Feb
28
Mind Power
Filed Under Self Discovery | Leave a Comment
I read an article about the physical effects of stress on the human body and it seems reasonably believable. I have long held the belief that my Asthma is largely in my head and when I forget to “have” Asthma it seems to go away. That is, until someone reminds me, be it a verbal or mental cue.
For instance, when I cross the threshold of my mother’s house I used to always get some kind of breathing problems. I used to think that it was because of the way she keeps house but on reflection there are times when I haven’t touched anything - not picked up a cat, not wiped my eyes after moving a chair, nothing - and still, like clockwork, my lungs fill with gunk and I need a little puff on the reliever.
The idea of my mind being tied to my brain being tied to my body is not a new one. I’m not sure how, exactly, they became separated but it seems to me that common sense rarely makes an appearance when groups don’t talk to each other. Perhaps it made early discoveries easier in the beginnings of understanding how we work, either way I had a topic to discuss.
So in the case of my Asthma there is some history that bears relevance:
- I have had Asthma since I was born
- As a child I remember having the occasional hospitalisation due to Asthma attacks, which became less frequent as I grew older
- I have preventative medicine which I take at such low doses the doctor who proscribed it was of two minds as to whether it was needed or not
- I carry the reliever in my car and have one in the bathroom
But when I think back on the times that I remember having difficulty breathing, they seem to coincide with the onset of anxiety. The above mentioned facts can also be explained through brain washing. Over time the continual repetition that, “I have Asthma” and am therefore restricted in my abilities becomes it’s own self-fulfilling prophesy.
I mean, I remember one time I was playing a game of basketball and the period when I usually required the Ventolin pump was rapidly approaching and I went to mum to get it (on the side lines) and she wouldn”t give it me (I later found out that a bunch of other mothers had coaxed her to not give it me). I remember the look I gave her and then gruginly continued to play the game. I swapped positions with a team mate to let him take the bounce at the start of the second half and he managed to push it my way. Well, I went after the ball with gusto and it just happened that the bounce was in the direction of the other team’s goal, so, without thinking of anything else, I chased the ball up.
I suddenly realised, with shock, that I was level with the backboard (it was the adult height, not the kids one) and my eyes were level with the ring. I was so high up that the ring was flat! I let go of the ball (I think it went in, actually) and prepared to land. When I looked up from the landing my whole team was gob-smacked, so was the other team and so was the crowd. I couldn’t believe it!
It was definitely a freak incident. Something that was a one off, but what if it wasn’t. What if I could do that all the time and that all I had to do was not believe the it’s okay to fail, so why don’t you mentality. This is the kind of thinking that is holding me back from doing what I want. Amazing!
So, if this holds true for jumping after balls, breathing with clear lungs and remembering appointments, then there is really nothing in the way of breathing clearly. There is no reason why I need to accept the way I am other than to validate the way that I have been previously which then just supports how I think I should act. The chicken or the egg problem.
I have evolved my own neurosis and manifested it into being because I don’t believe I can act any other way. That’s simply astounding.
It leads back to the idea that the brain is connected to the body and therefore both areas will and can affect each other. If I think I am sick in the right way I will become sick. Which has happened on more than one occasion. There have been times when I have work, work, worked up to a point where I could rest and I had a big rest and WHAM! I got sick. If I expected to forget details, those details would be forgotten. There isn’t a big enough requirement to remember them because it’s something I do.
I wonder what else I have in here (jumbles through his brain) that operates like that. HA! Touch typing. I am doing it now, but not so well. Earlier, when I was on a roll I wasn”t making anywhere near as many mistakes, but now it’s about every third word. Because I can’t touch type is a phrase that I have mentioned many times to myself and others, yet there are times when I can and only when I suddenly realise what I am doing do I start with the glances at the keys, the typing mistakes etc. [I'm doing it now!]