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Holistic appreciation and treatment of the physical systems of the body

Holistic appreciation, care and treatment of physical, mental, emotional, psychological, psychic and spiritual health

Holistic appreciation, study and application of various modalities of health care and of medicine

Holistic appreciation of synergies among various roles of healers and care-givers in an effort centered on empowered patients.

  1. Total Human Development and Harmony Through Synergism

  2. Holistic Health Care and Medicine

  3. Deep Ecology and Harmony with Nature 

  4. Sense of History and Sense of Mission

  5. Civics and Democratic Governance

  6. Culture as Community Creativity

  7. Light-Seeking and Light-Sharing Education

  8. Gender Sensitivity, Equality & Harmony

  9. Reconstructive/Restor-ative Justice

10. Associative Economics, Social Capital and Sustainable Development

11. Synergetic Leadership and Organizations

12. Appropriate/Adaptive Technology

13. Mutual Enrichment of Families and Friendships

14. Human Dignity and Human Harmony: Human Rights and Peace

15. Aesthetics Without Boundaries: 'Art from the Heart'   

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Principles and Techniques
of Natural Health and Healing

By Sylvia O. de Guzman

(The author, Sylvia O. de Guzman, is a human development specialist, writer, and educator who has studied and practiced natural health and healing techniques such as Tai’ chi and meditation over the past 11 years, and is affiliated with several organizations teaching and disseminating such techniques.)

AN EXCITING NEW approach to health and healing -- natural health and healing – is steadily gaining adherents with the many beneficial results it continues to achieve, at times bordering on the “miraculous”. Based upon millennia-old traditions of health care and yet, supported and validated by the latest findings of modern science including such newly emergent fields as psychoneuroimmunology, this new approach presents a radical departure from the conventional framework of mainstream medical and health practice, and alters the way medicine is approached.

Return to Nature

Although natural health and healing provides a range of options for health care that may even be applied complementary to modern medicine, at its core is a return to nature – making full use of the human being’s natural capacity for self-healing, long neglected by medicine, as well as the vast resources and energies nature offers to attain and maintain health.

As much as possible, therefore, natural healing avoids highly intrusive interventions that obtrude upon and drastically interfere with the natural workings and subtle energy flows of the human system, or that cause the natural functioning of the body’s systems to atrophy from long disuse while fostering permanent dependence on synthetic preparations.

A distinct advantage of natural health and healing techniques is that they often require greatly reduced expenditure since many of the healing energies provided by nature are free or come cheaply, such as those coming from sunlight, water, and fresh air.

Healing the Person, Not the Disease

While conventional medicine treats diseases in a generic way, prescribing the same healing treatment and regimen for all persons manifesting similar symptoms, natural health and healing strives to heal the patient as a unique and complex individual.

Gradually, the medical profession is relearning what once it knew so well – that we cannot understand disease unless we understand the persons afflicted with the disease. This includes knowing and understanding the circumstances of their lives, and their psycho-emotional profiles and background, and on this basis, finding their unique paths towards health and healing. Medicine then ceases to be only a mechanistic specialty but is transformed into a special calling that requires compassion and depth of understanding of the whole person.

In this new paradigm of health care, patients are no longer viewed as unquestioning subjects for passive treatment by medical experts and authorities but as active participants sharing responsibility for their own healing on the basis of informed choice.

Preventive Approach to Health

Conventional medicine is curative; it attempts to cure the sickness as this manifests physically, when it is already there. On the other hand, natural health and healing is preventive; it tries to attain and maintain health and wellness even before any ailment manifests. Its emphasis is on preventing sickness from occurring by bolstering the immune system and resorting to practices and states of mind conducive to health and vitality, such as nutritious food and cleansing diet, meditation techniques that foster inner harmony, music and art that massage the soul, adequate rest and sleep, sanitation, and exercise. Attention is turned away from disease and death, towards health and life.

Health as Holistic Well-being

All major religions and philosophical systems of humanity are one in teaching that human beings are multidimensional: they consist not only of physical, but also of emotional, mental, psychic, and spiritual dimensions. Many effects and symptoms, therefore, that manifest in the grossest physical or material dimension, have their origin and causes in some deeper dimension or higher, subtler sphere. The same is true with sickness and disease.

