Medicine and Mind in 21ST Century (Part 2)

Swami Vijnananand vision.

In series of Blogs under “Disease Cure”, we saw in details the relation of Health with Emotions directly and Mind indirectly. The theory of ‘Recipropathy’ is also explained in details. The advice of Swami Vijnananand to “add peace to the prescription” is seen to be acceptable as per the latest findings in the field of human health. Swamiji often mentioned while he put forward his analysis fifty and odd years earlier, that “I am telling the facts which shall be appreciated in 21^st century”.

While the mental stress related reasons have assumed major base for the ill-health and as depression has become the second largest disease of 21^st century, thinkers in the field are required to go into the details of remedies and peruse the policy makers to evolve suitable policies for implementation.

In the first part we reviewed latest research in this field. We shall see some more developments in the field of health in light of the information provided under the articles in this series.

From the book: Mind over Medicine: Foreword By - Kris Carr New York Times best-selling author. (Author – Lissa Rankin, published 2013)

As technology and science continue to make remarkable advances, we have so much at our fingertips, advantages our ancestors never had. And yet, it’s common to experience heightened stress and anxiety. We feel separate, afraid, and alone. These feelings and more lead to tangible physical changes in the body. Contrary to what we previously believed, our genes are not fixed. The study of epigenetics proves that our genes are actually fluid, flexible, and highly influenced by our environment. External life- style triggers like nutrition, environment, exercise, positive or negative thoughts, and emotions literally affect your DNA.

About gratitude and appreciation, or belittlement and abuse? Change your thoughts, change your behaviors. Change your behaviors, change your biochemistry. As Lissa explains, our minds can make us sick and they can make us well. Our feelings and beliefs impact our every cell. She explains, using some of the latest scientific research.

Excerpts from book: 

“The peer-reviewed medical literature, where I sought scientific proof that you can heal yourself in journals like the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association”. Is there scientific data to support the seemingly miraculous stories of self-healing that float around?

There’s proof that you can radically alter your body’s physiology just by changing your mind. There’s also proof that you can make yourself sick when your mind thinks unhealthy thoughts. And it’s not just mental. It’s physiological. How does it happen? Un- healthy thoughts and feelings translate into disease and healthy thoughts and feelings help the body repair itself. One positive shift in your mental attitude can make you live ten years longer, one work habit can increase your risk of dying, and that a pleasurable activity you probably never linked to a healthy life can dramatically reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, and breast cancer. These are just a few of the scientifically verifiable facts shared in this book.

(FOR MORE DETAILS SEE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcai0i2tJt0)

Other findings in the latest research substantiate role of Mind in Health.

1 Happiness and Satisfaction Might Lead To Better Health.

2 Patients' perceptions of illness make a difference.

3 Sincerity Can Improve Our Health.

4 Mind with Purpose Preserves Brain Health.

5 Health-care providers are prescribing nontraditional medicine: Use of mind-body therapies on the rise.

6 From Bruce Lipton May 2015 Newsletter. On Medical profession and death.

1 Happiness and Satisfaction Might Lead To Better Health

Date: September 2, 2008. Source: Center for the Advancement of Health

It's the opposite of a vicious cycle: Healthy people might be happier, and a new study shows that people who are happy and satisfied with their lives might be healthier.

“Everything else being equal, if you are happy and satisfied with your life now, you are more likely to be healthy in the future. Importantly, our results are independent of several factors that impact on health, such as smoking, physical activity, alcohol consumption and age,” said lead author Mohammad Siahpush, Ph.D. Siahpush is a professor of health promotion at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

“We found strong evidence that both happiness and life satisfaction have an effect on our indicators of health,” Siahpush said.

Paul Hershberger, Ph.D., a professor at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio, said he found it interesting that the researchers were able to isolate happiness and life satisfaction out of all of the other factors that can influence future health. Hershberger was unaffiliated with the study.

Story Source: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Center for the Advancement of Health.

2 Patients' perceptions of illness make a differenceJanuary 27, 2012, Association for Psychological Science

Whenever we fall ill, there are many different factors that come together to influence the course of our illness. Additional medical conditions, stress levels, and social support all have an impact on our health and well-being, especially when we are ill. But a new report suggests that what you think about your illness matters just as much, if not more, in determining your health outcomes.

