Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing Candii Dana July 29, 2013

 Benefits  Importance  Where to Focus Energy  How To Guide  Arguments in Support  Summary  References

These benefits are either improved or increased:  Connection between the mind and the body  Ability to enjoy our lives  Ability to cope in stressful times  Creativity or confidence to try new activities  Longevity and immune function  Blood flow  Ability to relax

There has been wide spread information available that practicing physical exercise regularly is important to the body to maintain physical abilities and improve many mental functions. Practicing mental fitness is vital to ones ability to bridge the healing connection between the many systems within the physical realm and enhances the mind-body connection taking health, well- being, compassion and inner calm to a higher capacity.

 Visualization  Reframing  Affirmations  Mental Imagery  Progressive Muscle Relaxation  Cognitive activities like crossword puzzles or word games  Training the mind with loving-kindness, calm- abiding and witness mind  Physical activities like yoga, tai chi, qigong and muscle relaxation.

Preparation  Choose to cultivate an attitude of loving kindness, striving each day to allow for contemplative practice to enhance the process (p. 52).  Enhancing what is wholesome will free up energy for mental fitness increasing the integral healing practice (p. 53). Skillful Action  Cultivate active vigilance and mindfulness striving to learn from our actions rather than judging them (p. 53). Silence and Stillness  Achieve the calming of the mind and outer stillness including our physical environment. Exam and identify sources of excess noise and busyness to try and reduce them before beginning the activity (p. 55). (Dacher, 2006)

 Find a comfortable position sitting or laying down close your eyes and imagine a wise old loving person.  Sit in communion with this person feeling and reflecting their qualities of love, wisdom, peace, compassion and joy.  Take in these qualities until you are transforming your heart, mind and voice like the qualities of the wise one to become this person.  Accept yourself as this wise, loving compassionate healer in mind, body and spirit.  When you feel complete return to the time and place of the room remembering that your inner healer will support and guide you toward integral health. (Dacher, 2006, p )

 Allow minutes if you are just learning this process.  Find a comfortable position sitting or lying down.  Close your eyes and focus on the rise and fall of your breathing.  Tune out all thoughts except those that are positive.  Continue to focus on the feeling of being relaxed.  Focus on tensing and releasing all muscle groups from the head to the feet (forehead, lips, cheeks, jaw, neck, shoulders and so on down to your toes). (Jenkins, 2012)

 While performing the tensing and releasing, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.  Picture the tension washing away with each breath.  If there is still tension felt in any area, repeat the tension and release.  When comfortable, begin to open your eyes and experience the calmness brought on by this activity.  It may take several weeks to achieve complete relaxation, but with practice over time relaxation will be reached more easily in less time. (Jenkins, 2012)

 Noted as “The Most Famous Prayer Study”  Not the first research on the effects of prayer  Not a prayer study that was flawless  393 participants  Intercessory prayer from groups of several denominations  Blinded to the participants, nurses and physicians who were receiving intercessory prayer (1) (Schlitz, 2005, p. 317) (2) (Clark, 2007) (1) (2) (1) (2)

 Prayer that was focused on their assigned patient:  Throughout their stay and away from the hospital  Also included timely recovery free from complications  Byrd’s findings:  A significant difference in the quality of recovery among the patients who received prayer than those who did not.  Fewer deaths in the group that received prayer  Patients required fewer potent drugs in the prayer group (Schlitz, 2005, p. 317)

While it is understood that the design of the study could have been improved and there is no control on prayer an individual may receive without knowledge to the research team. Byrd did establish the principle that intercessory prayer can be studied and he helped break the taboo against prayer as the subject of medical research. (Schlitz, 2005, p. 319)

Study participants followed a “Lifestyle Program” developed by Dean Ornish and Shelly Brown.  Lifestyle programs included:  Low fat vegetarian diet  Stop a tobacco habit  Stress management training  Moderate exercise (Ornish, 1990)

Control patients did not make any lifestyle changes and followed the recommendations of conventional care.  The control group actually got worse  The group that made lifestyle changes got better the more they adhered to the changes in their lifestyle. (Ornish, 1990)

 Study of gamma brain waves  Important to mental training information  The mind has the ability to perform in more complex ways than previously thought  Proposed mental training may result in beneficial short and long term changes  Mental training affects the mind, body and spirit  Affected positive and negative thinking (Dacher, 2006, p. 63)

It is possible that this study shows the capacity of the trained mind to function at a higher level of integration and organization increasing the levels of clarity reported by the research subjects (Schlitz, 2006 p. 63). The scholars that were part of the study had higher levels of synchronous gamma-wave activity before the study but were asked to develop a compassionate mental state that showed progressive increase in synchronous gamma-wave activity between the right and left sides of the brain (McTaggart, 2007 p. 71). Providing permanent emotional improvement by activating the left portion of the brain associated with joy (McTaggart, 2007 p. 71).

The mind and body can perform in a way that has a positive impact on the many systems that are interconnected throughout the physical body that can be seen and the internal/mind that cannot be seen. Mental training does take time and effort; however the effects can have long lasting results on our mind body and spirit taking our learning and living in our turn nature, flourishing health to a higher level. If mental fitness is done regularly it can drive our psychospiritual development cross training our body/mind/spirit all at the same time into a multidimenstional practice of integral health (Dacher, 2006, p. 64).

 Clark, J. (2007). Can Prayer Heal People? Retrieved from:  Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications.  Jenkins, S., Randall, C. (May 2012) Progressive Muscle Relaxation. National Jewish Health. Retrieved from:  Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M. S. (2005). Consciousness & Healing: Integral Approaches to Mind-body Medicine. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone.  McTaggart, L. (2007). Entering Hyperspace. The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts To Change Your Life and The World (p. 71). New York: Free Press.