By: Gwenn Kafka, CMH, MH

If I were to ask you to take just fifteen minutes a day to sit quietly and focus on developing a serious illness, do you think you could become ill? I have posed this question to my audiences when speaking about health and wellness, and it is quite obvious by the looks on their faces that they believe that they could.

So my next question is, if you were to take just fifteen minutes a day to sit quietly and focus on creating perfect health, could you be well? Now the looks are of surprise because they realized that if they thought they could think themselves sick, of course they must be able to think themselves well.

Science is proving the power of mind/body healing and I am thrilled because it is showing what I have been teaching for many years now, to be true! The mind and body do work together and we do feel the way that we think and we do affect our cells with our thoughts.

In the book, "Harnessing the Power of the Mind for Healing: And the Science Behind It" written by Susi Roos, R.N., M.DIV., C.L.P., a case study was done where selected individuals from age 70 and up, were put through complete physical examinations and all their information documented. That would include blood pressure, glucose levels, cortisol levels (the stress hormone) cholesterol etc. These people were then taken to a setting to live in for ten days that was set in the year 1959. Everything there was 1959. TV shows, furnishings, clothing, newspapers, everything. They were not allowed to talk about anything in current times. No cell phones, no computers. They had to reminisce about the good old days for ten days. When those ten days were up, all of these people had their physical exams done again. Each of these people had DE-AGED twenty years! They were physically twenty years younger!

I have always taught that we feel the way that we think, and this study proves it! Of course we can’t all live in the past in order to be healthier. But what can we do in our current lives filled with stresses of work, family demands, finances and so on? Remember in the beginning where I suggested taking fifteen minutes a day to be still and focus on creating good health? That is just one little step in the right direction.

Research has shown that 70% of our thoughts are actually negative and repetitive. We are bombarded with 4 billion nerve impulses every second but can only handle 2000 impulses consciously.

So this means the majority of our responses are coming from our subconscious programming, and the bits we are consciously aware of will support our conscious and subconscious expectations.

Our thoughts are the most powerful tools we have. Every thought affects our cells and DNA. So if 70% of our thoughts are negative and repetitive, how are they affecting our cells?

Three 10-year studies about emotional stress conducted at the Mayo Clinic (by T. Allison) showed that emotional stress was more predictive of death from cancer and cardiovascular disease than smoking. People who were unable to effectively manage their stress had a 40% higher death rate than non-stressed individuals.

I am constantly being told by clients that they just can’t seem to stop their negative thoughts. When hearing what those thoughts are, all of them are fear-based. Let me say this about what fear is: FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. If you were to ask yourself if what you just thought about is 100% true, 99% of the time you would have to say NO, you don’t know 100% if it’s true. So think about how much time you spend worrying about things that are most likely not happening, nor going to happen. Think about how this is affecting every cell in your body all day long. It is exhausting you. You will have headaches and body aches for apparently no reason, sores in your mouth, body rashes that can’t be explained. More often than not, antidepressants are prescribed. They are only Band-Aids.

Hypnosis is the best tool for changing ones thought patterns. When you learn to stop the negative patterns, you change the chemical balances in the brain, to create more seratonin, the chemical of well being, even peacefulness. Cortisol levels lower to normal range, allowing weight to be released and the mind is quieter. So take that fifteen minutes of quiet time a day and start creating a healthier mind and body now! It’s not too late to start. Remember those 70 year olds hanging out in 1959! You can think of a place you would like to be for 15 minutes and start DE-AGING now!