I am not a fan of seeing people suffer.
Especially unnecessarily.
That is why I like to write books about how to do life LESS hard.
I have also had a fascination (perhaps more like an obsession) for the last 25+ years on all things health, well-being, and how to create lifelong vitality.
I have read 100’s of books on the subjects, listened to 1000’s of hours of conversations, plus tried weird and wacky stuff on myself to see what works and what doesn’t.
I also like to consider things from a very holistic perspective.
From the perspective and integration of the Body, Mind, Emotions and even Spiritual beliefs and practices.
So today I am going to share with you my beliefs plus what I have witnessed over those immersive years.
As always, take what resonates for you, and feel free let the rest just slip down the side.
(Because as you know your beliefs matter…a lot…when it comes to the ‘placebo effect‘).
Talking Core Beliefs; a few of mine are:
1. My body and mind are HIGHLY intelligent and has built up a knowledge bank (possibly stored in the DNA) over 10’s of 1000’s of years.
2. My brain / mind is always looking to use energy in the most efficient and intelligent way possible.
3. My mind-body is always trying to come back to homeostasis.
Those are the big ones for me:
Our mind-body is wicked smart; uses energy intelligently; and is ALWAYS seeking homeostasis (which guarantees survival and longevity).
I also teach in relation to Leadership, that “the role of a great Leader is to create the environment which is conducive to the success of the team.“
So when it comes to our health and vitality, it is our job (the Leader of our bodies) to create the right environment, and then let our body do what it knows best.
Paying attention to things like: optimum nutrition, sleep, detoxification, hydration, etc.
But there is another big player in this health game.
It is this thing called “LOVE”.
And one thing I believe slows down or disrupts the healing process and our vitality, is our disregard for the importance of it.
Which is where I want to take things today.
Dr Bruce Lipton, a cellular biologist and author of The Biology of Belief, actually studied and wrote another book called ‘The Honeymoon Effect‘. He talked about the “phenomenon” when we are in love – in the honeymoon phase – where we have an abundance of energy (vitality), rarely get sick and our immune system is enhanced.
Dr Joe Dispenza and his team of neuroscientists – measuring 1000’s of real-time results – might call this an elevated emotional state, and reference higher frequencies within the brain and body.
Dispenza would suggest the heart (which we all probably consider is the centre of love in the body), when in coherence, has the greatest impact on the entertainment into a coherent electromagnetic state of the rest of the body.
Einstein suggested that “The [electromagnetic] field influences the particle”. My added word.
Perhaps a coherent field of energy around the heart – which we might call ‘LOVE’ – actually has tangible healing potential on the body.
Given all I have read, studied, listened to and experienced, I have personally come to the belief that a coherent heart, and an abundance of ‘love’ has a significant impact on our health, healing, vitality and the actual speed of our recovery (back to homeostasis).
Now let’s get practical
Well done for those that are still reading and not rolling your eyes at all the talk about LOOOOOOOVE and its relationship to our vitality.
It is actually my LOVE of writing and serving that has me knocking on your inbox once a week. 😉
My point – and observation – is this:
If – when we are experiencing symptoms of ‘illness’ – we remain in a loving state of being, we are more likely to heal (come back into homeostasis) faster.
However, if we are ‘angry, frustrated, anxious, fearful, etc’ we (very likely) slow down the healing process.
The body wants to heal.
The body wants to come back into homeostasis.
The mind-body is wildly intelligent and manages TRILLIONS of events in our bodies EVERY SECOND without our conscious input.
But when we are in a ‘survival’ or ‘fearful’ emotional state, we signal our biochemistry in a way that tunes down the immune system; disrupts the digestive system (our key source of essential nutrients for the cells); depletes essential minerals like magnesium; increases the heart rate; tightens our stomach muscles thus reducing the effectiveness of our diaphragm (meaning less oxygen uptake) and a bunch of other stuff that slows or disrupts the optimum functioning of our healing systems.
We need to LOVE our bodies.
Even – or especially – when we are sick.
This is my key point and encouragement to you.
LOVING your body when you are ill (and taking it out of a survival emotional state) is very likely to speed up the recovery process.
And being angry, frustrated or hateful to your body will likely disrupt the effectiveness and efficiency of the healing process.
LOVE IS POWERFUL STUFF … in all elements of our life.
Now obviously for major symptoms, and more critical issues (or acute trauma), you need to engage with the right professional help; but regardless of what that is, do your best to continue to believe in the innate intelligence of your mind-body, and continue to LOVE it and support it, through the recovery process.
There are also no negative side-effects of loving yourself when you are sick (or any financial costs), so I encourage you to try this experiment for yourself and observe what outcomes you get, and then make your own decision on love’s impact.
And obviously I acknowledge there is a LOT more to our optimum health than walking around with LOVE in our heart, but a loving heart is not to be dismissed as irrelevant or a minor player in the healing and vitality process.
In Summary
I believe that when we are ill or expressing symptoms, by remaining in LOVE and LOVING of our mind-bodies (regardless of our choice of mainstream or alternative treatment options), it significantly supports the healing/recovery process, whereas negative emotions may slow down or disrupt the healing process.
My final acknowledgement is to honour the reality that loving yourself when you are ‘sick’ is not always easy (aka: bloody hard), but I believe it is possible.
My Parting word
“How to be most vital” – even as we age – is one of my favourite topics.
I want to know how you and I can remain vital, healthy and in joy, for the longest possible time.
I also want to explore the relationship we have with ourselves when we experience symptoms of illness; and its influence.
Feelings of anger, hate, fear and frustration are not the best choice, due to their downstream influence on the autonomic nervous system.
Love on the other hand is expansive and soothing.
Love is creative.
It is something we have all experienced, and I believe at some level we understand it’s potency to positively influence all areas of our life.
And fortunately we also have neuroscience pioneers, like Dr Joe Dispenza, proving the impact of a coherent heart in relationship to health, done within a scientific setting.
So…
How is your relationship with yourself when you are “ill”?
Could you LOVE your body a little bit more to help create the environment for the body’s healing process?
This is my take the POWER OF LOVE when it comes to the health and vitality of our bodies and mind.
Let’s all turn up the LOOOOOOVE dial!
(And make the world a better place in the process ;-)).
Sending you lottsa love,
Carl
PS: Have you read or listened to this book yet? 18 Ways We Make Life WAY Harder Than It Needs To Be
