H e a l t h T h o u g h t s

How our thinking affects our health

Trying to explain my faith

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@Glowimages: Little girl praying. Little girl praying against a white background

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” – Thomas Aquinas.

I would respectfully disagree with both parts of that statement.

I didn’t use to be a person of faith.  I wouldn’t accept anything without being able to understand and agree with it first.  That made things difficult for my mother, since I resisted obeying her just because she said so.  Even as a child I needed an explanation for everything.  Sorry, Mom!

That I have deep faith today could be considered a minor miracle.  But it’s partly because of explanations I received.  It’s also from inspiration and actual evidence of my relationship with God.  It’s not a blind faith.

My faith in God has come through Christian Science.  And I gained it in a three-fold way described by the woman who founded the religion, Mary Baker Eddy.

Eddy was on a search for the “science” behind a spiritual healing of physical injury that saved her life.  She knew, as she put it, “…that cures were produced in primitive Christian healing by holy, uplifting faith; but I must know the science of this healing and I won my way to absolute conclusions through divine revelation, reason, and demonstration.”

“Revelation, reason, and demonstration” has been the way it happened for me, too.

I’ve been able to reason and think through explanations of metaphysical and theological ideas to have them make sense.  I’ve been inspired and had spiritual understanding revealed to me by a higher power.  And I’ve also seen my understanding proved or demonstrated in my own experience, in ways that can only be attributed to God.

And the combining of those three modes has brought me to my own inescapable conclusions – to a consistent conviction that, as Jesus says, “…with God all things are possible.”

Rather than a blind faith, I would call mine a living faith, since all three things keep on happening.  Day by day I need to reason through explanations, receive revelations in my understanding and witness demonstrations of God in my life.

For me, this winning combination has been a sort of spiritual triangulation that has made it impossible for me not to have faith.

(photo ©Glowimages – model for illustrative purposes only)

Even God has a sense of humor

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beware of God
© iStockphoto.com/zerocattle

My California colleague, Eric Nelson, shares a harrowing experience and his journey to recovery.  It was a process laced throughout with healing humor. Here’s Eric….

This may be hard to believe, but shortly after tumbling about a thousand feet down a rock and ice-covered mountain and suffering multiple injuries from head to toe, I had to laugh.

Despite the trauma, despite the pain, and despite the fact that it would be hours before anyone would find me laying flat on my back in the middle of nowhere, the words of a familiar hymn came to mind and made me smile. And then chuckle.

“Shepherd, show me how to go,” the hymn, written by Mary Baker Eddy, begins, “O’er the hillside steep.” (Did I happen to mention how I found myself in this predicament?).

“How to gather, how to sow, / How to feed Thy sheep.” (And did I mention that the only thing left in my rucksack was an apple?).

“I will listen for Thy voice, / Lest my footsteps stray; / I will follow and rejoice / All the rugged way.”

Tell me these words weren’t written just for me. And tell me that their coincidental references to rugged hillsides and wandering footsteps aren’t just a little, well – funny.

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“Risen”: its promise for all of us

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http://www.risen-movie.com/

In her take on the new movie, “Risen”, my New Jersey colleague, Valerie Minard, shows how the film helps us ask and answer the questions we’re meant to think about at Easter time.  Here’s Val….

The Easter story, “Risen,” is a powerful and unusual movie portraying the last days of Jesus after his resurrection. Although the script attempts to stay true to the Biblical account, the story is told from the perspective of a fictional character, Clavius, a Roman tribune, responsible for finding Jesus’ missing body….

In his search for Jesus’ body, we see a transition from a curious observer to one that has become intrigued by, if not converted to, Jesus’ teachings….

