PREFACE on Healing
From the author: Lisa Decker
I have felt compelled to write about my personal deep dive and discoveries in healing. My clients know that I dabble in a large variety of healing modalities, but there is one thing all the methods I choose to practice have in common and that is SELF-EMPOWERMENT. I believe we all need to be an active participant in our healing process.
One of the biggest issues in our health care system today is that it’s “expert” & “symptom†driven.” We go to the foot doctor, knee doctor, back doctor, cardiologist, endocrinologist, oncologist, or psychologist so they can tell us what is “wrong” with us. We are taught to focus on the “symptom” and the “problem.†We are taught these experts will “fix†us.
To truly get healthy, we must not see ourselves as broken. Our mind, emotions, and daily decisions have more influence over our physical health than our medical system leads us to believe. By educating ourselves as to “why” these so-called problems occur, and by becoming an active participant in our health, we can release ourselves from the victim role. We can once more rely on ourselves rather than the experts that we are programmed to believe will fix us.
Some may call me an “expert” in my field, but I do not consider myself an “expert”. My job is to educate and empower each person with tools to heal, but ultimately, it’s up to us to heal ourselves. When we tune in, educate ourselves, take action, and become self-aware, we are able to unlock our true healing potential.
Everyone needs help, but there is a difference between receiving assistance and creating dependency. In one the professional and the client are equals, in the other the client believes they cannot heal without the professional.
One thing I’ve learned is nobody has actually “fixed” me. I’ve been educated and given tools, but I’ve had to learn to use them wisely. Various professionals have guided me to uncover obstacles that were in my way of healing, but the innate capacity to heal was always mine. It was my increased self-awareness and hard work that freed me from many of my self-imposed limitations.
Wellness is not the absence of pain,
it’s the absence of limitation.
– Pete Egoscue
My word of advice: Stay clear of any healing professional that makes a promise that they can “fix” you. I consider it my job and life purpose to relay the tools I’ve learned to people searching to heal, and then get out of the way so they can access their innate internal healing power. The underlying goal of any health-care professional should be to educate and empower each patient so they can truly begin to depend on themself rather than the called “expert” or “healer”.
PART ONE:
ENERGY & OUR REALITY
What is reality? For most of us it’s our house, our family, our job, our thoughts, our emotions, basically our daily existence.; what we sense and perceive appears to constitute our reality. But what about what we can’t sense and perceive? We don’t see gravity, but does that mean it doesn’t exist?
The reality is, we live in a universe comprised of energy and what we see on the outside may not match what we are “really†seeing. With the introduction of quantum physics, it is now believed that all physical matter, including each one of us, is actually just particles vibrating at specific frequencies.
Within the human body, there are trillions of atoms and if you could expand just one of these to the size of the earth, the location of the next atom would be as far away as the moon. This is the space we have between the tissues of our body alone. Suffice it to say, there is probably much more to our reality than meets the eye!
We only perceive a fraction of what we can measure with science. For example, dolphins use sonar to map radar frequencies, whereas we would need technical equipment to tune into these frequencies. Ultraviolet light is another example, our human senses don’t perceive it, but does that make it non-existent? (1)
The fact is all matter is ultimately comprised of energy. Energy can change form, but always exists in some form. For instance, ice is a solid substance with a low vibrational frequency, but if you melt the ice it becomes water. If the water is then heated, it changes to steam. Water can evaporate and become a gas or condense to form liquid. Particles of ice, water, and steam are
identical but arranged differently, as their vibrational frequencies change.
One of the easiest ways I’ve found to explain this concept comes from Dr. Joe Dispenza in his book, “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself.â€(2) He asks the following questions:
“Where does the intelligence that keeps our heart beating come from?â€
The autonomic nervous system.
“Where is that system located?â€
The brain.
“And within the brain there are specific tissues responsible for keeping the heart beating that are made up of cells right?â€
Yes.
“What are cells made of?â€
Molecules.
“What are molecules made of?â€
Atoms.
“What are atoms made of?â€
Subatomic particles.
“And what are subatomic particles primarily composed of?“
Energy.
“We can then recognize that we are made up of the same thing as the rest of the universe. Energy! And this energy is the same 99.9% “nothing†that constitutes our universe. We may want to question why we often choose to only focus on the .00001% of reality that is physical.†(2)
As mainstream western medicine delves into a world of drugs and surgery to treat various illnesses and symptoms, we begin to lose focus as to the root source and cause. Our mind focuses on the illness rather than on prevention and self-empowerment. Of course, Western Medicine has many amazing attributes and saves lives particularly in traumatic situations. If I’m bleeding on the side of the road, please send me to a doctor or surgeon!
To comprehend energy and the rest of what’s to come in this book, it’s beneficial to have a basic understanding of the principles of quantum physics. Quantum theory has shattered how we previously thought our world worked.
I recognize this next section may be a bit scientific, so you find this to be the case, feel free to skip to part three. However, if you are curious, I encourage you to read on for a better scientific understanding as to how energy functions. These principles apply to our daily existence more than we may be led to believe.
