The mind has an incredible power. We see it as we go through our everyday activities, constantly displaying the wonders of logic, thought, memory and creativity. Yet, can the mind be more powerful than we know?
Is it possible to reduce or even eliminate pain, illness and disease by using the natural powers it possesses? Can the mind heal? Many of our finest researchers and scientists have explored that question, and while the exact answer still eludes us, the facts seem to bear out that the mind does have the power to assist in both healing, and conversely, bringing on "disease" as well. Two such examples of mind and body healing are hypnotherapy and meditation.
There are others such as ionization, which focuses on thinking positive instead of negative. But first, I will describe the reasoning behind the mind-body connection. Psychoneuroimmunology is the name for the study of the min-body connection, or
PNI for short. PNI has been around for the last 20 years or so and has revolutionized the way we look at health and wellness.
There was a point in human existence when the connection between the mind and the body was taken for granted. A couple of centuries ago, science had grown to understand the "mechanical universe" concept. The laws of Sir Newton and the science of physics had begun to infiltrate the science of medicine. If the universe followed mechanical laws, so might the body. To prove this theory, scientists needed to open a body up to observe how it worked. The Church was very adamant about the body being the temple of the soul and could never be desecrated. After much haggling and several smoke-filled back room discussions, an agreement was reached. The Church would maintain it’s jurisdiction over "the mind" for that is were the personality and soul "truly" resides and science could have the body, which is just a
"machine for the mind" and upon death, would become simply an empty vessel.
Furthering the rift, more recent science has discovered that specific diseases can be
"cured" through specific medicinal formulas or drugs. This "magic bullet" mentality spread throughout medicine and science.
Truly the body was a mechanical thing that responded to specific stimulus and could be counted on to respond the same way every time. Wonderful news, the body did not respond as intended. Science has tried to brush aside or explain away this phenomenon y saying, "Oh, it’s just the placebo effect" or "It’s spontaneous remission" as well as other innocuous terms seemingly to lessen it’s importance. It is human nature when something is not understood to either dismiss it, diminish it or ignore it all together. This search to seek out answers to this reoccurring phenomenon is the basis for PNI, the way the mind-body connection is made and how
In the struggle of mind over matter, an individual needs to have courage to use the knowledge that he or she possess. By using the knowledge available to us, we as individuals have the ability to overcome opposing forces in our lives which seem to keep us from progressing (mentally and emotionally), and which can seem larger than life. In Homer's epic The Odyssey, The use of cunning to disguise and deceive and to ultimately overcome the godlike opposition that manifests itself many times throughout the book, and makes Odysseus' return home possible. Without the ability to deceive, Odysseus' brute strength alone would have exhibited a futile display of power in the presence of the gods of Ancient Greece. Much like the lives of individuals, if we do not use our cunning and wit in a most effective manner, and rely on strength instead knowledge, we are destined for a life of failure and/or mediocracy . If Odysseus hadn't had the courage and cunning to return home his destiny would have consisted of spending the rest of his life on an island with Calypso, miserable.
Imagine you go to your doctor for chronic back pain and she tells you that she's going to give you a drug, yet she's not sure of its effectiveness because only approximately 40% of her patients have found it to be beneficial. How sure will you be that the outcome of this treatment will be positive? However, what if your doctor tells you she is giving you the newest, most beneficial drug treatment on the market and that she is very sure of how helpful it will be? Imagine the difference just a simple positive statement from your doctor will make when you take the pill every day. Not only will you be trusting of your treatment, but that trust will lead you to be confident (Endnote 1) that you will feel better - and in most cases, you will.
Descartes claims there is a real distinction between the mind and body. In the Second Meditation the Meditator establishes his existence, that he is a thinking thing and the distinction between the mind and body. Descartes claims he is a thinking thing and since he can think he exists, same too with the mind. The mind is a thing that thinks therefore the mind exists. Using the method of doubt discussed in the First Meditation, Descartes is able to doubt the existence of the body but not the mind. Descartes cannot doubt that he has a mind , but can doubt he has a body therefore Descartes is a thinking thing and not a body. He can exists as a thinking thing without a body because the body's existence can be doubted.
Throughout time, mankind has persistently been seeking ways to maintain their health and to cure those that had not been so fortunate in that task. Just about everything has been experimented with as a cure for some type of illness; whether physical, spiritual or mental. There has always been evidence of spiritual healing and it will continue to be an important part of any healing process, large or small.
The human was once whole in days before, but somewhere in his journey to the present, he lost himself. His mind and body have become separate identities that are unaware of each other's existence. Modern society reflects and encourages those thoughts very well, in my opinion. If a person believes his body is broken, ill, or in need of upgrading, he will seek out a medical professional specialized in the area of distress. Arriving to the specialist, the patient demands quick and efficient treatments that will cure/fix/upgrade the weakness in his body; unaware of the effects this may cause him mentally. Once cured of his weakness, the patient is in full working order and is sent back out into the world. That man's procedure for curing his weakness is the same road taken as someone who wishes to fix a toaster, for example. Would it then be safe to say that the man, subconsciously or consciously, considers his body to be more closely related to a tool rather than a part of himself? Unfortunately, I believe this man is only one person out of an entire society that shares the same dissociation of body and mind. Why do people of modern society not associate themselves with their physical being, and where is this leading us? Moreover, how did this alienation of self come about? I will try to explain the latter of the two questions first, because I believe the answer can be explained through the evolution of medical technology.
