![Introduction: Mind, Body, and Spirit ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, C.A.: Basic Health Publications, Inc. Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M.S. (2005). Consciousness and healing: Integral approaches to mind-body medicine . Saint Louis, M.I.: Elsevier, Inc.](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
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Mind-Body Connection
- 1. Mental Fitness and Psychological Flourishing Jill Jernee March 30, 2010 Kaplan University HW420, Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing Unit 5, Project Susan Johnson Stewart, Ph.D.
- 18. References Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, C.A.: Basic Health Publications, Inc. Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M.S. (2005). Consciousness and healing: Integral approaches to mind-body medicine . Saint Louis, M.I.: Elsevier, Inc.
Editor's Notes
- Hello! My name is Jill Jernee and I will be speaking about the benefits of mental fitness and psychological flourishing as well as the research studies that were conducted over the years. Practice exercises with step-by-step instructions will be provided at the end of this presentation, so let’s get started.
- As I will show you with the research studies, illnesses can disappear as you erase all negative thoughts from your mind and replace them with positive thoughts through the mind and body connection. People have thought that the mind and body was separated and some may still even think that today, however, the mind and body are inseparable and go hand-in-hand with the way we think and feel (Dacher, 2006). The first thing we have to do to experience human and psychological flourishing, which will happen but you have to be patient, is to be in touch with yourself and your inner thoughts. Meditation can help you to focus and relieve stress as well as practicing some deep breathing exercises for a healthier and happier you (Dacher, 2006).
- By taking the time to re-train the mind, you can hard-wire your thought process which will control blood pressure and pulse through the autonomic nervous system and our muscle movements through the central nervous system (Dacher, 2006). Candace Pert is one person who studied and discovered neuropeptides, which is a protein, that carries messages up and down our bodies and throughout our bodies too. They can transform our minds and they are made up by other cells (Dacher, 2006). Candace Pert is the person who discovered the mind and body connection (Dacher, 2006).
- Ken Wilbur’s theory is that he believes in integral health, happiness, and human flourishing and mental illnesses can be avoided when we reach this stage in our life (Dacher, 2006). Integral health is also known as a human experience where we learn to experience and reach a new level of authentic happiness and genuine wholeness (Dacher, 2006).
- Dr. Robert Ader discovered and studied the relationship on mind and body in rats back in 1970 (Dacher, 2006). In his experiment, he would administer sweetened water to the rats with a bit of Cytoxan, a drug, and the rats would drink this combination; however, they would become ill afterward (Dacher, 2006). This created what was known as a learned response in the rats because they became ill after drinking this water even after the drug was removed from the water, otherwise known as a psychological issue (Dacher, 2006).
- Dr. Peter Schnall studied the inner experience of stress in business managers and he found that the more stressed out they were, the more severe their chronic illness such as hypertension and depression (Dacher, 2006). He also found that in his studies that some managers were able to not stress bother them as much and they had a healthier attitude not to mention no chronic illnesses (Dacher, 2006). His idea was to re-train the mind and start at the root of the matter with the inner-self (Dacher, 2006). He would have the managers turn their negative thoughts into positive ones and noticed a difference such as better health and happiness (Dacher, 2006).
- Dr. Richard Davidson performed an experiment on people to study stress reduction and relaxation strategies for eight weeks from the beginning of flu vaccinations to the end (Dacher, 2006). He would study their electrical brain activities and the blood flow within the brain as well as their metabolic activity (Dacher, 2006). He mapped out the negative and positive responses from each one (Dacher, 2006).
- Continuing on with Dr. Richard Davidson’s study, he found that the emotions on the right side of the brain is where the negative emotions are located and on the left side of the prefrontal cortex, he found the positive emotions (Dacher, 2006). Dr. Davidson also studied compassion and loving-kindness where he found that his instincts were ready to help others who suffered and he felt better about himself (Dacher, 2006).
- There are five guiding principles to integral healing which are as follows: Holistic, which is developed through inner and outer aspects 2. Evolutionary, which are our conscious choices that we make 3. Intentional, where we can shift our focus 4. Person-centered, where we learn to explore ourselves 5. Dynamic, which is how we heal by listening to our issues and finding wisdom like a rebirth (Dacher, 2006).
- For research conducted on healing qualities of mental and spiritual focus, Dr. Randolph Byrd was the first person to lead a prayer group that was studied on the power of healing and how this lead to spirituality (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005). He found that people felt better spiritually even when they prayed for their loved ones who could not pray for themselves because they were so ill, known as extraneous prayer (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005).
- Dr. Dean Ornish was a medical student who wanted to try out a lifestyle program on people that consisted of eating healthy, dieting, and basically all holistic approaches to better health, well-being, and happiness (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005). People under this study found they felt better both emotionally and spiritually (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005). Dr. Ornish published his study in the American Journal of the American Medical Association (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005).
- Love is powerful indeed and is self-healing (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005). Love can be taught and expressed. Love was found to have high oxytocin levels that made people feel good about themselves and led to better health and happiness (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005). Love is both physical and spiritual too (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005). Lee’s six colors of love are romantic, first site, friendship, loving love or being in love with that idea, shopping love, and selfless love (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005). Love can be felt and expressed in so many different forms and all are different from one another (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005).
- I now have two practice exercises you can try on your own or now if you would like. The first one is loving-kindness and you have to be sitting by yourself and comfortably. You should close your eyes and relax. Now we are going to concentrate on breathing deeply and exhaling. Do not think of anything else just yet. Okay, everyone breathing in slowly and deeply? Don’t forget to exhale and exhale slowly. Now we are going to think of a loved one and hold them close to you in your mind. Doesn’t matter if he or she is living or has passed away. You want to see someone who you are very close to. We are now going to experience loving-kindness towards yourself and the loved one. Once you have filled that void and love in your heart, you will turn your love outward to strangers. Do not feel anything else or think of anything else but peace and love. We will now hold this thought for a little bit. We will now picture someone who we know is suffering or is ill. Breathe in that person’s suffering or illness and absorb this into your heart. Release the suffering for your loved one and experience happiness, peace, and love. You should feel relaxed and begin to open your eyes. How do you feel? Practice this exercise twice-a-day for 15-minutes each session. Good luck and may you flourish! (Dacher, 2006).
- This second exercise is known as the subtle mind and will involve more breathing exercises, which will be your focus for the entire exercise. Please practice this one two times a day for 15-minutes each session (Dacher, 2006).