PART TWO:
QUANTUM THEORY
Before we delve into the theories of quantum physics it’s important for those of us without a science background to get some basic terminology down:
VIBRATION & FREQUENCY
If you look up the definition of vibration, you will find it is simply a repetitive movement. For example, if you were to strum a guitar, the string will vibrate. The number of times it does so would be the “frequency†of that vibration. That frequency will carry a specific sound and if you change the frequency, you will change the sound. This also applies to colors which carry different frequencies of light. Outside your eyes the frequency in the field stays constant. It’s only through the lens that we see different wavelengths of light and color.
RESONANCE
Vibration and frequency play a role in the term “resonance.†Resonance is an exchange of energy. An example of this would be if two stringed instruments are placed on opposite ends of a room. When the lowest string of one instrument is plucked, the same string on the second instrument begins to vibrate. Yet nobody touched the string. It’s responding to waves of energy that travelled across the room and found resonance.
ENTRAINMENT
Another important concept to consider is entrainment. Entrainment is an alignment of fields of energy that allow for the maximum transfer of information. For example if two elements are vibrating, one at a faster rate and another at a
slower rate, the tendency of the slower vibration to synchronize and match the faster would be considered entrainment.
NON-LOCALITY PRINCIPLE
The non-locality principle demonstrates that once in contact two particles will maintain a connection even when separated. In other words, the actions of one will always influence the other no matter how distant. This shattered the theories of Newtonian physics, as it proves matter can no longer be considered separate from energy. (1)
This theory also applies to our consciousness. A concrete illustration of the non-locality principle comes from a polygraph expert with the CIA named Cleve Baxter. When giving a polygraph test, he took a specimen of the subject’s cells and moved them 100 miles away. Using a split screen TV, he found that when the subject had an emotional response to the polygraph, the cells 100 miles away expressed heightened electrical activity. This experiment demonstrates how we are constantly interacting and connecting within a universal energy field.
THE OBSERVER EFFECT
Another fascinating principle of quantum physics is that an electron only seems to appear when a person is focusing their attention on it. In other words, a particle does not manifest in our conscious reality unless we observe it. The very act of measurement or observation directly alters the phenomenon under investigation. Again, this demonstrates that “mind†(our consciousness) and “matter†can no longer be considered separate.
“When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change.†– Dr Wayne Dyer
SCIENCE & SPIRITUALITY
If there is no difference between matter and energy, and the field governs matter as Einstein maintained, then our environment may be shaping us more than we realize, while our choices are simultaneously shaping our environment.
We are constantly interacting within a universal energy field. Now, this may seem deep and a bit ‘woo woo,†but hear me out…. Consider your television. There are many channels,
frequencies, and programs you can tune into. If you smash and obliterate your TV, are the broadcasts gone? The reality is, they continue to exist in the field.
Bruce Lipton, PhD cell biologist, teacher at Stanford, and author of “Biology of Belief,†maintains our brain acts as a frequency receiver in this multi-dimensional world in which we live. This may sound like science fiction; but there may be very little that’s fictional about it.
Dr Lipton believes our conscious mind is programmed mainly between the ages of 1-7. He maintains our physical body is the hardware we move through this world in, and our consciousness is broadcasting to a specific frequency in the field. This analogy offers a thought-provoking way to grasp ancient spiritual philosophies of body, mind, and spirit (3). Spiritual practices have always maintained that our physical body may die, but our energy body (spirit) still will exist within the field.
EXPERIMENTS WITH ENERGY
There are many interesting experiments with energy worth mentioning. According to Dr. Valerie Hunt, professor emeritus of physiological science at UCLA, in the physical body there are two primary electrical systems: One is the alternating electric current of the nervous system. The other is a more recently discovered electromagnetic system coming from each of our atoms and cells. This energy has been called an aura, although Dr. Hunt prefers to describe it as an energy field. (4)
This electromagnetic energy field that is found around an object or a person allows for energy exchange. The heart for example produces a significant electromagnetic field. This magnetic field has been shown to extend up to 8 feet outside the body! This energy field absorbs and throws off energy. Many cultures and spiritual practices have words to describe this: In China it’s called Qi, in the Indian yogic tradition Prana, in Hebrew Ki, and in Christianity the Holy Spirit.
HOW THOUGHTS INFLUENCE THE FIELD
Dr. William Tiller and his colleagues at Stanford University proved that our intention alone, has the power to influence matter. In a truly revelational study, Dr. Tiller had experienced meditators imprint an electrical device with a specific intention. The device was then wrapped in aluminum and sent to a lab 2000 miles away where it was placed beside the target of the experiment. For example, if the target of the experiment was to raise the pH of water, it was placed beside a jar of water. They found they were able to raise or lower the Ph depending on the programmed intent. But here’s where it gets interesting… as the study was repeated in the same space, the results became easier to achieve and more profound. Further studies from Princeton University, suggest similarly to Tiller’s experiment, that thoughts have a profound effect on energy. In studies using a random number generator, they found that when a great event synchronizes the feelings of millions of people, the random numbers become subtly structured. They calculated one in a trillion odds that this effect is due to chance. This evidence suggests there is a unifying field of consciousness. This has been described in many cultures as well as many spiritual practices. (6)
MORPHIC RESONANCE
Another fascinating discovery comes from Dr. Rupert Sheldrake PhD, a biochemist at Cambridge University and scholar at Harvard. Sheldrake claims there are telepathic type interconnections between organisms, as well as collective memories within a species.
