Your Mind Is Medicine

YOUR MIND IS MEDICINE

The truth, of course, is that mind and body are indeed interconnected, and that state of mind has a powerful influence on the body. Researchers have found that a positive mental outlook can actually boost the immune system. Did you know that when you’re in a positive mood, the number of cold-fighting antibodies in your saliva increases? Did you know that happiness and laughter reduces levels of certain stress hormones? Every thought has a consequence, whether positive or negative. So conversely, scientific studies provide overwhelming proof that if we live our lives continually motivated by anger, fear or hatred our physical health dramatically deteriorates. Other studies show that the longer you let stress go unresolved, the greater the chance that you will develop a serious illness.

Whatever we think about, we bring about. I’m sure you’d agree with me when I say that your thought process is your very own personal choice. Right? Well, how you choose to think affects your entire life, it is the main ingredient in who you are. Are you using your mind as medicine or are you using it against yourself, or do you even know?

I think this saying says it best:
Watch your thoughts, they become words,
Watch your words, they become actions,
Watch your actions, they become habits,
Watch your habits, they become your character,
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

It all starts with a thought. We tend to think of thoughts as nothing but whispy insubstantial things with no real existence, something that’s done on auto-pilot. Is your thought process primarily functioning on auto-pilot, or do you put conscious thought into the magnitude of the power that is a thought? Think about it. And that is the trick. Think about what you are thinking. Try this exercise: For one day, do your best to pay attention to your internal dialogue. This alone is an exercise in thought process. It brings an awareness, and introduces you to the moment that you are in, so that you can more clearly think on how you want to proceed. Unless negative dialogue suits you, each time you have a negative thought, STOP, shine a light on it, and change it. The more you practice this the more you will begin to understand the power of being present as influence on your thoughts.

This thought process interrupts your traditional thought pattern and allows not only emotional, but bio-chemical changes to take place. In your brain, nerve cells that fire together wire together, and they form a long term relationship that is actually known as “your identity.” Interrupt the pattern in the nerve cell, and you are no longer responding to an automatic thought. Instead you are breaking the cycle and changing your life, one small step at a time.

Your mind is medicine. n