The Mind Matters

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The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.
Arthur C. Clarke

The Science of Being Well
Chapter 8 Summary of Mental Actions  (1:03:05)

The overriding theme to the last seven chapters has been that our thoughts are the most important component to our health.  The summary of the mental actions then reiterates the main ideas that we must understand and accept as true, in order to achieve success with The Science of Being Well.

The first of these truths is that there is ONE thinking substance which makes up everything.  This substance is an energy that is in, around, and emanates from, everything.  It permeates and connects all things together.  This energy is the principle of life in the universe.

There is so much more to our being than just a collection of bones and blood inside some skin.  We have layers, or energy fields, that when we are healthy, extend several feet beyond our bodies and we can make connections that cross thousands of  miles.

It is no secret that our mind body, one of the layers of our energy field, directly affects our physical body.  It is the mind body which controls the function of our physical body.  Our bodies are small fields of energy within a larger field of energy that is our life force. These fields are constantly sending, receiving and processing information in the form of vibrations or frequencies. 

When we fill our mind body with high vibration thoughts of  love, joy, and gratitude, we open to the inflow of life force energy and good things, including health and well being gravitate toward us.  As a result, we receive a corresponding inflow of life force energy and an increase in vitality.

If, on the other hand, we are angry, selfish or just generally antagonistic, these attitudes interfere with the flow of life force energy.  Blocked, stagnant, or leaking energy leads to discomfort and disease.  Negative thoughts and behaviors are considered the most toxic forms of these energy interrupters. Common energy disruptors are talking, brooding, muscle tension,  and negative emotions.

One common energy leak is unnecessary talking.  Most talking involves nothing more than mindless chatter.  Conversations that are mired in gossip, complaining or  negative drama are examples of unnecessary talking that drain our life force energy.  Sadly,  for many people, unnecessary talking occurs almost every time they speak.

A second energy disruptor is brooding or unnecessary thinking. This includes worrying and random thoughts about nothing in particular.  Every time we indulge in unnecessary thinking, we lose energy. 

Another energy block is excessive muscle tension.  This is the abnormal tension that results in common physical complaints such as a stiff neck, or low back pain.  The stress and fatigue caused by the constant resistance to a life out of harmony and flow, creates considerable unnecessary tension in our bodies along with a loss of vital life force energy.

The fourth block  is negative emotions,  These are the emotions that scream “No” to life and limit opportunities and possibilities coming and going. We manifest these negative emotions in a whole range of forms from irritability, judgment, and impatience, to full blown anger and rage.

What these examples show is that if we are going to get healthy, we are going to have to learn to monitor our thoughts and stay in control of them at all times. Simply stated,  healing our body  involves changing our mind.

One of the ways we can do this is to get creative, and form a vivid picture of the health we want. Using the imagination, we can generate a vision of a healthy person and attach our likeness to it.  How does a healthy person look, sound and act?  Go all out - visualization is a form of self-hypnosis that anyone can use to facilitate healing.  By focusing on the positive pictures in our mind can improve how we feel, which in turn will have a positive effect on our body.

Our belief system is based upon our accumulation of verbal and non-verbal references that we have gathered throughout our entire life. The patterns we repeat bring us the rewards and punishment that create our unique perception of reality. It is in this way, we become what we think.

In healing,  we can use the repetitive process of positive visualization to access the mind-body connection. When the mind and body work together, they can support the healing processes of the body. We must believe in the process and have faith that

Our thoughts generate an emotion that turns into a physical sensation. Visualization uses positive images to produce positive emotions that manifest into positive physical sensations in the body.   Our bodies do react to the thoughts we make. They work in relationship to each other. Think of something that makes you happy.  It  is hard not to smile, even if it is only on the inside.

We have a choice in what to think.  The power that heals is within us.  If better health is our goal then we must decide to think only of health. Have faith in health, claim the blessing of health and always be grateful for health.  This mental exercise draws the life force energy in and supports the vibrations of faith and gratitude.

The mental actions necessary to come into harmony with the life force energy that supports our health and well-being can be summed up in the following quote.

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
 Watch your words, for they become actions.
 Watch your actions, for they become habits.
 Watch your habits, for they become character.
 Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”



Tip of the Day:
The following breathing technique has been practiced by yogis for centuries. Breathing techniques were known by the ancients and have been used in many cultures to restore balance in the body to improve health. Try the following breathing exercise.

Sitting in a comfortable position with straight posture, place your right thumb against your right nostril. Breathe in through the left nostril slowly until your lungs are full.

Release the thumb and press the first finger of the same hand against the left nostril and breathe out.

Inhale through the right nostril, then close it off and breathe out through the left.

Repeat the cycle three to five times (sunrise, at noon, at sunset, and at midnight).

When you feel calm and rebalanced, relax and resume normal breathing. Visualize the healing.

Faith and Gratitude

Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof. - Khalil Gibran 

The Science of Being Well
Chapter 5 Faith

Everyone, it seems, has heard the quote "if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed... nothing will be impossible for you," (Mathew 17:20, English Standard Version), but how can we apply it to our health? 

Faith, by definition, is more than a thought and even more than a belief. Faith is the creative power of thought. It causes our desired outcome to come to us.  It is in the process of getting from thought to faith that the life cycle of the mustard seed can help us.

A mustard seed is really, really tiny so it seems okay if we start out with something small, with say, the idea that health is possible.   And just as a mustard seed must be planted to grow, we plant the thought in our mind that health is possible.  