In the February issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, Keith Petrie, of the University of Auckland, and John Weinman, of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College, review the existing literature on patients' perceptions of illness. The authors find that people's illness perceptions bear a direct relationship to several important health outcomes, including their level of functioning and ability, utilization of health care, adherence to treatment plans laid out by health care professionals, and even overall mortality.

In fact, some research suggests that how a person views his illness may play a bigger role in determining his health outcomes than the actual severity of his disease.

The bottom line, says Petrie, is that "patients' perceptions of their illness guide their decisions about health."

3 Sincerity Can Improve Our Health. The Templeton Report, September 30, 2014

Telling the truth is good for your health, and conversely, lying can undermine it, studies in the science of honesty suggest. The work has been conducted by Anita Kelly and Lijuan Wang, professors at the University of Notre Dame, and is funded by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

Reporting to the American Psychological Association, Kelly showed that a “sincerity group,” who told fewer lies over five weeks, described having fewer physical health complaints, such as sore throats, headaches, and nausea, than a control group. “Because the only difference between the two groups was the sincerity instructions, we can conclude that these instructions actually caused the health benefit,” Kelly writes in Psychology Today.

The research also implies that there seems to be an element of training oneself to be more honest. Those who take part in the studies report that there is no longer a need to exaggerate when describing their daily accomplishments. They may also sense they do not need to make excuses. “Being sincere is a process and you will get there with practice,” Kelly says. “And when you do, you will see that you are becoming more humble, more open to learning, and less sensitive to rejection.”

4 Mind with Purpose Preserves Brain Health, The power of purpose

To study the connection between purpose in life defined as having goals and objectives that give life meaning and direction, and brain health during aging researchers collected information on psychological well-being from 951 dementia-free older people. After seven years of annual tests, researchers found that compared with people who expressed no sense of purpose in life, participants who had a sense of purpose were:

• 52% less likely to develop Alzheimer disease
• 2 1/2 times more likely to remain free of dementia
• 29% less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, a diagnosis given to people whose brain function is below normal for age, but does not interfere with daily functioning

Purpose in life remained the most important predictor of healthy brain aging even after taking into account other things that affect brain health, such as gender, education level, depression, chronic medical conditions, and social network.

5 Health-care providers are prescribing nontraditional medicine: Use of mind-body therapies on the rise

May 11, 2011, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Prior research suggests that mind-body therapies, while used by millions of patients, is still on the fringe of mainstream medical care in America. New research suggests that attitudes are changing.

More than a third of Americans use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and that number continues to rise attributed mostly to increases in the use of mind-body therapies (MBT) like yoga, meditation and deep breathing exercises.

In a study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Harvard Medical School, researchers found that one in 30 Americans using MBT has been referred by a medical provider.

"There's good evidence to support using mind-body therapies clinically," said lead author Aditi Nerurkar, MD, Integrative Medicine Fellow, Harvard Medical School and BIDMC. "Still, we didn't expect to see provider referral rates that were quite so high." The results of the study appear in the May 9 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Nerurkar and her colleagues collected information from more than 23,000 U.S. households from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey. They found that nearly 3 percent (representing more than 6.3 million Americans) used MBT due to provider referral and that these Americans were sicker and used the health care system more than people who self-referred for MBT.

"What we learned suggests that providers are referring their patients for mind-body therapies as a last resort once conventional therapeutic options have failed. It makes us wonder whether referring patients for these therapies earlier in the treatment process could lead to less use of the health care system, and possibly, better outcomes for these patients," said Nerurkar.

6 From Bruce Lipton May 2015 Newsletter. Medical profession and death

Firstly, taking the truths of the medical profession as being equivalent to the “Word of God” is patently inappropriate considering that even the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article condemning the medical profession as the third leading cause of death in the U.S. (Barbara Starfield, JAMA. 2000;284(4):483-485,  Read article. While this conclusion was based on what the author described as “conservative estimates,” a more recent assessment using actual statistics completely contradicts that conclusion, for it reveals that conventional medicine is actually the leading cause of death in the States. (Gary Null et al, Death By Medicine 2003, Read article.