The theory is that when a critical number of a species achieves an awareness, this may be communicated through some form of an energetic field. He calls this “morphic resonance†and terms it the “100th monkey effect.†(7). It got it’s name because scientists found that a monkey on an island off Japan began washing their sweet potatoes to remove the grit and grime. Gradually this habit spread through the troop of monkeys. The behavior spread until a group consciousness was formed. When this critical number of monkeys was reached, the learned behavior instantly spread across the water to monkeys on a nearby island without having any physical interaction!
HOW DOES THIS QUANTUM MODEL APPLY TO ME?
The message here is that everything in our universe is energy made up of particles vibrating at specific frequencies that exist as pure potential. Therefore, if our reality exists as pure potential and the quantum field holds all possibilities, and we
now know that mind and matter are entangled, our mind may have a stronger influence over our physical reality than we’ve been programmed to believe.
PART THREE:
THOUGHTS, EMOTIONS, & THE LAW OF ATTRACTION
EMOTIONS & FREQUENCIES
We’ve been discussing mind over matter, but where do emotions fit into this equation? Dr. David Hawkins found that emotions carry a vibrational frequency. This sheds light to the term “Good Vibrations.†He measured the vibrations of human emotions and created a system for identifying their frequencies that I’ve included below. (1)
EMOTIONS AND RESONANCE
Emotions also carry resonance. Our thoughts trigger an emotion, and that emotion carries a frequency. That frequency then resonates with similar emotions on that wavelength.
This is called the law of attraction and can be understood by visualizing yourself as a magnet. For instance, let’s say you have been repetitively rejected in the past. This may lead you to think and believe you will be rejected again in the future, generating feelings of worry and insecurity. When you meet someone new, chances are you are projecting these thoughts and emotions. Consequently, this makes the chances of you being rejected again exponentially greater.
You must break this vicious cycle and project what you want to receive. You must believe this with all your physical, emotional, and mental being if you want to change your reality.
“Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want, and you cannot help to get that reality. This is not philosophy but is based in the principles of physics.â€
– Albert Einstein
In simple terms, the law of attraction implies like attracts like. Therefore, it becomes very important to take a step back and observe your thoughts. Are you thinking about what you “want†or what you “don’t want?†The law of attraction maintains if you complain, this will bring you more situations to complain about. If you live in gratitude, you will receive more situations to be grateful for.
The universe reflects and give back whatever you focus on. Don’t forget, according to the quantum model, the conscious
mind is shaping the very universe being perceived. (1)
EMOTIONS & THE LAW OF ATTRACTION
Emotions simply reflect what we are thinking and vice versa. For instance, when you get bad news, your feelings will change due to what you are thinking. Become aware of how you are feeling, and it is a fast way to determine what you are thinking. You can’t feel good while having negative thoughts just like you can’t have negative thoughts while feeling good.
Emotions also manifest physically. For example, a hostile thought builds up energy, and the body heats and gets flushed with anger. The thought that you are being physically or psychologically threatened causes the body to contract in fear.
“Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.â€
Many people do everything in their power to avoid and repress these emotions, as they can often be more painful than physical symptoms. It’s becoming more common than ever in our culture to medicate to relieve emotional stress, but this only masks the symptom. Masking the symptom is like placing a cover over your check engine light. You can no longer see anything is wrong, but there is still engine trouble. The more we repress and resist our emotions, the more influence they have on all our physical systems. Repressed emotions will find a way to manifest, whether that’s with a weakened immune system, body aches and pains, a rash, or even cancer. (2).
“If you oppose a force, you give it more power.â€
PAIN IS THE BODY’S VOICE
Many of us avoid pain making every attempt to numb it. Others analyze the pain, mentally creating a story. Others simply complain, seeing themselves as victims of their circumstances. However, pain is not something to be feared; rather, pain is something to be understood. All trauma manifests in the physical realm, and we have the potential to release it when we address the root cause. At the core all trauma in the body whether physical or emotional is just blocked energy. (1).
THE POWER OF THE MIND
A great experiment demonstrating how our thoughts alone can influence trauma in the physical body was a 2002 study cited by Dr Bruce Lipton in his book “Biology of Belief,†and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In the study patients who presented with severe and debilitating knee pain had one of three surgical procedures. One group had the damaged cartilage shaved from the joint, one group had the joint flushed out to reduce inflammatory material, and in the third group the doctors performed a “fake†surgery. In the fake surgery they went as far as putting the patients under anesthesia while making an incision. All the patients were given the same follow up medical care. But where this study proves interesting is that the control group with the “fake†surgery improved just as well as the other groups!
PROGRAMMING
Experiments such as the one above, demonstrate the strong power of the mind. But how do we change our mind? It’s easy to understand the strong influence our minds can have, but
how can we change our programming?
