 |
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
What's This All About? Meet Mr. Wattles & Dr. Gayek What People Are Saying ... Articles Private Consultations Frequently Asked Questions Download & Printing Help How This Site Works |
A WEE TALE OF HEALING: LOVE AND BE LOVED Once upon a time, a researcher at Harvard Medical School decided to test the effects of thinking about love on the immune system. To do that, he showed a group of students a documentary film about Mother Teresa caring lovingly for the sick. Before and after the students viewed the film, the researcher tested each student and measured an immune antibody (immuno- globulin A, or IgA) that fights infections like colds. What did he find? Immune function, as measured by the level of IgA, rose significantly in the students, even those who thought Mother Teresa was "too religious" or "a fake." The scientist then duplicated this effect by asking students simply to THINK about loving and being deeply loved by another person. Think about THAT! [Note: The researcher was David McClelland, PhD, and this story is told by Larry Dossey in his book, Healing Words.] WALK THROUGH A DIFFERENT DOOR The Usual Door The usual routine when a person goes to the doctor is to bring a list of complaints -- all the things that are wrong with you, that aren't working, the things you are worried about. Then the doctor's job is to ... 1. Find out what else could be wrong. For example: * Your cholesterol is too high, * You have a suspicious mole on your back, * Or ??? 2. Find out what else isn't working right. For example: * Your blood pressure is worse than you thought, * You have diabetes or hepatitis or some other scary disease, * Or ??? 3. Scare you into taking action to prevent even WORSE things. Action like: * Quit smoking * Exercise every day * Take pills * Eat better * Get another lab test * Have surgery ... And on and on and ... So, most of us are used to thinking about our bodies like this: 1. What's wrong? * Aches and pains and allergies and high blood pressure and being too fat ... 2. What will go wrong? * Aging and disease and degeneration and failing vision and memory loss and ??? 3. What we don't like: * One part or another is too big, too small, too wrinkled, too fat, too short, the wrong color ... Does any of this sound familiar? What it all boils down to is that we are used to finding fault with our bodies and even getting angry at them for failing or betraying us. If we only had the perfect shape, size, skin, hair, and function, then life would be so much better! Then we'd have confidence! We'd be attracting the perfect mate, a better sex life, the perfect job, more money, fame. It's all our bodies' fault for getting sick and interfering with our lives! For many busy people, finding time to eat healthy food or to exercise is a nuisance -- not to mention dealing with the inconvenience of colds and flu and, for many women, monthly "things to deal with." Can't I just take a pill and make it all go away???? The basic thought patterns lurking under all this are: * I don't like having this body! * It's too much trouble to take care of! * I have more important things to do! * I wish I could just trade it in for a newer model that doesn't require any maintenance! ***** A Different Door Here's what I often say to my patients: "So we've just explored what it's like for Imagine for a moment that your body is like a beloved child, or your favorite pet dog, or an expensive car. How would a child behave if she or he got the amount of criticism, judgement, care or neglect that your body gets? How would a dog behave if it got the amount of exercise, fresh air, and loving attention that you give your body? How would a car run with the quality of fuel and mechanical care that matches the quality of food and health care you give your body? The thing is, your body is ALIVE! You are a living being whose health depends on its connection with LIFE. You are physically designed for REQUIRED interaction with fresh air, pure water, sunlight, and living beings that provide food, shelter, clothing, companionship, and love. Your unique, one-of-a-kind body is the perfect vehicle for life. It's perfect for learning about love, relationship, forgiveness, trust, power, compassion, success, tolerance, beauty, acceptance, patience, joy, peace, abundance, creativity, wonder, the magnificence of life. It's the perfect feedback model to learn the power of your mind. It's the perfect model to learn every principle of creating wealth and happiness. And it's YOURS. Why am I telling you this? My purpose in creating the Science of Being Well NETwork website, publishing the BE WELL! ezine, giving away the ebook, recording the audiobook, providing the discussion forum and offering private coaching is to help you get the most out of your experience of having a body. You've probably heard it said, "It's not the destination, it's the journey that counts." Well, how about enjoying BOTH? Perfect health is not required for you to have an incredibly wonderful experience of life -- but it helps! And the journey in PURSUIT of perfect health and the unfolding DISCOVERY of what it means for you are overflowing with splendid treasures! Please join me on this journey, and let me help you learn how to find the GOLD! Where the journey begins is right where you are. It begins now. We start with what you have, what you know, and build on that. If you accept this invitation, my job as your guide is to introduce you to ideas that may be new to you, explain things in many ways so we can find one that works for you, invite you to try things so you can learn for yourself, share stories and examples so you can learn from others, try to inspire and motivate you to challenge yourself to have a better experience of life than you have known up 'til now. You may not like everything I offer. Some things won't fit for you, or you won't be ready to receive them. Some things may seem strange or uncomfortable. My invitation to you is simply to let yourself experiment. Try not to judge or turn away from things that don't fit your way of thinking until you've given yourself a chance to experience them. You may be surprised! As Rebecca Fine of our sister site, The Science of Getting Rich NETwork*, always says, "In THIS science, your life is your laboratory!" ***** *If you don't have your free copy of Mr. Wattles' first book in the series (The Science of Getting Rich), go here to get it: » http://www.scienceofbeingwell.net/sogr DID YOU GET YOURS YET? If you prefer to listen rather than download or read, or you'd like to learn faster, consider getting the AUDIOBOOK on MP3, tapes or CDs. » http://www.scienceofbeingwell.net/audiobook.html EAT YOUR VEGETABLES! (BUT FIRST ...) I couldn't resist sharing this little story. (If you were THERE, please let me know!) A couple of weeks ago in Hamburg, Germany, the nine-member Viennese Vegetable Orchestra performed a variety of original compositions on instruments made out of ... RAW VEGETABLES! Concert-goers commented on the lovely aroma accompanying the astonishing music. The orchestra included a flute made from a carrot, a saxophone carved from a cucumber, and a double bass that was once a pumpkin! (Look out, Cinderella!) In all, 90 pounds of vegetables, also including leeks, potatoes, radishes, and peppers, were carved and tuned an hour before the performance. After the concert, everyone enjoyed delicious vegetable soup. That certainly gives new meaning to the idea of "playing with your food." ;-D Copyright (c)2004 Alexandra Gayek, ND. Please notify me via the contact form on this site if you would like to reprint any of these articles. |