Trust and honesty must go together.
Trust without honesty is delusion; honesty without trust increases resistance to truth.

"People need not so much to be told what to do as reminded." —Emerson

People are like stained-glass windows; they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. —Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Articles:

Articles and Writings on Deep Healing, Peak Performance, and Global Transformation
by Emmett E. Miller, M.D.

The following articles (except Attention Deficit Disorder Syndrome, copyright JoAnne Renee) are all copyrighted by Dr. Miller. They may be printed out for your personal use, or for use by a class, but not for sale or other commercial purposes without the written consent of Dr. Miller. For further information please contact us.

Software for the Mind: Programming Your BioComputer.
Dieting is Out, But What’s In?
Peak Performance
Seven Steps to Deep Stress Reduction
Trust, Honesty, and Healing
What is Guided Imagery?
Attention Deficit Disorder Syndrome
Secrets of the Olympic Champions
Facts and Figures: A Glimpse of the Research
Holistic, Complementary or Alternative: The Only Healing There Is
Wisdom, Knowledge and Information
Healing vs. Curing
Wellness–Your Cash Reserve of Good Health

It's not that I think we have a Macintosh desktop unit (or IBM PC) in our heads—what we have, however, is very much like computer software! It's not the kind you can get at OfficeMart on CD-ROM, but built in (on our hard drive, so to speak), and it's the most powerful software on earth.

Most people's lives run along very predictable pathways. The person who was an annoying boor yesterday is likely to be one today, tomorrow, and for years to come. People tend to experience recurrences of the same diseases and habits over and over again, never thinking to change their behavior. This is similar to getting an error message on the computer; a lot of people keep trying the same procedure over and over, sure that they are right and the computer is somehow wrong and will see the error of its ways.

Remember that over 90% of our diseases require us to behave in a certain way in order to get them—the direct result of the thoughts that we run through our minds, our attitudes, ways of handling stress! Repeating patterns like alcohol, cigarettes, shyness, aggressiveness,—and even our usual moods—depression, irrepressible optimism—are in no way preordained by the Gods, not even by the external universe. They are primarily the result of the thoughts going through our minds. And much of what we think is programmed in during our developmental years.

I have developed specific procedures involving hypnosis or deep relaxation through which I can locate the program and even the date of the program in most cases, and help my client rewrite it. Examples are recorded in my book, Deep Healing: The Essence of Mind/Body Medicine. It's a fascinating process.

As a physician, for instance, I might see a person before a very important speech. Let's say her name is Marie. She feels frightened, experiencing sweaty palms, a tense stomach, etc. Marie has never liked speaking in front of a group of people but now finds she is about to deliver the valedictory address. It could have been oral exams to become certified in her profession, or a speech to the assembled employees of two companies that have just merged. Finally, she has a chance to speak about something she really cares about. Yet, all those symptoms block the kind of inspiring peak performance that is possible. In addition, it makes her feel miserable throughout the whole process, for which she blames the process. In her mind, she is constantly running thoughts of times of when she made mistakes in the past. Many of these thoughts are at the conscious level, but even more are being run through at the unconscious level.

In addition, negative thoughts of the future—fears of fainting, stuttering, failing to get the point across, being attacked (and all kinds of unnecessary thoughts about the future) are running through Marie's mind—and this has been happening for days.

Mental Programs
Marie has a program running in her mind that sorts through all the possible thoughts in the universe (of which there are quite a few) and comes up with precisely those thoughts that will trigger a malfunction of the hypothalamus.

The hypothalamus is the part of the brain that links thinking to physical status, behavior, and physiological functioning. When it goes out of kilter it can create very unpleasant physiological states such as sweating palms, dry mouth, and stomachache. The same chemical imbalance this creates in the body also makes it difficult to think, and tends to block the reception of any pleasant experiences. In addition to a growing fear and loathing of the upcoming presentation, Marie suddenly doesn't get much pleasure from walking in the park, has recently found sex uninteresting, and in general is not a very happy camper.

This condition of the body and the unhappy mood then feedback through our sensory receptors—we notice ourselves feeling miserable and performing poorly and we begin to feel even more negative, and even less positive about the talk that we have to give or the test we have to take.

As every computer programmer knows, GIGO—garbage in garbage out. The quality of your software, in other words, who (or what) writes your software and why, determines the quality of your life.

Through hypnosis or deep relaxation, I ask the person to go back in the archives of their mind to the first time they felt this way. In most cases, the programming happened during a specific incident or series of incidents early in life where the feedback from the universe (which may have been one parent having a bad day) was somehow unacceptable. The archives store every entry, and the mind under hypnosis is able to relive the exact moment when directed to.

We have two kinds of archives, the external archives and the internal archives. The external archives consist of information we have learned from books, libraries, magazines, the Internet, experts in certain fields, and good friends, therapists and relatives that we feel can offer us valuable information, inspiration, and wisdom.

The internal archives have to do with what's been stored within us even from times before our birth. Our chromosomes carry such genetic memories. I believe this genetic memory tunes us into trees and waterfalls, beautiful skies, beautiful flowers, beautiful smells. I think there is an internal archive of orientation that causes us to enjoy music, (and music has arisen in every culture). In every population, people evolve the concept of God, of the Divine. Perhaps this is a kind of a species ROM memory, designed to lead us toward a simpler, healthier life.

On the other hand, our inner archive also contains a certain amount of garbage. The cost of modern society upon our well being can be seen in this pile of garbage. As we become more and more cut off from natural sources of love, beauty, exercise, and eating, we see more and more imbalance and disease. Stress-related diseases arise as we lose track of the natural flow of life in the maelstrom of our artificial lifestyles.

The Creation of Our Reality
We are born with more than 2 billion neurons and few connections. By the time we reach adolescence, we have up to 15,000 connections to each neuron. That means we are making more than 50,000 connections per second waking and sleeping during our childhood. This is when the fundamental programs are laid down. The neurons and glia are the bricks and mortar; the environment is the architect. Our environment was our family, friends, social relationships, and our teachers. This is why it is not a simple thing to "undo" the influences of childhood in a single sitting.

For example, our nervous patient may have had a report to read in the second grade and didn't admit to being unprepared. Perhaps her mother was in the hospital that day, and with all the stress, she forgot about the report. When she tried to "fake it" the teacher bellowed with anger and the other kiddies laughed mercilessly. That image set the program for failure. By locating that image in the archive, we can reprogram it for success. In this case, she might rescript the scene and visualize approaching the teacher, explaining the situation, and asking for one more day to prepare.

Perhaps then we visualize the upcoming talk. Is there time to prepare adequately? If so, we visualize total success in the delivery of the talk, from a state of deep relaxation and calm. My first job when a person such as Marie comes to see me is to get her attention. People are usually so bound into their own unpleasant internal process that they are really not listening very well to things coming from the outside. Next, I guide her into what I call the state of deep relaxation, which, fundamentally, means guiding her to think thoughts and create mental images that are associated with relaxation. This is, in effect, loading a new "application" into the brain—Software for the Mind.

