Health

The other day I was sick with a mild head cold and was resigned to forgo a dinner party I had been looking forward to. But when a friend showed up to ride with us and I told him, he said, "oh don't worry about me, I don't get sick anymore."

This caught me off guard. I was skeptical and asked what he meant. He said that he used to have many of the ailments I've had all my life, but not anymore because in his meditation, he had learned to embrace illness. He even stopped getting sick at all. What! I had to know more. I've tried many things that are supposed to help ward off colds, but nothing really works. So I was sure there must be some other factors that would explain it...he was one of those who naturally didn't get sick, he really did get sick and was fooling himself. I didn't know. But in the course of the conversation, I began to understand his theory which was well constructed, actually. I ended up going to dinner, mainly just to learn more about this idea.

As I understand it, the theory is something like this: thoughts influence our body in real ways, so a practice of always seeking the good, leads to more good being manifest in us. This sounds like a standard Positive Mental Attitude thing, but it goes so far beyond it in ways that make sense. He described his meditation technique, the basis for his thinking, how he visualizes things, tied it to science and metaphysics, and religion. In short, it was plausible. I could acknowledge that it was valid, but I couldn't "believe" it yet. Then at one moment, the resonating wave that shakes the cords in the jeweled net of my reality hit and I found the one thing I was supposed to gain from the conversation. He recognized it at once and said, "good, then you're done for tonight. Do it again tomorrow." Of course we talked on from there, but I really did find a kernel of truth in what he was saying.

I mulled it over all weekend as I recovered from the worst of the cold and had decided, I might have found the kernel in it all and wasn't sure about the rest. So I did a little research to see if the stuff he said fell in the realm of the wacky, the pseudo-science, or the mainline that no one has heard of. To my surprise, I instantly found a reputable medical website that highlighted many of the very things he had talked about. Wow! So there was something to this! It was independently verified.

I'm still not so sure how it all works out or to what extent, but I'm definitely going to give it a a fair go. Did you know that antibodies actually increase in people who habitually practice certain things that are really just sage old advice about health? I'm amazed, but shouldn't be. After all, ancient/folk wisdom, which we now tend to rank little better than superstition, is often derived from generations of keen observations. It's a common fallacy to assume that those with less technology are less intelligent. Maybe they can't describe it in our terms, but that doesn't automatically make it false.

So if every thought carries biochemical, electrochemical, and spiritual/energetic consequences, it certainly pays to work toward a healthy, holistic lifestyle of whole foods, plenty of sunlight, low stress, and plenty of good friends. If stress kills (I can attest to that), it also makes sense that the opposite would be true. That is a hopeful thought. And hopeful thoughts bring positive responses in the body. In short, they increase well-being in real measurable ways. So my friend says to use this as the basis and build from there. Add in some excellent Buddhist advice about desire begetting suffering, some Kung Fu about channelling spirit/energy, and some quantum physics about anti-entropic forces and that's pretty much it.

I'm not sure how it all works or fits together yet, but it seems possible. And possibility opens a space for something new. Since, my own observation of a phenomena can alter it, and one possibility is as good as the next, I'm opting for the good.