Even though the concept of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension may seem beyond material comprehension, there are basic questions that it generates for all of us.  For instance, is there life after death? Is life eternal? If life continues on a spiritual plain, is man essentially spiritual, or does he need death to become spiritual? If man is essentially spiritual here and now, what are we here for?…

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Our declining belief in death

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@Glowimages: Cemetary Cross
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The recent Oprah Winfrey (OWN) series, “Belief”, stirred up an international conversation starting with the question:  “What do you believe?”  It’s important to be able to answer that.  What do we trust in?  What do we have unshakeable faith in?  My California colleague, Eric Nelson, says that even such a universally held belief as death is being challenged.  Here’s Eric…

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain,” wrote Ben Franklin to his friend Jean-Baptiste LeRoy in 1789, “except death and taxes.” Had he written this today, however, it’s not at all certain that death would have made the cut.

Of course, no one knows for sure what happens when we die (well, no one who’s still with us), but there are quite a number of folks who feel they’ve perhaps gotten a glimpse, calling into question the very notion of death.

After falling into a weeklong coma, Eben Alexander, author of the New York Times best-selling book “Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife,” found himself keenly aware of the fact that, as he puts it, he was loved, that he had nothing to fear and that he could do no wrong. This was pretty heady stuff, especially for someone who had always assumed that the brain – an organ that, in Alexander’s case, had completely shut down due to a rare infection – was the source of consciousness.

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Getting more out of your fitness workout

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@Glowimages: Woman jogging on forest path
© GLOW IMAGES (model used for illustrative purposes only)

“Ah, Mr. Young, I see you ride your bicycle in order to keep fit!”  “No,” replied Mr. Young, “I ride my bike because I am fit.”  For Mr. Young, fitness was something that he used physical activity to express, rather than to get.  My Ohio colleague, Steve Salt, helps us see that our path to fitness has a spiritual connection, above today’s conflicting health theories.  Here’s Steve…

Remember the Royal Canadian Air Force 5BX (Five Basic Exercises) Plan?  Hugely popular in the 60’s, it was simple to do, but boring as heck.  I remember my dad struggling with sit-ups and tediously running in place.  It wasn’t long before his exercise regimen was history.  To stick with an exercise routine, one needs a compelling reason for doing it….

My favorite fitness activities are walking and hiking.  But more than a physical fitness hiker, I consider myself a ponder walker.  I like to think in stride, not going over my to-do list or rehearsing some past conversation, but appreciating the moment and silently expressing my gratitude for the many blessings I have experienced.

I have found that turning attention to my spiritual and mental life is immensely important as it pertains to health.  Taking into account my “inner” life has an impact on my “outer” or physical being, because it is the quality of my thought that affects the harmony of my body….

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Ready to Give

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02MIGRANTS-2-jumboMy Arizona colleague, Rich Evans, explains the spiritual underpinnings of giving unselfishly.  From personal experience, he describes how practicing the Golden Rule can be an effective response to the current refugee crisis.  Here’s Rich…

Budapest. Munich. Bodrum.   These beautiful, historic places have become symbols of unanswered global questions about our moral obligations to mankind.

This question is just as important here in the Southwestern US, as anywhere.

Seeing reports of masses of refugees fending for themselves at Keleti railway station in Hungary, having just escaped the chaos of warfare, begs many questions and demands serious thought.

“There, but for the grace of God, go I”, could be a natural response.  But what is the grace of God?  To me, it’s the inspired effect on human behavior of understanding God’s universal love.  Such boundless grace must hold answers for each individual, oppressed or free, in conflict or at peace, in Syria or Arizona.

We could, of course, simply view these challenges as someone else’s problem.  But we have a track record of doing better than that….

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Are you having a near-life experience?

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© GLOW IMAGES (model used for illustrative purposes only)
© GLOW IMAGES (model used for illustrative purposes only)

The famous John Lennon quote, “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans,” makes us question if we’re really living in the present.  Have the ever-increasing speed of life and the growing options technology provides caused us to opt out of appreciating today?  Wendy Margolese, my north of the Minnesota border colleague up in Ontario, shares some practical and healing insights to help our day-to-day experience become more real and satisfying.  Here’s Wendy…

The pace of life has picked up speed – and most of us feel like we are always running to catch up.  Some days pass in a blur of phone calls, text messages, and kids’ activities – maybe all at the same time!