In ten minutes or so, she is more relaxed than she has been for months. The mind is clear of distractions and all negative thoughts about herself, and her upcoming presentation, have drained away. This new mental state then creates a different state in the hypothalamus and a different physiological state. The results are an improved level of muscle tension, and an improved flow of chemical transmitters through the body carrying signals that inform the muscles and nerves that it is safe to be at rest, to absorb nutrients, to refresh and restore.

The openness that takes place in the mind is now used to create a positive image of the future—the image that you most would like to have if all your dreams came true, specifically in the area of life you are addressing. If you are preparing to speak in public, this image will probably be of an inspired talk, which will elicit praise from everyone present. If it is a performance, the image might be of a graceful, effortless performance that achieves great results.

You can now intentionally hold that image in front of your consciousness so as to, in effect, "burn" the image into the image-making (graphics package) portion of the conscious mind. At the same time, the image begins to be copied onto our internal hard disk. The patient/client practices going through this whole process several times a day at home. In so doing, the image is more and more securely recorded within. Now, the mind can go off and do other things.

Then, whenever you feel it is necessary—such as when you begin to feel frightened, depressed or heavy, or just for practice, you go within and repeat this process of emptying the mind of its current set of programs and to "upload" this new image. Once again, as the new image is loaded, you begin to experience your body and your world differently. As you experience everything differently, you suddenly see options that weren’t available before. You find you have confidence in your own creative skills and know you can rely on them to prevent problems before they happen. You feel less fragile and more able to absorb any minor conflict that might arise; as a matter of fact, you feel equal to the challenge! Your inner picture of the world suddenly gets brighter, as if you found the dimmer switch on the monitor of the mind and turned it all the way up. You can run through the upcoming challenge mentally from beginning to end without error messages. You are home free.

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Sugar Free! Low-fat! Fantastic new diets! We see these words in every issue of every magazine. Still, Americans are more overweight than ever! Why? It may be as simple as the difference between a "hum" and a "whistle."

Just as a deer knows when to lick salt and a dog knows when to eat blades of grass, people also have an inner sense of what's good for them—you know when you are tired, thirsty, or need to come up for air. Studies on children show that we are also born with an inner sense of how to balance energy we take in (food) and energy we expend (activity, exercise) to maintain a healthy body and weight. Rediscovering this sense is at the heart of a Mind/Body approach to weight management.

Learning to distinguish between a food that nourishes us, or "hums," and one that merely seduces us, or "whistles," is the key to a new body/mind technique to achieving perfect weight.

We cannot stop eating; we can only eat more wisely. This wisdom begins in the body—it knows what it needs. Just the thought of a deliciously prepared meal full of the nutritious food your body craves makes your body resonate and "hum."

The inability to distinguish between a physiological need to take in energy in the form of food, and the compulsive desire to fill an emotional need lies at the core of why most people are fat. The concept that we eat the wrong foods for the wrong reasons is not new, but how do we get in touch with these deep-seated, unconscious habitual tendencies that drive us to the candy counter?

How Do We Step Off the Roller Coaster of Yo-Yo Dieting and Step Into the Mental Health "ZONE"?
You already have the answers. When you recognize that what you need is in your center right now, that is the moment of healing. This is where the unawakened wisdom lies that knows the difference between a hum and a whistle. By making the body/mind connection, we suddenly realize what our true needs are—which are related to the body—and which to the mind. Hum foods fill your deep physical needs for sustenance. Whistle foods distract you from your true emotional needs, thus burdening you with permanent pounds in return for temporary temptations.

Here are Seven Tips to Help You Distinguish Between a Whistle and a Hum:

1. A food " hums" when you feel the desire for it at a deep level. You may wake up in the morning wanting that food. When you eat it, you usually sigh deeply, relax, and focus on the deep satisfaction it brings you. These tend to be foods that have nutritional value. It could be fresh soup, a baked potato, or a well-seasoned salad.
2. A food whistles when it seduces you. You know that chocolate chip cookie smell that reaches into your nostrils and seduces you as you're walking through the mall? That's the "whistle" type of food. Little or no food value, lots of side effects, sensual appeal, and fat. "Whistle foods" are often eaten rapidly, a kind of gorging, and you are sometimes surprised to see your plate suddenly empty.
3. To learn the difference between a hum and a whistle—stop, relax, and focus. Does the desire for the food feel like a reaction to stress? Does it represent a desire for excitement, or for a quick-fix "good feeling," or tranquilizer? Is it an emotional statement? Or, is it an addictive or stimulant food that you have long been hooked on?
4. Tune into your emotions. Do you associate the desired food with childhood, with "getting away with something?" Listen to the emotion within you that needs attention...Maybe it's an old feeling of being lonely and empty that you felt as a child, a need for "sweetness" in your life, or "reward" that you satisfied with candy. Whatever it is, let yourself feel it. Then assure yourself that as an adult you have more effective ways of satisfying this need, such as taking a brisk walk, calling a friend or counselor, going to a support group, or hugging your child (or your inner child)?
5. After dealing wisely with your emotion, reconnect with your deep sense of personal purpose and long-range vision. Your clear healthy view of yourself that you are developing will guide you toward what you really want, and free you from the bonds of unwanted habits, obsessions, and phobias.
6. Empower yourself through mental image rehearsal to make the choice that is best for you. Visualize yourself in great physical condition, hiking to the peak of your favorite mountain and watching the beautiful vista. Envision other people responding to your healthy, dynamic presence and paying positive attention to you. (Imagine Yourself Slim can teach you this.)
7. After you have made the proper choice and acted accordingly, positively reinforce your successful behavior by congratulating yourself and noting indeed, you do have both the tools and the will to meet this challenge in a new, more effective way.

The notion of things that whistle or hum applies not only to foods but to other activities as well. These techniques laid out apply not only to weight control but also to peak performance in athletics, business, personal relationships, and overall health. Choices that hum to you will feel as good to you tonight, tomorrow, next week, and next year as they do right now. If we think of the big picture, i.e.; how what I am doing today will affect me tomorrow or next year, we are going to be much more likely to recognize the wise choices when they appear. The definition of a wise decision is one that you will look back upon in the future and say, "that was a wise decision."

Especially useful is to have a clear sense of personal purpose, a mission aligned with your deeper values. A long-term vision enables us to think not only smarter but more wisely. Remember, the first thing to learn is that it is possible to change. You have the intelligence and experience to recognize the wisdom of making changes, and you have the tools that will help you accomplish your chosen goals but you must apply those tools.

