Miraculous Life 

Greetings!  

  I had the wonderful privilege of studying with Dr. David Simon. David co-founded The Chopra Center with Deepak Chopra. He was a world renowned lecturer, author and healer. He was a neurologist and he taught that there wasn't a relationship between mind and body because there was no separation between mind and body. There cannot be a relationship between one entity. He used the term "Mindbody" to communicate that the mind and body operate as one, although we have two separate words for mind AND body and speak of mind AND body as two entities.

Dr. Simon taught about the paradoxes of life. Consistent with that, paradoxically, it was a brain tumor that ended his life two weeks ago. It troubles me deeply to think that one of the world's leaders in mindbody wellness would develop brain cancer and die from it. A man who was the epitome of health, a neurologist, nonetheless, whose life was committed to well being, died of brain cancer. It doesn't make sense. But as he would say, it doesn't make sense and it's beautiful. That's life.

I'm sharing with you today a piece that Dr. Simon wrote a couple years ago.  I find the final two sentences particularly moving - given the circumstances. Enjoy...

A Word on Mindbody from David Simon

A basic premise of Ayurveda is that our experiences in consciousness translate into patterns in our bodies. We frequently cite the expression, "If you want to understand a person's experiences in the past, examine their body now. If you want to predict what their mind and body will be like in the future, examine their experiences now." Another way of saying this is: "Biography becomes biology." 

Each day at the Chopra Center, we see guests who reinforce our view that choices and experiences influence our tendency to be healthy or become ill. A woman with persistent family stress reports incapacitating headaches, unresponsive to multiple medicines. A man with relationship and job-related challenges notices a flare-up in his inflammatory bowel disease. From insomnia to fibromyalgia, from chronic fatigue to cancer, our perceptions, interpretations, and choices can make the difference between health and illness . . . between life and death.

Science supports the essential connection between mind and body. A recent study from the University of Michigan found that third-grade children who slept soundly at night were less likely to be obese. Another study from Britain found that people in conflicted close relationships had a 34 percent increase in coronary heart problems. A report from Ohio State University showed that one heated argument can delay wound healing by 24 hours.

The basic Ayurvedic principles to regain and maintain mind-body balance are as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago.

Your body needs you to make life-supporting choices. Please don't wait until it is throwing a tantrum before you pay attention.

With love,

David

I posted a new blog entry this week. It was inspired by David Simon. You can read it by clicking here. (This, by the way, isn't my blog. This is my Miraculous Life eBulletin. This is a private mailing to a private list of people who have opted-in to receive these messages. And I thank you for doing that!)

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