Analysis of The Power of the Mind to Heal - Renewing Body, Mind and Spirit by Joan and Miroslav Borysenko - Book Report/Review Example

Part I The Power of the Mind to Heal: Renewing Body, Mind and Spirit In the book The Power of the Mind to Heal: Renewing Body, Mind and Spirit, Joan and Miroslav Borysenko provide a very informative piece on spiritual and psychological causes of ailments and diseases (Joan and Borysenko, 4). The authors try to show how human beings can apply the use of actions and thoughts to achieve long lasting health and wellness. The book offers a great insight into how humans can use the power of mind to overcome depressions and stress related factors that cause illnesses and claim lives. The book gives the relationship between immunity and the mind. In most cases people turn to medications manufactured by humans while leaving the most effective and readily available drug: the mind. Every person has the ability to change his state of mind and thoughts and use it as a powerful tool to aid against ill health. The authors talk about exercise and its ability to transform a person’s mood. The heath benefits of exercises. Exercises are known to control weight, thereby preventing cases like obesity and other illnesses. Joan and Miroslav Borysenko demonstrate how exercise can be used to make the mind feel better, acquire more energy and help in lengthening the general lifespan of humans. These benefits are hard to ignore as they are very apparent (Joan and Borysenko, 11).. When people engage in physical activity, they burn calories. Furthermore, exercises help in alleviating worries of many health conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, and heart related conditions. A mind that engages the body in intense physical activity also insures it against metabolic syndrome, some types of cancer, stroke, type 2 diabetes, arthritis and depression. Exercise also improves a person’s mood and makes him feel good and healthy. The authors tend to use resources that every individual has at his disposal. Every human being has a mind that he can engage in doing these exercises to realize the much needed social happiness and wellness. The mind has the capacity to heal these ailments described above and keep the doctor away for a long time. However, many people often ignore this power. This explains why obesity is on the rise even with the many sensitization programs and the insights that this book has created. The authors also talk about the value of diet on a person’s mind and body and its ability to protect one from potential diseases. In many cases people know exactly what is good for them, but often chose to ignore it. Many people have heard of diseases that occur as a result of poor eating habits, yet they continue with the habits. People have become so busy that they cannot find time to prepare healthy food. Lifestyles have changed and people now want easy things. They want easy and convenient foods that give them several appointments with family doctors. Joan and Miroslav Borysenko advise on proper dieting to prevent these habits that threaten the society and the coming generations. The book focuses on the human brain and nervous system. It highlights the effects of emotion on a person’s state of being. Emotions that people experience may have significant effects on the skin and even the heart. These are pieces of information that many people know intuitively. However, the understanding of the scientific perspectives in this discipline is quite difficult. The book does not condemn the contribution of science and scientific methods in solving problems and treating different ailments, but it is opposed to the manner in which human beings currently use science as the only solution to his problems. Science has become a small god and people use it for all manner of reasons. The problem is, people turn to science even for solutions that they could easily obtain from the mind (Joan and Borysenko, 11). The book is a good prescription to every member of the society who wishes to live long without making countless trips to the doctor. The approaches taken by the authors are not expensive. Being in the right mood every day does not cost a person any penny. It is a choice that every person has to make. A troubled mind allows diseases and other ailments to invade and destroy the body. Personal Opinions about the Book I believe that this book is very useful to every lover of literature and medicine. It is a must read for those who aspire to improve their wellness and health. The contemporary society breeds people who are lazy and care little about their own health. There is also a misguided mindset that people can only obtain good health from doctors and health facilities. This book articulates the ideas of the authors quite clearly and critically. It seeks to prove that the journey to attaining good health is a personal initiative that begins from the mind. It is a divorce from the popular perception that people can only get good health from health facilities and hospital. I have always believed that the mind is a master healer of tribulations and problems that visit the lives of humans, but I have not found a better reinforcement of this belief than I have in this book. This book recognizes the mind as a powerful weapon against diseases and poor health. I totally agree with the authors on their stand on the need for good dieting practices and exercise. From experience, I have learned to master the value of positive mood at the face adversities. It is often said that whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve. Optimists recover faster than pessimists. An optimist is a person who has a positive mindset and believes that his condition is not permanent. In case of sickness, the optimist knows that a weeping only lasts for a night time and joy comes in the day. The book teaches the value of positivity and optimism and is a tool that can be used to transform the society and mindsets of a many people who underestimate the power and value of their own minds and attitudes. The coverage of the topics in the book is quite comprehensive and helpful. Moreover, the concepts are not too difficult to understand. I find the content quite moving and persuading. I would never hesitate to recommend this book to friends, family members and even people I will never meet. This is because of the useful materials that it covers. This book is a prescription in disguise. It has taught me never to take some things like exercise and diets for granted. I will not fall for convenience again, but will seek the long path that is beneficial to my health and well being. We are always in cars and fear walking. The simple things that the past generations used to do with ease have become very difficult to the current generation. We cannot till land the way our forefathers used to do. We seek comfort and convenience in hotels and restaurant. We spend money in hospital paying doctors to treat conditions that a positive mind could easily alleviate. Worse still, money cannot buy good health: the mind can entice it. The book also provides useful information on the courtship between negative thoughts and anxiety and poor health. Anxiety and stress create the beliefs in people that they are at risk. This can potentially trigger conditions that may cause diseases like dementia and diabetes. However, with positive attitude and mindset, we can be protected from danger. I concur with the authors of this useful book that good health is personal initiative that each person must take. Doctors may exist to treat, but the first person to recognize the condition is the patient himself. The power of the mind in keeping the body safe and protected from potential illnesses cannot be underestimated. The ideas of the mind and its healing power are well articulated in the book and every person needs to