Fourteen Things That Help Nurture You Emotionally Without Calories:
Next Time You Want to Eat Junky "Whistle" Foods, Try One of These Instead:

1. a hot bath
2. a long walk
3. a massage
4. take a mental-health day from work
5. take time out from the kids
6. curl up with a great book (Deep Healing, for example)
7. put on your favorite album, CD, or video tape
8. lie down and relax with a relaxation tape
9. hug your dog
10. hug yourself
11. make love
12. call an intimate friend and share
13. create a personal mission and vision statement you can read at such times, as a reminder
14. meditate, pray, or listen to a relaxation tape
    

Of course, there is no substitute for exploring and healing the underlying emotional injuries that have been the source of the hunger within you. They may be from your parents, your spouse, your work, or something long forgotten. In any case, self-esteem is an essential ingredient in any diet. You have to feel that what you do matters, and that you are someone who makes a difference in the world. That is perhaps the deepest healing of all.

For more information on how to reduce stress in every area of your life, read Deep Healing: The Essence of Mind/Body Medicine by Dr. Emmett Miller. or purchase one of the tapes or CDs mentioned in this article by using the methods available through our online Catalog.

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Not too long ago a professional golfer came in to my office seeking help. Although he had been fairly successful in his sport, he never seemed to finish with top honors. Something was always holding him back, throwing him off, making him feel like he would never be good enough. In spite of his considerable skill with a golf club, this golfer (whom we'll call Jed) felt like a loser.

In analyzing the photographs of his swing, Jed realized that he had developed a slight hesitation at the end of his backswing that continually threw his rhythm off. The result was that his drives were just enough off to spoil his game.

In my work, I often utilize age regression analysis. When a person has a mental, physical, emotional or behavioral symptom in their life that is disturbing them, it can be very valuable to discover when this symptom began. They weren't born with it, so it had to start at a certain point in time. When was it? What were the exact circumstances?

The subconscious mind records everything that has ever happened, and in a hypnotic-like state, it is possible to regress back to the moment this symptom and unwanted pattern first arose. I guided Jed into a hypnotic state, then had his subconscious mind take us through several recent tournaments, focusing specifically on that instant of hesitation. At that point, there was a feeling of fear, a feeling of shame, of abandonment and helplessness.

We explored this feeling farther and farther back through time (selective awareness exploration is fully explained in Deep Healing: The Essence of Mind/Body Medicine and found ourselves guided back to a time when he was 15 years old and playing in the statewide high school championships. It was the end of the match, and although he had turned in his best score ever, a "personal best," he was nudged out of the top spots due to some extraordinary performances turned in by the other competitors. Afterward, his mother had been quiet on the drive back to the motel room, but as they entered the room, she suddenly and unexpectedly slapped him across the face. "How dare you lose," she shrieked at him, "All your lessons have been a waste of time and money. You're no son of mine!" And with this she turned and walked out of the room.

Jed, understandably, was devastated. He had been feeling pretty good at having turned in his personal best under pressure. But far more important than the facts of the situation was the shattering of the emotional bond with his mother. He had spent the rest of his career trying to resolve the conflict and win whatever it was he was supposed to win, rather than enjoying the game. His unconscious fear of his mother's anger was creating his backswing hesitation. Any further movement toward becoming a true champion could occur only by conditioning and healing these emotional scars and by developing the attitude of the true winner.

Who Are the True Winners?
Top of the Heap. First Place. Top Dog. Ruling the Roost. Number One. That's what everybody wants, or at least seems to. A recent t-shirt proclaims "Second Place Just Means First Loser." It's supposed to be funny, but some athletes wouldn't be able to laugh.

The fact is that what most people are chasing after is the appearance of being a winner. Most of the winning in our lives is vicarious, we watch others win football games, the Olympics, game shows. We know what winning looks like—and so most people end up, at best, learning to look like a winner. There is only one Number One, only one top dog, but often that top dog doesn't really feel like a winner. So they do the next best thing—they work very hard to appear to feel like a winner. They smile at the photographers, clench their fists and strut about in front of the TV cameras, but an amazing number go home and cry themselves to sleep or drown their inner pain in alcohol.

John Belushi, Marilyn Monroe, Jimmy Hendrix, Mike Tyson, Tonya Harding, . . . they all made it to the top, they were the "winners," the celebrities we worship and emulate. Yet, they weren't really happy. As a matter of fact, their emptiness and sense of loss destroyed them. What was missing?

In actuality, very few people consistently feel, on a daily basis, that they are winners, especially those who have to beat others, win medals or big prizes to feel like their life is worth living.

Yes, there are many who do feel like winners inside, but very frequently these turn out to be not the Number Ones, not the glory-hounds, but those who follow their own star, who do what their heart guides them to do—the free spirits, if you will.

Most Olympic athletes have learned to say, when they are interviewed on television, something like "I'm just happy to have made it and to be working out and competing with such a swell bunch of guys and gals." I suspect that few actually mean it. The amount of work required to make it to the Olympics is absolutely breathtaking, many hours each day, every day of the year, sometimes with schoolwork studies and social life squeezed into the tiniest of corners. They don't do it in order to "compete with a swell bunch of guys and gals." They do it because they want to WIN! But are they really winners?

Many of them feel excruciating pain the minute they are no longer in the headlines. When they don't reach the mark they have set, they feel agony. And because they are continually setting the bar a little higher than they have ever gone before, and because they know, sooner or later, they are going to meet a "faster gun," their life is often one of torture and fear. They become losers at life.

Many are able to endure the extreme hardships and pain of staying on top simply because they have developed an addiction to the chemicals pumped into their body during strenuous exercise. And it's not actually a "runner's high," not a kind of joy or exhilaration. Usually it is just a numbing of the pain, a distracting of the mind and exhaustion of the tension of fear in the body.

Sure, there are some people who can use this "negative motivational system" to push toward the goal, but the vast majority never get to that very narrow tip of the pyramid. The result is frustration and desperation, which create physical tension. This in turn interrupts relaxation of opposing muscle groups, coordination, and the overall flow necessary to get into the high performance zone. It frequently leads to injuries, fibrosis of muscles, and chronic pain. In addition, the mindset that accompanies this attitude makes it virtually impossible to really enjoy the experience.

We all have learned to say, "It matters not if you win or lose, but how you play the game." We have learned to say, "Money can't buy happiness." We have learned to mouth these words, but we live our lives quite differently—we grab winning whenever we can, often at the expense of sportsmanship. The sensational stories such as Tonya Harding paying someone to break Nancy Kerrigan’s legs, or the mother who attempted murder in order to improve her daughter’s chances of winning the cheerleading contest, are but the tiniest tip of the iceberg. Many professional athletes have mothers just like Jed the golfer's. They seek to fulfill themselves through their children, who then fail to learn to love themselves and what they do. What's missing is self-esteem. We don't treat other people kindly and we don't treat ourselves kindly. And there is the rub!

Without a strong sense of self-esteem, we constantly feel like a loser no matter how high up we go. We become obsessed, and the obsession takes it away from the kind of deeper awareness of ourselves that could tap the vast source of inner energy, creativity and flow that lives deep within us.

Winning is a State of Mind
People are under the false impression that if you allow yourself to feel good about being anything less than Number One, you will destroy your chances of going on forward. Many of them had parents who asked, "You only got an A. . . why not an A+?" They are probably people who were teased for not living up to an outside standard, who were spanked, whipped, yelled at, called names or subjected to some other emotional abuse. So what they learned as children is that the way you get the performance you want is to force it. But there is another way.