Author Max Strom has coined the phrase ‘near-life experience’ in his recent book, ‘There Is No App for Happiness’.  This type of life is characterized by experiences we are not completely engaged in and present with; a life that leaves us feeling that something is missing despite how busy we are.

Advances in technology have led to constant connectivity to information and to people.  Although this has brought some good things into our lives (I can Skype with my family living in another country), statistics say we do not feel a sense of satisfaction in life.  If anything, we have become dissatisfied; and stress has become a constant companion.  And that’s not good for our health.

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Celebrate religious freedom on the Fourth of July

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@Glowimages: The Statue of Liberty, New York City, United States of America with the Stars and Stripes flag in the foreground
© GLOW IMAGES

My Southern California colleague, Don Ingwerson, reminds us that a big part of why we celebrate our independence this weekend, is freedom to practice the religion of our choice.  That idea often gets drowned out by fun and fireworks.  And the prayer that’s at the center of religion can bring freedom from sickness.  Here’s Don…

Is July 4 just a day for barbecues, friends and family?

It seemed that way to a friend of mine a few years ago at an Independence Day neighborhood gathering. He was surprised to learn that most of the children attending didn’t know why they were celebrating….

One of the bedrocks of our country, which many other nations tragically lack, is the commitment to religious freedom we have maintained through the years. Yet I have learned such commitment requires fresh renewal with each generation. We can’t take for granted that all our citizens will understand and appreciate this crucial component of our history, nor recognize how vital it is that it should continue.

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Empathy: crucial for effective healthcare

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© GLOW IMAGES (model used for illustrative purposes only)
© GLOW IMAGES (model used for illustrative purposes only)

Can the caring at the heart of healthcare sometimes seem to get lost?

Many think it does, as classic family physicians have been increasingly replaced by time-constrained, clinical specialists.

Among doctors, such caring used to be called a “good bedside manner”.  And after more than a generation of specialized training focused on medical knowledge and technical acumen, the value of empathy is being re-discovered and taught as an essential skill.

It improves the experience of both patients and doctors when medical professionals express clinical empathy, according to the Kaiser Health news service.  The patient feels understood and cared about, has a better outcome and is more satisfied.  The doctor in turn gets a better rating, faces less risk of malpractice suits and experiences decreased burnout.  The whole system is benefited.  (See “Efforts to Instill Empathy Among Doctors are Paying Dividends.”)

I too have learned how powerful empathy can be, in my journey as a practitioner of Christian Science healing.  But I view it from a slightly different angle.  To me, empathy for patients is not just a technique to show you understand another person’s emotions and share their feelings.  Rather, it’s at the core of our desire to help one another.  As children of a loving Creator, the capacity to care for each other is innate in all of us.

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Defeating fear of Ebola will help defeat Ebola

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© GLOW IMAGES (model used for illustrative purposes only)
© GLOW IMAGES (model used for illustrative purposes only)

I’m not an authority on dealing physically with contagious diseases but I do know about handling fear.  I’ve learned that stopping fear of disease can go a long way toward stopping disease itself.

The Christian Science Monitor quoted Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank Group:  “There are two kinds of contagion, one is related to the virus itself and the other is related to the spread of fear about the virus.  Both contagions must be defeated.”

This Daily Mail article agrees that worry and fear are often unhealthy and linked to various health problems:  “Ebola: A crash course in fear and how it hurts us.”  (See related article, “Five Rock Solid Ways to Master Fear.)

Just how connected the contagion of fear about Ebola is to the actual spread of the virus is becoming more widely understood.  What happens in our thinking does not stay in our thinking.  Fears can be manifested in our bodies.  Protecting ourselves and our communities from Ebola and wiping it out, is as much about what we do mentally as physically.
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