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Ask Dr. Miller
Welcome to the "Ask Dr. Miller" column. I will be here to answer your questions about Deep Healing and Mind/Body Medicine.
These days, we’re beginning to realize how very, very important relationships are. Yet, these are also times when people bounce in and out of web sites, jobs, and relationships, looking for the quick thrill. We are different. This page is called Guest Center because we see you as a guest, and we want you to be so comfortable here that you will come back again and again.
In short, we want to create a relationship. Whether your interest is in your own healing or the healing of others, personal development, peak performance, or even global healing—healing at the social/cultural level—we are committed to bringing you the best in information, inspiration, and transformation.
Our goal is to enable you to wisely use your most valuable asset, your mind. Your mind belongs to you, and you have the right and the power to guide it to think whatever you wish. The software for the mind experiences DrMiller.com provides will enable you to learn, as millions have, that when wisdom is provided to the deeper mind, deep healing and peak performance are the result.
Making a Difference
In a world besieged by specialists, my goal has been to address that little something that has disappeared from most specialties—the patient! In today’s "managed health care" environment, medicine has become big business. Patients are seen as profit centers and their ailments are considered product lines.
Medical care should be given by men and women who are ethically above reproach and dedicated to the patient—first, last and foremost. Nowadays it is not unusual to find even the largest "health care" organizations systematically lying, on patient records, about the diagnosis, writing the name of a disease that insurance will pay more for, even though the patient does not have that disease! (Newsweek, Aug 11, 1997) There are even groups of consultants who will, for a fee, come in and teach your doctor’s medical group how to put a "spin" on the medical records so as to "maximize return on investment."
If it is true that "the poor physician treats the symptom, the good physician treats the disease and the excellent physician treats the patient," then I would have to say that the treatment available from the multi-billion dollar health care business is very poor indeed. I have always thought of my job as treating patients.
Supporting the healing process means helping people become more whole, more vital, more creative, and more well. It means bringing about positive changes in body, mind, emotion and spirit—to help heal not only parts of a person but the whole person, and not only the person, but their family and environment as well.
The central focus of my work is the mind. The mind is the doorway through which all intentional healing must pass. Even if the best thing you can do for your particular illness is to exercise regularly or to drink wheat grass juice, you will fail if you cannot convince your mind to cooperate by guiding your thoughts and images along the right pathways so these behaviors actually happen. Similarly, when you wish to empower your immune system, relieve a headache or go to sleep by using mental imagery, your mind is the gatekeeper.
The vast majority of illnesses are the result of choices we make (such as food, chemicals and exercise), how we deal with stress (giving rise to all the "stress-related" illnesses) and the degree to which we have discovered the Self and placed it in charge of all other levels. The fascinating thing that I have found in my 30 years of work in the field is that a tremendous amount of behavior of the cells in the body can be influenced through the mind.
This is usually accomplished through the use of two powerful tools:
- Deep relaxation. By entering this healing state, we can drain away stress and open the deeper mind to receive new images, and to open to higher levels of wisdom and spirit.
- Guided Imagery. By learning to use information from all levels, (mind, body, emotions and spirit) a series of images (or visualizations) is created. These images specifically counteract the disease or imbalance.
All the things we have discussed so far will make more sense as you keep reading this column, and ask questions.
Now it’s your turn.
What questions do you have about mind/body medicine, deep healing, guided imagery, or peak performance?
Ask me, and I’ll answer right here.
Mailing List
Submit your email and address to receive new product information, news, and comment from Dr. Miller. Our mailing list is never shared or sold to anyone. Sign up here.
Self Tests
There are several good online self-tests, for conditions such as ADD, at Dr. Daniel Amen’s Brainplace.com, and at the Academy for Guided Imagery site (interactiveimagery.com), and at sites like WebMD, (webmd.com)—try their Health-E-Tools section.
FAQ
Q. What is Software for the Mind?
A. Just as your PC or laptop computer needs software in order to run, so too your bio-computer. This software causes your bio-computer to selectively gather information from your environment, as well as from your interior (feelings and emotions). It then processes these to give rise to your thoughts, ideas and ultimately the image you form of yourself, the world, and your relationship to the world. An enormous number of our illnesses and dysfunctions are simply the result of using the wrong software.