True winning is a state of mind. The inner feeling of winning is the result of an interpretation you make of what you have done. If, inside, you feel frightened, ashamed, like a loser, deep inside (even though you might cover it with false bravado) this feeling is not going to change because one day you come in Number One and people sing your praises for that "15 minutes of fame." On the other hand, if you already feel like a winner, in every contest, in every workout, you will simply feel like a bigger winner when you actually make it to Number One.

Victory is in the Journey, Not the Destination
An athlete I know was once laid up for several months with an injury. Up until this time, she had driven herself unmercifully, and though she had performed well, never really felt victorious. She was continually demanding more of herself, and wasn’t very polite with herself about it either. But during the time she was in bed she became most aware of how she simply longed to feel her muscles moving again, how she missed the smell of the freshly cut grass, the feeling of her spikes digging into turf, the coolness of perspiration on her body as it dried in the breezes flowing over her. She became aware that what she really loved was the experience of living and functioning and playing in a healthy body.

When she resumed her sport, she continued to improve, perhaps even a little faster than before. But what was much more important, now she felt like a winner. Every time she went out there, she felt the victory of having this body. The joy and gratitude was apparent in watching her move and watching her play. She became a beloved teammate, her relationships blossomed, and the rest of her life became much easier as the attitude of being a constant winner leaked over into other areas of her life.

As in the old country song, we often look for love in all the wrong places. Real winners love what they do, and love to improve their performance, just to keep the feeling of discovery and wonder alive. They learn to love themselves unconditionally, not only when they come in first—and that actually helps them win.

Just think what would happen if we each started out from that point of gratitude, that positive viewpoint. No matter how inept we appeared to others at first, we’d be winners every day, because every moment would be our personal best. We would excel in everything because we would realize how relative excellence is in the end. Compared to being dead or disabled, just being able to walk is quite excellent. And the journey towards victory begins with a single step.

By the way, Jed began taking practice shots on a new and challenging course that afternoon. He began letting go of his drive to win back his mother’s approval. He let go (temporarily at least) of his "golf to win" mindset and rebuilt a new foundation of satisfaction within himself for golfing for the pleasure of playing the game itself. He began to let go of the shame and fear of constantly comparing himself to others, and began to play for his own enjoyment. He rediscovered his love of the game and improved his golf swing in the process.

To assist you in mastering the skills in this article, I suggest you use the audiotapes that helped Dan O’Brien and the Olympic team achieve victory. You can order "PowerVision," "I Can," and "Writing Your Script" by using our online Catalog.

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Time has become a major stressor of our age. Probably THE greatest stressor, in the final analysis. We live in the age of anxiety, and that anxiety is most often provoked by the pressures of time. People are driving themselves to the limit and are convinced that they never have enough time to get things done. With the incessant interruptions and immediacy of today’s electronic communication systems (fax, cell-phone, and beepers—electronic leashes), we are constantly being told to hurry up. But is this good? Does it make us more productive? Is it healthy?

During the 1980s, an upholsterer in San Francisco made an observation that led to one of the most important discoveries of our time. While working in the office of Dr. Myer Friedman, a cardiologist, he noticed that the seat cushions were worn out on the front edge. He happened to meet Dr. Friedman that day and put to him a simple question, "Why is it that in everyone else’s office the seat cushions wear out in the middle, but in your office they wear out on the front edge?"

Dr. Friedman had answered many difficult medical questions before, but was unable to respond to the upholsterer’s curiosity. Was it something he was doing differently? Was it the layout of the room? He didn’t know.

The Hurry Sickness
What is the connection between good health and time as we perceive it? Plenty! The distorted attitude towards time that has developed, mostly over the past hundred or so years, has proven to have a huge impact on health and long life. There is a very convincing-sounding adage that "Time is money," a philosophy that seems to become more true the more people believe in it. The problem with it is that mounting research shows that a distorted attitude about time may distort the behavior of that great timekeeper in your chest, your "ticker."

After his encounter with his upholsterer, Dr. Friedman paused often during the next few weeks to peer out his office door and watch the behavior of the cardiac patients waiting to see him. He soon discovered why the phenomenon was occurring. Instead of sitting back in their seats, reading magazines like the patients waiting in other rooms, they were perched on the edge of their seats like Olympic sprinters so that they would not lose an extra hundredth of a second when their name was called to see the doctor. After devising a few tests and performing some studies, Dr. Friedman published his now classic book Type A Behavior and Your Heart.

Dr. Friedman’s studies, and those that followed, have proven that there is a direct relationship between how a person handles time and the eventual health of their cardiovascular system. It appears there is a certain group of people who are more likely to suffer from premature high blood pressure results and heart attacks. These turn out to be the folks who are hard-driving, always feeling the pressure of time and seemingly spurred on by an underlying hostility.

What Are You to Do if You Have a Type A Personality, or Are Just Merely Stressed?
If your reactions to the constant pressure, demands, and the continual threats of your external environment are producing chronic stress and persistent muscular tension you need to learn how to de-stress. If your nervous system is interpreting your current social situation as an immediate threat to your survival, you need to learn to relax—even if the clock is ticking in front of you and there are deadlines ahead.

I help my patients see that an exaggerated degree of tension is harmful and inappropriate. Actually, relaxation is not about something we do; it is about something we don’t do. It is what is left over when we allow ourselves to stop doing everything we didn’t really need to be doing in the first place. Like the stars in the sky that are invisible when the sun is out, the relaxation state is always there beneath the turmoil.

When we feel we are in danger or believe we have to respond to some demand, an inner pressure to perform arises within us. The tension of our bodies, the anxiety of our emotions, the obsessive racing of our minds, are all futile attempts to solve problems which are either imaginary, long past, or not yet present. One is reminded of the quote by Mark Twain: "I’m an old man and have known a great many troubles, most of which never happened!"

Here Are Seven Steps to Help You Relax and Let Go:

1. For one moment, become aware of the fact that at this instant there is nowhere to go, nothing to do, and no problem to solve.
2. Recognize that time is on your side; it is your friend. Start with a relaxation tape like Healing Journey, Letting Go of Stress, or Relaxation and Inspiration from Source (see end of article for information on how to get tapes and CDs). These tapes and CDs will lead you to a profoundly different experience of time. You will learn the secrets of relaxing body, mind, and emotions and learn how to come completely into the moment. Practice this on a regular basis. Next, you must carry this altered perception of, and relationship with, time along with you.
   