Hence, health is now defined (in the global context, by such United Nations agencies as the World Health Organization) in a comprehensive and holistic way in terms of physical, physiological, mental, psychological, emotional, and spiritual well-being. This coincides with current multi-dimensional approach to intelligence: multiple intelligences include not just the conventional components of Intelligence Quotient (I.Q.) of analytical/mathematical intelligence and verbal/linguistic intelligence, but also other intelligences such as body-kinesthetic, spatial/artistic, musical, interpersonal/social, intrapersonal/self-knowledge and self-mastery, naturalistic/environmental, and psychic/spiritual/cosmic.

Root Cause of Disease

While conventional medicine concerns itself mostly with the physical manifestations of disease which are but effects and symptoms, natural health and healing seeks to look deeper into the deeper causes of disease as these are rooted in the human psyche.

As early as the fourth century B.C., the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, said: “A change in the state of the soul produces a change in the state of the body.” This upholds what mystics have been saying throughout the ages: that most diseases of the physical body have their roots in the human consciousness: the mind and the inner soul.

Body-Mind-Spirit Connection

Now, more than 2,000 years later, this principle is at the core of a radical new approach to the study of human disease, an approach that explores the body-mind-spirit connection and the power of mind over matter.

For a long time, conventional medicine sought only physical explanations for human disease. Much has thus been achieved in studies on: bacteria and viruses that invade the body; biochemical malfunctions in the body systems; chemical toxins that poison the body; the effect of environmental factors such as pollution; the influence of genetics in such congenital diseases as hemophilia; the role of diet, food, and nutrients in human health; and many other useful findings. Though adding much to the fund of human knowledge, these studies explained human diseases only in physical terms.

While conventional Western medicine concerned itself mostly with tangible cells, tissues, and organs, other healing traditions such as Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine also delved into the subtle energy pathways, movements, and interconnections at work in the human system.

Now, based on advanced studies, medical researchers and practitioners have started to acknowledge what mystics have long taught: that the root of most diseases that manifest in the outer physical body lie in the deeper dimensions of mind and inner soul. Considerable scientific evidence is increasingly establishing the psycho-emotional and psychical roots of disease. Medical research has found that more than 90 percent of diseases are psychosomatic, arising from inharmonious conditions in the mind, mostly due to stress. Stress-related maladies range from allergies to ulcers, hypertension, high blood pressure, and heart ailments.

Researchers are now studying the relationships among consciousness, psycho-social factors, attitudinal healing, and the immune function, the contribution of lifestyle and emotions to health, and the relation of stress and illness. Science now documents how feelings can create chemical changes in our body. Daniel Goleman, in his book, Emotional Intelligence, presents the latest psychological research findings on the processes by which emotions trigger reactions in the brain, resulting in the release of hormones and chemicals.

Health: A State of Harmony and Wholeness

What state of inner consciousness causes disease in the outer physical body? Disharmony.

Renowned mystical healers since ancient times such as Aeschulapius, prince of Thessaly in Italy (whose symbolic staff was the caduceus, which has become the emblem of modern medicine), the powerful mystic philosopher-healer, Nagarjuna of India, and the eminent healer-alchemist, Paracelsus of Switzerland, have taught that if some disorder or disharmony prevails in the inner psychic dimension and state of consciousness, this is bound to have an outer manifestation in a sickness of the physical body. Health is a state of harmony and wholeness.

This is now increasingly being verified by modern medical science. Correlations have been observed in the incidence of specific ailments with certain psycho-emotional states, among others: repressed anger with kidney or gall stones (accumulation of unreleased mental and emotional toxins); unexpressed or unrequited love with heart ailments (a heavy, overstrained heart); excessive mental or emotional burdens or weight of responsibilities with shoulder and back aches (carrying a heavy load); and nervous tension with ulcers or hyperacidity (upset stomach).

Clearly, our psyche -- our emotional and mental state -- affects our health. We can change our biology by how we think and feel. A bout of depression can wreak havoc with the immune system while falling in love can boost it (resulting in an elevated immune response marked by increased salivary immunoglobin antigen or SigA). Despair and hopelessness increase the risk of heart attacks and cancer, thereby shortening life. In contrast, joy and fulfillment keep us healthy and extend life. This scientific validation of the body-mind-spirit connection confirms our capacity for mindful change at the cellular level.

Disharmony Stems from Lack of Attunement with Nature

What, in turn, causes disharmony in the inner dimension?