Most people’s software is primarily the result of their childhood experiences, training and the beliefs of those in their environment. Thus, a young woman raised under the Taliban in Afghanistan feels that the burka is a natural thing to wear, and she feels exposed without it. Meanwhile, a woman raised in the United States would be furious at any attempt to force her to wear such a garment whenever she leaves her home.
It is experience with computer programming (dating back to 1962) and with human psychology that led me to the realization that it was an effective way to alter one’s internal software. This led to the products in the Catalog.
Q. What is the nature of the "altered state" people enter as they use your techniques?
A. Since most of us go around in a very tense, nearly "stressed-out" state, the deep relaxation you experience while listening is certainly a shift. It’s a healthy shift, because it leads to an emptying of accumulated stress, and prevention and relief of the diseases of stress.
It turns out that this more relaxed, receptive state increases your ability to learn new ways of thinking, feeling, behaving and responding effectively to the events in the world around you. In fact, it gives you access to the "source" of your bio-computer.
Q. How quickly can I expect relief and/or changes?
A. People often find that after 1-5 listenings, they are able to feel much more relaxed during and after a listening experience. Though tension and stress may rebuild over the next few hours or days, repeated listening enables the deeper mind to learn to institute relaxation procedures automatically and the results become more lasting.
In terms of behavior change, like eating differently, performing better, achieving self-esteem and personal excellence, or creating other complex behavioral changes such as re-scripting your behavior and relationships, several weeks of regular listening may be required. Complete details on the use of these products can be found at Selective Awareness.
Q. Are these products a replacement for traditional medical treatment (medication, surgery, etc.)?
A. These products are absolutely not a substitute for competent medical care! A competent health care practitioner will recognize when a complaint such as a headache, back pain, anxiety state, inability to focus, or behavior disorder is the result of an organic problem such as a tumor or degenerative disease versus when such complaints are simply symptoms whose source is best corrected through mind-body approaches. Unfortunately, I’m sorry to say, numerous scientific studies indicate that much of the care rendered by today’s mainstream medical system turns out to be less than competent.
Ultimately, it is up to you, the patient, to make certain that you have competent care, since treating psychophysiological problems with drugs or surgery can cause outcomes every bit as bad as failing to use these modalities when they are truly indicated. For more information, see Deep Healing: The Essence of Mind-Body Medicine.
Q. I’ve read most of Dr. Miller’s material, and suspect that his approaches can be very useful in treating my condition. I’m not quite sure how to apply them, however, in my specific case. What’s the next step?
A. A brief consult (one or several) with Dr. Miller might well be in order. The easiest way to do this is by phone, or if you live in or near California, with an office visit.
Q. Are Dr. Miller’s programs and consultations expensive?
A. No, actually they’re quite affordable. Because the materials I create sell for as little as $11.95, it’s really available to anyone. And even individual sessions turn out to be incredibly inexpensive, when you consider what you receive.
Q. I have an ill friend and I would like to share your work with her. What’s the best way to do this?
A. Go to Symptom Search and locate the condition that is most like hers. (You don’t need an exact diagnosis—"pain" is good enough.) There you will find several possibilities. Whereas often a single cassette can be valuable, I highly recommend you get a comprehensive (composite) program. This way, since most illnesses, dysfunctions and diseases affect several different levels, the different tapes included with each program will help address different levels within the person.
Q. Why is relaxation so much a part of your work with people?
A. When we become excessively angry, afraid, or sad, each of these emotional states leads us into a corresponding mental state that gives us access to only certain limited sets of perceptions and behaviors. Our responses tend to be stereotyped, uncreative, and often exacerbate physical, mental and emotional imbalances. By relaxing, we gain the ability to see the truth more clearly and a much wider choice of behaviors, including those that lead to healing and health, becomes available.
Dr. Miller Recommends
Because a key ingredient, and one we have some control over, in achieving deep healing and peak performance is information, DrMiller.com has as its purpose to make available to you the highest quality information, knowledge and wisdom.
Whenever possible, this information is made available either free, over the Website, or in the form of products we stock (the sales of which support the existence of this Website!).
The products we stock can be reached through the Catalog.
In some cases, it is cost-prohibitive to stock every item that Dr. Miller recommends as valuable to your growth. In the list of recommended products below, whenever possible a link has been arranged. By clicking on this link, you will be taken to an online source of the product. In some cases, such as when ordering books through Amazon.com, a small percentage is contributed to DrMiller.com if you order through this link. We appreciate your consideration of this fact.
