Recent years have proven to be a renaissance for the integration of Mind-Body medicine. The idea that our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes can positively or negatively affect how our body works is finally finding some traction. What is interesting though is that doctors have deliberated over the connection between our mental and physical health for centuries. During the 17th century, the Western world started to see the mind and the body as two distinct entities. This perspective looked at the body as a machine with replaceable parts, independent parts, with no connection at all to the mind. Even though the Western viewpoint had definite benefits by advancing traditional medical models, it also reduced scientific inquiry into humans’ emotional and spiritual life. This viewpoint downplayed humans’ innate ability to heal.
Thinking has come full circle on this, however. Recently, scientists have reflected on the idea that even behavioral disorders have a biological basis. At the same time, they have been rediscovering the links between stress and health. It is not illogical anymore to accept that there is a powerful mind-body connection through which emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and behavioral factors can directly affect our health. Now the realm of the Spirit is picking up advocates for healing the body and the mind. Spirit influences both the Mind-Body connection by introducing energy into the healing equation.
Mind, Body, Spirit Definitions
If you are unfamiliar with the energy system in our bodies, just bear with me as I go through these definitions. These might be totally new concepts for you to consider, bit know that they are all grounded in research.
Soul: The Soul is often mentioned in the mind, body, spirit connection. The Soul is who you are at your very core. It is the larger part of you and is the storehouse of everything that you have ever been, are now, and ever will be. It is the I AM.
Spirit: If the Soul is like the computer, the Spirit is the WIFI. Your spirit is what’s broadcasting you into this body. It is your energy/chi.
Mind: The Mind is the tool you use to create, manifest your reality, and that can intentionally direct your consciousness onto thought forms that you choose. The Ego lives in the mind and its purpose is to integrate you into this reality, to make it feel more real so that your Soul can experience itself here, but it shouldn’t be given too much power or else it will wreak havoc. Most people are operating from the Ego, which dwells mostly in fear instead of the Mind, which dwells in the present.
Body: The Body is more like a hologram that is affected by Spirit and Mind. The more life force energy you have flowing in the healthier your body will be. The more you cut off the energy by way of consistent negative thoughts and emotional patterns, the less vibrant the body.
How Are the Mind Body Spirit Interrelated?
The mind affects the flow of your spirit, which in turn affects the body. With our minds, we can choose either bad-feeling thoughts or good-feeling thoughts in any moment. These thoughts create a corresponding emotion, which either creates a higher vibration or lower vibration.
When our vibration is higher, the mind and body are in harmony. When our vibration lowers, the mind and body become out of balance and the body begins to show signs of energy disruption. All dis-ease is energetic. No symptom, no matter how small, is a fluke. And no dis-ease, no matter how big, is incurable. It is simply a matter of energy flow, which is either being allowed or disallowed by your thoughts or your emotions.
(How to Heal the Mind Body Spirit Connection. Feb. 11, 2020. Jessica Dimas)
How Is the Mind Different from the Brain?
How is the mind different from the brain? Mind and brain are sometimes used interchangeably but there is a difference in function. The mind consists of mental states such as thoughts, emotions, beliefs, attitudes, and images. The brain is the hardware that allows us to experience these mental states. Mental states can be fully conscious or unconscious. We often have emotional reactions to situations without ever being aware why we were reacting. Each mental state has a physiology associated with it – a positive or negative effect felt in the physical body. This occurs since the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems share a common chemical language, which allows constant communication between the mind and body through messengers like hormones and neurotransmitters. For example, emotions like anxiety can trigger increased stress hormones, which may suppress the immune system and set the stage for the development of infections or cancer.
What Is the Difference Between Mind and Spirit?
Now you get to stretch your belief system! The Mind is the energetic field that is connected to the Universal Mind. It does not think thoughts but can pull them down from the field and choose to utilize them or not.
The Spirit is the energetic waves and vibration that brings life in your body. It’s your essence, and it’s fed by high vibrational thoughts and feelings. Therefore, being intentional with your thoughts and emotions either feeds or starves your spirit.
