the mandala

"What is it, that, by the elimination of fear, pain becomes great beauty. Where you place your attention, multiplies. - Robert Bursik, 1972, on the metamorphosis of the migraine into the mandala."

(Artist's website, June 17, 2005)

"What I mean by the concept of 'metamorphesis of the migraine into the mandala'? - This process of changing from a migraine headache into an aura without headache has a philosophical conotation to me, that, as in physics, rules of process of the small are the same as rules of process of the large. The laws of physics at the atomic level want to be the same at the galactic level. The same may also be true of the mind. That the process of changing the pain of a migraine headache into a beautiful aura simply by the elimination of fear, is the same process as the general human condition as a whole. That there is more to us than our everyday mundane experiences, and that we typically live on a very minimized, and in fact, painful level, although we don't recognize it as painful and accept it as normal, and that we can achieve an awakening of our natural energies by the elimination of the fear of that awakening."

(Email to Klaus Podoll, July 20, 2005)

Letter to Robert Bursik

"Dear Robert,

I found your views on migraines really interesting, as I hold the very same view myself. I spent years worrying about my migraines, the auras and all the other strange stuff which was part of the migraine package. I tried all sorts of treatments and spent most of my time worrying about all of the symptoms, wondering what was wrong with me. Now though, like you, I have auras much of the time and really quite enjoy the strangeness of them, the unique experience which is always slightly different or new each day. I have some medications which can really damp down these experiences, but choose not to use them as I miss the experience when I'm on them. Like you I see the aura 'symptoms' as a gift, part of what makes me who I am, and something which I know not many other people have the opportunity to experience.

Sometimes I search for a deeper meaning, or some insight beyond what I know already (which is how I came across your words), but so few people with migraines experience this tremendously joyous event every day and I find that this perspective is so rarely accepted. The information and background I come across is often so clinical and devoid of any mystery that it makes migraine something to be endured and to suffer from rather than the gift that it really is.

I don't get headaches now, just the lovely, interesting and incredibly exciting auras. The visual experiences happen all the time, and it's exciting when something slightly different happens one day, or when the intensity is greater. Yes I understand everything you say, but so few people have this perspective even suggested to them.

I really do enjoy the gift of the migraine aura, and wonder whether to even call it that anymore, and every so often I search for more background or insight but find it isn't out there. How sad, but also how uplifting to find someone else with this experience of this apparent affliction.
I suppose I have got a bit more insight from this latest web quest though, as now I know that this perspective, this acceptance and welcoming of the migraine aura is one really good way of living with it, as I know that I'm not the only person who has beaten migraines, but another one who's embraced them.

Best wishes

AM"

(AM, Email to Robert Bursik, August 10, 2005)

"Dear Mr. Podoll, I corresponded with you about 4 years ago, when you asked me to paint a picture of my Migraine Aura. It has taken me this long, and a JPG is attached."

(Robert Bursik, E-Mail to Klaus Podoll, February 17, 2010)

"At that time I tried to explain this event on chat pages, and finally realized it was too complicated, and I was reaching too few people.

So I decided to write a book, which was published this week. I am now 62 years old, and I didn't want My Story - My Solution to be lost to history, if it can be of help to other people.

I have had several other Visual Experiences similar in process to the Migraine Aura. They are very specific, and constant. It led me to Wonder, 'How can this be?', and, 'What does this mean?'

That is the subject of my book. After 40 years of being pain-free, but having seen the Migraine Aura 1,000 times in the last 40 years, I can only conclude that Migraines have done me no harm, and that they are a natural event, an Energy of the Mind.

I would like to invite you to look at my Book Webpage, where I have a more detailed description. My book is called, 'Beauteous Contemplations'."

(Robert Bursik, E-Mail to Klaus Podoll, February 17, 2010)

Robert V. Bursik

Author's website

Migraines: My story - my solution