It is important to understand that, as human beings, we are part of a larger order of interconnected existence in the cosmos. This is expressed in the Chaos Theory propounded by physicists, biochemists, mathematicians, and other scientists which states that there are no isolated energy movements in the universe. We live amidst the intricate workings of a natural sea of energy marked by polarities which must be kept in harmony and balance. The human system itself constantly strives to attain homeostasis or balance. The body is governed by natural cycles which should not be disrupted for they exert a significant effect and influence on the body.

In the grand scheme of the cosmos, whether we like it or not, we are subject to natural cosmic laws. And whether or not we believe in these natural universal laws, we are influenced by them, much as gravity would exist and influence us whether or not we believe in it, as we can easily test if we jump from a cliff – we would fall, even while declaring disbelief in gravity. It would serve us well, therefore, to know these natural universal laws and conduct our lives in harmony with them and in attunement with the forces of nature. Such laws include: the Law of Compensation or Karma, which states that what we sow, we reap; the Law of Evolution, which states that all human beings individually and all humanity collectively are on a course of evolution; the Law of Sharing, which states that what we share would inevitably come back to us multifold; and the Law of Cycles, which states that all of life and nature is governed by cycles.

Ultimately, disharmony in our system is caused by lack of attunement with nature, by violating the natural laws of the cosmos and thereby causing undulations in the cosmic web, by upsetting the harmony and balance in nature and thereby triggering a counterbalancing reaction which may be cataclysmic, and by disrupting the natural functioning of the body.

Physical, Mental, and Psychic Toxins

The human body is composed of natural elements and hence we are naturally bound to the flow and cycles of the seasons of nature. But humans often set arbitrary, artificial schedules which may not be in attunement with the grand natural design, and which do not effectively utilize the natural resources and energy to be found in nature and deep within themselves.

For example, humans often ignore their need for adequate rest, sleep, and exercise, and for sufficient sunlight, nutritious food, water, and fresh air. To comply with the dictates of fashion, they bind their body in tight and uncomfortable clothing. They pollute the earth’s air and water, and consequently have to suffer the backlash of a degraded environment. To indulge in the pleasure of the senses, they ingest harmful substances such as drugs, alcohol, nicotine, and junk food which poison their body and which, when absorbed into the bloodstream, result in lowering the overall performance of body systems. All these interfere with their natural body functions, and cause disharmony, imbalance, and blocks in the flow of energy in the system.

But more insidious than the chemical toxins people imbibe are the mental and psychic toxins that they introduce into their systems whenever they engage in negative thoughts and emotions such as depression, anger, resentment, irritation, envy, fear, and worry, unaware that such mental and psychic poisoning have a great destructive effect on their health and vitality.

Negative Mental Programming Lowers the Immune System

Since the entire community of cells in our body receives instructions from our consciousness, much like a radio receiving broadcasts, any negative programming will inevitably produce a negative response. In this way, strong negative thoughts and emotions habitually or chronically maintained, such as fear and anger, have the power to generate fatal diseases such as cancer.

The body’s immune system is affected by our mental attitudes, becoming strengthened or exhausted, depending on the mental messages it receives. Strong negative emotions depress the immune system, making the person more susceptible to illness and tumor growth.

The British Medical Journal reported that Dr. Anthony David of London, in a recent study, found that stress and grief, such as that caused by loss of a loved one or death in the family, can increase the risk of breast cancer. It was found that a significant percentage of women whose mammography registered a breast lump had recently experienced a severe adverse event in life, such as a divorce or a family tragedy. Their immune systems had been greatly lowered by their indulging in negative thoughts and emotions and, consequently, they had become vulnerable and susceptible to disease.

Viruses can affect us only when we lower our guard. For viruses are all around us; but they do not cause diseases per se. It is more of negative mental programming and an imbalance between the positive and negative forces within the body that result in sickness. We are already infected by all kinds of organisms in the arsenal of virulent diseases; it is only when we create a favorable environment for them that they can take over our system. Yeast, for example, exists in everyone, yet only a small percentage of the population suffers yeast infections. You cannot get rid of yeast without killing off all other life in the body. Since yeast is ever present in everyone, yeast infection can only be due to a mental attitude that allows the infection.

Consider also the poor squatter children playing in the garbage dumps of Smoky Mountain or Payatas. They are so active and do not get sick as much as we would expect from the filth and stench of their surroundings, especially taking into account their malnourished state, because they are constantly exposed to these surroundings and these are commonplace for them. But people coming from more affluent communities, used to cleaner environments, would cringe from the dirt and immediately succumb to disease when placed in these surroundings.