Conclusion:

We observe from above several latest findings that due role of mind has to be given importance in the disease cure. That is what Swami Vijnananand has emphasized in his visionary writing way back in 1960s. While concluding we may say:

-         We located emotion as an immediate cause of disease in scientific terms.

-         What is the way out to avoid this abuse of emotions?

-         Obviously a non-emotional state of mind.

-         Which in simple words, mean a ‘truth-patterned’ behavior.

Recipropathy proves its hypothesis that there specifically exists a causal link between emotion and disease. And if there are some difficulties in actually observing the intermediate phenomena between emotion and disease that constitutes a limitation from which science itself suffers.

“Recipropathy provides an excellent frame-work. Details can be allowably replaced or altered by medical science. But let no one lose sight of the aspects, positive aspects brought about by Recipropathy. Experience, again and again, shows that Recipropathy is the only method which relieves the patient of his disease in the real sense. It radically, scientifically drives home the fact that health protection lies in supposing that desire for ease is disease, while real cure is the process of disease.”

(This blog concludes the series on Dis-Ease – Cure.)

Vijay R. Joshi.

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MIND - BODY RELATION (W.M.M. - 9)

Excerpts from book: WHAT MIND MEANS (Author Swami Vijnananand, Manashakti publication).

3(e) Q.5 – How does Mind act, when it is related to body?

(i) Mind Enters Body: Larger quantum of mind energy is distributed all over the metabolism, at the inception of life" Mind is co-naturalized with motion at inception. It is interesting that as the child grows, this energy recedes.

        (Average)  Pulsation/Minute                   When

                                    150                              Before Birth

                                    140-120                       Just after birth

                                    130-115                       During the 1^st year

                                    115-100                       During the 2^nd year

                                    90-85                           About the 7^th year

                                    85-80                           About the 14^th year

                                    80-70                           Adult age

                                    70-60                           In Old age

(ii) Body returns energy to mind

Can we believe the statement that Mind lends or distributes its own energy to body and again recovers back? It looks like a paradox, but there are ample such paradoxes in nature and actual life.

Give knowledge to others. It does not diminish but increases. Nature compels vast oceans to distribute its water in the form of clouds, which pour rains on the peaks of mountains through Sun and finally the whole water (sea resources) return to sea in the form of small streams and big rivers.

(iii) Paradox –When a conditioned reflex is already elaborated its strength is subject to a relation which is designated as the law of force. That means (All other things being equal), conditioned reflex is stronger, the greater the physical strength of the conditioning stimulus.

Apparent paradox – But the fact is that – Each stimulus has a ‘strength limit’ beyond which any further strengthening of the stimulus no longer increases the intensity of the conditioned reflex evoked by it. On the contrary reduces it. How?

(iv)The role of Cerebral Cortex & TMI

The cerebral cortex reacts to supra maximal stimulus with development of inhibition. This is called ‘Trans Marginal Inhibition (TMI)’.Thus the strength of the stimulus is reduced by the TMI. The remaining strength of the stimulus varies (depend upon) the nervous system and its functional state (consequently the state of whole organism). That means that extent to which the inhibition will very (and the resultant conditioned reflex generated) depend upon the functional state of nervous system/the state of whole organism.

Trans marginal Inhibition (TMI)

(http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/conditioning/transmarginal_inhibition.htm)

Description When faced with extreme stress or pain, the body will shut down rather than allow the person to endure the physical or mental discomfort caused. Thus a person being tortured or otherwise enduring extreme hurt will fall unconscious. The body may also shut down partially, for example with loss of sight, hearing, use of limbs, etc. Factors that can lead to this state include increasing discomfort levels and increasing the unpredictability of when the discomfort will be experienced. There is a threshold level at which the shutting down happens. This threshold varies with the individual, with some people shutting down early whilst others being able to endure greater discomfort.

Discussion Trans marginal Inhibition (often abbreviated as TMI), was first identified by Ivan Pavlov in his experiments with dogs and later taken up by Carl Jung, William Sargant and others. What Pavlov found in his studies was that TMI led to a loss of previous conditioning. TMI goes through stages in which normal stimulus-response patterns are increasing changed:

Equivalent phase is where big stimuli elicit big responses and vice versa.

