LOVE, INSPIRATION AND PRAYER

“Give us inspiration, Oh Lord, for inspiration is prayer”.     

                                           Paulo Coelho, “Like the flowing river…”

What do these three spiritual concepts, fundamental to social relations and personal peace of mind, have in common, and how do they relate to medicine? Recent developments in neurophysiology and rehabilitation, offer a surprising new perspective in this area. 

The “miracle” of spontaneous healing

A properly functioning self-control mechanism can defeat almost any illness.

It has been established that properly functioning self-control mechanisms including the immune, hormone, and autonomic nervous systems can overpower almost any illness. In other words, our body has almost unlimited self-healing potential, as evidenced by numerous cases of spontaneous recovery from incurable illnesses and various “miraculous” healings that attract so much enthusiasm from the advocates of the supernatural. Alas, if the true healings advertised by psychics, magicians, and shamans were caused by their efforts, the incidence of recoveries would have been much higher, and we would not need medicine at all.  In reality, these charlatans merely manage occasionally to stimulate the blocked self-healing system that enables the body to recover on its own.

Why, then, does this wonderful mechanism fail so often -- or, rather, hardly ever work properly?

Chronic stress accumulating deep in the subconscious mind blocks the body’s self-healing mechanisms.

Some famous neurophysiologic experiments involved implanting electrodes into various areas of animals’ brains. The animals could send a pulse to a specific component of the limbic system by pushing a pedal. It was found that stimulation of “pleasure centers” prompted animals to push the pedal up to 8 thousand times an hour, at the expense of food or sleep!

It has also been established that chronic stress accumulating deep in the subconscious mind blocks self-healing mechanisms. This is the reason that researchers looking for the magic key to turn off stress and restore the body’s self-control and self-healing abilities are so interested in psychology.

The “supreme authority” of the self-control system

The central organ of the self-control and self-healing mechanism is a small area in the brain, the above-mentioned limbic system. This is where the centers of positive and negative emotions are located, sometimes called the paradise center and the hell center.  It also contains the centers controlling the body’s vital functions.  Single-photon emission computed tomography of the brain (SPECT) has demonstrated that persistent negative emotions may cause inflammation in the limbic system. Such a condition distorts our perception of the world even further. While severing our emotional contact with the outside world, this vicious circle also impairs internal self-control processes and paralyzes our amazing self-healing potential.

What heals the limbic system?

A good question! It turned out that nothing else but genuine love and friendship are the best stabilizers for the limbic system.

The more confidence in ourselves and trust our families feel, the easier it is for inflammation in the limbic cortex to subside and for the patient to recover.

The stronger and deeper such relations are, the more confidence in ourselves and trust in our friends and families we feel, and the easier it is for inflammation in the limbic cortex to ebb and for the patient to recover.

The second critical “medication” for our subcortex is the alpha-rhythm. Most of the time, an alert brain produces beta waves. Alpha waves are generated, however, when we relax and close our eyes. Yet persistent stress and the involuntary flow of bad thoughts prevent the generation of alpha waves even as we try to unwind. Is there a way to increase the proportion of these beneficial waves? Well, researchers found that the alpha rhythm activates when a person contemplates a piece of art or a thing of beauty, plunges into creative work, meditates, ponders on his true self or prays. Spiritual life is the best source of many things -- including even alpha waves!

In a quest for world harmony, the brain learns harmony itself, thus healing the limbic system, the immune system, the cardiovascular system and the whole body.

This is precisely the mythological panacea, the universal remedy sought for centuries to no avail in the world outside the body. It is right here at your fingertips. So, if you need good health, be an inspired creator, embrace meditation, self-exploration, and prayer, and love your friends and family - and "all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6 33).