3. Become a "One-Minute Meditator" Relax and attune yourself to your breath. Breathe in slowly, then breathe out and pause. Sink into the pause after you breathe out and before you breathe in again. Although it may take 10 or 15 minutes initially to enter a truly deep relaxed state, with training, this can be accomplished in a minute or two. Direct your awareness away from whatever is going on in the outside world, tune into the out-breath and let go. This sudden awareness of Self creates a new relationship with the environment and a new, more comfortable sense of time. You experience the world differently; the quality of your work improves, and your cardiovascular system is protected from illness.
4. Re-examine your priorities. Make a list of the priorities in your life, then make a list of what you spend your time doing. If you’re like most people, there’s quite a discrepancy. We’re busy responding to urgent, unimportant things rather than responding to important things that may not appear to be urgent at the moment. If your schedule is too crowded with other things to afford you time to do the things you really want to do and that really are your priorities, then you must make a commitment to change. And one of the things that must go on this schedule is time to center and experience the eternal moment. In other words, time for deep relaxation, physical exercise, and quality time with someone you care about. All these will give you a fuller sense of life, more comfort with being, and less of the hurry sickness.
5. Drain your stress away on a daily basis. Stress is cumulative. The more changes we have to deal with and the shorter the period of time we have to deal with them in, the more stress is experienced by body, mind, and emotions. Most people don’t take the time to drain away stress often because they don’t know how, and tomorrow’s stress is added to that of today. It is this accumulation of stress that gives rise to the curious phenomenon that if you measure the number of changes in a person’s life throughout the year, you can predict how likely that person will be to become ill over the following months. Bottom line? On a daily basis use the stress reduction tapes and CDs, exercise, let go of rushing and mindless, unimportant activities. Take charge and wake up to each precious moment.
6. Reinstate the relaxation cycle. Understand that stress is just one half of a normal, healthy life cycle. The rest of the cycle involves relaxation. Normally, there is stress followed by relaxation followed by stress, etc. The relaxation phase allows nerves to repolarize, chemicals to be metabolized, the emotions to come to rest, and the psyche to remember itself. Without this, tension, anxiety, anger, frustration, etc. rise as the body and emotions begin to experience the inner fight-or-flight reflexes that enabled it to survive in prehistoric jungles. Because we can’t run away from our stressors the way our caveman ancestors could, we perceive that somehow we are falling behind. The relief comes when we reinstate the relaxation cycle. Deep relaxation and meditation help us to do this.
7. Relax before each challenge. Relax after each challenge. This simple technique keeps stress at a minimum, gives you a sense of success, and reinforces a calm, focused center for dealing with stressful situations. You can get fit for stress just as you can get fit for physical challenges. When you are fit, you perform optimally and really enjoy the experience. Remember, "stress is not something that happens to you; stress is something you do with what happens to you."

For more information on how to reduce stress in every area of your life, read Deep Healing: The Essence of Mind/Body Medicine by Dr. Emmett Miller or purchase one of the tapes or CDs mentioned in this article by using the methods available through our online Catalog.

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There are few, if any, relationships where trust is as important as in the relationship with a physician or healer. If someone gives you little pills of something that is basically a poison, or cuts into your body with a blade that could lead to your bleeding to death, your trust in this person is crucial.

In working with individuals, families and organizations, I have found that the most powerful elements are personal honesty and integrity. This entails respecting people for who they are, appreciating their individual talents and sensing their individual vulnerabilities. As I have taught my professional students for more than thirty years, the goal must not be to sell a product or promote a particular discipline. The goal must always be to bring health and healing to the individual, family or community; that is the focus of your work.

For many years, I have watched extraordinary feats of healing and become convinced that all healing begins from within. For any healer, physician, psychologist, or acupuncturist—whatever the technique—the most important task is to awaken and empower the healer within the patient.

The Healer Within
The Inner Healer is always busy, with or without or conscious awareness. Each breath we take is an act of the Inner Healer—it heals us by emptying the body of carbon dioxide and replenishing its vital oxygen stores. This happens even when you are asleep. The Inner Healer works on the principle of truth—when we have truly become deficient in oxygen or overstuffed with carbon dioxide, this information leads to a new breath coming in.

If this information is incorrect (dishonest feedback), then the extra breaths taken actually throw off our chemical balance. If we’re jumping from a brick wall down to a cement sidewalk, it’s important that the Inner Healer be able to judge whether the distance is one, ten, or a hundred feet. If we are infected with a Staphylococcal organism, then the Inner Healer, through the immune system, needs to know the kind of organism causing the infection so that it can produce the correct antibodies. If the inner sensory system of the healing force within us is given misinformation—say that the infection is with a streptococcus—then the wrong antibody is produced and we run the risk of dying quite rapidly. In a similar manner, it is important for a physician to be certain of information, such as blood cultures, before beginning treatment. Likewise, healing will occur only if a doctor is honest with his patient—giving the correct medication.

Whether dealing with physical, mental, emotional, behavioral or spiritual symptoms, the serenity principle holds—one needs to have the serenity to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change what needs to be changed, and, especially, the wisdom to know the difference...When people are given the correct information, allowed to develop the appropriate skills (in this case, serenity and/or courage), and given honest, reliable input, truly miraculous things can happen. The inner healing wisdom has an opportunity to respond. It responds by making the appropriate choices, and guiding mind, emotions and the very cells of the body to behave in such a way as to create balance, wholeness, and the highest levels of performance.

Spiritual Abuse—A National Epidemic
We live in a world in which manipulation has become commonplace. We are manipulated by commercials on television, by telephone solicitors, by partners, business associates, employers, muggers, politicians, teachers, parents, offspring—the list is endless. We hardly even notice it anymore. Regrettably, to a great extent, we’ve lost the ability to trust our world. Just as the result of this has been illness and imbalance, the result of trust can be positive.

The human spirit is abused by manipulation and thrives when it can trust and is trusted. This spirit is an abused inner child that needs to be healed.

My desire is to offer information, knowledge, and wisdom on this Website that will carry on a tradition of trusting that people know how to make the best decisions for themselves. Rather than manipulate them, the goal is to give them honest, clear information. This is combined with my other goal, which is to sincerely help people heal.

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Guided imagery refers to a process by which an individual, with or without the assistance of a therapist, intentionally interacts with his or her inner imagery. Imagery is the natural language of the unconscious mind, of the emotions, and of the body. Poetry, music, suggestion, and vivid photos can have profound effects because they interact at the level of one's images.

When a therapist works with a client, the goal is to help the client discover the style and pattern of his or her unique imagery, to help them learn how to understand the messages those images are communicating from the unconscious, the emotions, and the body, and how to intentionally influence those images.

The flow of images, in turn, has a powerful effect on a person's physiology, and can influence the immune system, the performance of the musculature, the amount of energy, mood, creativity, level of comfort or anxiety, and nearly every other aspect of a person's life.

Guided Imagery bears a reciprocal relationship to Deep Relaxation. That is, Guided Imagery is often much more effective if a person is in a deep state of relaxation. By the same token, Guided Imagery is one of the most effective ways of producing Deep Relaxation.

Since so many of our dis-eases, imbalances, and dysfunctions are the direct result of the stress in our lives, the use of Guided Imagery to produce Deep Relaxation, and Deep Relaxation to help create new, less stressful patterns of living is one of a therapist’s most powerful tools.

