I have always been fascinated with the mind-body connection. I have always believed that we, our thoughts and beliefs, control our body. I believed this before I studied medicine- and it was actually one of the compelling factors that made me want to study medicine. I wanted to be able to remind people that at the end of the day, they had control over their health. I basically became a doctor so that I could empower people with this knowledge. I was just a teenager at the time- I had no basis for knowing with certainty that we had this much power over our health- but what I did have was an innocent, uncorrupted mind. I was connected to my spirit essence, as many children are. I hadn’t been exposed to all the life experiences that fill one’s mind with doubt and fear, or the “brainwashing” that occurs over time from the media, or from traumatic life experiences, teaching us that we are victims of disease and should live in fear of it.
I never lost this belief, however it got covered/smothered with many other thoughts that distracted me from it’s message. In medical school, I had to focus on surviving- learning all that I could, meeting the expectations of medical school and the authorities around me, graduating, finding the best residency placement for myself, etc etc. So many things to think about! Then when I did graduate and finally was able to practice, I felt a desire to deviate from conventional medicine and focus on an under-serviced yet much needed area of bio-identical hormones. I became immersed in this field, rewarded by the positive outcomes I would see and how the lives of my patients dramatically improved as a results of the treatments. I focused on learning as much as I could about bio-identical hormones and integrative medicine, and steadily built up my practice.
Over time I started to pay attention again to that voice inside me, the voice that encouraged me to remind people of how they are the ones who control their health. Even bio-identical hormones, which are a wonderful treatment option for many women and men, don’t solve everything. We still have to make decisions, choose how to react to situations, and choose how to conduct ourselves in life. We are still ultimately responsible for ourselves, no matter who we are seeking help from and what treatments we are receiving.
After being immersed in the world of hormones and helping many people reach a new level of health and wellness, it felt right for me to start to re-awaken my original thought, the seed level of me wanting to become a doctor. With all of these wonderful patients of mine whose hormones were now, or were in the process of, being “balanced”, what came next? I still had a burning drive to help people grow healthier with each year of their life, and I didn’t believe that hormones were the only thing that was going to help them accomplish this. I began to realize that now was the time for me to share my message with those who were interested to hear it: the message that we ultimately control what happens to us.
To make this a more digestible statement, I will say it simply like this: what we believe about the world, becomes our reality. This simple, yet profound statement is hard for many to swallow. It seems a little too simplistic. It’s much easier to agree with the statement on the surface but not really accept it’s truth. An example of the implications of this statement is this: someone is called in to their doctors office. They recently had tests done, and they were given a call back to review the results. Most people panic when they receive a call from their doctor’s office. I have met with many people who couldn’t sleep the night before the visit because they imagined the worst! (I always make a point of having my staff tell people “the doctor wants to see you about the test results, but don’t worry, it’s not urgent or worrisome, she just wants to discuss them with you”. I feel like this is what I would want to hear as patient on the receiving end of this!). Following the line of logic presented above, one would need to go into that visit with their doctor, knowing inside with certainty, that matter what was told to them, it was for their highest good. Whatever the results showed, it was exactly what they needed at this time in their life, and it was for their best. If it was bad, if it was good. Its for the best. And you know what? With an attitude like this, it WOULD BECOME something that served them for their best.
How we decide that something serves us, becomes how it serves us. If we decide that something is bad, it becomes bad for us. If we decide that something is good, it becomes something that is good for us. We look back on it and say, “Wow, that situation really helped me become the person I am today”. So while we cannot change necessarily what happens to us in the moment, we can control how we see it. And the certainty that how we see it becomes our reality, is what we need to cultivate. It all comes down to certainty in the power of our own belief.
Living life with this awareness is life-changing. From my personal experience, it is helpful to reinforce this belief (“my belief becomes my reality”) many times during the day. It is easiest when I reinforce it before I enter a situation that I anticipate will be challenging. I personally spend time and money on working with practitioners who specialize in helping me become aware of and “upgrade” my beliefs at the subconscious level. I do not like the idea that there may be some non-supportive, negative beliefs lingering around in the deepest parts of my mind, creating havoc for me. No thank you! So I choose to spend effort on addressing these
proactively. I have used many different tools and methods to help with this- Kabbalah, Psych-K, Theta healing- to name a few.
Know in this moment, that you have the ultimate control in your life. Take the time to recognize your reactions, your fears, your beliefs about a situation. Spend some time exploring this idea- whether it’s contemplating it, reading about different ways of being “spiritual” in our time (yoga, Buddhism, Kabbalah, whatever it is that resonates for you). Many different forms of spirituality have similar messages and beliefs that can help you achieve a more enlightened belief system. Just believe – that you, your beliefs, hold power!