In some cases, the information is best obtained through the Website of another individual—usually a health or helping professional. In such cases, these represent people and Websites with whom Dr. Miller feels a similarity in mission and vision, and congruence in approach. In many cases, these sites may also offer links to DrMiller.com.
Dr. Miller and DrMiller.com make no claim of appropriateness or efficacy of information or products obtained through these channels. We would, however, appreciate as much feedback as possible concerning what your experience is of trying these products or visiting these Websites. Your information will be used to modify the suggestions offered on DrMiller.com
Websites
Products and Books
Professionals
Websites
Academy for Guided Imagery
Brainplace.com
Amen Clinic
Integrative Imagery
Wisdommedia.com
WebMD.com
Products and Books
Relationships
Hendrix, Harville—Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples, Henry Holt and Company, New York 1988
Satir, Virginia—The New Peoplemaking, Science and Behavior Books, Palo Alto, CA 1988
Evans, Patricia—The Verbally Abusive Relationship: How to Recognize it and How to Respond, Adams Media Corporation, Boston 1996
Spring, Janis A—After the Affair, Healing the Pain and Rebuilding Trust When a Partner has been Unfaithful, HarperCollins, New York 1996
Ellison, Sharon—Taking the War Out of Our Words, Bay Tree Publishing, Berkeley, CA 2002
Lofas, Jeannette and MacMillian, Joan—He’s OK, She’s OK, Tzedakah Publications, Sacramento 1995
Faber, Adele—How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk (How to Help Your Child), Piccadilly Press Ltd; New Ed edition (May 3, 2001)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorders
Baer, Lee, Ph.D.—Getting Control: Overcoming Your Obsessions and Compulsions, Plume Publications, Oakland 2000
Amen, Daniel G., MD—Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, Three Rivers Press, New York 1999
Depression
Preston, Ph. D, John—You Can Beat Depression, Impact Publishers, CA 2004
Chodron, Pema—When Things Fall Apart, Shambhala, Boston, MA, 2000
Global Healing
Spring, Cindy and Garfield, Charles—Wisdom Circles: A Guide to Self Discovery and Community Building in Small Groups, Hyperion, NY 1998
Loss, Death & Grieving
James, John W. and Friedman, Russell—The Grief Recovery Handbook, HarperCollins, New York 1998
Viorst, Judith—Necessary Losses, Fireside Publishing, New York 1998
Colgrove/Bloomfield/McWilliams—How To Survive The Loss Of A Love, Prelude Press, Los Angeles 1993
Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth—On Death and Dying, Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. New York 1969
Tatelbaum, Judy—The Courage to Grieve, Perennial Currents, New York 1984
Peace Making
Lieberman, David J—How to Make Peace with Anyone: Breakthrough Strategies to Quickly End Any Conflict, Feud or Estrangement, St. Martin’s Press, New York 2002
Moses, Jeffrey—Oneness, Ballentine Books, New York 2002
Personal Growth and Therapy
Ryan Madson, Patricia—Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up, Harmony/Bell Tower 2005
Simon, Suzanne—Forgiveness: How to Make Peace with Your Past and Get On with Your Life, Warner Books, New York 1991
Seligman, Martin—Learned Optimism, Pocket Books, New York 1988
Jensen, Derrick—The Culture of Make Believe, Context Books, NY 2002
Davis, Laura (and Bass, Ellen)—Courage to Heal Book, Courage to Heal Workbook, Partners in Healing, HarperCollins, New York 1988
Butler, PhD, Pamela—Self-Assertion for Women, Talking to Yourself: Learning to Communicate with the Most Important Person in Your Life, Harper & Row, New York 1981
Bourne, Edmund J., Ph.D.—The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, New Harbinger Publications, Oakland, CA 2000
Black, PhD, Claudia—It Will Never Happen to Me, Ballentine Books, New York 1987
Barbach, Lonnie—For Yourself, Signet Books, New York 2000
Barbach, Lonnie—For Each Other, Signet Books, New York 2001
Wellness
Travis, John W.—Wellness Workbook, Wellness Resource Center, Mill Valley, CA 1975
Systems Thinking
Checkland, Peter—Systems Thinking, System Practice, John Wiley & Sons, New York 1999
Watzlawick, Paul—Invented Reality: How Do We Know What We Believe We Know?, W. W. Norton & Co., Inc., New York 1984
D'Amasio, Antonio—Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain, Quill, New York, 2000.
