Mind Over Illness – Can Positive Thinking Help Heal You?

Something thought-provoking happened this week, causing me to reflect very seriously about how much the mind plays a role in our wellness. As you may know, I blog about optimistic thinking and positive living — because I truly believe in it with all my heart and spirit. And certainly feel-good uplifting thinking leads to corresponding emotions. Who wouldn’t prefer the glow of joy and inspiration over the negative feelings of a “doom and gloom” attitude?

But what specific event just set off the light bulb in my head and heart, an “ah ha” moment of sorts? It was my attendance at a funeral, held on a bleak, rainy day this past week. The deceased, whom I’ll call “Paul” (who was only in his 50s) was an acquaintance. His wife and I befriended each other many years ago as coworkers and remained fairly close over the years even though she and Paul had moved out of state several years back. Paul had an array of conditions — including an immune system imbalance — over the last decade, but certainly none of them were considered life-threatening or terminal. However, his health took an unexpected, sudden turn for the worse about a month before he passed, and pneumonia and high fevers may have been what ultimately contributed to his demise. However, the strange variety of conditions, pain, and symptoms that gripped him over the last decade was never fully understood by the medical community.

What one thing about Paul may have contributed to his decline? He was a worrier and a “negative thinker.” When his pain first started on a very minor level, he worried and worried about it, focusing on it with lots of powerful negative thought. The pain grew worse and worse, then over time expanded through other parts of his body, sometimes becoming quite debilitating. Paul worried about cleanliness — having his living space immaculate and perfect was of prime importance to him. Paul worried constantly about money and finances, though he was in sound financial shape and had a beautiful house. He also had a loyal, caring, supportive wife and son, whom he unquestionably loved, but who probably were not nearly clean enough for him, or lived up to his idea of real perfection. The more Paul worried about having his life be total perfection, the more it slipped into manifestation of imperfection in the guise of pain, illness and disease.

Now, for the other part of this story… At the funeral, seated beside me during the service, was “Nora,” a friend of a friend, whom I hadn’t seen since a get-together the summer before. Nora has had cancer for several years, having undergone some radical medical treatments to try to for a cure. One experimental surgical procedure sent her into remission and all was well … for awhile. But then, a scan revealed the cancer had returned in a very powerful way. She was given six months to live — and that was about nine months ago. And here she was at this funeral, right next to me, looking radiant, healthy and a medical miracle according to her doctors! Her tumors have shrunk dramatically and are continuing to do so.

How did she do it? Well, I will tell you that our get-together over the summer, right after her grim prognosis, Nora laughed and shrugged off what the doctors had told her, saying something like “I don’t believe it! I’m fine and will continue to be fine!” And I could hear in her tone that she meant it wholeheartedly. With support and research from her husband, she found numerous holistic healing methods, including a strict organic vegan diet, herbal medicine, and acupuncture. After her diagnosis, she refused any further chemo, which the doctors wanted to do to prolong her life by a couple of months. Her husband believed the chemo would completely destroy her body. Obviously, Nora and her husband had made good choices. And through it all, Nora kept up her strong, positive attitude.

So here I was at this funeral, staring at the casket of a man who may have worried and thought himself to death, while sitting next to me was someone who may have laughed and thought herself to life! What a dramatic dichotomy.

So I pose this question: can positive thinking help heal you? We know worrying and negative thinking is certainly going to bring you down. But if you believe with all your heart and spirit that you will live, will that at least give you a chance?

Well, I only present this experience here as food for thought — and in the hopes of encouraging you to bring greater emphasis to living your life in the positive lane. In this physical plane , each of us has the opportunity to live only one day at time anyway. So make a conscious effort to luxuriate in the now!  Milk each moment for its glorious sensation of human expression, caring, connection… and above all else — love. I truly believe that love is the real point of life here.