Can Our Thoughts Affect Our Health?
By Dr. Craig Bentham
 I recently watched a great movie called "What the "Bleep" Do We Know?" which prompted me to write this article. I was most inspired by the scene which revealed the results of a study done by Dr. Masaru Emoto on how our thoughts and feelings send out energy vibrations to our surrounding environment. What is so profound is that these vibrations have the ability to change the configuration of molecules, especially water molecules. This study provides incredible insight into how our thoughts have the ability to affect our health.
I have witnessed this in action with our ladies at Curves. I've heard countless times from our members, during a consultation or monthly measurements, how critical of yourselves you can be. In my opinion, there are a significant percentage of people that harbor negative thoughts about themselves. Is it possible that many of you are polluting your daily thoughts with negativity and frustration? At Curves our goal is to inspire women to get fit, get healthy and feel better about themselves overall. We'll recommend nutritional counseling and an exercise program, but if your underlying self-talk is negative, negative, negative, it's going to be much harder to help you succeed. Therefore, if you reflect on your own daily thoughts, and come to a realization that you need to work on them, the theme of this article can and will have a profound impact on your success.
When you get up in the morning and look in the mirror, do you fill your mind with positive thoughts, or are you bombarding your subconscious with thoughts like..."I'm too fat; I hate the way I look in these jeans; I don't feel good about myself; I have no energy today; I'm not attractive anymore!" Does this sound familiar to you at all? This is a serious question, because you may believe it or not, but negative thoughts can and DO have an effect on your health!
 Let's take a look at Dr. Emoto's work and you can draw your own conclusions. As I am certain you are aware, we are all composed mainly of water. So after much trial and error, Dr. Emoto developed a process in which he would freeze drops of water and take photographs of individual water crystals that formed. He was able to establish that, like snowflakes, every water crystal is unique. But he learned much more than that. Dr. Emoto found that he could tell much about the nature of the water by photographing it in this way, and more importantly, that, as human beings, we can influence and change the nature of water in many ways.
One of the first things that Dr. Emoto learned was that all water does not form beautiful crystals. He tested tap water from around the world and found that tap water does not form water crystals. Stagnant or polluted water does not form crystals either, but rather forms unpleasant, deformed frozen structures. Rainwater, water from clean streams and rivers, water from glaciers, and water from holy places around the world form beautiful crystals when frozen.
Then he wondered if we, as human beings, could alter the nature of water, and thus began his experiment. Dr. Emoto found that if he played beautiful music in the presence of tap water, it would take the form of beautiful frozen crystals. He also learned that the written word changed water. Dr. Emoto taped paper strips on bottles of tap water and then photographed the frozen water. He found that words such as "Thank you," and "I love you," caused the tap water to form beautiful crystals (see pictures below). In contrast, words such as "You make me sick," or "You are a fool," caused ugly, distorted crystals or no crystals at all.
Again, the moral of this story is that there is so much to the universe that we don't yet understand, but I strongly believe that our thoughts and feelings have a direct result on our physical health.
See for yourself and draw your own conclusions:
 |
| A picture of a distilled water molecule |
 |
| Water charged with words, " You make me sick. I will kill you." |
 |
| Water from Fujiwara Dam BEFORE being blessed by Buddhist Monks |
 |
| Water from Fujiwara AFTER being blessed by Buddhist Monks!!! |
 |
| Water charged with words "Love & Thank you." |
After viewing these pictures have you begun to see how our thoughts can affect our own health and well being? Remember, we are comprised mostly of water. In the movie, it was said perfectly..."People's minds and consciousness can change the crystals of water. So think of what your mind can do to you." I think the message to take away from this research is that water is only a reflector and mirror acting as a projector of our own thoughts.
"Positive vibration had created beautiful words and negative vibration created negative words. Therefore, beautiful words create beautiful nature and ugly words create ugly nature. That is the root principle of the universe."
—Dr. Emoto
^top
Ask the Doctors
By Dr's. Jeff, Craig and Marissa
Question: I'm currently on my 3rd week of the 6 week challenge and I haven't lost any weight yet. I'm following the program carefully, but I'm taking a medication which states that one of the side-effects is WEIGHT GAIN! I'm very frustrated, what can I do?
Answer: This is an all-too-common question that we get asked, and we can understand your frustration. For all the women who are reading this and have had a similar experience, here are a few points we need to make:
 Please don't give up! Yes, certain medications can hinder your metabolism and therefore your weight loss goals, but if you stick to the program...you will see results.- We are all immersed in a 'drug happy' society. We've had patients show us their 'shoe box' full of medications like pain killers, anti-depressants, anti-inflammatories, anti-fungal medications, steroidals, and the list goes on. If you are on a medication, please talk to your medical doctor about the issue and see if there are any possible natural alternatives. Let your doctor know that you are working out diligently and eating properly to get your body into balance...naturally!
- Exercise is essential to restoring proper function to the body's organ systems. We have had countless Curves members who have been able to reduce or even completely eliminate their medications by sticking to the Curves program. Even if you don't see the weight loss happen immediately, don't forget what a positive thing you are doing for your health overall! Don't give up!
^top
 Recipe
of the Month
Anaheim Black Bean Burgers
with Mango Salsa
Yields 6 burgers
- 2 x 19 fl oz cans black beans
- 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
- 1-1/2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp pure chile powder
- 1/2 tsp each cumin and coriander seed
toasted and ground
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp chipotle puree
- 1 small can Anaheim chiles, drained;
or 4 Anaheim chiles, roasted,
seeded and peeled
- 1/4 cup masa harina
- 1/4cup toasted pumpkin seeds, finely ground
- 3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
Directions:
1) Heat oil in a small skillet, add onion and saute until translucent. Add garlic and spices and continue sauteing and stirring for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2) In the bowl of a food processor, add 2 cups beans, rice, Anaheim chiles and the cooled onion/spice mix. Pulse to coarsely grind the mix. Turn into a large bowl and add the masa harina, pumpkin seeds and breadcrumbs. Mix together thoroughly. Add the reserved whole black beans and mix in well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3) Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form them into patties. Dredge with a light coating of masa harina and fry in a lightly oiled pan until browned on both sides. Serve hot on sourdough buns with the suggested salsa, butter lettuce, avocado, sweet pepper and red onion slices.
Mango Salsa
2 mangoes, finely diced
1/4 red pepper, finely diced
1/4 red onion, finely diced
1 serrano chile, minced
1 TBS lime juice
1 TBS chopped cilantro
Combine all of prepared ingredients in a bowl, mix them the together and season with salt. Serve immediately.
Thank you to Victoria's famous "hot-spot" REBAR for this recipe.
^top
Back Issues
If you'd like to read back issues of the Curves Connection,
please visit our newsletter
archive.
If
you have any questions about your subscription or comments
in general about our newsletter, please email
us.
Please add "info@curveshealthclub.com" to your whitelist or address book in your e-mail program to ensure you continue to receive the Curves Connection without interruption. Thank you. |
