The Mind Body Connection

Article by Phillip Hawkins

A scientific fact and spiritual truth that supports one another is that our psychology becomes our biology, or put another way what we believe to be true becomes our reality in mind, body and spirit. Medical science refers to this process as the mind body connection where the quality of our thoughts and beliefs has a direct effect on our body health and well being, and ultimately our life expectancy.

Psychiatric research have proven beyond doubt the correlation between the quality of our thoughts and beliefs, and the quality health we experience, the direct link between our thoughts and the generated neurological and chemical impulses that bring about physical changes in our body. The Bible says ‘whatever we believe in our hearts we will become’ and many personal development books and teachers, make similar statements, but without necessarily explaining why, the above mentioned research goes some way to support the validity of these claims.

This mind body connection is responsible for amongst other things the placebo effect in the use of prescribed medication; it has also been attributed to dramatic cases of remission in terminal illnesses, and some cases reported as ‘miracle cures’. The one thing that’s certain is that the mind and body are not separate entities, they are connected and the quality of the thoughts we generate on a regular basis and the beliefs they help create provide the structure to the life experiences we then have to live through.

Through our ignorance and fear we have come to believe that we are prisoners chained to our past and powerless to secure our own release from these debilitating beliefs. The mind body connection underpins the fact that our point of control is always in the here and now and as such our thoughts can be changed at a moment’s notice. But to do this we must take responsibility for our thought process and accept that our thoughts and beliefs don’t just happen, we create them out of habit, conditioning, boredom and desire. We have the ability and right to think whatever we wish, but with that right we have to accept responsibility for the quality of the thoughts we create. When for whatever reason negativity becomes our ‘default setting’ it becomes easier to think of illness and disease or any negative experience as misfortune or bad luck. This victim mentality dis-empowers us and takes away any personal responsibility for our thoughts, beliefs and actions.

In her book You Can Heal Your Life, Louise L Hay says of illness: All illness comes from a state of unforgiveness. Whenever we are ill, we need to search our hearts to see who it is we need to forgive, and the person thought or belief you find it hardest to forgive release is the person or thing, you need to let go of the most.

This statement may challenge our present beliefs, especially if we are struggling with a health issue that’s causing us a great deal of suffering because no one wants to feel they are to blame for causing their own health problems. In releasing this situation it’s important that we accept that blame is not an issue; we shouldn’t blame ourselves for anything that we do out of ignorance or fear lacking knowledge and understanding.

We have a responsibility to educate ourselves to the implications and effects of our thoughts, beliefs and actions on our health and wellbeing, and then take the steps necessary to improve the quality of our own lives, instead of giving that power to others in the mistaken belief that they have more control over our lives than we do.

Healing is neither magical nor mystical it’s a process that requires steps to be taken to bring about the changes we desire. All healing comes from knowledge and understanding and the miraculous is a technology waiting to be discovered when we are willing and able to raise our level of awareness and embrace it.

Our body has the ability to heal and regenerate itself if we allow it to and don’t impede its progress through the introduction of toxic thoughts and beliefs. Our thoughts and beliefs create our experiences; they not only create our reality they also create our perception of that reality; we create an experience then decide whether that experience is good or bad. Unlike us our body never lies and with its innate intelligence it links the energy of our thoughts and beliefs and the corresponding feelings and emotions they generate to the organs and functions of the body that resonates with that energy. Positive and negative based thoughts, beliefs, feelings and emotions affect us at a cellular level and have the power to activate or de-activate our DNA gene pool and through it activate or immobilise our auto-immune system to keep us healthy or sow the seeds of illness and disease. Whether those seeds develop and grow depends on how much time energy and attention we give to their cultivation, and the growing conditions we provide for them.

Healing of any description comes through knowledge and understanding and Reiki like education first opens the mind so that the body can change through the effects of raised awareness. Reiki is a teacher that educates first and foremost and asks us to challenge our perspective on life, to look at things differently and to accept new ways of thinking. It asks us to let go of the old when we have outgrown it, and release those things that no longer support who we are or the person we wish to become. It can be a painful process, but this is always in relation to our resistance to letting go and fear of the unknown.

Our thoughts are nothing more than mental energy in the form of focussed attention or intention and as such can be changed in an instant; procrastination is the nemesis that silently erodes the time we have, and comfort is the sedative that robs us of the will to venture beyond that which we already know. There is nothing new to be found in the sedentary lifestyle of our comfort zone, the new always lies beyond the limitations we have set ourselves and the greatest challenge we face is to find the courage to dismantle the barriers that create a false sense of security and challenge in equal measure the old and the new, what we have grown used to and what we now hold to be true. As the old proverb says ‘you will come to know the truth, and the truth will set you free’.

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A Reiki practitioner since 1999, Phillip started teaching Reiki in 2000 and using those skills and abilities he has spent the majority of the last seventeen years working with a wide range of social and educational needs including Autism and ADHD. Working with addicts dependent on alcohol and drugs, people whose lives were extremely violent and abusive, and others who had to deal with severe mental health issues. This has enabled him to work extensively in the private sector, schools, colleges, education and care in the community, the prison service and psychiatric units.

In 2016, Phillip decided to semi-retire from full-time employment to concentrate on developing his career as a published author and the setting up of his Reiki personal development programme at the Chilton Community College.