Mind over matter

Some of the "spiritual" experiences that I have are not only foreign to most people, to some they are downright freaky. A person who has yet to embrace the interconnectivity of the mind/spirit/body might think some of the things that I've experienced are pretty strange, indeed - and in my recollection of some of the events I've almost lost a couple friends over it, just by mentioning it to them. Others are more open to such things, and those people are usually quick to ask questions and share their own unique experiences with the supernatural. I was introduced to the spiritual by my mother when I was a pre-teen. She had always had a fascination with things like extra-sensory perception (ESP) and telekenesis (manipulation of an object with only the power of the mind) and she would talk openly about these things with me. On several occasions I remember her attempting to train me to "hear" her thoughts. On a few occasions, the mental telepathy worked and I correctly heard what she was attempting to tell me using only her power of thought. I also remember her encouraging my sisters to "think" to certain boys that liked them whatever thoughts that they wanted to convey. Some might call this dabbling in the occult. But my mother loved the Lord and taught us in His ways, so I don't think I'd agree with them.

A cure for hiccups
When I was in high school, I took my first psychology class. It taught me about a psychological therapy called bio-feedback wherein a patient was connected by electrodes to a series of computers that allowed the patient to monitor their physiological condition while practicing various techinques of concentration, relaxation, or quasi-meditation. The patient would use the feedback of the computers to know when the relaxation techniques that they were doing were altering certain physiological functions like heart rate or blood pressure. This "loop" would allow the patient to teach herself to manipulate her body in the way that she wanted it to be manipulated, and thus provide a natural cure to whatever was ailing her.

At that time in my life I had a frequent problem with hiccups. While I did not have access to the high tech labs and computers that the psychologists were using, I did know how to monitor my own heart rate and in essence, listen to my body. I decided to try the technique to rid myself of hiccups. The next time I got them, I quieted myself and concentrated intently on my diaphragm. To help the focus I took my hands and actually touched that part of my body. I "told" my diaphragm that there was no need for it to be spasming and that it needed to obey me when I told it to relax. Of course, I felt pretty silly telling a part of my body these things, but hey, it was an experiment and I was going to make sure I actually did it correctly. Results? the first time was basically nothing. No effect except me feeling pretty silly. But I persisted. I figured the psych textbook experiments had to have some truth to them, so I did the hiccup relaxation technique again the next time I got the hiccups. Much to my surprise, the second time it worked. Not right away, mind you, but it did work. Encouraged by this result, I began to employ the relaxation technique every time I got the hiccups. Eventually I figured out how to literally control that part of my body. I have even learned, to some degree, how to control the hiccups of other people, if they will allow me to do so. My daughter Angie, tonight, had hiccups that would not stop. I finally walked over to her and looked her eye to eye and stated firmly, "you will stop hiccuping now". I made her hold my gaze for a few seconds and sure enough, they were gone and did not resurface the rest of the night. I have taught my other two children the same technique, and they now know how to rid themselves of hiccups simply by telling their body what to do.

That same high school psychology class made me aware of another strange phenomenon. People who are afflicted with multiple personality disorder not only "become" different characters, but they will often talk with different accents and even sometimes have different eyesight, requiring different glasses prescriptions. Yes, one personality can have different eyesight than another personality that shares the same body - it's true. This led me to believe that biofeedback might be able to be used to alter our vision. I've not figured out how to do that, yet, but am still working on it.

There have been times as an adult where I have "sent" thoughts to someone and they have received them. There have been other times when I have sent "healing" to other people and I later learned that they got better at exactly the time that I prayed for (sent) the healing to them. It has happened so frequently that I do not even question it anymore. I just accept it as truth. I simply realize that the spirit realm is quite real and quite interconnected with the physical.

There are times when I meet a person and instantly I see a bond "of light" with them. It's like a spiritual connection is there before I even meet the physical body. Other times I can see a spiritual "blockage" within people that kinda tells me where they are in life and what issues they are struggling with (blinded by or deceived by), or are out of balance in their life. Still other times, I can meet someone and know that they are bad news - that they have actually embraced a spirit that is not of God and have no desire to let it go. They like the power that the embrace gives them. These are the people I tend to avoid, for their negative vibe (their fixation on evil) is very draining and sometimes contagious.

I think that most issues that we encounter, be they emotional issues, spiritual issues, or physical issues, they can be fixed through a balancing of the body, mind, and spirit. Whether you call that bio-feedback or whether you call it accessing the spiritual realm I care not, so long as you are not approaching the matter for selfish gain. God needs to be approached in humility. If you are enthralled with the power of the spirit realm, you are summoning the wrong power. If you are overcome with the collective unity (shared spirit) of God's people and the way that you have a part to play in blessing and balancing them through him, you are on the right track. That track might simply start with a cure for hiccups, but it will take you much farther if you surrender and allow yourself to stay on it. It's a beautiful thing to walk in the light.