Posts tagged Human Body
Using Prayer As a Healing Tool
Sep 29th
Although for the most part, medicine has stuck to its doctrine of symptom management with drugs and surgery being the only tools used to heal. There has been a slow but steady movement towards a more holistic approach to healing the human body. A mind-Body approach to medicine has become more popular recently. This is because the power of the mind is undisputed and its ability to affect the rate of healing the sick is widely acknowledged. But what role does spirituality play? Is the place for spirituality in medicine? Most of us pray at one time or another. We usually do this when we either want something really badly, or a situation has become so desperate that there is nothing else to do but pray.
For the most part, modern medicine has ignored the spiritual components of healing, preferring instead to rely on drugs, surgery and high-technology. They do not consider that medicine and prayer do not necessarily have to work exclusively of each other. Let us think about this for a moment. What happens when we pray? Do we simply speak the words, ask God a favor and hope for the best? It surely cannot be as shallow as that. There must be something else happening inside the body when we pray that we are simply not aware of.
Is the act of praying purely a religious function, or is there something else happening that we are not aware of? What happens to our minds when we pray? If we pray for a person that is sick, will it make any difference? If the mind is so powerful, then surely it must play a part in pray. We don’t pray for the sake of praying. We pray because something is needed. For Example, a college student who studied hard and is still unsure of whether the exam will be passed. In this case the student will pray that he is able to remember what he has learned and that he understands it sufficiently to apply it to the exam paper. The prayer in this case was to allow the mind to perform at its peak. What is still under debate, is whether it is prayer that helps the student to perform well in the exam, whether it is affected because he studied hard, or whether it is a combination of both.
How can this work in relation to health? Is the process of getting healthy simply a matter of science and medicine, or does prayer play a part? Is there a link between positive thought and prayer? Is there a difference between praying for yourself, or being prayed for by somebody else?
Whether we pray or meditate, we reach down to the deepest part of ourselves and we concentrate our thoughts to one central point. We do this to get some kind of clarification on an issue or a dilemma that besets us at that particular time. Whether you believe in a higher power or not makes no difference. The power of prayer is real, and an increasing amount of doctors are starting to integrate it into the healing process.
5 Ingredients For Achieving Overall Wellness
Aug 31st
Want total freedom? Abundance? Happiness? Overall wellness? There are 5 ingredients to manifesting this reality.
1. Water: The cells in our body depend on water. Moreover, 55 to 75% of the human body is made up of water so water needs to constantly be replenished as it is continuously lost through normal breathing, sweating, urinating and bowel movements. There are several benefits of drinking water, among them are that it detoxifies, moisturizes, increases metabolism, helps with nutrient absorption and transport, regulates body temperature and so much more. As such, the body needs a healthy dose of pure old fashioned, unsweetened, unflavored, natural water.
2. Healthy Eating Habits: Paying as much attention to what we put in the body as to what we put on the body is imperative to achieving wellness. In the words of Dr. Sunyatta Amen, a naturopathic physician, food can either be a medicine or a poison. Strive to utilize food as the former. The human body requires food for nourishment. However, the type of food required by the body includes those fresh, live foods that are nutrient-dense and rich in vitamins and minerals which are necessary just as water to nourish the cells and enable the organs to function properly. Thus, taking care to ensure that we are making healthy food choices is a must to achieve overall wellness.
3. Physical activity: The human body requires some form of physical activity. Exercise increases our energy and improves longevity. Exercise also promotes psychological well-being, helps with weight management and builds and maintains healthy, strong bones, muscles and joints. If that’s not enough, exercise has been linked to disease prevention for diseases such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes and osteoporosis. There are tons of benefits of exercise which is what makes it a key ingredient for realizing wellness.
4. Meditation: Daily meditation has numerous rewards. Primarily, as with exercise, meditation promotes psychological well-being. It also reduces stress along with the risk of several stress-related illnesses. As well, meditation heightens your awareness of thought which improves your ability to realize inner peace. In fact, the primary purpose of meditation is to achieve a state of happiness and peace of mind. Meditation techniques can vary from focused breathing, walking and chanting to affirmations. Choose the technique that is most effective in enabling you to manifest (and most effortlessly so) pure positive thought, the final ingredient.
5. Pure Positive Thought: This is probably the most important ingredient yet mentioned. Pure positive thought is achieved by simply transforming negative thoughts into positive ones. It is about consistently assuming a psychological posture of appreciation. For instance, when faced with a challenging life event try redirecting your thoughts away from what you don’t want and toward what you do want and the deliciousness of attaining it. You will find that by doing this simple exercise you arrive at a better “feeling” space. A space that illuminates the beauty of this place and this life. You will thus achieve overall wellness.