We grow up with a database of life experiences we gain through our family, community, and culture. Between the ages of 1-7 our mind is developed through these learned experiences. To not continue to live out dysfunctional patterns from our childhood, or perceptions and beliefs that may not be healthy, we must become aware and conscious of this programming. We have a choice whether to identify with the patterns and programming we’ve picked up from past experiences, but only when we bring awareness to them.
Awareness is developed when we begin to recognize the stories that have become ingrained in our mind. The strong beliefs we hold rigidly to, that may or may not even contain truth. Awareness is developed when we begin to observe the voice in our head that says, I “should be this,†or “I should be that.â€
Retraining the mind takes observation, adaptation, patience, and practice. “Mindfulness†practices are becoming more popular in the west, as we see a rise in anxiety and mental health issues that stem from this over-identification with the mind. (3)
When we break through the programs of our mind, we realize we are not victims of our circumstances! We are the creators of both the good and bad in our lives. We can stop blaming life for our current conditions and take the reins regaining our power. It can be a fine balance between moving with the flow of life and directing the current. As the serenity prayer so eloquently states:
“Give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change – The courage to change the things I can – And the wisdom to know the difference.â€
THE POWER OF LANGUAGE
It’s important to also address and consider the power words and language carry in our programming. It’s through words that we create our reality and belief systems. (4)
Thoughts are made of words, so it’s important to recognize whether the words we use to define ourselves and speak to others are based in fear or love. For example, if you are raised being told you are ugly you may begin to feel and believe you are ugly. On the other hand, if you are told throughout your life how beautiful you are, you may begin to believe this independent of your physical appearance.
THE PLACEBO EFFECT
Joe Dispenza, in his book “Placebo,†asks an important question: “Is it possible to heal by thought alone? I mentioned the experiment in which people healed their knee trauma without drugs or surgery.†Joe Dispenza shares numerous cases of people who reversed cancer, heart disease and even Parkinson’s by believing in a Placebo. He also shares stories of others who have gotten sick and even died after being misdiagnosed with a fatal illness. Belief can be so strong that pharmaceutical companies have been forced to use double and even triple blind studies to exclude the power of the mind over the body (5).
Another fascinating study from Ohio University demonstrated that just sitting still and thinking about exercising can make you twice as strong. In this experiment people wore surgical casts on their wrists for a month, but half of them spent 10 minutes a day focusing their intent on flexing their wrist muscles. When the casts were removed the people who did the mental exercises had wrists muscles 50% stronger than those who did nothing. I’m not implying we should not exercise and only think about it; however, we must begin to recognize and respect the integral connection between the body and mind (6)
One of the greatest healers at our disposal is the power of our mind and there are no side effects! Our beliefs have the capacity to heal or destroy. We must understand, if a drug works, there is a natural equivalent in the body that has the potential to be accessed; however, if we are to activate this signal, our energy systems must be in harmony. As western medicine leans heavily on medication to cure pain symptoms, we must recognize chemicals and drugs only work when there is a receptor in the cells to respond to it.
“What the mind believes the body achieves.â€
MIND OVER MATTER
Our conscious mind (energy) governs the physical body (matter). Or even better stated, our subconscious mind, with very little conscious thinking involved, governs matter. Following is another example of the power of mind over the body:
It’s not a stretch to imagine a strong 300-pound weightlifter raising a car onto its back end, but what about a 120lb mother who’s never lifted a weight in her life? Now consider her child
is stuck under the car. She races into action without time for a thought. She has no time to think to herself, “I can’t lift that car.†She knows she must, and her body performs this miraculous feat. Her conscious mind never had time to enter this situation. Her subconscious and autonomic nervous system was triggered, influencing her physical body to emit all the chemicals necessary to perform this miracle.
Have you ever heard of people being able to walk over hot coals? They must believe and feel they can do this! If they even momentarily consciously question, they will get burned.
INTENTION & ATTENTION
WHERE DO YOU FOCUS YOUR ENERGY?
There is a saying: “Don’t look where you don’t want to go.†However, most of us worry and obsess about what we “don’t†want in our lives. We work hard to resist and avoid struggle, but the continued attempts to control our environment tend to only lead to more struggle.
Have you ever “tried†to sleep? “Tried†to lose weight? “Tried†to get pregnant? You may find when you stop focusing on “trying†to fix your so-called “problem,†you give it less energy. We often perpetuate our “problems†by paying so much attention to them.
Continuing to focus on what’s wrong and looking at how wrong it could go leads to obsessing about our troubles. The issue lies in that we can’t stop thinking about our problems, because the nature of our problems exists in our thinking mind! The more we focus on these so-called problems, the more energy we give them!
“If you can step away from the problem mindset and into the solution or acceptance mindset, this is where fundamental changes can occur.†Dr Richard Bartlett
HELPFUL & HARMFUL RULES
To navigate through life, we create a set of rules designed to keep us safe. This is obviously advisable at times; however, often we set rules we think will protect us, but are in fact
detrimental to our growth. We go into everything with a perceptual bias based on our past experiences. If we rigidly define things from this place, we may find we continue to get the same outcomes. We must recognize that there are times we may need to allow ourselves to head down a road without knowing the outcome. For most of us this can seem scary, but if we immediately judge it’s scary and dangerous, we cut ourselves off from the possibility it could be life transforming.