By letting go of feelings of guilt and failure, worry and anger, toxins that encumber our system and waste so much energy, mental and emotional energy can be freed and it would then be possible for us to utilize to the fullest our innate healing capacities.

Natural Capacity for Self-Healing

The universe is built as a self-regulating, self-fixing, self-regenerating universe. As an ancient mystical tenet states: As above, so below. The human system, being a microcosm and reflection of the cosmos, is likewise endowed with a tremendous capacity for self-healing, rejuvenation, and regeneration. It heals itself. We can charge it with energy to activate its self-healing capacity.

The trillions of cells within the human body are alive with an intrinsic consciousness and intelligence of their natural functions. Sickness occurs when the cells fail in their natural functions, due to some obstruction and disharmony. Aging is also caused by blocks in the system, resulting in sluggishness in the performance of natural body functions. Most medical interventions, such as medicinal drugs, serve only as catalysts to stimulate the body’s cells into performing their natural function.

Reflective of the macrocosm, the universe, the human system is in constant flux. Cells and tissues are constantly replaced and replenished, destroyed and regenerated. Herein lies the secret of the cell regeneration and rejuvenation techniques of natural health and healing which hold much promise for prolonging life and enhancing its quality: dead and damaged cells and tissues may continuously be replaced by new ones cleansed and charged with vibrant energy. So long as the continuous stream of transformation in the field of energy of the body goes on undisrupted, so long as healthy cells replace the ones that are shed off, so long as harmony is maintained in the natural functioning of the body, we stay healthy.

Conventional medicine, however, does have a value. If a person becomes ill, he may need medication such as penicillin to contain the bacteria or virus until such time that he is ready to understand the message behind their symptoms. For ultimately, disease in the body tells you that your mind is not in harmony with nature and some aspect of your mental attitude needs to change. Medicine will not create this harmony, but it may help to combat disease until you can reestablish harmony yourself. In this way, most healing methods act like a crutch, buffering us from the pull of disease until we reach the point of self-healing.

The Process of Healing

The key then is to get back to harmony with nature. Get rid of the practices and the physical, mental, emotional, and psychic poisoning that violate your natural system. Get back in harmony with your true self, so that the natural self-healing capacity is enabled.

If diseases are caused by lack of attunement with nature, by violating the natural cosmic laws, and interfering with the natural functions, then healing requires a return to nature, abiding by the natural cosmic laws, and harmonizing with the natural functions.

If diseases have an underlying cause in disharmony in the physical, emotional, mental, psychic, spiritual, and cosmic dimensions, then in order for healing to take place, we must restore harmony in the different dimensions.

If diseases are caused by blocks in the natural flow of energy in the body, then healing requires the performance of exercises and techniques that stimulate unobstructed energy flow. If diseases are caused by mental poisoning, by wallowing in negative thoughts and emotions, and harboring destructive attitudes, then healing requires mental reprogramming and cleansing, developing constructive attitudes, and engaging in positive thoughts and emotions of peace, joy, vitality, and compassion.

If diseases are caused by failure to make full use of the resources, forces, and energies that nature provides, then healing requires the effective utilization of these natural resources, forces, and energies.

Harnessing Natural Healing Energies

Natural healing involves drawing energy from the healing energies of nature in various forms. The energy we need is all around us and within us – in the air, sunlight, water, plants.

Immersing oneself in the beauties of nature is highly therapeutic. Just leaning against a tree and handling plants already gives energy. This is what city dwellers sorely lack in the cement jungles of the metropolis devoid of green areas.

Acupuncture and acupressure in Chinese medicine, reflexology, massage, and Ayurvedic and Indonesian healing techniques work by harmonizing the flow of subtle energies in the body. There are natural healing techniques, such as the contact healing of the Nagas, which allow infusion of the patient with the polarity of energy needed for balance at distinct points along the energy pathways connected by networks of nerve ganglia to afflicted parts and organs.

The Vital Life Force

Many techniques of natural healing entail extracting energy from the air we breathe. In breathing we take in not only oxygen but the vital life force, variously called prana in India, chi in China, ki in Japan, and pneuma in ancient Greece. Prana is the force or energy that animates matter and sustains all life, that awakens the cells and suffuses them with consciousness; it is also the energy that our nerves utilize for thinking and other mental processes. The person who understands prana holds the key to the secret of perfect health and longevity, as well as mental and emotional control and mastery.