Skillfully produced audiotapes and CDs can enable a person to learn how to reach the deeply relaxed state and to guide their own images towards higher levels of health and performance.

In practice, simple, relaxing images, such as are presented on Letting Go Of Stress and Healing Journey, are offered to reduce stress and induce a deeply relaxed, trance-like state. In this state, the person's attention can turn inward, away from external distractions and mind chatter, and he or she can access the deeper images and emotions within. These can then be guided to produce the desired result, whether it is symptomatic relief, deep healing, behavior change or peak performance.

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For several years, Dr. Miller studied the syndromes known as Attention Deficit Disorder in adults and children using SPECT studies to confirm clinical diagnoses. Currently he treats adults and adolescents with this disorder using non-drug alternatives wherever possible.

Several good texts are available to help you learn more about this including Dr. Amen’s Healing ADD: The Breakthrough Program That Allows You to See and Heal the 6 Types of ADD as well as Driven to Distraction by Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey.

The image of the six-year-old boy who cannot sit still in class is no longer the typical picture of someone who has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Disorder Syndrome (ADDS). More and more adults, women and men, are being diagnosed and treated as the condition is better understood. The cause or causes ADD are not fully appreciated.

Neurobiology
There are 100 billion neurons (nerve cells) in the human brain. Each of these one hundred billion neurons can interact with up to 100,000 others. Information is relayed by means of low voltage electricity and chemicals called neurotransmitters across a synapse (bridge) to another neuron.

Causes of Attention Deficit Disorder Syndrome
What is theorized is that a deficit in the brain's ability to use glucose seems to be at the core of the syndrome. The inability of the Reticular Activating System (RAS) to function normally has also been implicated. The RAS is the sleep-arousal center of the brain. It can be compared to the on/off button of a computer. Without it working properly, the limbic system, which is responsible for emotional control and mood modulation, does not function well. Unless the limbic system is "up and running", the prefrontal cortex (the CEO of the brain) is not capable of adequate performance. It is almost as if the limbic system hijacks the prefrontal cortex.

Diagnostic Criteria
The triad of characteristics that defines ADD is impulsivity, distractibility, and high-intensity-stimulus-seeking behavior. Some people also experience hyperactivity, though it is not a required characteristic for the diagnosis. There is usually a tendency toward disorganization, (piles of stuff, like papers and magazines, accumulate), lateness, forgetfulness, boredom, inability to focus, and often socially inappropriate behavior as a result.

Management Functions of the Mind [Brown, 1999 #1]
Current research is recognizing impairments of "Executive Functions" (EF) as core problems of ADD. Without these management functions of the mind running smoothly, a person's ability to perform the needed activities for school, work, and social interaction may be severely impaired.

There are six cluster functions of EF:

1. Organizing, prioritizing and activating for work tasks
2. Focusing and sustaining attention to tasks
3. Sustaining alertness, effort and processing speed
4. Managing frustration and modulating affect
5. Utilizing working memory and accessing recall
6. Inhibiting and regulating verbal and motoric action

Of course, everyone has problems with these things from time to time. The difference for people with ADD is that the problems are significant and chronic. These impairments are persistent and pervasive. Many clinicians and people with ADD are often confused about the diagnosis, because these problems are chronic, but not constant. For some activities (especially stimulating or interesting ones), paying attention or working intently can be easily done.

Now, of course, paying attention to a task that is interesting is easier for everyone. The crucial difference is that people who do not have ADD have a critically important ability to pay attention to uninteresting tasks if they choose to, when the completion of those tasks is important.

People with ADD simply cannot do this. The problem is not that they can never pay attention, the problem is that they are chronically unable to "turn on" attending skills when needed. Tremendous difficulty is often encountered by individuals with ADD, in mobilizing and sustaining attention, alertness, effort, and working memory functions for less interesting, though important tasks.

Learning
Even for tasks that are interesting, time constraints can add a pressure to concentrate that limits what can be learned within the time available. Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography imaging (SPECT scans) using radioactive isotopes has demonstrated clearly that the more that someone with ADD tries to concentrate, the more the prefrontal cortex shuts down. Executive functioning and learning take place in the prefrontal cortex. It takes a person with ADD three to five times longer to read and process what has been read than it takes a person who does not have it.

Learning for someone with ADD is like reading for someone with a vision problem. Just as no one who needs reading glasses is expected to read and learn without them, no one who has ADD should be expected to do read and attend to what is being read until their disorder has been adequately treated. In many cases, this involves the use of medication to stimulate the prefrontal cortex of the brain. There are many situations in which extra help and/or extra time is needed for completion of a task. It is not that the person is incapable of doing it. With ADD the innate intelligence is there. Once the subject being studied is mastered, it is fully incorporated into the person's thinking. It is not about difficulty in applying what has been learned, but about the time needed to learn it.

The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that those diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder shall be entitled to individualized academic accommodations. Often referred to as Individualized Educational Programs (IEP's), these permit changes in the way requirements of a course are met. Course content may not be altered, but alternative methods of meeting the requirements for any given curriculum are permitted. This can take the form of extra time for test taking, submission of coursework after its due date without penalty, preferential seating in classrooms to minimize distractions, and other accommodations as needed.

Puberty
Hormones play an essential role. For males, the onset of puberty often is associated with a lessening of the severity of symptoms. For females, adequate levels of estradiol are instrumental in insuring adequate amounts of circulating dopamine [Quinn, 2000 #3]. Many girls with ADD escape diagnosis until puberty when instability of estrogen levels contributes to an exacerbation of the syndrome. Academic performance, inconsistent with I.Q., starts to decline. Dwindling academic performance starting in adolescence is common among girls with ADD [Quinn, 2000 #3]. It often is mistakenly attributed to a hormonally-induced distractibility related to sexual maturation. Comments like "She's more interested in boys than in her schoolwork" are commonly made.

PMS and Pregnancy
A woman with ADD experiences a decreased ability to focus and concentrate during episodes of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) as well. Pregnancy, with its soaring levels of estrogen, may bring a period of abatement of the manifestations. Some women have stated that they "never felt better than when I was pregnant" or " I was able to concentrate well enough to enjoy reading a book for the first time in years."

Perimenopause and Menopause
Perimenopause and menopause create a worsening of symptoms [Quinn, 2000 #3]. Many women are diagnosed for the first time during this phase of their lives. Knowledge of the etiology of ADD is still limited, especially when it occurs in women. Perimenopausal women today were children in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Girls were not even evaluated for the syndrome then.

Workplace Success
Strategies and accommodations that can be made in the workplace abound. The important first step is in discovering the ideal career; the one best suited to engage the strengths and talents of the individual [Quinn, 2000 #3]. This is true for anyone but critically important for an individual whose biochemistry is different from 90% of the population.