grab a copy and use his mind to be safe and protected. Insurances and hospital need money and resources to treat conditions and diseases. In other cases, they fail to restore the good health. The mind heals at no cost. Fortunately, it is a resource every person is blessed to have, a resource that can be used to fight and defeat many illnesses and conditions. Effects of Reading the Book The reading of this book has resulted to a paradigm shift in terms of my mindset. Born and brought up in the digital generation that believes in comfort, convenience and getting everything done with machines and computers, I should have found it difficult to change my mind and shun the comfort for ‘boring’ foods and physical exercises. I have to admit that I valued that comfort, but not until I read this book. I can now boast of living healthy, eating healthy, walking and working healthy. The healing power lies in the mind and not in the tablets that we take. Hospitals are not bad, but before dating the doctor, the mind has to be positive, for there is no healing without believing. Part II Complementary Healing There are complementary healing methodologies related to the one put forward by the two prolific and renowned authors. The one that I will discuss at this stage is the use of religion to help in solving health problems. Again, this has a lot to do with the human mind. Having the strong faith and conviction in the mind that one will be okay even at times of crisis enforces the positivity that surely brings about good health. From experience, I have seen people overcome difficult condition through belief and praying to the supernatural. In these instances, they believe that there is a power that watches over them and gives great healing that no human being can give. Many believers in different religions use the platform of religion to seek intervention from the supernatural. They also have scripts such as the Bible and the Quran that they turn to not only for spiritual healing but also for the body. This healing method, just like the one advocated for by Joan and Miroslav Borysenko takes investment in the mind. It begins from the belief that the supernatural has overwhelming powers that nothing else in the world or above can defeat. Every human problem is taken to the most powerful being. Since the believers in this healing remain positive to the faithful supernatural, they get healed on account of that positivity. The belief in the supernatural also gives the believers a reason to live. They have a purpose to live and they know that the purpose is to serve their maker. This makes them unworried and takes away the anxiety that may bring about depression and other deadly condition. Religious healing also keeps the mind safe from potential worries of being deserted by loved ones. There are many instances where people have succumbed to the demise of close relatives, spouses and loved ones. Many religions teach about life after death and emphasise that death is only a temporary transition to another life. Strong believers, therefore, rest in the knowledge that it will not be long before they meet their departed souls. This belief keeps them safe and guarded against negative thoughts that tear many people apart, when their loved ones die. In some religious set-ups, there are healers who are trusted to restore good health. These healers act as the mediators with the supernatural. Islam has imams that they turn to when life becomes unbearable and diseases become the order of the day. Christians have pastors, preachers and bishops who provide spiritual nourishment to the church members. This nourishment keeps them healthy in body and spirit. Many religions also teach about morality and standards of behaviour. They prescribe the norms and expectations that every member ought to adhere with. Given the exponential growth of many conditions and diseases such as HIV/AIDs and other STDs, religion plays a fundamental role in preventing the conditions even before they come. Furthermore, even after these conditions have set in, the victims find something to cling to for spiritual healing. The spiritual healing will definitely lead to the healing of the body. Religions also teach about eating habits. Christianity advices on lifestyles need for healthy diets and healthy leaving among its members. All these are intended to make the members live healthy lives free of ailments and diseases. In religions, people find platforms to share problems on matters pertaining to health and other conditions (Michael, 115). This happens when they congregate and discuss various factors affecting them. In some denominations within Christianity for instance, they have family life and training programmes intended to enhance the health of the members of families of the church and see them growing socially and spiritually. At times of adversities such as illnesses and tribulations, members of a group within a given religion visit victims in an attempt to give them hope and reasons to believe that everything will be well. The affected members, therefore, take their conditions for granted and find reasons to believe that their conditions are only short lived. Religions teach people to be positive about pain and suffering (Michael, 115). It alleviates anxiety related to illness and other life-threatening conditions, assuring members that the present conditions are a stepping stone to better things to come. Such a positive mind is a remedy to illness and fights any tribulations that may come a person’s way. There is always a peace of mind associated with religion. When people of diverse cultural backgrounds gather to worship and praise their supernatural, they make members believe in the value of life as a precious gift that is worth fighting for. Many religions believe that the humans are the most special creatures on earth and that the supernatural has a soft spot for them (Michael, 115). This gives them a reason to live and make little sense of diseases and ailments that visit their lives. In a nutshell, religion gives a person a sense of identity and belonging and gives him hope in not just the present life, but the future one after death. Religion carries great healing power in it and encourages sick people to seek the divine intervention. They get healed because of their faith and confidence in the power of the divine. Essentially, there is the element of the use of mind for healing and restoring hope to the hopeless. Religion heals the believers and gets them to healthy lives due to their great conviction on the divine power. Conclusion Healthy living and wellness are desires of every human being. Unfortunately, many people fight chains of illnesses in hospital and medical facilities. Insurance companies are on the rise due to deteriorating health of members of the society. People have believed in science like a small god. The little things that restore good health are lost to many people who make frequent trips to doctors. Obesity and other conditions are on the rise. Yet the power lies within; it lies right inside the human mind. Before people come to understand the great healing power of the mind, healthcare providers and insurers will not achieve much. As Joan and Miroslav Borysenko put it in their book, “The Power of the Mind to Heal: Renewing Body, Mind and Spirit”; healing is a personal initiative that every person must take. The good news is that, the resource is readily available. It is the mind. Works Cited Joan and Miroslav Borysenko. The Power of the Mind to Heal: Renewing Body, Mind and Spirit. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc., 1994. Michael H. Cohen. Healing at the Borderland of Medicine and Religion . Chichester, West Sussex, U.K: Blackwell Pub, 2007. Internet resource Samuel McComb Elwood Worcester, and ‎Samuel McComb. Christian Religion as a Healing Power. New York. 2009 Read More