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Let's Talk About...
Can we affect our health by our thoughts, our intentions, or our prayers?
It's December, the darkest month of the year for those of us who live in the northern hemisphere. Many of us associate it with giving. Short barren days and long cold nights may have precipitated our human need to unconditionally give. Consider the vast number of charities, non-profit organizations, and volunteer opportunities from the Peace Corps, to gala balls, to handing out food in a soup kitchen to helping children in the crosswalk on their way to school.
St. Francis rightly said, "It is in the giving that we receive." Indeed, we feel better about ourselves when we give of our time, our resources and most of all our love. It is transformational. And it's then that we are open to receive. 
Of course, I'm not talking about material stuff. I'm referring to the idea of a universal oneness, and our human right to food and nourishment, all of which leads us to vibrant health. As we give, and open ourselves to deeper understanding we also optimize our health.
If our aim is vibrant health in our mind, heart and body then we should know it has to start with our physicality. We have to start with food, attention to farmers, their practices and the way they treat their animals. We are only as healthy as our planet.
And so it goes around and around.
It used to be that people believed that what you saw was what you got: Science had established the fact that the universe was a matter machine, comprised of physical, indivisible atoms that fully obeyed the laws of Newtonian Mechanics. But in 1895, physicists changed tacks and publicly recognized that the universe was actually made of energy whose mechanics obeyed the laws of Quantum Physics. Quantum Physics shows us that the invisible, immaterial realm is actually far more important than the material realm.
Today, author, epigenic researcher and cellular biologist Bruce Lipton, is one of the leading authorities on how emotions can regulate genetic expression.
"One third of healings are through the placebo effect," he wrote. "Why don't we use this more often? All a person has to do is have a positive thought."
Are you fearful or hopeful? The body is continually recreating. This is called our immune system, which is self-healing and has innate intelligence. If we change the field of energy that the atom lives in, we can change the atom, electrically or magnetically.
Mike Dooley, in his book Leveraging the Universe: 7 Steps to Engaging Life's Magic wrote, "We use mindful, heartfelt prayer to connect our intentions with Others. Thought is action."
 Another way to approach the idea is to consider the phrase about "having a change of heart." Extensive research has been done on the power of heart intelligence, intuition and the energetic connection between all things.
The Freeze-Frame technique is the simplest of the HeartMath tools. A one-minute technique, it allows a major shift in perception. More than positive thinking, it creates a definitive, heartfelt shift in how we view a situation, an individual or ourselves. When under stress:
- Shift out of the head, and focus on the area around your heart. Keep your attention there for at least ten seconds. Continue to breathe normally.
- Recall a positive time or feeling you had in your life, and attempt to re-experience it. Remember try not simply to visualize it, but rather to feel it fully.
- Ask a question from the heart: "What can I do in this situation to make it different?" or "What can I do to minimize stress?"
- Listen to the response of your heart.
You may hear nothing, but perhaps feel calmer. You may receive verification of something you already know, or you may experience a complete perspective shift, seeing the crisis in a more balanced way. Although we may not have control over the event, we do have control over our perception of it.
References:
"There is a power inside the human body against which no earthly force is of the slightest conscience," wrote author and lecturer Neville
Goddard.
Japanese alternative doctor Masuru Emoto became famous for doing "intention" experiments on water, and photographing the remarkable results. His subsequent appearance in the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know," and in his book, "The Hidden Messages in Water," showed that when w ater was stamped with positive words it's crystallized form became far more symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing than that stamped with dark, negative phrases. Since a human body is 50-65 percent water, so it follows, he said that our bodies can also be transformed by positive thought.
Another exercise in moving your reality with a prayer, or mantra is with Ho'oponopono, an ancient Hawaiian problem-solving process that literally means 'make right'. It's a simple yet profound way of making things right in our lives.
It works by repeating this:
Please Forgive Me.
I'm sorry.
I love you.
Thank you.
B y saying this, one touches on atonement, forgiveness, love and gratitude in one 10-word mantra.
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Julie Johnson hosts a radio show on the Wood River Valley's only community radio station, KDPI 89.3 FM. Her weekly show, Our Health Culture, can be heard live on 89.3 FM or streamed live at