Prana is of dual polarity: negative and positive. Negative prana lends physical strength, eases tiredness, and helps in ridding the body of diseases and in alleviating body weakness; it is derived mainly from food and water. Positive prana is needed to promote vigor and vitality, and to attain higher consciousness and spirituality; it is imbibed from the air we breathe and from sunlight. Prana of negative and positive polarities must be balanced and harmonized in the body, for an imbalance in polarity of prana would manifest as a disease. The quality of prana ingested can be enhanced through various techniques.

The Art of Breath Regulation

Pranayama is the art of regulating the breath or intake of prana. Through breathing, we take in oxygen and prana when we inhale, and bring out harmful wastes and toxins from our system when we exhale. Deep breathing has an incredibly calming and harmonizing effect on the system. Through the practice of proper breathing, one is able to rid oneself of pains, anxieties, common maladies, and even diseases that many doctors declare to be cureless. When made a habitual practice, one can maintain remarkable health and vitality through pranayama.

Mountain air is a source of pure energy, so try to go to such places as Baguio or Sagada at least once a year. It is also good to do breathing by the beach. The best time to do deep breathing is in the early morning when there is much prana around and after a storm when the air is electrified.

Stanislavsky developed his famous acting methods through a study of yoga. He incorporated into this methods techniques from yoga, such as breathing exercises, that would allow an actor to eliminate all muscular tensions before going on-stage since tensions and clamps on the nerves block freedom of motion and expression.

Healing Energy from Food, Water, and Sunlight

The substances that we ingest into our system affect us profoundly: they could either nurture us by providing energy and facilitating the natural functioning of our system or they could add to the toxins that interfere with and cause deterioration in our body’s intricate workings.

Natural health and healing recognizes the advantages in one’s diet of fruits and vegetables which are rich in energy and contain all the nutrients -- vitamins, minerals, and proteins -- needed by the body. These are food high in water content and fibers and thus good for the cleansing of toxic wastes from the body.

Water therapy is detoxifying. Water is not only cleansing but provides an essential element required by our body. Dew is a source of pure negative prana. At least once a year, try to go to the beach, mineral springs or hot springs, and immerse yourself in water to partake of its healing energies.

Sunlight is a source of potent healing energy and positive prana.

Healing Energy from the Earth

The earth and its products are widely acknowledged sources of energy. Herbal medicine has traditionally provided healing benefits over the centuries. Some plants and herbs have a calming effect while others have a stimulating effect. Aromatherapy, a healing practice which dates from ancient times, applies the calming or invigorating effects of plants and their scents and essences.

Plants with high vibratory rates are the most potent. The rose, for instance, has a strong calming, soothing, and healing effect due to its high vibratory rate. It is good to do breathing under a tree, especially a pine tree which has a high vibratory rate and from which can be obtained prana of high quality.

The Healing Energies of Music

Music therapy utilizes the healing energies of music. Musical notes are the energies of sound waves of different frequency. Music has potent effects on the body, physiology, and psyche. Research shows that bodily functions such as pulse rate, muscular energy, respiration, blood pressure, and metabolism are influenced by musical vibrations. Sound waves of certain frequencies have been found to destroy bacteria and viruses.

Various studies indicate that providing music during work to employees and workers in offices and factories results in reduced fatigue, increased work efficiency, and greater productivity. Certain types of music, such as “Air on G-String” by Bach and “Four Seasons Flute Concertos” by Vivaldi, have a relaxing and calming effect that releases tension and relieves stress; others have a stimulating and invigorating effect, such as the dances from “Swan Lake” and “Sleeping Beauty” by Brahms and the “Fiddler on the Roof” soundtrack. There are also mantras or chanted sounds that have a powerful beneficial effect on the psyche and body.

Dr. Avram Goldstein, a pharmacologist at Stanford University, says that music has the power to alter the brain’s chemistry. Listening to highly dramatic music – especially the kind full of thrilling “peaks and valleys” – can cause the brain to trigger the release of endorphins, chemicals that evoke pleasurable feelings. The healing energies of music are now being applied to stimulate the growth of vegetables and cattle. A positive response was noted when psychiatric patients were provided with calming, relaxing music.

