Can Brain Power Restore Your Health and Reduce Your Physiological Age?
Do you ever feel like you are not in command of your health and your life? Would you like to get that control back?
This is a common problem in today’s society. We’ve been conditioned to believe that circumstances outside our control are responsible for our problems. But is that really true?
This article is about your health, but this breakthrough concept will translate to all areas of your life. You are in charge of your happiness, health and wealth. You have control over how your day will go. True you cannot control the actual events of the day, how people treat you and what they do, however… and this is crucial to understand… you steer how those events shape your day, week, month, year and ultimately your life. It’s time to grab the reins and consciously correct course. After all, as the saying goes, you are the captain of your ship!
Personal responsibility and the power of the subconscious mind.
I recall a study a few years back that demonstrated the power of the mind to not only influence how you think and feel but how you heal. The study was conducted on people told they were in need of arthroscopic knee surgery; people who had damaged cartilage and required this to be cleaned out. These people suffered from chronic pain.
Some patients received the traditional surgery, others part-surgery, while some of the patients received only anesthesia but no instrumentation was introduced into their knee. For this latter group, small incisions were made at the same points as would indicate a usual surgical intervention. So, when they woke from the sham operation they were unaware which intervention they had received. In fact, when each group was later asked if they believed they had received the placebo, the percentage who responded in the affirmative was equal at approximately 13%.
In a 2 year follow-up those who received the placebo (the sham operation) reported as much pain relief as those who actually had the surgery. There was also an equal improvement in function, with no significant difference shown between the groups.
How incredible! The mind imagined the knee would get better, and so it did!
I also recall hearing about a revolutionary study performed on people with multiple personality disorder, also called Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Dramatic biological changes were observed in people with DID as they switched from one personality to another. These included the abrupt appearance and disappearance of rashes, welts, scars and other tissue wounds; switches in handwriting and handedness; epilepsy, allergies and color blindness that strike only when a given personality is in control of the body. In an astounding example, one personality showed elevated blood sugar and diabetes on blood work, and then normal blood sugar blood work when a different personality took over.
We cannot underestimate out subconscious programming and the power it has over our lives.
Do you believe your health problems are just old age? Genetic? Predetermined? Not to say that age and genes don’t play a role, but how much of that impact is built into our belief system and our preconceived notions about health?
Modern medicine disempowers the patient and makes them feel they must rely on drugs and expensive procedures to restore health. This is a disservice to the patient and society in general.
The Human Petri Dish, Our Mind as the Master Chemist and The Power To Change Your Biology
Conventional belief was that your life to a large degree was determined by your heredity. The new science of epigenetics (“above the genes”) says, no, your life is a result of your participation and your mind’s influence on what’s going on.
– Dr Bruce Lipton
Stunning neuroscientific discoveries on the biochemical effects of the brain reveal that all the cells of your body are affected by your thoughts. Dr Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D., a renowned cell biologist, describes the precise molecular pathways through which this occurs. Using simple language, illustrations, humor, and everyday examples, he demonstrates how the new science of epigenetics is revolutionizing our understanding of the link between mind and matter, our brain and our body, and the profound effects it has on our personal lives and the collective life of our species.
The stem cell research Dr Lipton worked on in the 1960s revealed that the environment the cells were in shaped their genetic expression and behavior. He put identical cells into three different petri dishes, each with a different medium. By changing the chemistry in the culture the cells lived in, the actual genetics and behavior of cells changed remarkably. For example, one cell became muscle, one bone, and other fat.
According to Dr Lipton, the human is like a giant skin-covered petri dish of 50 trillion cells. The culture medium in our body is the blood and the “chemist” controlling the composition of the blood, by adding and removing elements, is the mind. The cells receive their information about whether to grow, contract, live or die, based our mind’s perception and interpretation of reality.
The challenge is that each of us sees and perceives the world in a different way. The unique combination of our experiences, upbringing, nutrition, and more, alters our lens’. If two people are watching the same sunset, one looks out and says, “This is a friendly, wonderful place that supports me and I am a healthy happy human.” The other, sitting right next to him says, “This is a scary place and I have no idea what my future holds. I’m afraid.” They’re both in the same environment but their brain is sending very different messages to the cells around their body, ultimately affecting the behavior and genetic activity of the cells.
