The Mind-Body Connection
Essay by 24 • August 23, 2010 • 1,922 Words (8 Pages) • 2,142 Views
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,
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