The Healing Power of Meditation

Through the ages, meditation techniques have been employed by sages, saints, yogis, and contemplative people to attain states of higher consciousness. Scientific research shows that meditation practice fosters dynamic relaxation (relaxed yet alert), develops intelligence, mental clarity and intuition, enhances coherence of brain functioning, increases creativity, improves perception and memory, develops willpower, and even reverses or delays aging.

Dr. Herbert Benson, a cardiologist at Harvard Medical School, studied the therapeutic effects of meditation. Having observed that meditation lowers respiratory rates and blood pressure, he prescribed it as a therapy for patients with high blood pressure. Further studies showed that meditation could modify a person’s response to stress, and that meditation could be an effective therapy for migraine headache and chronic pain.

The Healing Energies of Love

Science has established the physiological effects of love, hope, joy, and peace of mind, as well as of depression and despair. The healing energy of love is very powerful; love is a potent medicine and cosmic force that heals, renews, and keeps us young.

Psychologists have shown that the effects of love on the body can be measured: the unloved infant will have retarded bone growth while the stroked infant grows faster. Pregnant mothers beset by fear, worry and irritation release chemicals to the womb that keep the fetus in a state of arrested development. The effects of peace of mind are also measurable: people who meditated on or confided traumatic experiences to diaries rather than repressing them were shown to have enhanced immune function.

Dr. Bernie Siegel achieved increased rates of remission in cancer patients by incorporating the potent healing energies of love in his healing program.

Other Natural Health and Healing Practices

Exercise and sauna are detoxifying since toxins are released as we perspire. Exercise also perks up blood circulation, invigorates the body’s physical and physiological processes, and stimulates the release of endorphins which have an uplifting effect on one’s spirit.

There is also the healing energy of color. Being of varying wavelengths, different colors emit different vibratory rates of energy, and affect our emotions and moods differently. Pastel colors such as light blue and pink are used for their calming influence in psychiatric wards while vibrant colors such as red and yellow are used to stimulate activity in factories and workplaces.

Sleep not only has physical value in affording rest to our body; it also has a psychic contribution to our well-being.

Stimulation of Energy Centers

Stimulation or activation of the chakras is also crucial in maintaining and enhancing health and vitality. These are energy centers in the subtle body corresponding to the glandular systems in the physical body, that act as control centers and transformers converting higher forms of energy into energy that the body and mind can productively use. By stimulating the chakras, we can release great stores of energy for the development of human capacities. Scientists have long established that, on the average, human beings only utilize less than 10 percent of their innate abilities, while more than 90 percent lie dormant and untapped.

Techniques such as Tai’ chi chuan, meditation, and hatha yoga activate energy centers, stimulate unimpeded energy flow, and foster inner harmony.

Natural Cycles of Health

Another useful knowledge not yet fully explored is the knowledge of natural cycles as these affect our health and vitality. Periodicity or rhythmic patterns commonly occur in nature – there are the natural cycles of the seasons, of alternating day and night, high tide and low tide, the rotations and revolutions of the planets, the regular pulsations and vibrations in different crystals and elements, and the regular progression and stages of growth of different life forms.

The human body is also subject to natural cyclical functions as seen, for instance, in regular pulse rates and EEG wave patterns. Periodic cycles in the health and vitality of people have been observed and studied, leading to intricate knowledge of strong phases when a person’s health and vitality is at its highest and critical phases requiring greater caution when the person’s health and vitality is at its lowest, when the body’s defenses and immune system are down and, consequently, the body is more prone and vulnerable to disease. There are also periods when we have a greater predisposition towards particular diseases of specific body parts, organs, and systems, such as when we are more susceptible to nervous strain or ailments of the digestive system, or when the blood pressure has a greater tendency to rise.

We could use knowledge of these natural cycles of health to our advantage, for instance, by undertaking strenuous activities requiring much energy at the period when our health is at its peak, and by exercising greater caution and avoiding unnecessary exposure to the elements when it is at its ebb.

Power of Mind Over Matter

There is much we can do to control our health and to improve it by employing the power of the mind. Proponents of the mind over matter principle have traditionally been mystics. But now, according to cellular biologist, Dr. Bruce Lipton, there is considerable scientific evidence to show that individuals have the ability to control their own well-being and to reprogram their cells by changing their beliefs and attitudes.

Many cases have dramatically demonstrated the stupendous powers of the human mind. In the archaeological diggings at the pharaoh’s tomb in Egypt, for example, it was only when the hieroglyphic markings were deciphered and understood by the workers that they succumbed to the curse contained in the markings, for they had by then allowed the mental poisoning of the curse to gain entry into their consciousness and wreak havoc in their system.