“You can’t continue to do the same thing and expect a different outcome.†– Albert Einstein
For example, if you have had a negative relationship in the past, the mind may develop a defense mechanism designed to protect you from getting close to people, so you don’t get hurt. Is this rule helpful or harmful? Only when you surrender to a new experience, can life changes occur.
“Where your mind goes, your energy flows.â€
We are all co-creators of our reality whether we consciously choose to be or not. Our world is a sea of possibilities and solutions. We are the ones that create the rules. If the intended change is visualized clearly, the belief is strong, and the emotional force behind the intention is focused, we stay in the pool of possibilities that have the potential to occur. If we can shift the way we perceive and experience reality, we can access all possibilities rather than continuing to perpetuate the one’s we don’t want.
If you look through the eyes of any belief system, you only see things those perceptions allow. You may want to ask yourself, what am I “NOT†seeing that could alter my perspective? If you ask yourself more empowering questions, you will generate
more empowering answers. If you ask a question such as “Why do all my relationships suckâ€, you will probably get answers as to why they suck! (7)
What you think and perceive defines the limitations of what you achieve. – Dr Richard Bartlett
Changing your life requires trust, faith, and an openness to change. You must be willing to surrender and accept a new outcome. If you are truly wanting to make changes in your life and don’t necessarily know what to do, go inside and ask questions. Ask yourself, “If I knew what to do, what would it be?†Just remember, there is always a choice. The only time we can’t choose, is when we “think†we don’t have a choice.
Energy Medicine as Healthcare
THE PHYSICAL BODY.
We have spoken at length about the power of the mind and emotions, but we also have a physical body, which needs to be appropriately cared for. Our physical body is our home. Just like we live in a universe of billions of people that create families, communities, countries, and cultures, we have trillions of cells within our body. Each of these cells has a purpose or an action it’s designed to perform. The cells in our body come together in communities to form organs, which are made up of groups of cells that have a similar purpose.
The best healers cannot cure illness and disease unless the patient makes healthy decisions. Optimal physical health requires we make life affirming choices. Proper nutrition, assimilation, elimination, hydration, oxygenation, movement, social connection, sleep, and recovery are primary to our health. Our external choices effect our internal environment.
If someone is not making life affirming choices, cells are forced to work overtime. Some of the smaller groups may begin to rebel against work being forced upon them and these rebellions can spread causing dis-ease if optimal conditions are not restored. In many cases, restoration of normal conditions can gradually bring about a return to normal functioning and prevent disease from spreading.
Science has shown that all disease stems from cell disease and if we can get control of the issue at a cellular level (micro), we can handle the larger (macro) problem. (6)
Just as each cell in our body has a life of its own, it can’t thrive in an environment of dysfunctional cells. Similarly, just as each person in this universe has a life of their own, it’s more difficult to remain healthy when raised in a dysfunctional family or culture. All of life seems to work within this micro and macro and system. Similarly, although there is a time and place to look at parts of the body separately, we must simultaneously consider the whole.
Remember the non-locality principle of quantum mechanics? The theory that scientifically demonstrates that all particles are intricately connected at a distance… well, the same applies within our body! Each of our cells which make up our organs, are influenced by all other cells and organs. Think about it, you can’t have a functioning stomach, liver, lungs, or kidneys if your heart stops. When one organ stops functioning, the rest suffer. As quantum entanglement illustrates, one system will affect other systems no matter how far they are separated. There is an implicate order in which all things are connected.
This is why it’s imperative our medical system begin to take a more holistic approach when it comes to treating the body. Going to the foot doctor, knee, hip, or spine specialist is treating the symptom, whereas the root cause of the problem may lie elsewhere. Furthermore, f we continue to only treat conditions and problems and give names to these problems, this further limits our possibilities, leading us to feel disempowered. We must shift our perspective from the problem mindset to the solution, so as not to add energy to theses unwanted states that just perpetuate anxiety and fear.
I will tell you a personal story illustrating this issue. When my son was a senior in high school, he came down with a severe stomach issue. Our initial assumption was he must have a bad flu. However, after missing a week of school and not getting better I began to get concerned. I took him to the doctor who began to run some tests.
Two weeks later my son had lost almost 10 pounds and could barely get out of bed; however, all the blood work had come back fine. At this point, the doctor recommended we do a colonoscopy on my 17-year old son. I agreed and we took him in for the procedure, but once again, the results came back normal. The doctors then advised we do an endoscopy and CT scan, but again everything appeared normal.
Fast forward, my son had missed almost 2 months of school and had lost over 20 pounds. Suffice it to say, I was seriously concerned! Despite having great health insurance, I was running out of choices and decided to spend over $10,000 to hire a medical concierge. This doctor immediately got him admitted to UCSF children’s hospital. Interestingly, this hospital had a “team†approach where doctors from many different specialties come together to discuss a patient.