Self-Esteem
Branden, Nathaniel—Honoring the Self, Bantam Books, New York 1985
Ferrucci, Piero—What We May Be, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, Inc., Los Angeles 1983
Report of California Self-Esteem Task Force California Department of Education, November 1989
Self Healing of Physical Illnesses
Pelletier, Kenneth R.—The Best Alternative Medicine, Fireside, March 2002
Locke, Stephen and Colligan, Douglas—The Healer Within, E.P. Dutton, New York 1986
Garfield, Charles—Peak Performance, Warner Books, New York 1985
Cousins, Norman—Anatomy of an Illness (As Perceived by the Patient) New England Journal of Medicine 1979
Pelletier, Kenneth R.—Mind as Healer, Mind as Slayer, Delacorte Press-Seymour Lawrence, New York 1979
Rossman, Martin L.—Healing Yourself, Walker and Company Institute for the Advancement of Health, New York 1987
Bresler, David E., and Trubo, Richard—Free Yourself from Pain, Simon & Schuster, Inc. New York, 1979
Borysenko, Joan—Minding the Body, Mending the Mind, Bantam Books, New York 1988
The Role of Emotions
Ardrey, Robert—African Genesis: A Personal Investigation into the Animal Origins and Nature of Man, Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. New York
D'Amasio, Antonio—Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain, Avon Books, 1994.
Goleman, Dan—Emotional Intelligence, Bantam Books, New York 1977
Deep Relaxation and Stress Management
Kabat-Zinn, Jon—Full Catastrophe Living, Dell Publishing, New York 1991
Benson, Herbert—The Relaxation Response, William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1975
Chodrun, Pema—When Things Fall Apart, The Places that Scare You, Shambhala Publications, Boston 1997
Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.)
Hartmann, Thom—Healing ADD, Underwood-Miller, April 1998
Amen, Daniel G., MD—Healing ADD, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York 2001
Hallowell, Edward M., and Ratey, John J., Delivered from Distraction : Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder, Ballantine Books, New York 2005.
Hallowell, Edward M., and Ratey, John J., Driven to Distraction : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood, Touchstone, Reprint edition (March 2, 1995).
Imagery and Imagination
Samuels, M., and Samuels, N.—Seeing with the Mind's Eye, Random House, Inc. New York 1981
Sheikh, Anees A.—Imagination and Healing, Bay Wood Publishing Company, New York 1984
Maltz, Maxwell—Psychocybernetics, Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, NJ 1960
Gawain, Shakti; Creative Visualization; Use the Power of Your Imagination to create What You Want in Your Life, New World Publishing, Novato, CA 2002
Meditation, Spiritual
Suzuki, Shunryu—Zen Mind Beginner's Mind, Weatherhill, Boston 1973
Rinpoche, Sogyal—The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Harper, San Francisco 1994
Dass, Ram—Be Here Now, Hanuman Foundation, Kingsport, TN 1978
Herrigel, Eugene—Zen in the Art of Archery, Random House, New York 1981
Watts, Alan—The Way of Zen, Pantheon Books, New York 1967
Arrien, Angeles—Tarot Handbook, an excellent demonstration of how spiritual/philosophical systems (the tarot deck) can be used as a valuable self-healing and inspirational tool. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, Los Angeles 1997
Kabat-Zinn, Jon—Wherever You Go, There You Are, Hyperion, New York 1994
Hanh, Thich Nhat.—The Miracle Of Mindfulness, Beacon Press, Boston 1999
Meditative Music
Coxon, Robert Haig—The Silent Path, R.H.C Productions/Intermede Communications (SOCAN), Quebec 1995
Coxon, Robert Haig—Prelude to Infinity, Intermede Communications/ R.H.C Productions, Quebec
Professionals
- Sandra Miller
- Daniel G. Amen
- Jean Houston
- Martin Rossman
- The National Association for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine (NICABM) is an excellent source of information and colleagueship for health professionals interested in psychophysiological medicine and deep healing. National meetings are held the first week in December each year. For further information, call 860 456-153.
- Commonweal, located in Bolinas, California, offers healing retreats for those with cancer and other chronic conditions. For information, call 415 868-0970.
Image By: Wernher Krutein / Photovault.com
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