How a happy mind can save your life

Illustration by Robert Labayen

In one homily, Fr. Jerry M. Orbos asked “ Which part of the lechon ( roasted pig ) can cause a stroke ? The flesh or the skin ? “ Many of us guessed it was the fatty skin. He revealed “ It’s the bones. You see, if there’s nothing left for you, your blood pressure is sure to  shoot up! “

Everyone remembered their own experience.

We all know how mind and body are connected. When we are sad, tears well up in our eyes. When we’re scared, our hairs stand on end. When we’re relaxed, our heart rate slows down. When we are embarrassed, our face turns red. ( Except mine because my face color is already darker than red. ) And yes, when we’re mad, our blood pressure soars.

In the book  It’s the Thought That Counts, Dr. David R. Hamilton cited a 1995 experiment by the Institute of Heartmath published in the American Journal of Cardiology. He shared “ In the study, 12 people people were asked to think ‘appreciation’ and another 12 were asked to think ‘anger.” Meanwhile scientists monitored their heartbeats….the scientists discovered that the hearts of the people thinking ‘appreciation’ had been beating more smoothly and regularly –called ‘internal coherence’- than the hearts of people who were thinking ‘anger.’”

Both positive and negative thoughts can have long-term effects on the body. For example, negative thoughts cause stress and stress weakens our immune system. This was also proven by the Institute of Heartmath.

In an earlier article,  I mentioned the recommendation of  Dr. Gregg D. Jacobs to cure illness by replacing our Negative Automatic Thoughts ( NATs) with more pleasant feelings.

Faster recovery was also seen in experiments in which patients were asked to recite the phrase first coined by French psychologist, pharmacist and healer Emile Coue. It goes “ I’m getting better and better every day in every way. “

We all have two minds. The conscious and the subconscious. With the conscious mind, we can give direct commands to the body like moving an arm, lifting a foot, etc. The subconscious, on the other hand, acts on its own. It commands our lungs, kidneys, liver, heart, etc., to function when we are not even paying attention. It works even while we sleep.

By orchestrating bodily functions and by replenishing old cells with new ones, Dr. Joseph Murphy believes the subconscious created our body, and continuously renews it. In the book The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, he said that if the subconscious created the body, we can also command our subconscious to heal it.

Dr. Murphy likens the subconscious to a patch of fertile soil. The conscious mind will plant the seeds ( thoughts ) there, then the subconscious will  work on its own to make them grow and bear fruit.

To plant ideas into the subconscious, both Dr. Hamilton and Dr. Murphy endorse prayer, among other methods. In praying, they don’t advise us to sound miserable. Instead, we should have confidence and authority. Say things like “ I’m getting better and better every day in every way,” “ I am wrapped in healing light,” “Thank you, God, for healing me with your hand.” Just never doubt.

Long before Emile Couie, Jesus healed people saying“ It shall be done to you according to your faith”( Matthew  9:29). Jesus and the scientists also agree that “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours“ ( Mark 11:24 ).

Just never doubt.