Truth for Health!

We’ve talked a lot about Living in Truth and the help Truth Tools can be in your quest to Live in Truth, but I haven’t talked much about the advantages of Living in Truth. But there are many and they aren't just mental. A report from Johns Hopkins explains, “Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness, and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.” And relaxing and enjoying and loving life, whatever it brings to you, is what Living in Truth is all about.
 

Many studies now show that when we get trapped into the negative feelings found in the Pit of Illusion, it not only makes us miserable but it adversely affects our health. When we Live in Truth we are not only at peace but are healthier.

Happy Words

Our bodies are amazing. Our bodies are made up of trillions of cells that work together to keep us alive and functioning. Each cell has its own tasks to perform, but at the same time all cells are dependent on other cells in order to function. Each cell "understands" exactly what to do and some, such as the white blood cells, actually sacrifice themselves for the good of the whole body.

But even more interesting is the fact that our cells communicate with each other through electrical messaging that is conducted by minerals and chemicals that act as neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters flow through every cell in the body and transmit messages through out the body. This means that if you are thinking happy words and thoughts that happiness is communicated to every cell in your body. Happiness isn't only about your heart or your mind. Every cell is influenced by positive words and thoughts.

Feeling Gratitude

A researcher who has spent his career studying gratitude, Robert Emmons, defines gratitude as "a felt sense of wonder, thankfulness, and appreciation for life." This definition helps us understand that gratitude is a lot more than saying, "Thank you!" True gratitude is an emotion that underlies everything we do. It is what Paul meant when he told the Ephesians to give "thanks always for all things." Yes, we are to say "Thank you!" but even more we are to feel "Thank you!"

Recent research has shed new light on what the scriptures have told us all along--that people who are grateful are happier, more hopeful, and have more positive emotions. But one finding that surprised me
is that people who are grateful have more energy.

One study asked a control group to daily record five hassles or major events that had occurred to them that day. The other group was asked to record five things for which they were grateful for that day. After only ten days compared to the control group the gratitude group showed more optimism, more satisfaction with their lives, fewer health problems such as headache, coughing or nausea, and they exercised more.

Thinking about what we are grateful for is powerful, but even more benefit comes if we live as grateful people--feel the wonder, feel the appreciation, feel the joy!

It's the Little Things

Years ago I was pregnant with twins, but about midway through the pregnancy one of the twins died which signaled my body to end the pregnancy and I began to hemorrhage. For the next two months I was on bed rest trying to save my baby, but on January 31st, 1983, I went into labor and despite efforts made to stop labor, the baby continued to come. She was early, but babies her size had lived so I wasn’t too worried until suddenly my heart rate shot to 300, every muscle in my body began to shake uncontrollably, my temperature hit 106 degrees, and my white blood count 25,000. While all this was happening to me, my baby’s heart stopped beating.

My husband was sitting in a chair next to my bed–only inches away from me, his head in his hands. As I looked at him in that distressed pose the thought came to me that I was also going to die. Immediately I thought, "There’s no way he can raise eight daughters alone!" and I began fighting to stay alive. There are no words to describe what happened to me in the next few moments, but while I fought they delivered Sonoma stillborn, and whisked me to another floor of the hospital where I wouldn’t hear other babies crying and mothers cooing over their babies. More doctors came, hooking me to machines, injecting me with four different antibiotics that clanged against an IV pole near my bed and whispering about what to do next. For the next twenty-four hours, a nurse came in every fifteen minutes to check my vital signs and make sure everything was all right. At about the two o’clock checking time the nurse pulled back the covers over me and discovered that the entire white sheet was soaked in blood, turning it red without a single spot of white left showing anywhere. Quickly doctors were recalled and packets of blood replaced the bottles of antibiotics on the pole.  I was vaguely aware of what was going on but too sick to really comprehend. However, with the transfusion and the antibiotics I began to pull out of danger , stabilized, and ten days later returned home.

As we just past the 29^th anniversary of that experience, I’ve thought a lot about it. I wrote once before about how that experience taught me that like the nurse monitored me we need to monitor our lives, stopping to evaluate how we are doing and what we need to do more. But I’ve also come to realize that little things can make a huge difference in our lives. The cause of Sonoma’s death was microscopic bacteria that passed through the uterine wall and killed her and then began to attack me.

Likewise in life it is often a tiny germ of a thought that something is unfair or taking offense at something said or done that seeps into our souls and like bacteria infects our spirits. When we Live in Truth we watch for the little things and keep them from infecting us. In that way we stay spiritually healthy.

Here's to Healthy Hearts

In Proverbs I found a piece of advice that I like. It says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). The Complete Jewish Bible translates that same verse as, “Above everything else, guard your heart; for it is the source of life's consequences.” And the NIV translates it, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

After reading these and other translations, I could easily see the importance of guarding the heart and began to ponder on how to do it better. I decided it entails keeping anything bad out and that takes concerted effort. Just as I strive to keep germs and bacteria out of my body, I need to keep filth and vulgarity out of my heart.

Right now I’m suffering from a cold, so evidently I’m not doing too well at the germs in my body thing. But that made me think some more. I am vigorously doing all I can do to rid myself of the germs and sickness. But when negative things like jealously, anger, resentment, grudges, or fear enter my heart do I spend as much time and effort ridding myself of them? Right now I’m using vitamins, herbs, and decongestants to fight my cold. I had these on hand and ready for the occasion the minute the sickness struck. This brings up another question. Have I acquired an “arsenal” of medications to use against sickness of the heart? When I feel these negative things creeping into my heart do I act immediately and fight off the negative emotions like I have this physical illness, or do I sit back and say, “Well that’s part of life” And let it linger?

Negative feelings are sickness to the heart which leads to negative issues in life and dire consequence. I think I’m going to work harder at guarding my heart; after all, I want my life to flow from a wellspring not a sickspring.