When my son was admitted, he met with doctors from many fields including a cardiologist, endocrinologist, gastroenterologist etc. And here’s where things get interesting…. Previously, my son had done his own research and asked me if it could possibly be his thyroid causing these issues. I had gone back to his primary physician letting him know my son was concerned about this, but the doctor claimed his TSH levels were fine, and it could not be a thyroid related problem. However, at UCSF, the endocrinologist disagreed.
They ran more tests and found that my son had a rare autoimmune thyroid disease called Hashitoxicosis.
Although we were told there was no cure, we were relieved to at least know what was wrong. We went home with this information and were told that his thyroid would decline over time, and he would end up with Hashimoto’s disease. We were told he would be on Synthroid for the rest of his life, and if we couldn’t control his thyroid levels, we could choose to have his thyroid removed.
This was when I decided to take things into my own hands. This hopeless diagnosis just didn’t sit right with me. I figured, at this point it couldn’t hurt to take a different approach. I was entrenched in my studies of energy medicine and had just read an alternative book called “Thyroid Healing by Anthony Williams (otherwise known as Medical Medium). He claimed diet could influence thyroid health and that the thyroid itself may not be the real issue, but rather it could potentially be a virus attacking the thyroid. His view on autoimmune diseases was, “Why would the body attack itself? That makes no sense… Our bodies are intricately designed to protect us!â€
I went back to the doctors at UCSF who assured me changes in his diet would make no difference, but I did not tell my son that. I allowed him to believe what we had read. My son went on a strict gluten, sugar, and casein free diet.
Simultaneously, I began doing energy work on him every evening. To this day he still asks me to rub his head and do the crown pull from Donna Eden’s book, Energy Medicine. We also watched the movie The Secret. At the time, I thought it couldn’t hurt, but I could never have imagined how strongly that movie would influence him.
Over the next few weeks, I noticed my son had created a vision board and he began watching funny movies all day to distract his mind, laugh, and lighten up. He also took to meditating outside daily.
One day, I got home from work and my son grabbed me and said “Mom! I had the weirdest experience today. I asked what happened and he said, “I was outside meditating, and a light came through me.†I said, “Wow Ryan – How cool!†as if it was no big deal and then pretty much freaked out wondering if my son had just had a spiritual experience of some sort.
Anyway, shortly after the shift in his diet, the energy work, the vision board, and his meditation protocol, he began to get better. When things had gotten much better, I remember him asking me, “Mom, can I go off the Synthroid?†Not knowing if that was a good decision, but also not wanting to influence the power of his positive thinking, I said “Why don’t you lower the dosage over time and see how you feel.†Within a year, he was off all Synthroid and functioning normally with no symptoms.
To this day, seven+ years later, his TSH is still testing normal, and he has all but recovered from what we were told was an incurable autoimmune disease.
PART 6
OUR PHYSICAL STRUCTURE
ALIGNMENT
Let’s take a step away from the mind and emotions for a moment and talk about our physical structure. Compare yourself to a computer with your mind being the software, and your physical body the hardware. A computer is only as good as the software it runs; however, you can’t run software successfully if the hardware is faulty.
The field of gravity is strong, and we tend to function best when we work with it rather than against it. Sure, the leaning tower of Pisa is still standing, but typically a structure is more stable when aligned. When the body loses its natural alignment, the muscles and fascia are forced to compensate, which creates muscular imbalances leading to tension and restriction throughout the body and ultimately pain.
Certainly, when it comes to the body there is more going on than alignment alone. We know this because studies have found that you can have people with MRI’s showing the same symptom such as a herniated disc; however, some people have pain and others do not. This is why we must always take into consideration the effects of mental and emotional stress on both the muscular and nervous system.
Pete Egoscue, a highly respected innovator in the field of posture and corrective exercise therapy states in his book, “Let’s Lighten Upâ€, Chronic pain is a result of a correctable energy deprivation. Your musculoskeletal system is a plug: i.e., a connector to the universal energy supply. The strength of that connection and the total volume of the incoming flow of energy depends on postural alignment and balance. In other words, energy flow is determined by the way mass is arranged by structure. The more balanced you are, the more energy moves with less friction along the conduit and through the plug. Those who are fully balanced receive an unrestricted flow of high wavelength energy and there are fewer obstructions. (5)
ANATOMY TRAINS
Tom Myers, author of “Anatomy Trainsâ€, dissected the fascia and found intricate connections throughout the body. When there is a compensation in one part of the body you can see in the pictures below how it will affect other parts along the fascial chain. Interestingly, he found the energy channels popular in Eastern practices such as acupuncture appear to correspond with these fascial systems.
Below are pictures of the dissections of the fascial systems taken from Thomas Myer’s book “Anatomy Trainsâ€. They illustrate the connections from the top of the head to the bottoms of the feet. This is a great illustration as to why we must stop treating the body in parts! (2)
Exercise can enhance the flow of energy through the body. (3). This is why movement is so important; however, if you have had trauma from a previous injury or surgery, there may be adhesions within the tissues and the energy can become blocked. In these cases, you may want to consider massage, chiropractic care, acupuncture, and corrective forms of exercise to help you regain optimal alignment and energy flow. (4)
Yoga, Tai Chi, Qigong, walking, running, and other forms of movement are very healthy; however, it’s important to understand the principles of alignment so you reduce your risk of injury.