Paradoxical phase is where a quantity reversal appears in significant stimuli eliciting small responses and vice versa.

Ultra-paradoxical phase is where a quality reversal occurs, with negative stimuli eliciting positive responses and vice versa.

If the intensity of the conditioned stimulus exceeds a certain limit, the result is not intensification, but weakening or total inhibition (i.e. block the action) of the reflex. Simultaneous applications of two strong conditioned stimuli, each of which, taken separately produces a pronounced conditioned reflex, (finally) weakens the conditioned reflex. Cortical cells are also inhibited when the action of stimulus on the same cortical structure is frequently repeated i.e. when the same conditioned stimulus is applied repeatedly, at short interval.

(vi) Truth paradoxes:  Life is full of such curious but physical truths! We see such paradoxes (as above) when mind remains attached with matter (body) with great passion.

(vii) The mass – increase equation – When an object is moving with respect to an observer, the mass of the object becomes greater. The amount of increase depends upon the relative velocity of the object and observer. The total motion of the body stands mitigated (reduced) with aging (as seen at (i) above). This implies that the body cells are unburdened of the mass (as the life advances).

(viii) Some scientists say that the cells of the body (except the cells of the brain) constantly are in motion and may be periodically replaced. Brain cells change only slightly and it serves as fast messenger of energy, having different purpose to perform.

(ix) How energy is reclaimed (claimed again) by mind (from body) can be visualized by W.G. Walters’s description of electric potential developing in the brain (i.e. Mind uses brain as the immediate medium). The development of brain rhythm with frequency:

           

S. No.	Age	Rhythm with frequency cycle/sec
1.	End of First Year	5-6 cycles/sec
2.	2nd – 3rd Year	Beginning 8-13 cycle/sec – Signs of Alfa rhythm
3.	7th – 8th Year	Faster Rhythm rarely appears
4.	13th – 14th Year	The Alfa & Theta rhythms (faster rhythms) are present in varying  degree

(x) Question/Paradox – If mass increases with motion, why should the electric activity from the brain not increase the mass of the cells in the body?

Answer: (a) Deep study based observations reveals that the brain potential slowly/progressively assumes importance (at the growing age) when the rate of heart beats declines. This clue justifies ability of mind (through brain) to gain (weight or mass of) experience and learn at the cost of (loss of) motion.

(b) If the motion in the brain is dedicated to keep the body in good robust condition (by adding weigh/mass of cells), by feeding the cells, they would gain fresh lease of health. But we see that cells have limited life (at rate of 12.5cr/sec the body cells die and all body cell change in cycle of about 7 years). This shows clearly that motion in the brain and function of the rest and the body have different mission to carry out. The body has to normally supply energy to the brain rather than acquiring abnormal amount (of energy) from it. This is what we saw at the beginning of this question 5.

Simile – (a) King (brain) maintains a huge army in number (cells empire) each of the soldier (cell) has to be fit for his role, (b) King employs the soldier but the soldiers (cells) in turn give to the King (brain) service to maintain the throne and his activity.

(xi) Readers shall please note that – The rationalization relating to the mass decrease refer to quality and quantity of each cell of the body rather than the total number of cells in the body.

(xii) Mind conscious: Cell suffers, Mind gains

Knowledge gives knowledge (by untiring search and deep constant thought) but knowledge has limitations. True knowledge lies in reconnoitering (extra ordinary search) and ruminating (deep repeated thinking) over the limitations of knowledge through knowledge – Einstein.

(i)  At about age 14, the adolescent (child grown to men/women hood) reaches a state of balance (development of right-emotional brain and left logical brain is reasonably complete). Now the mind of the child assumes more conscious (aware of oneself) control.

(ii) Vanity (excessive pride in one’s own appearance, qualities, abilities, achievements, etc.) of man for recognition can be understood. But in practice it manifests (indicates) his deep desire (yearning) for enjoyment i.e. pleasure. (At age 14 this awareness is at the conscious state). In the next step of humanity is to conquer (win over) the ill haps (bad incidences) which occur to him based on limitless use of an intelligence! Thus, man (human mind) wants pleasure and he wants to ensure that he does not suffer from any displeasure) (This is all due to the emotions of mind).

