Lent

I finally figured out what I wanted to do during Lent this year, and I can't believe how much trouble I'm having with it!

I love Lent.  I know many people see it as a dark, depressing time of low self-esteem, but I've never thought of it that way.  

To me, it's genuinely a time to try and change habits that will in turn change me as a person.  Maybe break some old bad habits, or start some new good habits.  

When I sincerely put my mind to the task, I can accomplish a lot during Lent.  I've had years where the revelations and self-discovery have been truly life changing experiences.  I've had other years where maybe the results weren't so dramatic, but there were results just the same.

This year I decided that I would tackle one of my biggest issues - food.  I am an outstanding yo-yo dieter having lost and gained and gained and lost the equivalent of a suburban family over the years.  If I keep it up, I'll most likely gain and lose the van and the family dog as well.

It occurred to me that the core issue is that I simply do not pay enough attention to what I'm eating or doing.  I am not thinking about the consequences to my body or my health.  I eat what I want, when I want it, and sometimes even when I don't want it.  

On the other hand, I do not want to become the type of dieter who is good for only one topic of conversation.  I know people who, if they talked about sex as much as they talk about food and weight, would be labeled sex addicts and recommended for treatment.  It's a bizarre obsession to talk constantly about something that shouldn't require that much attention.

I figured I could use Lent as a time to try and achieve the happy medium.  I decided to consciously practice saying grace before meals.  Every meal.  Every snack.  Every item of food I decided to put into my mouth would be first blessed with a prayer and thanks to God for the abundance of my existence.  Let's face it - the only thing between my problems with obesity and the starving people of Ethiopia is where I happened to be born.  Were it not for the accident of my birth granted through the grace of God, I could be living in a Third World country right now not knowing where my next meal was coming from - if there would even be a next meal. 

The thought is that the more conscious I become of what and when I eat, plus the conscious act of giving thanks for something I should not take for granted, would bring food up to the appropriate level of importance in my life.  The hope is that as I become more conscious of food as a gift, the less I will eat on impulse, the more I will eat foods that are healthy and worthy of offering to God.

What surprises me is how hard it's been for me to remember to do this one small thing!  Halfway through a meal I'll realize I never gave thanks for it.  Even if I remind myself before stepping into the kitchen, once the food is on the plate, all is forgotten.  Proof positive of how mindless the act of eating has become.  

There's a few more weeks left to Lent, so I'll continue the effort and hope that in the end there's a lasting benefit because of it.

On Sickness and Health

I heard a talk recently given by a man who subscribes to a particular religious practice that emphasizes the power the mind, the power that thought, has over one's quality of life.

In general, I don't dispute this idea. There is no question in my mind that if I go out into the world every day with the thought that I am going to have a lousy day and the whole world sucks, I will indeed have a lousy day and the world will invariably suck.

We see what affirms us because the alternative would be to have to accept something that's contrary to what we already believe, and that's pretty uncomfortable.

We also see what is most relevant to us and tend to ignore what has no meaning.

Women who find out they are pregnant often think there's a pregnancy epidemic the next time they go food shopping because everywhere they turn they will see other women with big bellies or newborns.

Is this truly a sudden rise in fertility, or is it that they're noticing pregnant women more than they used to because now pregnancy is personally relevant to them?

Superstitious people do this all the time. "If I see a red rose, then I'll know Grandma is thinking of me." "If I see a white butterfly, then I'll know my dead spouse has blessed my new love." "If I see a white rose, then I'll know the Blessed Mother heard my prayer." They start out looking for that specific item, which now has great personal relevance, and it will appear that the required item is everywhere they turn.  They will see that item because it will affirm what they already believe. The alternative would be to not see the item and believe that Grandma isn't thinking of them, there's no blessing from anyone on the new love, and prayers have gone unheard and unanswered. Who would want that to happen?!

Try it at home. Fill in the blanks - If I see (or hear or meet) ________, then I'll know _________. 

Count how many times you see or hear or meet the object you've chosen to see.

If the power of thought greatly affects how we perceive the world, then it is no stretch to understand how thought can affect our perceptions of others. I've tried this myself and it was an enlightening revelation.

