The Mind: A Tool For Health or Disease

by Kaleb Montgomery, Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Last time I started off by mentioning that in Ayurvedic medicine the body is seen as a product of our consciousness. In this article we will focus on the 2 basic directions our consciousness can take. These 2 forms of consciousness can best be described as health and disease.

In view in Traditional Chinese Medicine is that we get sick when we are stuck. As I mentioned in some earlier articles change is the only thing we can count on. Life flows on with or with out us. When we can accept or adapt to the changing environment around us our bodies let us know by getting sick. Conversely we are healthy when everything is flowing properly and we are able to adjust and cope to the changes in our lives.

Another way we can describe the 2 basic states of consciousness is as being a victim or feeling empowered, or as hope and hopelessness.

When we believe that there is hope and that we can make a difference in our lives then we are moving towards health. When we believe that the situation is hopeless and that there is nothing we can do to alter the situation then we are moving towards disease. Being in the victim role says that there is nothing I can do to change my situation. This attitude leads to a loss of life force. We all know how miserable we feel when we believe that things are hopeless. We have much less energy in this hopeless state of being. Less life force means our bodies have less energy to digest food, fight off pathogens and generally maintain and repair ourselves.

Conversely when we are excited we feel full of energy. Our life force overflows and we have more than enough energy to heal ourselves. The difference between these states of mind is just point of view. We can not change the fact that bad things happen. What we can change is how we look at the situation. We can always reframe a problem so that it becomes a challenge. There is always a lesson to be learned or a different way to do things. Blaming other people or things for our problems slips us into the helpless victim role which puts us on to the road to disease. The next time you catch yourself blaming others for your problems STOP! Take a second look and put the focus back on what you can learn from this challenge. I guarantee that you will be back on the road to happiness and health