An exercise is only as good as the body you bring to it.
– Pete Egoscue
Compare yourself for a moment to a car. You must drive it, or the battery will die; however, if you drive it when the tires are out of alignment, it will likely cause wear and tear.
This is why I believe it’s so important to begin with addressing the physical body. Just like a tree is only as strong as it is grounded and rooted, our mind and emotional state is only as strong as the physical body. It’s hard to be emotionally healthy when we are dealing with fatigue, illness, or physical pain.
If you have ever studied psychology, you’ve most likely come across Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. His premise is, before our basic needs of breathing, food, water, and shelter are met, self-actualization is “typically†not our priority. Until the physical body’s needs are met, attempting to work with your emotional state could prove futile.
The Indian system of Chakra’s illustrates this same principle. Chakras are considered the energy centers of the body and they build upon each other like a pyramid. When we are grounded with a strong root and a basic trust in life, it’s easier to build self-awareness.
PART 6
The Energy Body & Our Physical Health
According to Eastern medicine each dis-ease occurs from either an internal or external sources. For example, you may have been exposed to radiation, pesticides, mold, or chemicals, which are considered external forces. However, it’s also believed a disease can occur when you are suppressing emotions or in some form of denial, which is an example of internal forces. (1)
“The ultimate approach to healing will be to remove the abnormalities at the subtle-energy level which led to the manifestation of illness in the first place.â€
Dr Richard Gerber M.D.
Regardless of whether the force is coming from an internal or external source, when one of the body’s systems is out of balance, the body will try to restore itself. For example, when a virus enters the body, you may develop a fever. This is the body’s way of attempting to kill the bug and restore homeostasis. On the flip side, if you are stuck outside without a jacket on a cold day, your teeth will likely start chattering to warm you up. Our bodies are designed to work for us and maintain balance.
Our modern lives however do not make it easy to stay balanced. Pollution, processed foods, sedentary lifestyles, a lack of social connection, and excess physiological and psychological stressors can disrupt our energy system and the body’s natural homeostasis.
The same principles apply to our physical structure. Our bodies are designed to protect us. They send in reinforcements
when necessary to prevent injury from occurring. Although nobody wants bone spurs, bunions, or stenosis, these physical manifestations occur to protect our body from the wear and tear we place on it when we have dysfunctional movement patterns.
What we must remember is our body is designed to heal itself! Muscles move bones, and with the right tools, we can restore functional alignment, which often reduces friction, sheer, wear and tear so healing can occur.
Epigenetics
It’s also quite common for people to blame their symptoms or illness on their genetics. Perhaps your mother and grandmother both had the same posture or pain. Suppose there is a family history of heart disease or cancer.
There is a degree of reality to this; however, genetic research has now proven that we can change our DNA and cellular programing. This science is called epigenetics. Scientists are finding we have the capability to turn genes on and off. These findings are proving we are not just helpless victims of our heredity.
For example, 50% of people with the breast cancer gene never get cancer. Why is that? The fact is, environmental, emotional, and mental stressors have a strong influence on our genetics.
Epigenetics proves we can change our genes with appropriate choices, action, and intention. We are all capable of adaptation when provided with the proper stimulus. We have the choice to change how we respond to our environment. This is the definition of mind over matter. The choices we make and how
we think and feel influence both our personal genetics and our ultimately our natural world.
ANCESTRY
It’s important to recognize we come into this world with DNA and ancestral programming that is possibly influencing us in ways we are not consciously aware.
The legacy of trauma can be passed down many generations. Researchers have investigated how events in someone’s lifetime can change the way their DNA is expressed, and that change can be passed on. Life experiences, particularly traumatic ones, can have a very real impact on your DNA and ancestry for generations to come.
In a study that illustrates this point, researchers blew the scent of cherry blossoms through the cages of adult mice while zapping their foot with an electric shock. After several repetitions, the mice began to associate the smell of cherry blossoms with pain. But here’s where it gets interesting; afterward, these males bred with female mice and when their pups smelled the cherry blossoms, without ever having direct experience, they became anxious and fearful. To rule out that these pups could have learned this response from their parents they were raised by unrelated mice who had never had the experience of the scent and shock.
The consequences of passing down trauma are huge. This can change how we view our lives, as we begin to understand that the experience of our ancestors that we may have never known can influence our personal physiology and mental health. We also come to the realization that the consequences of our own actions and experiences can have a profound effect on the lives of our children even before they are even conceived.
What’s most important to recognize is the malleability in this system. We have the capacity to “unlearn†these traits. Going back to the cherry blossom experiment with mice, scientists then decided to test what would happen if males that feared the scent were desensitized to the smell. Mice were repeatedly exposed to the scent without receiving a shock. The scientists found that they lost their “fearful†epigenetic signature, and the pups of these mice no longer demonstrated a heightened sensitivity to the scent.
This suggests humans can inherit trauma in similar ways, but the effect this has on our DNA can be undone using techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy. Healing the effects of trauma in our lifetime can put a stop to it from continuing down further generations.
