PureInsight | July 16, 2006
[This four-part series from The Epoch Times describes how the mind can keep us well or make us sick and offers tools for harnessing this power.]
Part I: What We Can Learn from the Scientists and Mystics
What distinguishes Western allopathic medicine from all other healing
traditions are two key concepts: the separation of mind and body and
the notion that nature can be explained materialistically. On the other
hand, every non-allopathic Western healing tradition recognizes the
inextricable link between psyche and soma. "Dis-ease" is not limited to
the physical body; thoughts and emotions are some of the causative
factors. Healing necessitates addressing these elements. Getting well
is not just about fixing the physical body.
Thoughts are powerful vibrations that can keep us well or make us sick.
Negative thoughts can make us sick and keep us sick. Positive thoughts
can heal us and transform our lives. These concepts do not come from
the realms of pseudoscience. In fact, there is a tremendous body of
scientific research that can support these principles.
Researchers in physics and engineering have been conducting experiments
that suggest the profound effects of consciousness on the material
world: how our thoughts can affect us.1
For over 25 years, scientists at Princeton University's PEAR Laboratory
have demonstrated powerful correlations between human intention and
machine behavior. They have shown that untrained individuals can
influence the output of random mechanical and electronic number
generators, just by thinking in which direction the numbers should go.
These effects were found to be independent of space and time. Effects
also occurred when the individual was thousands of miles away2.
These ideas are millennia old and have roots in many of the world's ancient traditions.
However, Western allopathic medicine usually ignores these concepts.
Most doctors did not study advanced physics in undergraduate or medical
school.
These models dramatically influenced our understanding of nature and
physicists became more like philosophers. These new views of nature
were parallel to the ancient traditions of other cultures, to the
healing traditions of other cultures and to mystical, non-Cartesian
views of life.
Ancient Chinese medicine and Ayurveda (a traditional Indian medicine)
draw links between bodily symptoms and emotions. In Chinese medicine,
the lung is the repository for grief, the liver for rage, and the
kidney for fear. In Ayurveda, the vata dosha may yield arthritides and
worry, the pitta, ulcers and rage. To even consider a separation
between these elements is contrived.
In Part II, the dichotomy between
Western allopathic medicine and the concept of the inherent
connectedness of mind will be elaborated.
References
1. Tiller, W.A. Science and Human
Transformation: Subtle Energies, Intentionality and Consciousness.
Walnut Creek, CA: Pavior Publishing; 1997
2. Jahn RG, Dunne BJ. Margins of Reality: The Role of Consciousness in the Physical World. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace; 1997