Your Spirit is naturally joyful, loving, and appreciating. When you are open, you allow your spirit to flow. When you close it off with bad-feeling emotional thought patterns, you don’t allow the flowing to happen.
Stress causes the cells in your body to mutate and die. Joy causes them to regenerate and function exactly as they naturally know how to do.
(How to Heal the Mind Body Spirit Connection. Feb. 11, 2020. Jessica Dimas)
Mind-Body Medicine
What healers knew centuries ago are now being researched and recognized as powerful connections through which emotional, spiritual, and behavioral factors can directly impact health outcomes. Research in mind-body medicine is finding that emotions and thought patterns can contribute to imbalances within the body. The beliefs you hold about yourself and your world, your emotions, your memories, and your habits can all influence mental and physical health.
Let’s see how this mind-body connection really works. What you believe can lead to disease. Due to the mind-body connection, the way you think and feel, as well as the deep-seated belief patterns you hold can all contribute to the development of disease, according to Jennifer Weinberg of the Chopra Center. If you do not explore and deal with painful emotions, they can create an underlying sense of anxiety, depression, or anger that can physically disrupt the body’s natural ability to heal itself.
Abraham Hicks states that you are never in need of “healing”. You are simply either allowing or disallowing your natural well-being.
What this means is that when you have been in a negative pattern or you are sick, it doesn’t mean well-being is not flowing to you, rather you haven’t been allowing it due to the vibrational stranglehold you have had yourself in.
Mind-Body Therapies
With all of that said, how do you heal and prevent disease? The mind-body connection is complex and requires a combination of physical, spiritual, and emotional approaches. There are a variety of mind-body therapies that can help you process your emotions and develop inner peace and physical wellness. Mind-body therapies use the body to affect the mind, such as yoga, tai chi, qigong, and some types of dances. Mind-body and body-mind therapies are interrelated: the body affects the mind, which in turn impacts the body. Here is a list of mind-body therapies:
· Patient support groups
· Cognitive-behavioral therapy
· Meditation
· Prayer
· Creative art therapies (art, music, and dance)
· Yoga
· Biofeedback
· Tai Chi
· Qigong
· Relaxation
· Hypnosis
· Guided imagery
Years ago, when I was attending the Ohio Academy of Holistic Health to get my certification in clinical aromatherapy, I was introduced to the world of energy. I really struggled to understand it. But in the years since I have experienced the power of recognizing my energetic self. If you are totally baffled, I understand. But don’t discard this information. We are energy and we need to understand that we are blessed with a priceless gift.
In Conclusion
When we realize this power and awe-inspiring truth about ourselves, think about all the possibilities that begin to unfold. Think about the fear that begins to melt away, the feelings of joy, love, and wonder that we begin to realize are always flowing to us.
All you need to do is remember that your thoughts are how you create reality, your emotions let you know if your thoughts are helping, or hindering you, and that all energy disruptions can be easily fixed.
We just need to be open, release the fear and let well-being flow.
(How to Heal the Mind Body Spirit Connection. Feb. 11, 2020. Jessica Dimas)
References:
Dimas, J. (February 11, 2020). How to heal the mind body spirit connection. Retrieved from https://jessicadimas.com/mind-body-spirit/
Mind/Body Connection: How Your Emotions Affect Your Health. Retrieved from https://familydoctor.org/mindbody-connection-how-your-emotions-affect-your-health/
NIH Medline Plus. (Winter, 2008). The Mind-body connection: emotions and health. Retrieved https://medlineplus.gov/magazine/issues/winter08/articles/winter08pg4.html
University of Minnesota. What is the mind-body connection? Retrieved from https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/what-is-the-mind-body-connection
Weinberg, J. Mind-body connection: understanding the psycho-emotional roots of disease. Retrieved from http://www.chpra.com/articles/mind-body-connection-understanding-the-psycho=emotional-roots-of-disease
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