Treatment
The use of stimulant medication is essential to the treatment of ADD. Unfortunately, this remains controversial for many people. Actively managing a medication regimen to produce optimal functioning for someone with ADD can be challenging. It takes a thorough understanding of the effects of stimulant medications and how they work in people with attention deficit disorder to achieve optimal results. Few practitioners have the expertise to understand and manage medication for the treatment of ADD. Finding a physician who is knowledgeable in this area is crucial. The effectiveness and dosage ranges of the stimulant medications are highly specific to the individual. When medications do not work, assuming the diagnosis is correct, it is usually related to lack of knowledge of how to titrate the medication appropriately. It can be the wrong stimulant for the person. It can take months of "fine tuning" of dosages and dosing times before an effective treatment regimen is achieved. Other medications, such as antidepressants, antiepileptics, antinarcoleptics or memory enhancers are often needed as well.

Manifestations of Attention Deficit Disorder [adapted from Gingerich, 1997 #2]

1. Physical Activity:
   -tendency to be clumsy or awkward
   -restlessness,
   -tendency to fidget or squirm
   -energetic
   OR
   -lethargy, sluggishness
2. Impulse control:
   -professional instability—frequent job changes
   -tendency toward stubbornness
   -determined, does not give up easily, perseveres
   -instability in relationships
   -financial difficulty- debt from impulse buying
   -being personally over-extended—saying "yes" without evaluating consequences of decision
   -creative, always willing to try new directions
   -risk-taker, unintimidated by the unknown
   -able to seek and find unique solutions to problems
3. Disposition—Mood:
   -problems with mood modulation
   -easily angered, sometimes violent
   -easily brought to tears
   -easily frustrated
   -enthusiastic
   -enjoys interaction with people
   -sensitive and compassionate to the emotional needs of others
4. Concentration/Distractibility Problems:
   -difficulty initiating tasks, can not seem to "get started"
   -difficulty sustaining attention, trouble staying "on track", staying focused
   -difficulty completing things, can not finish that last 10% of the project
   -easily distractible—many projects started, few finished at any given time
   -the greater the effort at concentration, the less able to achieve it ("The harder I try the worse it gets.")
   -in "high-pressure" situations or in areas of interest has high level of functioning, able to quickly and accurately separate critical issues from unimportant ones , and implement appropriate solutions in a crisis
5. Organization Problems
   -disorganized- often unprepared, late, incompletely prepared
   -clutter-filled surroundings
   -overly-organized—compulsive behavior; excessive time "getting ready" (e.g., cleaning
   up study area, and desk for hours before being able to study)
6. Thinking difficulties:
   -mind "constantly going" ("pinball mind")
   -trouble with short-term memory, especially recall
   -frequently loses things: keys, credit cards, important papers (totally dependent on visual cues, if can not see it, can not find it)
   -forgetful: misses appointments, leaves things behind
   -feeling confused, overwhelmed, mind going blank (especially in social situations; limbic system hijacks the neocortex)
7. Life/emotional experiences:
   -excessively fatigued
   -feels alone or is a loner, feels different or odd
   -feels inferior, self-critical (in elementary school "last to be picked, first to be picked on"), has a sense of underachievement
   -socially anxious, unable to read "social cues", never knows "what to say" to explain behavior (which often needs explaining) Often offends others while never intending to do so AND YET
   -good at communicating
   -enjoys interacting with other people
   -resilient
   -has trouble connecting emotionally with others; trouble with intimacy (people who do not have ADD just do not understand those who do have it)
8. Tendency to develop substance abuse problems:
   -history of substance abuse or dependency (often from attempts to self-medicate)
   -presence of depression and anxiety—(biochemical and/or in response to lowered self-esteem)
   -history of illegal activity related to "stimulant-seeking" behavior (attempt to self-medicate)
9. High Intensity Stimulus-Seeking Behavior
   -risk taking behaviors
   -preference for vibrant colors
   -preference for strongly rhythmic music
   -adventurous, novelty seeking behavior
   -frequent traffic violations (related to distractibility, problems with impulse control, and high-intensity stimulus seeking behavior)

Evaluation for ADD
There are at least six subtypes of ADD. Some people with ADD (mainly male children) have the hyperactive subtype. Many others, especially females, demonstrate the inattentive subtype. It is highly advisable to have a physician skilled in this disorder perform the evaluation.

A proper evaluation involves a detailed history, and perhaps some additional lab tests and studies. One of the tests that is sometimes useful is the SPECT scan. This kind of brain scan has proven very useful in studying the subtypes of ADD, and is available at several locations in the U.S.

You may find it interesting to take a look at some of these scans. They are visible at www.BrainPlace.com. Although the diagnosis is rather tricky to make, you can take certain tests that may give you an indication of whether you or your children might benefit from an evaluation.

©2001 JoAnne Renee. May be reproduced for educational purposes

During episodes of acute stress stress hormones provide a protective function by activating the body's defenses, but when these same protective hormones are produced repeatedly, or in excess, because of chronic stress, they create a gradual and steady cascade of harmful physiological changes. Higher levels of stress load can lead to suppression of the immune system (which leaves us open to infection and infectious diseases), as well as bone loss, muscular weakening, atherosclerosis and increased insulin levels that cause higher levels of fat deposition in the body, especially around the abdomen. People end up with that pear body shape that researchers have shown over and over again predisposes us to heart disease.
Even the brain can be affected. In fact, results from studies on aging animals and humans suggest that a lifelong allostatic (stress) load may accelerate changes in the brain that can lead to memory loss. -Bruce McEwen, PhD, of Rockefeller University, New England Journal of Medicine, Jan 15, 1998.
Out of 54 medicated hypertensive patients, 58 percent were able to eliminate medication after behavioral treatment, 35 percent cut their medications in half. Seven percent showed no improvement. In unmedicated patients, 70 percent achieve normal blood pressures with an additional 22 percent making clinically significant reductions. Only 8 percent unsuccessful. Follow-up on 61 patients over an average of 33 months indicated little regression in these results. From Fahrion S., Norris P., Green A. Reported in Advances, Volume 4, No. 3.

In 1960 and '61, researchers at Boston University School of Medicine classified over 3,000 men as Type A or Type B personalities. 22 years later, 186 had died of cancer. Of these, 112 were Type A, 74 were Type B. After accounting for age, educational levels and smoking habits, researchers concluded that the incidence of death in Type A's from other than lung cancer is 1 1/2 times that of Type B's. Seeing life as a long series of challenges may weaken the immune system. Internal Medicine News, June 15, 1987.

Melanoma patients who get emotional support along with their regular therapy generated 60% more immune cells in seven weeks than a group receiving only therapy. (UCLA study reported, Wall Street Journal, 5/24/87).
In the mid 1970s, John Hopkins University researcher, Dr. Caroline Thomas, researched a group of more than 1300 medical students from John's Hopkins. The group that reported they were more emotionally distant from one or both parents was shown to demonstrate, more than three decades later, an unusually high incidence of mental illness, suicide, and death from cancer.

