In church this morning, our minister reminded me of a very important fact — Illness can have no impact on your body if your mind simply does not acknowledge the existence of illness.
Have you ever heard the saying “where the mind goes, the body will follow”? It’s true. If you allow your mind to focus on illness and lack, you will attract illness and lack to your life and your body. While diet, lifestyle and genetics certainly can play a part in health, the state of the mind is equally important.
Here’s an example: I knew a man many years ago who tested positive for HIV. He was convinced his wife and children would be better off if he died quickly. It wasn’t long before he developed bull blown AIDS and became very sick. Within a year he was at death’s door. Doctors estimated he’d be dead within a month of hospice admission.
One Saturday afternoon, the man’s 20 something daughter came to see him. It was the first time any of his children had seen him since he became ill. He had ordered them all to stay away for their “own protection.” But the daughter had something important to tell him and decided to ignore her dad’s rule this time. She walked into her dad’s room and immediately he could see she was very pregnant.
“Get out!” her dad told her. “You should not be here, you’ll get sick”
“No, I won’t dad. My doctor said I could come.” she replied. ” Your doctor tells us you probably wont make it to see your grandson born.” The woman said through tears. “This is the only way I can be sure he’ll meet you, Dad.”
“Grandson? It’s a boy?” The man’s eyes welled up with tears. He had no sons and had always longed for a grandson.
“Yes, Dad. It’s a boy – and I’m naming him after you.” she leaned in to give her dad a hug, but then backed off. AIDS was still a fairly new illness and everyone was still unsure.
Father and daughter spent several hours visiting.
When the daughter left, hospice staff could hear him sobbing. The
‘reality’ of the situation had finally hit him. He was dying and he
would not see his children grow old, or even meet his first born
grandchild. He cried and ranted and cursed all night long. Hospice
staff considered calling his doctor and asking for something to help him sleep. But finally they decided it was better to let him take the time to process the situation. Finally, he fell asleep.
The next morning, the man declared to every person who walked by his door that he had decided he did not want to die and he would walk out of the hospice before that baby was born.
The nurses humored him, because they all knew he would die. But the man persisted. That afternoon, he started refusing his medication, saying he no longer needed it because he was no longer ill.
It didn’t quite work that way, and he quickly found that he did, indeed need some of the medicines if he wanted to breathe. But, he successfully did without one or two other meds.
As the days went on, the man continued insisting he was getting better. And very slowly, he did. His doctor was forced to admit the man was not facing an immediate death, and so he was moved from hospice care to an HIV unit at the hospital.
The man persisted in denying he was ill, and affirming his health and vitality. Within a few weeks, he was back at home and working to repair the damage his negativity had done to his marriage. He apologized to his wife and children for resigning himself to death, and promised them he would spend his energy on living.
After several months, the man’s condition was downgraded even further. He was declared HIV positive with no signs of AIDS.
I don’t know what happened to the man after that because at that point the man and his family no longer needed the services of the agency I worked for, and we lost touch.
It doesn’t matter what religion you are, or if you even believe in a higher power. What matters is your attitude. If a person believes they can be harmed by illness, then they give that illness power over them.
If, however you choose to affirm your life and your health, and you truly believe, at the core of your being, that you are well, the energy generated by that belief will resonate within you to increase the energy and health of your cells, eventually leading to health.
Use the herbs and treatments available to you, but never.. NEVER stop affirming your health.
Namaste