PART 7
Meditation
It’s easy to talk about these philosophies and the power of positive thinking to heal, but it’s not always so easy to put these theories into practice. Many of us are dealing with very strong programming and patterns that aren’t so easy to break down.
One way to regain power over your health, can be done quite effectively through meditation. Meditation can take many forms; and you may often find it associated with spiritual practices. If you are not religious, don’t let this scare you. Religion and spirituality are not one and the same. In fact, spirituality and science seem to be overlapping more these days.
What is meditation? I’m sure there are many definitions out there, but I just find it’s a practice in “observing†my mind. Once you see the mind as a separate entity from “youâ€, you can watch it. Then you will see how crazy it can be!
When we train our body, we cannot do a set of bicep curls and expect to have big biceps the next day. We must create a habit and develop an adaptation over time. In some ways, training the physical body can be much easier than training the mind.
Training the mind also takes adaptation to a new habitual response or behavior. Mindfulness training works the same way as physical training. It takes patience, adaptation, and time.
I teach Qigong, which is a movement meditation class based in the theories of Chinese Medicine. I’ve been teaching it 4 days a week for many years, and I can tell you it took me at least a year of “daily†practice to both recognize and break down some
of the strong patterns both in body and mind.
To meditate effectively, we must override our programming. In psychological terms, we must override our nurture, defined as how we were raised. We must also often override our DNA (nature).
Mindful meditation requires we detach from our acquired personality and let go of any imprinted beliefs, expectations, fears, and perceptions. We must let go of the things we “think we know†to open to a larger creative force.
Often our creativity is restricted by our programmed perceptions. The reality we want to access in meditation needs to reach beyond our conditioning, freeing us from any imprinting and connecting us to the field of energy that holds infinite possibilities and potential.
“To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.â€
Once you detach from your programming (ego), you get out of the loops of the stories, releasing yourself from the inner chatter. As you enter a quiet state of observation, you can take a step back and discern the stories, beliefs, and perceptions your mind has created without forming an attachment to them. You can begin to embrace your true essence beyond the mind. The “I am,†prior to “I am this,†or “I am thatâ€. The “I am†outside of “I should be this†or “I should be thatâ€.
Our thoughts create an illusion of separateness. The illusion that there is you, “self†and “other.†(2). Think about your body with the trillions of cells within you. They all have an individual function, a “self†if you will, but they are also all connected and working together within your body as a whole. The same principle applies within the larger universe we are all a part of. Each of us is like a cell within a larger body. As we
begin to contemplate and understand this connection, it can help us see ourselves as connected within a whole system rather than separate.
In Summary
As you may have inferred, my interest in the science of quantum physics, energy work, and meditation, relates to how we can incorporate these principles into our daily existence through our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Although quantum mechanics can be difficult to comprehend, how we apply these theories is not. We can begin to see quite clearly how these scientific discoveries and the practice of meditation and energetics can have a powerful effect on our health and quality of life.
We are all parts in this vast universe and each of us influences the whole of our future existence. To have the opportunity to experience this life is a gift that I believe we are here to make the best use of.
My purpose is to be a guiding light for anyone needing tools, education, connection, and support to embark on a healthy journey through this life. We are each a cell in the larger body of this planet earth we inhabit. We are all in this life together!
“Embody gratitude – when you realize you are not lacking, the world will begin to look different.â€
Lisa Decker
M.S. Human Movement
PAS, CPT, CES, PES, CAMQ
Bibliography:
PART ONE:
(1) Twin Flames 11:11 Cassady Cayne
(2)Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself Dr Joe Dispenza
PART TWO:
(1)Lynne McTaggart The Field
- Energy Medicine Donna Eden
- Bruce Lipton (Superhuman podcast)
- The Infinite Mind. Dr Valerie Hunt. Malibu Publishing Co 1989, 1995, 1996
- William A Tiller, Psychoenergetic Science (Walnut Creek, CA: Pavior 2007)
- Dumitrescu and Julian Kenyon, Electrographic Imaging in
Medicine and Biology (Suffolk, England: Neville Spearman 1983)
- Wikpedia.org/wiki/hundredth_monkey_effect
PART THREE
(1)Dr David Hawkins consciousness scale
(2)The Secret Rhonda Byrne
(3) Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle
(4)The Four Agreeents Don Miguel Ruiz
(5) Placebo, Dr Joe Dispenza
(6)Scientific American Clayton Mosher December 23 2014
- Matrix Energetics Dr Richard Bartlett
PART FOUR
- Chinese Energetic Medicine Vol 2 Jerry Alan Johnson
- Anatomy Trains, Thomas Myers
- The Infinite Mind. Dr Valerie Hunt. Malibu Publishing Co 1989, 1995, 1996
- Uplift Connect www.upliftconnect.com/how-fascia-can -help-us-unravel-deeply-held-tension. Jessica Humprhires. May 25,18.
- Let’s Lighten Up, Pete Egoscue
- The Science of Psychic Healing, William Walker Atkinson,
Yogi Ramacharaka
- Infinite Potential – The Life of David Bohm (movie)
PART FIVE
- Chinese Energetic Medicine Vol 1, Dr Jerry Alan Johnson
- Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle
- Transform, Dr Jerry Alan Johnson
