In short,

Dispenza refused the surgery. He believed that thoughts and focused intention could influence physical matter—including bone. Instead of the operation, he spent in a self-designed mental rehabilitation program.

He visualized, in extreme detail, his vertebrae knitting back together. He imagined his spinal cord healing. He refused to visualize himself in pain or in a wheelchair. He even had friends write him letters describing his future self—fully healed and active. He would lie in a hospital bed for hours each day, mentally rehearsing every movement of healing at a cellular level.