The Mind-Body Connection

The mind has an incredible power. We see

it as we go through our everyday activities,

constantly displaying the wonders of logic,

thought, memory and creativity. Yet, can

the mind be more powerful than we know?

Is it possible to reduce or even eliminate

pain, illness and disease by using the

natural powers it possesses? Can the mind

heal?

Many of our finest researchers and

scientists have explored that question, and

while the exact answer still eludes us, the

facts seem to bear out that the mind does

have the power to assist in both healing,

and conversely, bringing on "disease" as

well. Two such examples of mind and body

healing are hypnotherapy and meditation.

There are others such as ionization, which

focuses on thinking positive instead of

negative. But first, I will describe the

reasoning behind the mind-body

connection.

Psychoneuroimmunology is the name for

the study of the min-body connection, or

PNI for short. PNI has been around for the

last 20 years or so and has revolutionized

the way we look at health and wellness.

There was a point in human existence when

the connection between the mind and the

body was taken for granted. A couple of

centuries ago, science had grown to

understand the "mechanical universe"

concept. The laws of Sir Newton and the

science of physics had begun to infiltrate the

science of medicine. If the universe

followed mechanical laws, so might the

body. To prove this theory, scientists

needed to open a body up to observe how it

worked. The Church was very adamant

about the body being the temple of the soul

and could never be desecrated. After much

haggling and several smoke-filled back

room discussions, an agreement was

reached. The Church would maintain it's

jurisdiction over "the mind" for that is were

the personality and soul "truly" resides and

science could have the body, which is just a

"machine for the mind" and upon death,

would become simply an empty vessel.

Furthering the rift, more recent science has

discovered that specific diseases can be

"cured" through specific medicinal formulas

or drugs. This "magic bullet" mentality

spread throughout medicine and science.

Truly the body was a mechanical thing that

responded to specific stimulus and could be

counted on to respond the same way every

time. Wonderful news, the body did not

respond as intended. Science has tried to

brush aside or explain away this

phenomenon y saying, "Oh, it's just the

placebo effect" or "It's spontaneous

remission" as well as other innocuous terms

seemingly to lessen it's importance. It is

human nature when something is not

understood to either dismiss it, diminish it

or ignore it all together. This search to seek

out answers to this reoccurring

phenomenon is the basis for PNI, the way

the mind-body connection is made and how

we can utilize it for greater health and

well-being.

Over the past decade, we have come a long

way in understanding the psycho-biology of

mind-body communication and the

mental/emotional processes involved. To

begin with, most of us have a basic

understanding of how psycho-biology

communication occurs through the nervous

system. Messages are transmitted through

electrical impulses along a system of nerves

that connect the brain to every system,

organ, gland, muscle, etc.. When we want

to lift our arm, the specific signals race

along the nerves to the required muscles,

ligaments, etc., in order to accomplish the

task. There is, also, the "autonomic"

nervous system that sends the electrical

impulses automatically, without conscious

thought,