What You Think Matters
A few months ago, I was selected join the Inner Health Coalition and participate in its HealthCare Practitioner Program. If you are not familiar with the work of the Inner Health Coalition, IHC educates healthcare professionals from various healthcare fields (medical, psychology, psychiatry, osteopathy, nursing, etc.) on the benefits of meditation, self-awareness and patient-centered strategies to their help patients improve health outcomes.
The Inner Health Coalition emerged from the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza who has transformed the way we understand the impact of meditation on our brain and body. Interested in the power of the mind to heal, Dr. Dispenza began collecting data during meditation using EEG and fMRIs technologies which led to collaboration with the University of California, San Diego and spurred publication of research studies in several peer reviewed journals. The scientific data are truly remarkable.
I didn’t realize what a huge honor it was to be accepted into the program until I attended my first session, saw the caliber of my small cohort, and learned the number of applicants! Each week, I am privileged to sit on conference calls discussing research results with a group of scientists and likeminded healthcare professionals seeking ways to help patients live better lives. Part of the program is walking the walk, where we are tasked each week to learn strategies (breathwork, meditation, HRV & coherence techniques using HeartMath tools, self-awareness methods, and so on) and then to practice the modality taught. Part of the commitment is that we will do the work…every week, no exceptions for the duration of the three-month program.
As an organizational psychologist with a background in healthcare and mental health administration, my research has focused on the power of what we read in creating self-fulfilling prophecies. I have written and spoken on how language literally makes or breaks in their mind how a person sees their ability to succeed or fail and how thoughts impact mental health. We know we have between 60,000 and 70,000 thoughts per day and most we don’t pay a bit of attention. This goes for everyone…including myself.
Taking time to truly observe the tape that has been running in my mind the last few years has been, well, daunting. Although I have meditated for several decades, seeing data of how the mind is shaped by repetitive thoughts has been an enlightening and humbling experience. One that has and continues to change my life, the way I see myself, and the trajectory of my future.
I wanted to share this here because it is a topic that we haven’t traditionally talked enough about outside of the catchphrase “mindfulness” and the data are quickly emerging as technology is more readily available about the effects of our thoughts in the quality of our life. I am excited and optimistic to see #meditation, #breathwork, and #self-awareness strategies being brought into conversations about #health and look forward to a day when we talk openly about the importance of what we put into our minds as equally as we do about what to put in the body.
