
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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