This is a re-publish of a post I made a couple of years ago. However it’s as relevant today as it was back then.

One of my favourite bloggers recently posted an article titled Are You Ready for the Unexpected. A great post for us bloggers but it did get me thinking.

Chris mentions that his family is suffering from some sort of illness and he even states that there is a good chance he will get that same illness. Wrong kind of thinking Chris! The mind controls the body just as the body controls the mind. How can we use this knowledge to bolster our defences?

The Mind Controls the Body

The mind and body are so intrinsically linked that one cannot exist without the other. Nowhere is this more evident than in body movement itself, but how many know that they have a separate nervous system which regulates things like body temperature, heart rate etc. This autonomous nervous system is mostly outside of your control, which is a good thing, just imagine having to think about breathing!

Just how far out of our control is it though? Whilst we don’t need to think about breathing we can hold our breath and we can control certain things like heart rate through our breathing. Indeed breath control is a means of combating anxiety or asthma attacks and is itself a core principle of Aikido.

It stands to reason then that the mind also controls the immune system and we can also affect that with concious thought.

Think Your Way to a Healthier Life

make the decision that you won’t be infected

Instead of thinking that he’s going to catch the same illness as his family, Chris should be telling himself that he will not catch it.

Instead of worrying about that cold going around your office and how it might affect you, make the decision that you won’t be infected.

Yeah but…

Stop. Don’t finish that sentence, banish it from your thoughts. Just as Neo had to accept that there is no spoon or Luke had to accept that there is no why, you have to accept that this does work. You are in more control of your life than you realise.

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This is the 2nd post in a series looking at different ways to live a more balanced life. You can read the first post in the series here.

We humans have a tendency to focus on future events; from the simpler what am I going to have for dinner tonight to the more serious am I going to be made redundant – something which plagued my mind very recently. We also tend to cling onto the past, more so if it was a negative experience which is understandable as our natural instinct is to protect ourselves from unpleasantness. However these distractions will detract from your  positive outlook, some are even outright destructive to your health.

The key is not to allow such thoughts to take up more time than is necessary which is not as easy as it sounds.

Let Go of the Past

Relatively speaking past events are easier to deal with, the first step is to accept that there is nothing you can do to change what happened. That realisation can be a powerful factor in itself, all that is left to do then is to learn from your mistakes (if any).

In a similar vein we need to learn to recognise what future events we can and cannot control and more importantly not to focus on what if scenarios that will never come true.

The following are some exercises I’ve put together graded in order of difficulty. Bronze level is something we can all do regardless of experience. Silver is a slightly more challenging while Gold requires some more time and in some cases effort.

Bronze Medal

1. Sit or lie quietly and comfortably and close your eyes.
2. Try to identify as many sounds as you can.

Silver Medal

The following is an exercise I once read somewhere on developing your intuition.

1. Find a nice comfortable spot to sit in. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. The key here is to empty your mind. Try to recognise a stray thought when it enters your mind and imagine it being washed away by a river.
2. After a minute or two answer the following without thinking about it, “How am I feeling?”
3. You can change the question and/or act on your answer accordingly. Trust your instincts.

Gold Medal

Do part 1 of the Silver medal exercise daily. Start off slowly, no more than a few minutes and gradually build from there. Don’t worry about when or by how much, you will know.

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In what must be the best article I’ve read on the subject in recent times, Ross Barham writes about the ideology and philosophy espoused by so many Martial Arts (particularly Aikido) such that you are not learning how to fight but rather learning not to fight, a paradox that some seem unable to grasp.

If learning to fight is to be a lesson in how to not fight, it will be by way of giving one the confidence, not to fight, but to care.

This was highlighted to us in our own dojo when Shihan Gwynne Jones recounted the day a guy attacked him in the street. The would be attacker misinterpreted a glance Shihan had given him and consequently threw a punch. Shihan merely dodged the incoming blow the man – being slightly drunk – fell over. A few days later and the same man was down the local apologising profusely and offering to buy Shihan a pint.

Of course Shihan Jones could have fought back but the outcome would not have been as peaceful for either man.

Ultimately, a successful practitioner in the martial arts, through the philosophy, rituals and practices of their particular style, will find a greater harmony between their mind, body and world (and perhaps even spirit), so that, by learning how to fight, they will gain the confidence to not mistakenly think they need to.

- Ross Barham “Learning to (not) fight“

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Every now and again I come across an excellent article on Aikido, spirituality and all sorts of related topics that strike me as being well written, relevant and/or thought provoking.

One such article is Tom’s Twelve Laws of Life. This particular list is good because the author gives it to you straight and in a no nonsense manner. Rock on.

My particular favourite is on being centered (emphasis mine):

Until you’re connected to your core you won’t be very good at handling the rest of the world. Few people really get this. It is the single most important and least understood fact of life Your center is easy to find. Every spiritual tradition in history teaches prayer and meditation – it’s the most important thing you can do for the quality of your life. Just take a little break a couple of times a day, and learn to be still and RELAX. If you give yourself this little time each day you will become calmer, stronger and your physical and mental health will improve. You will begin to focus more on what you think of yourself than what others may think of you.

Do you take regular breaks? Do you practice finding your centre? Which of Tom’s other laws do you agree with? Do you disagree with any?

Comment and let us know.

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