If I believe people are inherently unkind, jealous, greedy, selfish, and mean, then I will find affirmation for that belief in every person I meet. I will interpret every action or word coming from their lips as being rooted in unkindness, jealousy, greed, selfishness, and meanness, and so even while still being able to notice some good points, I will perceive them to be as awful as I thought.

If I believe people are inherently kind, compassionate, and giving, then I will find affirmation for that belief in every person I meet. I will interpret every action or word coming from their lips as being rooted in goodness and so even while still being aware of their faults, I will perceive them to be as good as I thought.

In Catholicism this is called looking through the eyes of Jesus or through eyes of charity. Seeing someone through eyes of charity that confirms their inherent goodness leads one to forgiveness and other good habits.

But I digress. The idea is that where one points one's mind is where one will find what one expects to find.

In the talk I mentioned earlier, this idea of the power of thought expanded to include physical health and sickness. The concept (as I understood it) is that while it is true that viruses exist and bacteria exist, their ability to make a person ill can be limited or eliminated by rejecting the notion of illness and embracing the reality of health.

So if I contract a serious illness, I can envision my life beyond that illness, I can envision myself as a healthy human being, and through the power of this vision, I will become healthy and without illness regardless of what all might be swimming around in my bloodstream.

Here's my problem with this concept. In the first two examples given above, nothing altered the reality of what exists. A pregnant woman who sees other pregnant women everywhere isn't seeing things that aren't true, nor did she conjure other pregnant women up out of the power of her own thought. The other pregnant women were always there in the same numbers as they were before she became pregnant herself. It's the person's perception that changes, not the world around them.

People who see signs and portents in the most mundane things are not creating those signs out of their own thought. They are perceiving the world in a particular way that affirms their beliefs and it would take a change in that perspective for them to stop seeing omens everywhere. It would not require a change of the physical world. We'd have just as many white roses as before, but with less significance attached to them.

When it comes to sickness and health the same principles must apply. I can definitely alter my perception of my own illness. If I have a cold, I can choose to wallow in misery, or I can choose to remain upbeat, but in either case, I will still have a cold.

I also can believe that maintaining a positive attitude will help determine the length of my illness; however, I don't believe this is because there's an alteration in the function of viruses or bacteria.  I believe a positive attitude makes one more willing to listen to one's own body and rest when the body demands rest.  A positive attitude makes one more willing to seek out remedies that promote good health and be compliant with taking medications, if necessary.  The body doesn't become or stay healthy because it's obeying the mind.  The body stays healthy because all of these good habits and positive steps boost the human immune system and make it more resistant to illness.  

Conversely, people with negative attitudes tend to not treat themselves very well.  A negative person with an illness will often hold onto it like a security blanket.  They don't seek out remedies, they don't comply with doctor's instructions, they skip their meds, they don't rest, and instead they self-sabotage every opportunity for getting better.  Negative people tend to stay sicker longer not because the body is obeying the mind, but because the mind influences their behavior, and their behavior is counter productive.

Thought leads to behavior.  Behavior leads to results.  Positive thoughts --- good behaviors --- good results.  Negative thoughts --- poor behaviors ---- poor results.

What I find most objectionable about the idea that I can think my way to good health or think my way out of an illness is that the blame for being sick now rests squarely on the shoulders of the person who is suffering. 

There are other religious groups who believe that the cure for all illness lies in faith alone.  If the sick person would only believe in God strongly enough, or believe in Jesus' healing power with enough faith, then they would be cured.  The lack of a cure indicates the sick person must have failed somehow.  They didn't believe enough.  Their faith was too weak and so God denied them a cure.

I don't see where the power of the mind idea is any different.  If I remain ill, then it must be because I'm not setting my mind to it properly.  I'm not tapping into the great cosmic power.  I am somehow still choosing to be ill because if I sincerely and completely chose to be healthy, I would be cured.

I can't think of anything more cruel than to tell a sick person this is what they chose for themselves.  To me, it's on the same level as telling a homosexual they chose their orientation and if they would just change their mind, they wouldn't be a homosexual anymore.

Regardless of our personal attitudes, the human body remains finite and mortal.  It remains subject to the laws of biology, physiology, chemistry and all the other elements of the physical world and while it is within our power to improve how we survive within those parameters, the power to change them entirely rests with the One who created them.