The mind-body connection

Exploring spirituality and the inner self has been of interest to me for the last several years, although I didn't really do anything until I took a meditation class in the fall two years ago. I enjoyed it very much, and for over a year had a 6-day-a-week meditation practice, starting each day with a 30 minute session. But this year, especially when I was going to boot camp at 6:30 a.m., I let the practice fade away. Now I am exposed to meditation again, at least in small bits, through yoga class, and I am considering starting up a practice again. Not sure how, though, because I am challenged enough just getting up in time to go to yoga (and work, when I have to ;-).

After my breakfast this morning, I went shopping at Costco, and bought myself several books, including one on the Buddhist philosophy by the Dalai Lama - a person I admire very much. I haven't started reading it yet, as I am re-reading parts of an excellent book by Dr. Gabor Mate called 'When the Body Says No'. It is fascinating! It is about the mind-body connection and how people with serious diseases like cancer and multiple sclerosis, etc. have in common chronic stress - whether acknowledged or unrecognized.

I have read the whole book, but now I am reading parts again and highlighting them. Mate is talking about pyschoneuroimmunoendocrinology - the mind-body connection - I first read about in Candace Pert's book 'Molecules of Emotion', which Mate quotes from. There is a lot of science now to prove that illness and disease occur at multiple levels in our bodies and that they relate to emotions, even at the cellular level.

Dr. Mate's theme is that serious diseases like cancer are related to suppressed anger and other strong but unarticulated emotions. Most of the examples in the book are anecdotes from his medical practice, but he describes a lot of research backing up what he says. Psychological tests administered to people waiting for results of cancer tests accurately identified the people whose medical tests would, after the fact, come back positive for cancer. Their personalities as defined in the psychological tests showed them to be suffering from chronic, long-term stress.

I have read the book thinking of the people I know who have, or have died from, cancer....and it all fits. The last chapter gives qualities to cultivate to avoid becoming ill.... I totally recommend the book!