“Whatever I am perceiving out there I will manifest a physical complement to it in here. So if I have a healthy vision, my mind’s chemistry converts my body into health. If I live in fear… Fear causes 90% of the illness on the planet. And it’s all generated by the perceptions of the mind. The picture you hold in your mind creates the behavior and biology you express in life.”
– Dr Bruce Lipton
This is basic science. Let’s look at another example.
We know that if you have poor posture, you take on a negative mindset and when you have a negative mind set the sad, discouraging thoughts that enter your mind can cause chemicals in the brain to fire. Your serotonin (one of your ‘happy hormones’) levels decrease, and the follow-on changes alter both your biology and further induce a negative mindset. It is a vicious cycle, because when your biochemistry is off balance it is even harder to change your thoughts to positive ones.
What can you do to change the negative to the positive?
Consciously wake up and think positive, empowering thoughts. Stand up straight and walk with confidence. Endorphins are released and those feel good chemicals start a self-fulfilling prophecy that you can control.
The big question is, how do we change our subconscious thoughts and beliefs?
To keep this article brief I will share basic and important guidelines in a moment. If you want to discover more, Edith Moscowitz’s article How To Program The Subconscious Mind is well worth the read.
Her 4 Tips To Gain The Most From The Subconscious Mind Programming Process Are:
- Focus on ONE affirmation for a period of time of at least 4 weeks.
- Do it every night before sleep and just when you wake up.
- Get into a routine. Create neuronal wiring in the same place and at the same time.
- Find 5-10 minutes during the day and repeat.
Can your mind stop aging?
Dr Ellen Langer is a professor in the Psychology Department at Harvard University. She conducted a breakout study in a nursing home to determine the minds influence over the physical body.
One group of residents were given a plant and told they were responsible for the watering, care and health of that plant and they were also given control over their schedule of daily activities.
The other group were also given a plant, but told that the staff would be solely responsible for its care. They did not need to worry about their daily schedule either as someone would handle this for them.
Can you imagine the outcome?
After 18 months, 50% more people with control of their scheduled and responsibility for that simple plant were still alive. This experiment turned everything we previously thought about physiology upside down. The power of the mind to control aging and death was revealed.
In another study, Dr Langer outfitted the interior of a building to reflect the year 1950. All aspects were considered, from black and white TVs, to the choice of magazines and the conversations allowed. A group of residents who had lived through the 50s were sent to live there, with instructions:
— do not discuss any non-50s events
— discuss the TV shows, sporting events and news of the times
They were to, essentially, immerse themselves in the era.
From the time they entered, the residents were treated as if they were living in the 50’s, despite many needing a cane and walkers. They were give no help and told to move in on their own, even if that meant carrying their items in one shirt at a time. Days were spent watching TV, listening to radio programs, and talking about the daily events of the time period.
The goal was not to live in the past per se, but to trigger the residents minds to exhibit the biological responses of their younger self.
What this study revealed was mind blowing…
By the end of the study they all showed improvements in eyesight, dexterity, appetite, memory, and some of residence who walked in with canes and walkers, walked out with their bags in both hands. This experiment allowed the participants to be treated differently, and thus see themselves differently as well. The remarkable result was physiological change in their bodies.
How can you harness the power of your mind?
That’s a great question! These 3 steps will help you to do just that!
- Understand that your mind has massive influence over your body, The saying, ’mind over matter’ is true. The power of attitude and belief controls how we heal, function and even how we age.
- Keep your mind active. As the proverb says, “Where there is no vision people perish”. You need purpose. This is key. We all have a role to play on this planet and the minute you no longer have a purpose the universe wants your parts back. These will be reallocated to someone who is going to continue to be of value. We are programmed with the need to be part of something bigger, and our mind is programmed to self-destruct when we are no longer needed.
- Humans have a strong need to control our environment. People need to feel they have mastery of their path. Make sure your situation enables you to feel both in control and give those around you a sense of control also.
In short, the evidence is mounting and it’s exciting! You are, in large part, in command of your health. What you think, how you act, the choices you make each moment over the course of your lifetime contribute to the creation of your physical and emotional wellbeing.
You really are in control!