(iii) We have written above a sentence about description of ‘true knowledge’ by Einstein. This is perhaps what mind achieves by inviting disease through the flesh (body).

(iv) We know as the junior grows, motion in his material body (pulse-rate) is receding. As a consequence each cell gives up mass as per the discussion in the point earlier than this (3-c-b) Quotation from Sir James Jeam “The Maurtania (A big ship of this name) fully loaded weights about 56,000 tones. When it is travelling at 25 knots motion (nautical mile) this motion increases its weight by about millionth part of ounce”. What is true of Maurtania is also true for the body cell.

(v)  Most of the cells are affected by emotions. They run unendingly with faster speeds under the influence of emotions. As we have seen mind gain mass in terms of energy and mass of the cell is affected adversely. This mass in terms of energy acquired by the mind, it appears cannot be immolated (sacrificed) in favor of the body. ‘Reason Why”? – This is not the point at issue, apparently.

(vi) Vicious circle of life

(Vicious – Grossly immoral, readily disposed to evil)

We ourselves experience and can appreciate that (normally) as a man grows old; he comprehends more and more TRUTH about the life (He also understands what should be done to go to the TRUTH). But as luck would have it, he is deprived of power of chivalrously (courage of accepting the harsh) of reality. This keeps him continuously attached to matter (maternal pleasure). Possibly then; he submits himself to vicious circle. Seemingly, the vicious circle itself, in the last analysis serves to slowly ripen and convert him into new mass – The new man has elevated mental energy. At the end of life, on becoming aware of the limitation of knowledge (intelligence) and enjoyment through cogent (believable by virtue of forcing, clear realization) reasoning above the new journey starts. The man beholds (looks at) a new lease of life (a chance to improve one’s situation or to live longer, more happy life) beyond the dark and gloomy shores and he willingly accepts extinction (death).

(vii) In a book “Will to live” (pages 27-28) Dr. Hutschnecker, M.D. gives details as to how - we die when we want to die. He says – ‘We die only when we are ready to die’,

(viii) It can safely be surmised (guessed) that emotions and disease have a definite co-relation. Human growth coincides with loss of mass for each cell and gain for mind.

3-f Q.6 – Does the mind survive after death? Is it born? 

The answer to the first part of the question is categorical ‘Yes’, for detailed references of scientific authority take preamble of Chapter Six particularly the opening few paragraphs.

S.V. in ‘God Reconsidered’ and ‘Marx Proves Rebirth’ has reviewed the motion of rebirth.

Potentiality of rebirth phenomenon cannot be ruled out. On the other hand, it is not a must. If there is not left any alluring appetency (intense desire, appetite, natural tendency) and avidity (greediness, eagerness, etc.), the mechanism of reincarnation loses its applicability as well as significance. The left over intensive desires and greedy tendencies (of the mind) may be fulfilled in the eventuality of next birth. Repetition of birth perhaps affords opportunity to learn the ultimate truth in installment. The ultimate truth which says that vain (excessive egoistic) human deep desires (yearnings) can never be fulfilled. 

For the one, who realizes the truth in a single span (life) the rebirth becomes redundant.

3-e (Q.7) – Is not method of auto-suggestion suggestive of mind independent of body?

Yes, that is so. Western scientists, who support duality, can employ auto suggestion without self-contradiction, irrespective of question of its effectiveness when ‘I’ in the auto suggestion pronounces a determination to body ‘I’ must be different.

If the determined word from mind “I have pledged” convert the cells in the cortex (and brings about the effect), it implies a firm faith that just the opposite words must have created (though unknown to reason) defective cells in the cortex, to create unfavorable effects on the body.

Our theory (E=D, Emotion = Disease) stands doubly verified based on the above logic. Also mind to independent of body and also it gets the impact on the body in different ways (based on the emotion or thoughts), etc.

(Note: This is an attempt to make reader friendly interpretation of the book “WHAT MIND MEANS” based on my perception. Readers are requested to refer to the original book to cross check their understanding.)

Vijay R. Joshi.