A study in Finland of 3,750 men between 40 and 59. Of 104 men in the study who had high blood pressure and ischemic heart disease, those with the highest hostility levels were nearly 13 times more likely to die or be admitted to a hospital for heart disease over the next few years than those with the lowest hostility levels.
Kenneth Dodge at Vanderbilt University, working with Dr. Williams, analyzed the law students who had taken the MMPI thirty years ago. Three qualities were most likely to predict death from heart disease – a cynical attitude, an angry mood and an aggressive style of responding to the questions. These were even stronger predictors that the MMPI hostility.
A 1983 study of 255 graduates of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, investigated doctors who had taken the MMPI 25 years earlier. Those with scores above the median were about 5 times more likely to have had a heart attack or angina or to have died of heart disease than those who scored below the median. They were also 6.4 times more likely to have died from any cause. In studying 118 lawyers who took the MMPI as students of the University of North Carolina School of Law, those who scored highest on the hostility scale were 4.2 times more likely to have died three decades later from heart disease or other causes than those who are least hostile. Reported by Dr. Williams, Duke University

A few words about alternative and complementary medicine
Many people now realize the limitations of "mainstream medicine," with its failure to focus on the potential for self-healing and the importance of our habits of eating or exercising.

An explosion of all kinds of "alternative" products – many of questionable or no value whatsoever—burst on the scene, allegedly providing treatment for every ailment and disease, and marketed to attract the attention of these people.

I have seen, on numerous occasions, the tragedy of otherwise young and fairly healthy people dying unnecessarily because the "alternative" practitioner missed the diagnosis of an otherwise curable disease, such as cancer, and treatment was delayed until it was too late. There have been still others who became convinced that diet alone could heal a serious condition, only to die of a completely curable illness. Many of these practitioners have had, perhaps, a total of 20 or 30 days of training – as opposed to the 5-10 excruciating years of training medical practitioners receive.

In light of this, it has become necessary to clarify what I mean by the words "holistic", "complementary", and even "healing" itself. Many of these more accurate and complete definitions I have included in a Glossary elsewhere on this website, as well as in their usage in my articles, excerpts, and writings.

Principles of Wisdom
The world as we know it operates under the influence of clearly defined principles. On the physical level, we know these as the "laws of science", such as the "laws" of gravity, motion, and thermodynamics. At the mental level, there are certain rules, too–certain ways of thinking, focused attention, careful planning, creative imagining, and clear feedback—which produce more predictable, reproducible, and pleasing outcomes.

Further, there are principles, at still higher levels, which we might call spiritual or philosophical. These include principles of meditation and prayer, positive imagery and affirmation, honesty, integrity, respect for others, and dedication to something greater than self. These fundamental principles emerge in most mature cultures and are taught by the wisest teachers in all major religions–"do unto others," "steal not," "serve God and fellow man," to offer a few examples.

Knowledge and Wisdom
We gain knowledge by taking in accurate information. But we gain wisdom by letting go of that which is not needed. It is impossible to define wisdom in and of itself, because wisdom is at a higher level of abstraction than knowledge or thought. It would be like asking the body to define what the nervous system is (impossible without the participation of the nervous system), or for the brain to define what the "mind" is (impossible without the use of the mind itself).

Wisdom is a superordinate level in relationship to knowledge. As we go to higher levels within the hierarchy of a system, new qualities and abilities emerge (just as when we move from inanimate rocks to living cells to animals, to the human being, each has something unpredictable and incomprehensible to the lower levels of system).

Rather than to try to define wisdom, we can ask what are the characteristics of a wise act. To act wisely is to perform an action (thought, word, feeling, or deed) in such a way that, when you look back at this action from the future (and this may be a minute, an hour, a day, or a week), you will approve of your choice. In other words, you will say to yourself upon observing it, "I really acted wisely there." Clearly, wisdom is something more than luck; it entails an intentional act based upon an accurate reading of the environment. Far too often we make poor decisions, even though we "know better," and we kick ourselves the next day! This is because we often act impulsively, rather than acting in harmony with our deeper values, in a manner informed by our long-term goals and visions.

Ultimately, it is only by acting in ways that are wise that we can ever ultimately bring about what we want most in life. To look back and see a long string of wise actions brings a feeling of fulfillment, satisfaction, and deep happiness.

"Knowledge comes, wisdom lingers."
DrMiller.com is similar to other Web sites in that it provides information and knowledge. It is different, however, in that our mission is to keep a sharp focus on wisdom–providing knowledge and opportunities for you to increase your fund of wisdom. The goal of this wisdom is to enhance the healing process, maximize your health and wellness, enrich relationships, and create peak performance, success and happiness in life.

Wisdom is one important principle we use in designing this site. Any feedback from you that can help us do this better is eagerly sought and deeply appreciated.

The Choice to Change and Heal
In any given situation, there are factors we can influence and those we cannot. We cannot change our family history. We have little or no ability to reorganize our genetic makeup (our constitution). We may not be able to undo previous physical trauma we've experienced. The damage produced by malnutrition or physical injury in childhood may be irreversible, and I have yet to see anyone grow back an amputated limb. Still, there are many other factors that can be changed. We can affect the level of stress in our lives, and reduce distress. We can change the image we hold of ourselves and the beliefs we have about the world. We can resolve unconscious issues, including psychological trauma from the past. The tools for doing these things aren't scalpels and drugs; however, they are at least as powerful, since they work in concert with the most miraculous tools of all—the self-healing mechanisms that have evolved over millions of years within our own bodies.

Guided imagery and affirmations enable us to change our ways of thinking about ourselves, and to change the way we handle our inner emotional states. In this way we can achieve control over the way we experience our lives, and thus develop new patterns of behavior. Deep states of consciousness, combined with healing imagery, can enhance the functioning of many organs of our bodies, including heart rate, nervous system, digestion, and even immune systems.

Though you may be unaware of this enormous potential, it nevertheless lies waiting to be used deep within you. Much of the knowledge you need can be made conscious and available to you at any moment. Another large portion of it is stored in your deeper mind. You can choose as your goal not only to understand yourself better, and thus grow in wisdom, but also to have a positive impact on your thoughts, your feelings, your imagery, and your self-talk. This is the reason for having an actual experience, rather than just reading about it. They say seeing is believing, but feeling is the truth.

Through deep healing, we can bring all parts of our lives (mind, body, emotions, spirit, and behaviors) into harmony. We do this by examining relationships with our families and our culture; we look at philosophical and spiritual belief systems; and we look at the principles for increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of all the systems of our body/mind complex. We investigate honesty, integrity, trust and passion. We embrace the dark side as well as the light. All of these comprise the journey to deep healing. It is a journey that takes us to the greatest treasures of our lives, not just physical health but a joy in living that brings out our greatest gifts and inspires life with new purpose and meaning.

Fortunately, to enjoy the benefits of deep healing we don't need to wait for the medical establishment to change. We can begin deep healing with ourselves. The tools and the knowledge you'll find described here will provide you with the cornerstones for building a solid foundation in this new art of self-help health.