Evaluate the argument that Descartes makes based on clear and distinct perception for the distinction between mind and body
Some would choose to declare that every human being is both a body and a mind. Both being gelled together until death, than having the mind go on to exist and the body being lifeless. A person lives throughout two collateral histories, one having to do with what happens to the body and in it, and the other being what happens in and to the mind. What happens to the body is public and what happens to the mind is private. The events which reply to the body consist of the physical world, and the events of the mind consist of the mental world.
“Europe cannot conceive of life without Kings and nobles; and we cannot conceive of it with them. Europe is lavishing her blood to preserve her chains, whereas we are lavishing ours to destroy them”(Maximilien Robespierre). For centuries upon centuries, the monarchal system had dominated European life. The very nature of this method of rule incited rebellious feelings, as a definite imbalance of power was present. Understandably, people under this system had risen against authority. The glorious nation of France was no exception. The eighteenth century brought about a great deal of economic and social turmoil. By the end of this one hundred year period, rebellion had been talked about by many citizens for quite some time. However, no definitive action was taken until one man stepped to the forefront; Maximilien Robespierre. Born in Arras, France about thirty years prior to the French Revolution, Robespierre was an immensely intelligent man as is seen from his ability to read and write fluently from the age of eight (the Force of 10). Robespierre rose from fairly humble origins to become a provincial lawyer, advancing further to become a representative in the Estates General, and eventually ascending to the leader of the French Revolution itself. For its sake he sent thousands to the guillotine, overthrew a monarchy, declared a new national religion, and invigorated the will of a nation. “No individual of the French Revolutionary era, with the exception of Napolean Bonaparte, has excited more passion in his time than the…dedicated provincial lawyer, Maximilien Robespierre”(Maximilien 1). During this era, Robespierre led France’s world inspiring cry for the liberation of mankind and petrified the world with its relentle...
An attempt to understand and grasp what the mind truly is has paved the way for new fields in research. First of all, the mind is elucidated as “the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought.” Based on that information it can be assumed that the mind is like our window to the physical world, but it is crucial to note that certain aspects of our personality define it. Additionally, our perceptual experiences are deemed to be influenced by a stimulus that arrives at our sensory organs and have the power to cause changes in our mental states. But, how is it “possible for conscious experiences to arise out of a lump of gray matter endowed with nothing but electrochemical properties (wiki)?” This is precisely where psychologists come into play since they focus on understanding people, the mind, and human behavior. Psychologists perform countless experiments and research studies in order to elucidate on how we act, feel, and think, and additionally treat mental illness...
The French peopled stormed Bastille, which is a prison that had the symbol of the absolute monarchy, and contained only seven prisoners. It all started with mob looting another prison called the Invalids prison to search for arms to fight the attack from the army that was loyal to the king. During the raid, over 32,000 rifles were taken but none of the ammunition was removed from the prison. The Bastille was a symbol of brutality and totalitarian power because of many stories of torture and brutality. The storming of the Bastille was a success and it brought freedom to seven prisoners along with the ending of a royal tyranny. It also became a symbol of despotic power to an end. This was a very big turning point in the French revolution, because this is when the people of France really took matters into their own hands and went against the government by raiding the prison and taking all of the weapons. Only one of the guards defending the base was killed and approximately 97 civilians were killed. The thing that really helped the people attacking the base was the fact that they brought in two huge cannons that really solidified their victory against the government. Robespierre was a very important character in all of this, he believed that the power of perfection was the democracy. He came up with an idea of the committee of public city is to get rid of their external and internal enemies (nobles, etc.). He
In everyday life it appears that the body is overlooked in its relation to the mind. This notion of body and mind separation is not something that necessarily sits well with people. The debate can sit on either scientific knowledge or religious beliefs. Currently this is what we deal with when this sort of debate occurs. With the various belief structures prevalent in humans we can’t assume argument is stronger than another.
Counselors have a wide array of techniques they use to treat their clients. Not one form of counseling works for every individual seeking help. Over the past decades, mindfulness has piqued the interest of many counselors and researchers in the area of cognitive psychology. Its use in counseling has grown and is a part of many counseling processes. Mindfulness has helped to make new strides in the area of counseling and treating patients with a handful of different disorders and issues. Mindfulness is now a widely used practice, and research is still being conducted today to find new ways it can continue to benefit society.
“Mindfulness is described through systematic mental training that develops meta-awareness (self-awareness), an ability to effectively modulate one 's behavior (self-regulation), and a positive relationship between self and other that transcends self-focused needs and increases prosocial characteristics (self-transcendence).”
While many may be outraged by Robespierre’s actions, he believed they were justified because the killed enemies of the Revolution by terror with the Republic in mind. In his mind the mass executions were justified, since he had the right reason for doing so and was trying to protect the republic. In this second source, we can see that Robespierre and others, will use any means necessary to protect their beliefs and eliminate any threats to those beliefs. Robespierre put the fear into people that they would be killed if they opposed the Revolution in anyway. One last act of terrorism that I looked at occurred in New York City, on September 11, 2011.
RECALL: The writer makes several important points in “Body and Mind” from “Problems from Philosophy”. The writer discusses the idea of the body being a material entity and the mind as an immaterial entity. The mind and body problems arise due to the different types of facts and their relation with each other. The concept of mind body dualism is an attempt to solve this conflict between these two entities and the main points discussed in the chapter are: 1) According to the ‘Conceivability Argument for Dualism’, presented by Descartes, the mind and the body cannot exist without each other and if they were to do so, they would not be the same thing; 2) Physical facts are proven through observations but mental states are private and cannot be