We must be clear about what we want. Often it is easier to express what we do not want, but it is important to focus on what we hope for, not what we lack and fear. Shift your thoughts and language to possibilities.

Just as the mustard seed must send down roots to grow,  we need roots.  Our beliefs are our roots. In its most simple form, a belief is just an acceptance that certain things are true or real. 

To make any random idea a belief,  we must feel some certainty toward the idea.  Certainty can come from our intuition, (the truth makes us feel lighter) but more often it comes from the number of references we have regarding the particular notion.  References are the occasions that reinforce our beliefs. 

To clarify the concept of references,  let me illustrate with a short example.

Once upon a time, in a live seminar, we were asked to stand.  There were about 1,000 people in the room and we all stood.  "If you are a patient person, sit down," was the next instruction. So, about half of the people in the room sat down. The remaining participants were asked to shout out why they thought they were impatient people...the list was made on the tablet on stage.....someone told them they were, they didn't like to stand in line, they were easily agitated, etc.  

Then the group that was sitting were told to stand if  anyone had ever told them they were impatient or if they didn't like to stand in lines, etc.  By the time the exercise was over, everyone in the room was standing again.... 

The point is, for the most part, we all have similar experiences, some good and some bad. We've all likely been agitated by standing in line at some point in time, but whether we use that experience to declare ourselves as impatient people, comes from the beliefs we hold.  Our beliefs dictate which experiences we use to validate our point of view  and which ones we dismiss as unimportant. This process shapes the attitude we  adopt in life. 

Adding certainty to a belief cements it in our mind body so that we continuously look for and find the references that make our belief true for us.  Our mustard seed is now a tree with many branches which are all the instances that we can recount to support our view.  Refute one experience and we quickly recount another. We will do everything in our power to keep our belief true.  One established, our beliefs remain until we decide to question them.

Have you ever wondered why you think some of the things you do?  Many of our beliefs are gifted to us when we are small children, but we can consciously create beliefs about who or what we are anytime.  We are always free to believe anything we choose and we can change our beliefs at any time.  We just have to look for new references.   Choose beliefs carefully because, over time, our beliefs create us.

So now if we take this process of accepting an idea all the way to abiding faith and apply  it to our health, we can certainly be well.

Our initial idea is health is possible. The truth is, if it exists somewhere, it can exists wherever we are. If we accept, in principle, that health is possible, we can imprint the thought of health in our mind body.  Go ahead, entertain the idea of health.  Try on perfect health by creating a picture of  perfect health (cut a picture out of a magazine if it helps create the vision), then affix your image to it.  Get a good clear picture of what health looks like.  Then feel health; the strength, the power, the joy of it.  Let the image you created of health meld with the feeling of health.  Use this vision to reframe any negative or unhealthy thoughts that may creep in until your faith in health has been solidified.

Faith begins with belief.  Believe that you are healthy and live in a healthy environment.  Choose people and environments that help you see possibilities instead of problems. Use techniques and therapies to clear any limiting beliefs that may challenge you. Actively seek experiences that support you and build references for health.  Lift your head, throw back your shoulders and smile.  Don't you feel better already?

There is a limitless supply of health.  Choose to believe that health is a natural state and is achievable, then take action to cement the belief into certainty.  Certainty creates faith.  Strive for certainty, and faith, the simple peace of knowing that draws us closer to our Source, will follow. 

Claim health. Cling to your conception of health.  Assert with conviction that you are well at all times.  If necessary, immediately dismiss any thoughts of imperfection or disease and replace them with your vision of health. 

Mentally, take the attitude of being well by acting well (sit tall, stand tall, walk with purpose). Have the attitude (can-do strength) of a healthy person.

Always give thanks for your perfect health. Make it a habit to count your blessings everyday and watch them grow.

Gratitude is a force that affects every aspect of our lives, both physically and spiritually. Gratitude helps us control our own field of  thought.... continually assert that you are well.   It helps us feel more satisfied with our lives and opens up space for more blessings.

Gratitude is one of the most misunderstood and neglected energy sources in our life. Whatever we give gratitude for increases, so give gratitude for your health and enjoy better health. 

Faith and Gratitude are powerful forces we can use to transform our health and our life. Use them to grow faith in health and realize that anything is possible for those that have faith.

How does it get any better than this?

Tip of the Day:

Threading the Chakras
Use this simple exercise to energize and  increase vitality.

Begin by rubbing the palms of your hands together vigorously.  Once some heat has been generated, cup your hands and feel the energy between them...Shape it into a ball and bounce it back and forth between the palms.

Now take this energy and bounce it on the root chakra (pubic bone).  Bounce it at the pace that feels comfortable 6-8 times on each location. Move up to the 2nd Chara (belly button) and bounce the energy there. Continue threading the chakras by moving up to the 3rd Chakra (solar plexus).  Bounce the ball of energy there then move up to the 4th Chakra (the heart) and bounce the energy ball there.  If you need to recharge the energy just rub your hands together again and then continue.  Next bounce the energy ball on the 5th Chakra (the throat) and then the 6th Chakra (the third eye, between the eyebrows) and finally on the crown chakra ( the top of the head).

Reverse the process and bounce the energy ball  back down through all of the chakras.  Take a couple of deep breaths and enjoy the renewed vitality  that comes from balancing the life force centers in the body.