| The human brain is the most exquisite creation in the | | | | how the white corpuscles attack the cancer cells and |
| universe. With the right "brain tools" or memory | | | | destroy them, or how the narrowed arteries of their |
| training, many have been able to dramatically improve | | | | heart open up and allow the blood to rush through. |
| their memory and acquire extraordinary feats of | | | | For a number of patients, the imaging technique does |
| memory. Students can excel in school with enhanced | | | | indeed cause the tumours to disappear. |
| study skills and achieve accelerated learning, with only | | | | However, there is no clear scientific answer to the |
| a slight change in their study habits using special | | | | question of whether and more imporantly, how - |
| memory techniques and their own imagination. The | | | | physical ailments are improved or even healed by |
| brain can also be called upon to heal critical illnesses, | | | | positive thinking. There is, however, no doubt that a |
| like cancer and tumours, and although rare, scientists | | | | confident, hopeful attitude makes an illness much |
| are trying to determine what are the "psychological | | | | easier to endure. |
| triggers" that are necessary for such spontaneous | | | | There is no doubt that there is an interaction |
| healing. | | | | between the psyche and the human body. |
| There are a number of factors which protect us | | | | Phenomena such as spontaneous healings and the |
| from disease and give us health. If we can | | | | placebo effect show us as such. But what actual |
| understand and implement them into our lives, we | | | | roles do emotional factors play when we are sick? |
| can prevent sickness and relieve afflictions from | | | | How do feelings influence the processes of the |
| which we are suffering. One of the key factors is | | | | body? Since the late 1980s, researchers in the field |
| Positive Thinking. An important part of Positive | | | | of Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) have been asking |
| Thinking displayed by spontaneous-healing patients | | | | these questions. |
| was their firm belief that they would recover, that | | | | PNI involves the collective effort of psychologists, |
| they would defeat their illness and would influence its | | | | psychiatrists, immunologists, neurologists and |
| progress. Although there is no denying that the | | | | endocrinologists. They are trying to decode the |
| support of friends, family and helpers do play an | | | | connections between the body and the spirit. Their |
| important role in the healing, it is the patient's belief | | | | work has produced some interesting findings. For |
| that the body has strong self-healing powers which | | | | instance, doctors have found out that certain neural |
| would contribute to the final defeat of their sickness. | | | | pathways of organs in the body's immune system |
| There are many weapons that have been formulated | | | | have direct connections to the brain. In this respect, |
| to fight cancer. Among the most interesting are the | | | | the lymph glands and spleen stimulate the production |
| so-called visualizing techniques successfully used by | | | | of cells responsible for destroying invading cells that |
| many medical practitioners like O. Carl and Stephanie | | | | cause illness. This also works the other way, with |
| Simonton, a husband and wife team of doctors from | | | | immune cells being influenced by the hormone |
| Texas. O. Carl Simonton, an oncologist, is director of | | | | system. Thoughts and feelings probably work via |
| the Simonton Cancer Center in the US, and his books | | | | intertwined routes to affect the immune system. |
| and lectures have brought the Simonton Method to | | | | When there is an illness, these paths carry messages |
| wide public notice. The technique developed by the | | | | to the brain, influencing the emotions,. PNI is still not |
| Simontons involves asking patients to describe their | | | | well-understood, but it could open up new avenues |
| suffering in detail. They are instructed on how to | | | | for the treatment of psychological and physical |
| form the most vivid image of their suffering they can | | | | ailments. What it has shown is that the brain is a |
| imagine - no matter if this is the image of a tumour | | | | powerful tool and it does have infinite wisdom stored |
| or of a failing heart and to allow it to open up in their | | | | in it to influence memory, thinking creativity and |
| imagination. They are then asked to form images on | | | | healing. |