The Power of Your Mind

I first became aware of the positive power of the mind about fifteen years ago when I was in the middle of a lengthy book promotion tour. I'd visited dozens of radio and television studios and had answered the same questions a thousand times. I'd travelled constantly - by train, plane and car. I was exhausted. And then, with five days to go, I woke up with the flu. Headache, bad throat, aching muscles - the lot. I should have abandoned the rest of the tour but the book was selling well and I wanted to continue. So, feeling rather foolish, I made a deal with my body. I told it that I needed five days more before I succumbed. I then got out of bed, had breakfast, left the hotel and headed off for the next interview. Miraculously, I felt fine. The symptoms of the flu had all gone. I got through the next five days with no trouble.

When I finished the tour and went home I had forgotten about the flu. But my body hadn't. I had hardly taken off my shoes before the symptoms returned. My mind had successfully suppressed and delayed those inconvenient symptoms until they became more convenient.

Most people (and that includes most doctors) still believe that the body is like a machine. It isn't. Forget all those analogies about bodies being like motor cars and needing nothing more than good fuel, regular servicing and expensive check ups. Your body is much more complicated than any machine imaginable. And your mind has an enormous influence over your health.

I can illustrate the power of the mind over the body most dramatically by referring to some research which was done with patients who were suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder.

One patient suffered from high blood pressure when one of his personalities was dominant.

But when another personality took over his high blood pressure problem disappeared!

It was the same body. But the mind change had resulted in it becoming a different, healthier body!

Another patient suffered from diabetes when one personality was dominant. But the diabetes vanished when a different personality took over.

We have only just begun to find out how powerful the human mind can be.

In the future the greatest breakthroughs in healing and health care will not come from scientists working on new drugs but from those few doctors who are investigating ways of harnessing the power of the human mind more effectively.

Sadly, most research is paid for by drug companies (who are only interested in finding profitable new drugs) and governments (who are controlled by drug companies) so progress is slow.

But you can use the power of your mind yourself.

Next time you're feeling a bit low try telling your body that you're really feeling strong and healthy. Instead of concentrating on the aches and pains make an effort to concentrate on feeling well again.

I don't pretend that you can cure all illnesses this way.

But you can get rid - or suppress - minor symptoms. And you can increase your chances of recovering from more serious problems.

Your mind can make you ill. But it can also make you well again if you give it a chance.


Note
Vernon Coleman's book Mindpower explains in detail how you can use your mind to keep you healthy - and to help heal your body when you are ill. Mindpower is available in all good bookshops and libraries or from the shop on this Web site.


Copyright Vernon Coleman 2004


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