“For as he (man) thinketh in his heart, so is he:” (Proverbs 23:7a)

There is an “old saying” that thoughts are things. I did not understand how true it was when hearing it as a child. However, I have seen much truth in it as I have grown into adulthood. For example:

• Using a simple mental technique, a group of people in the USA are currently maintaining their bodies at a physical level seven years younger than their chronological ages.
• There is a power, literally at your fingertips, that can mean the difference between life and death for premature newborns.
• Some aspects of senility may be nothing more than a vitamin deficiency easily corrected by knowing the proper foods to eat.

Some years ago, these statements would have been considered little more than science fiction. Now they are fact. The catalyst behind these amazing developments is the simple discovery that your mind and body are not two separate entities. They are a team. Scientific research is only just beginning to find out exactly how closely knit that team is, but one thing is for sure: The mind has an unlimited effect on the health of the body. The attention you give to the well-being of your mind, the time you take to stimulate it, the knowledge you expose it to, and the thoughts and feelings you entertain are instantly translated into physical well-being … or the lack of it. (from Positive Living and Health, by the Editors of Prevention Magazine)

The idea that thoughts are a product of a physical organ (the brain), just as much as estrogen is a product of the ovaries, and that both these products interact with all other parts of ourselves is … well, just a little strange to most of us. We ask the question how can we equate thoughts with a hormone, or bones, or any other physical part of our bodies?

Science tells us that there is instantaneous communications between brain, nerves, muscles, blood, etc., and that these communications go on continuously, every minute, every second. With every thought, feeling and attitude.

We are, literally, what we think.

Research tells us that to the extent our thoughts and attitudes are negative, we may be sending messages to every part of our body that encourage fatigue and illness. To the extent our thoughts are positive, we are sending messages that encourage energy and health.

Thoughts, research tells us, are very much like electrical hormones.

You shouldn’t think of this as something terribly mystical. The brain, after all, is the king of the body, all of the body and all of its organs. So it is just as natural for the product of the brain (thoughts) to influence our total health as it is for the heartbeat to affect respiration and blood pressure.

The unity of our thoughts and physical bodies is clearly revealed in healing research using the power of conditioning. Conditioning literally teaches the body to heal itself. Researchers have used taste to combat an autoimmune disease, a condition in which the immune system attacks parts of the body as if they were foreign invaders; smell to fight cancer; and music with visualization as a weapon against migraine headaches. In each instance the treatment was very successful.

Mind over matter has long been a statement used to depict the influence that our minds have over our bodies. It would seem that there is evidence that proves that statement a fact. Therefore, a healthy, happy mind can mean a healthy, happy body. Think health, think happy and you may find your body responding remarkably. (The Searcher Newsletter, Volume 6, Issue 2, Healthful Hints))