We recently attended a program by an Indian doctor on the power of the mind. Some years ago he was dying of cancer, was given only a few days to live. Then he had an experience of God telling him he would be healed through the power of his mind. In his case, God had to come three times to reassure him, since his thoughts kept slipping back into doubt and hopelessness. He was completely cured and has dedicated himself to helping others do the same.
His premise is that all illness is psychosomatic, meaning that it has both a mental (psyche) and physical (somatic) component. Our thoughts and emotions affect the body through various chemical, electrical, and hormonal pathways. But most healing modalities completely ignore the importance of the mind and emotions and therefore never address a disease’s root cause. He used this example: Suppose your air conditioner (or an internal organ) is not functioning well. If the cause of the problem is a lack of energy going through the wires, it will not matter how many parts you replace. The answer is to fix the wiring (mental) system, which in turn is connected to the divine power source. This is done by training ourselves to direct the mind to avoid negative thoughts and emotions and replace them with positive ones.
This is entirely in keeping with the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, who often spoke about the immense power of the positive, God-attuned mind. When we tune in to God, through meditation or other forms of sadhana, and turn on the switch of positivity, His intelligent life-force flows through us to heal, inspire, magnetize, and transform us.
Sri Yukteswar, guru of Paramhansa Yogananda, author of “Autobiography of a Yogi.”
There are many examples of this in Autobiography of a Yogi. One of the most remarkable was the time when Sri Yukteswar’s health improved and declined dramatically according to the suggestions of his guru, Lahiri Mahasaya. In the end Lahiri said, “Really, it has been your thoughts that have made you feel alternately weak and strong. You have seen how your health has exactly followed your expectations. Thought is a force, even as electricity or gravitation. The human mind is a spark of the almighty consciousness of God. I could show you that whatever your powerful mind believes very intensely would instantly come to pass.”
How can we control our thoughts and emotions? The first step is to be able to focus the mind. This can be enabled especially by meditation, visualization, and controlling the breath. Once we learn to focus the mind, the next step is simply to tell it to focus intensely on what we want. A light bulb sends out rays in all directions, but the focused beam of a flashlight can be moved from one object to another at our choosing.
When a negative thought enters the mind, immediately stop it from gathering momentum. You can do this by clearly visualizing an image for two or three minutes in as much detail as possible. The mind is now focused and ready for you to aim it toward a positive quality counteractive to that negative thought. This two-step technique for replacing negative thoughts and feelings with positive ones is not that hard to do, but it takes resolve to overcome old habit patterns that prevent us from trying.
It is worth the struggle, however, for a positive mind is the key to health, happiness, and our constant connection to the Divine within.
In joy,
Nayaswami Jyotish
You may also appreciate this healing prayer of Paramhansa Yogananda:
“Divine Mother, Thou art omnipresent. Thou art in all Thy children. Thou art in (the name of the person). Manifest Thy healing presence in his (her) body, mind, and soul.”
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14 Comments
Thanks, Jyotish. Very helpful.
Thank you so much for the wonderful reminder from our beloved teachers to begin this day in the positive embrace of God consciousness for healing.
Potent stuff, thanks, Jyotish! The operative word for me is “immediately.”
Thank you, Jyotish!
I am with you 100% .
Would you mind sharing the name of the doctor?
Thank you ! You’ve made it so wonderfully simple Jyotishji
Dear Nayaswami Jyotish Ji,
Thank you for the blog. Very inspiring and feeling good after reading it
With his grace I will practice the power of positive thoughts
Aum
Prem
Thanks for the blog. I will practice in my life
Thank you, Jyotish, this was very helpful for me to read today.
Thank you so very much. I have been having some long term physical problems and really needed a boost. It will solve the physical
but the emotional and spiritual. Bless you both for being in our lives.
As a child, everytime I was sick, I mentally focused on healing my body. I can’t really say it helped, but I’m reminded of how I believed or was aware of the potential that I could have a positive influence on this particular vehicle or body just through thinking.
Also, since childhood, anytime I had negative thoughts enter into my consciousness along with the feelings they disturbed, like walking in clear water only to have your shuffling feet turn it murky, I would acknowledge those negative thoughts/feelings & walk them back, so to speak, reversing the flood of thoughts to locate the root or source of their origin, then I’d pick up from there & assess why those thoughts wanted recognition in the first place.
Lastly, being keen of others’ suffering throughout my life was the pressure I needed to propel my consciousness into higher states of understanding. I discovered that if I were to end all suffering, I would take away all that has been put into motion affecting the evolution of all souls that have yet to move in.
If thought is reality & these bodies exist as an unending repeating cycle of illusory vehicles, then there’s no such thing as life or death, just the karmic process that is in place to force evolve nascent souls over innumerable lifetimes. At this level of existence, suffering is our best teacher.
Knowing that I am not responsible for how a soul evolves through their reactions with “life’s” suffering, has freed my heart/soul & thoroughly lightened my burden, which in turn affects my mental/emotional/physical outlook & ultimate well-being.
If man apply that thought in his life, he can get peaceful life and easy life.
Thanks
I agree wholeheartedly. The mind is the builder
and we need to keep our focus on the positive the constructive, the beautiful.
Thank you!! Felt very peaceful after reading this. Practice makes a man perfect! Need to keep a period to my old thinking patterns. God bless!!
Aum Guru