Tag Archives: mind over matter

A Series of Thoughts on the Power of the Mind, Part 3


“Our life is the creation of our mind.”

–Buddha

To close out this series, I am using the words of others to point out truisms–about the power of the mind–that have spanned all time. Look back to Part 1 and review the psychological laws. My hope is that you become aware of what you are attracting to yourself and that you use that awareness to improve your situation.

Through the power of your mind.

 The Law of Attraction is a universal law that says all your thoughts, positive and negative, vibrate at a certain frequency and like attracts like.  In other words, you get what you ask for – the frequency of your thoughts attract things to your life vibrating at the same frequency.  This happens whether you are conscious of it or not.

–Life-changing-mind-power.com

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear,  do not sit home and think about it. Get out and get busy.”

–Dale Carnegie

“If you change your thoughts, words, actions, and your attitudes, your mind will update its rules according to the data it has gathered.”

–Susan Gray, author of the book Turn Your Thoughts into Money

Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become character.

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

–Frank Outlaw, Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/805263

The laws of psychology teach, if you want to change your world, change your mind set.

A Series of Thoughts on the Power of the Mind, Part 1


Back in May, I read a post on the blog Course of Mirrors called “. . .on awareness. . .” (To read it yourself, click here: http://courseofmirrors.wordpress.com/2011/05/14/thoughts-on-awareness/ )

The central assumption of the article is that there are psychological laws as immutable as scientific ones. Roberto Assagioli, M. D. has included a list in his book The Act of Will. Assagioli and the blogger Course of Mirrors discuss how the mind (through psychology) affects humans, and specificly the writer.

The mind is powerful. That is why I posted several quotes on New Year’s Eve about the power of preparation. If you re-read those quotes before pondering the postulates I present (how’s that for alliteration?), you’ll begin to see the importance of the mental connection.

So, today I want to emphasize the simple mind-body correlation.

Chris Teo, Ph. D. says:

“Philip Parham wrote about two men who contracted tuberculosis  around the same time. They both went to the same sanatorium. One went home after  eighteen months, fully recovered and healthy. The other man was dead within six  months. The disease was the same but the outcome was different. Why? William  Osler, a famous American physician said: ‘What happens to a patient with  tuberculosis depends more on what he has in his mind than what is in his chest.'”

and

Dr. Robert Good, a leader of psychoneuroimmunology said:

“A positive attitude  and constructive frame of mind all improve our ability to resist infections,  allergies, autoimmune disorders and cancers, whereas depression and pessimism  decrease our ability to do so.”

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/320854

In the post from Course of Mirrors, the author writes:

Having experienced Feldenkreis work — and practices deriving from it  –  after doing a gentle physical exercise and repeating it in my imagination only, with eyes closed, the same physical reactions happen in my body. This  explains why active imagination can affect mind and body at a deep level and change physical symptoms as well as states of mind.

When I hit my toe, elbow or head on an object, I repeat the exact contact and, in my imagination, send the impact back. There remains hardly any pain and the usual swelling is mild or does not occur at all.

Therapeutically, if a tense or hurtful part of the body is listened to and  allowed a voice, the result can be  instantaneous,  much like when you lower yourself at eye-level to a toddler who has a tantrum, and do nothing else but acknowledge the rage, surprise, surprise, the tantrum stops.

What seems like magic, is actually simple and applies both ways: physical activity influences mood and mind,  active imagination influences mood and body.

If researchers, patients and physicians believe that mind set–or use of the mind through thought process or imagination–alone can make a physical difference in our bodies, then we, as writers, should consider how to harness that tool for our work.