Thoughts can change biology

Have you ever noticed that thinking a certain thought can change your day? You wake up and, for a brief moment, may forget that diagnosis.  Or maybe you forget that your marriage is over or your job has been eliminated. And then it all comes rushing back and you start to feel nauseous and shaky.  Your head starts throbbing and your palms start sweating.  Your thoughts have directly impacted your biology. Study after study is now proving the idea that you can think yourself sick, as well as well.  You can change your gene expression by assuming a positive or negative attitude about your circumstances.  If that is true, why don’t doctors encourage each and every patient to practice positive visualization?  It costs nothing, has no associated risks, and could greatly improve a prognosis.

I once heard a speaker say, “The day I got my diagnosis I died to who I was. But I haven’t yet been reborn to who I am going to become.”  She had a sense of continuity even in the way that she spoke.  She was telling a story that told me this woman expects to live. What we believe and tell our minds can greatly impact our cellular biology.  Expect a positive outcome.  Think about a positive outcome (in great detail).  Dream of your life with this positive outcome.  I’m not talking about becoming a Pollyanna, I’m talking about really seeing your life healthy and whole (or at least as I say, “remarkably better”).  Feel the feelings associated with that reality.  Your brain can’t tell the difference between what has already happened and what you have imagined and felt if you picture it with enough detail and emotion.  It’s not easy, especially when you are so sick or scared, but it is a skill to be practiced.  It gets easier the more consistently you practice it.  What have you got to lose?  Time is going to pass either way.  You can sit back and wait for healing or improvement or you can imagine it. You can picture it in all its luscious, joyful, hopeful detail.  See yourself able to do and experience all the things you have only dreamed of.  At the very least you will notice improvements in your emotions and hope.  At most you will notice miraculous improvements to your life.  Let’s give it a try together!