“Perception is reality” — this phrase has been used in many ways, but usually in a negative fashion, because perception can cloud our view of what is real. However, what you perceive has powerful effects on your mind, and amazingly, your mind has ability to shape reality in your body and your health.
We can easily see this in reverse: fears and negative perceptions drag our health down. This is a huge problem for cancer patients: the very fear of what might happen can suppress the immune system and give cancer a greater advantage. Chronic negative thoughts cause certain chemicals to be released in the body. Sudden bad news can actually trigger a heart attack in someone with poor health. It is clear that thoughts do have a major impact on our bodies.
A positive future outlook
What happens with a positive attitude? If you consider yourself an energetic person, you are more likely to be active, because that fits your perception of yourself. You feel the need for activity, and if idle too long, it bothers you. In this case, your mind is indirectly controlling your health by driving you to exercise the body, and the body is then responding to the activity. But we are learning that the mind directly changes the body as well.
Clearly mental attitude impacts longevity: many studies show a connection. One study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers at Rockefeller University found that optimism produces 11% – 15% greater life span. It also found lowered probabilities of chronic diseases developing for those with a positive attitude — optimism extends the so-called “health span”, or the length of time the participants spend in good health.
One study found a direct link between thought and longevity. Published in The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, a study at Oregon State University looked in detail at what sort of optimism promoted longevity. Researchers stated that previous studies have shown positive view of aging at age 50 cause an average increase in life span of 7.5 years, and they wanted to determine what types of thoughts, outlooks, and beliefs made the difference. What they found was that a person’s future outcome tends to follow the view that they have of aging, especially their own aging. When they saw themselves as socially connected, energetic, and healthy, that was more likely to be their outcome with age. And the opposite was harmful: seeing aging as a deterioration into feebleness, disease, and disfunction tended to make those fears realized as they aged.
These results strongly suggest that there is more to a positive outlook’s effect on health and longevity than just prompting healthy activities. We see that the mind controls and changes the body through thoughts. By complex signaling throughout the body, the mind is strongly affecting minute details of the biochemical environment in the whole body— now modern science can pick apart the details and see the chemical pathways in action.
But we don’t need modern science to know this. Many centuries ago, Solomon told us, “as a man (person) thinks, so he (or she) is.” We’ve known since ancient times that thoughts and beliefs somehow affect what we become. Today we realize that they have a major impact on how we age.
Making desired thoughts reality
You may say, “of course, I’d like to have a positive outlook!” Yet, the thoughts that go through your mind are much more negative than you desire. You may agree that these are harming your health, or holding you back from better health. Why can’t you just decide to think good thoughts and maintain a positive outlook?
The Oregon State University study hints at some of the answer. They looked at stereotypes of aging that kids start developing as early as age 4, where they may start thinking of old people as decrepit and physically weak. Those kids’ stereotypes mature as they grow, but not necessarily towards a more positive view of aging. And eventually they approach old age themselves, and start fearing that they will be like their expectations of what happens with age.
The researchers also considered how we harbor negative thoughts about our future selves, making them ongoing fears about aging. Occasional negative thoughts are not our problem, but the overall beliefs that we have, if negative, become a chronic health threat.
It is popular to try to change our viewpoints with mantras such as “I am healthy, I am healthy, I am healthy…” They may be somewhat helpful, as the brain is listening to every word it hears. But down deep beliefs are not so easily changed, and thoughts that extend back to childhood have had a long time to become ingrained into our mental fabric. Simply trying to remove them by force of will and some verbal repetitions may not get very far.
Just as past thoughts have been woven into our mental fabric, so do new thoughts. As a “picture is worth a thousand words”, so a vision or revelation becomes a powerful ally in rewriting programs. Meditation on what has been revealed to you in prayer powerfully reinforces this process. Changing perspective and habitual mental perspective is a process — it’s not just flipping a switch. Just like everything else regarding your health — you are going to have to put in some effort to get results.
Think about your thoughts! “Take every thought captive” — ask yourself is this thought consistent with who I was created to be?
“Renew your mind” – see yourself as you were created to be, not as you appear to be. If you do, your perceptions, emotions, and attitude will follow. Then expect your body to respond with greater health span and life span, because that is what it is designed to do.
Dr. Nemec’s Comments:
What is hope? It is not “I hope I heal”, but more “I know who I am”. From ancient times it was said Abraham — against all hope, in hope — Abraham received a vision, a revelation from God and that became his hope, his knowing.
Subconscious stress programs are developed from age 0-6 when your brain has no conscious filter developed yet — both positive and negative programs developed. You could not only learn 3 languages when you were four but you also could have “absorbed” the environment around you whether that be a loving, supporting one or a lacking, needing one. These programs are written on the hard drive in your brain and we can see them with 3-D Brain Imaging, and we know when they have been released because the brainwave pattern changes. This is the basis of our Heart Brain Entrainment Therapy and one of the reasons people come to us from around the world. You cannot just over-ride a subconscious program; instead you must release it and then rewrite it. Conscious stress programs work the same way. Remember it is not what you say that counts but what you perceive and believe that controls your physiology. If you are looking forward to being 80 years old because of the wisdom and experience in life you have attained, then you will age well. Aging is not an amount of years but an accumulation of inflammation, and the number one inflamer is your collection of subconscious and conscious stress programs.
If you need guidance in your journey here are the ways:
- Outpatient Comprehensive Teaching and Treatment Program-has the most benefit of teaching, treatment, live classes and personalized coaching. This program has the most contact with Dr. Nemec with 3- 6 month programs that can be turned into a regular checking and support program for life. This is our core program that has helped so many restore their health and maintain that restoration for years.
- Inpatient Comprehensive Teaching and Treatment Program-is our four-week intensive inpatient program for those that are not in driving distance, usually over 4 hour drive. This is the program that is an intensive jumpstart with treatment, teaching, live classes and coaching designed for all our international patients along with those in the US that do not live in Illinois. This program is very effective especially when combined with our new membership program support.
- Stay at Home Program-is offered to continental US patients who cannot come to Total Health Institute but still want a more personal, customized plan to restore their health. This program also includes our Learn Membership Program.
- Membership Program is our newest program offered for those that want to work on their health at a high level and want access to the teaching at Total Health Institute along with the Forums: both Dr. Nemec’s posts and other members posting. And also, to have the chance to get personalized questions answered on the conference calls which are all archived in case you miss the call. The Membership Program has 3 levels to choose from: Learn, Overcome and Master. The difference is at the Overcome and Master levels you received one on one calls with Dr. Nemec personalizing your program for your areas of focus.