Psychology has long acknowledged the power of auto-suggestion. Studies of biogenics or autogenics, such as those conducted in Europe and the former Soviet Union, show that human beings are capable of controlling and regulating even such automatic physiological processes as blood circulation and glandular secretion, and of consciously directing themselves into states of optimum physical performance.

In a famous series of experiments at the Menninger clinic in the early 1970s, a noted spiritual adept from India, Swami Rama, demonstrated remarkable control over bodily functions that were thought to be totally automatic. He displayed the ability to raise his heartbeat at will from 70 to 300, a rate far beyond the normal range and yet he was unaffected by this cardiac event which cause heart arrest in others because it was under the direct control of his awareness. In one instance, Swami Rama caused the skin temperature on one side of his right hand to grow warmer while the other side became colder, the rate of change proceeding at about 4 degrees Fahrenheit per minute, until one side was flushed red with warmth and the other pale with cold, with the total temperature difference being 10 degrees.

Such principles of mind over matter are at play in the incredible feats of yogis in regulating and controlling their metabolic processes to such an extent that they are able to have themselves buried alive underground for several days. Around the world, practitioners of Tantra, Tibetan Buddhism, shamanism, Native Americans, and Sufis teach practices for controlling involuntary body responses. In Tibet, young monks training in kundalini techniques are expected to demonstrate their bodily control by such feats as sitting on a frozen lake and melting the ice around them with the warmth they generate in an intense meditative state.

Use of Visualization in Healing

Using the energy of thought, natural healing employs techniques of visualization or mental imagery for health and healing. There are even techniques of distant healing wherein healing energies are radiated or projected to persons who are geographically distant.

The principle behind visualization or mental creating is that everything that manifests on the physical or material plane has first manifested in some higher plane, such as the mental or psychic plane, and “what the mind can conceive, we can achieve.” Thus you can help recreate yourself into a healthy person through visualization.

Medical doctors today recommend the use of visualization, in coordination with standard medical procedures, to treat a broad range of common, chronic, and even terminal diseases. Numerous studies have shown how forming mental pictures can affect body physiology and even electric fields.

Visual imagery has been found to be an effective technique for relieving headaches, allergies, and for general pain relief, vitality, and restful sleep. More critical conditions of cancer and tumor have shown great improvement when the mind was used to bolster the immune system. Examples of these are the highly successful cancer programs of Dr. Bernie Siegel and the Simonton medical couple who achieved up to double the average number of remission cases in cancer patients by incorporating visualization techniques such as affirmation techniques and graphic paintings depicting the patients’ successful battling of their illness.

Another area where visual imagery has been extensively applied is in sports training. Olympic athletes in various fields, such as skiing, golf, and track and field, have demonstrated the value of mental rehearsals in enhancing sports performance. Not only does visualization increase an athlete’s confidence, it also affects his muscle movement.

Because of creative visualization’s powerful effects on the body, it has been used in practical applications relating to body regulation, such as weight control and in eliminating detrimental habits such as smoking. Psychologist, Robert Ornstein, and co-author, David Sobel, in The Healing Brain document research studies on the use of creative visualization or visual imagery in support of conventional medical remedies to hasten the removal of warts, and even to sculpt the human body, such as for breast augmentation.

Mental Reprogramming

As explained by Dr. Bruce Lipton, consciousness resides in our cells. Although our cells are programmed to respond in certain ways while we are young or still in the womb, they can be reprogrammed to act differently.

Correcting our thinking, feeling, attitude, and behavior, and adopting a positive attitude can eliminate the root cause of many diseases that plague us. A change in personality can change the body’s physiology.

Disease can be brought into existence by the mind. Similarly, it can be cured by the mind.

Diseases with Karmic Roots

We should note, however, that there is a class of diseases that may be difficult to heal, except to alleviate some pain and suffering, because these diseases may be attributed to deep-seated karmic causes, being the result of some actions we did or the adjustment of conditions we created in the past, perhaps in a previous lifetime. Such ailments, for example, as congenital deformities, may be meant more for us to derive certain important lessons in life and to accept with grace, humility, and philosophical understanding.

In health and healing, as in all life, self-knowledge and self-mastery are of crucial importance. In much the same way that we can control and shape our destiny by our actions today and at each moment, so also can we do much to control and improve our health and well-being.