Our true healing of mind and body will come if we are able and willing to open our minds and change the way we see ourselves and the world around us. – Henry Grayson
“Your Power to Heal” Ain’t that empowering to know? This is exactly what Dr. Henry Grayson aims to offer with this book – for us to know, to remember the power that we always have. It includes techniques and practical tools to harness that power.
It features Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), one of the tools I also presented (with some variations) in my book The Path to Awesomeness. And I already began incorporating Dr. Grayson’s EFTA (A for Adaptation).
Considerably a manual for self-healing, not only does Dr. Grayson provide us with his 30 years of professional training, but he also shares his own experiences, as well as those of his clients, that attest to the efficacy of these tools. There are also self-assessment questionnaires provided that can help us locate our subconscious beliefs and identify the barriers to healing.
Time to unlock your power!
Powerlessness
Belief in our own powerlessness is just as much a factor in mental disorders as physical illnesses. What is the underlying dynamic in depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, traumas, addictions, and phobias? It is the feeling of powerlessness and our ineffective ways of recognizing our intrinsic power to deal with it.
Dr. Grayson observed that our subconscious beliefs in powerlessness are very apparent in the language that we use. Do any of these sound familiar to you?
- “I caught the flu from my officemate.” (belief: you’re powerless and have no choice but to catch the flu)
- “My back is killing me.” (belief: your back has the power to hurt you)
- “It’s the food that I ate.” (belief: the burger has control over your digestive system)
- “My parents are diabetic, so most likely I’ll be diabetic too.” (belief: you are a victim of your genes)
They sound familiar, but we probably are not aware of how they rob us of our power. We unconsciously send these messages to our body cells (they are always listening!) that only make them sick.
It’s as if we’re always “at the effect of…” something else beyond ourselves. It’s as if we’re afraid to embrace our own power.
Is it? Or are we just afraid to embrace the responsibility that comes with that power?
You’ve got to own it, Spidey!
In-divid-duality
Fortunately, a new scientific worldview is emerging, thanks to the development of quantum physics and particle theory during the twentieth century. This groundbreaking scientific theory and research leads us to a new understanding in which the individual is quite powerful, because, even though we and each thing around us seems separate, we are not and can never be separated from the immense intelligence and power of the multiple universes.
Ah, so there we have it! Our belief in powerlessness comes from another belief: “In-divid-duality” or as Dr. Grayson puts it, “divided into duality.” Yup, that’s the world we live in, a world of duality, of opposites.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Isn’t it fascinating to know that even though we have separate physical bodies, the thoughts that run in your mind can also run in mine? That’s because we are only of one mind. We are one mind having separate bodies.
Doc Henry shares the work of David Bohm and other physicists declaring that there is just one unified field of consciousness in the universe.
That unified consciousness, The One Mind, is what we call “God.” Even though we have separate bodies, we are all parts of the same mind. Amidst our diversity, we are unified. Despite our individuality, we are one.
Are you feeling what I’m feeling? AWESOME!
Thymus Heart Rub
Remember, by changing your reality about yourself and the world – and especially where the power lies – you too can begin to take steps to do self-healing, emotionally, mentally, and physically. The Thymus Heart Rub is an easy, effective exercise for helping you let go of helplessness and believe in your own power to heal yourself.
This is my biggest takeaway exercise from the book! I used to either tap or apply mild pressure on my chest for healing purposes. Thanks to Dr. Henry’s tool that adds a soothing and calming effect to it, I’m now doing the rub too.
The thymus gland plays a key role in the immune system. It produces T-cells, important white blood cells that defend the body from pathogens. It is located just below the throat.
Here’s how we do it:
- Place your right hand flat on the upper chest (right below the collarbones).
- Rub your upper chest softly in a clockwise circle around it.
- As you continue rubbing, say to yourself aloud or silently:
- “I deeply love and accept myself, even though I’ve believed I’m powerless over my body.”
- “I deeply love and accept myself as I choose to let this old belief go.”
- “I deeply love and accept myself as I now remember I am created in the image and likeness of God.”
- “I deeply love and accept myself as I embrace my intrinsic power to heal.”
Thymus Heart Rub is one of the practices incorporated in The Path to Awesomeness Starter Kit. Yes, it’s that powerful!
The Seven Questions
Now we want to look for the primary cause of uncomfortable symptoms, and it’s usually from some kind of an inner psychological issue, not something from the outside. The Seven Questions help you get to the answer or answers as to why you might need the symptom.
In reclaiming our power to heal, we also review the symptoms for what they are – as messages from our body. Dr. Henry is a big proponent of the mind-body connection and he stresses the importance of seeing the body as a tool to heal our mind.
In addressing the sickness, we want to look for the answer to the question: “Why might I need this symptom now?”
To help us come up with the answer/s, he breaks it down to seven specific questions we can reflect on:
- What do I hope the symptom will get for me? Could you be seeking love or attention, and getting sick is your unconscious way of getting that?
- What will this symptom get me out of doing? Are you sick because unconsciously you don’t want to go to work? “Monday sickness”?
- What need or emotion is this symptom expressing for me? Guilt, anger? Or vulnerable feelings of hurt, sadness, or a deep yearning?
- Is there some metaphor being expressed in this symptom? Is a task “back-breaking”? Is there something you can’t “stomach”?
- Is there a personal, family, or tribal belief being expressed in this symptom? Such as “I don’t deserve to be healthy and happy if my mother is not.”
- Does this symptom come from uncleared traumas, deep stresses, losses, deprivations, or cumulative painful experiences? Do you have childhood traumas? Current conflicts?
- Is this symptom a download from a parent or other early caretaker? Are you repeating a parent’s illness?
As we can see, there are underlying issues pertaining to the symptom. Pay attention to the message they are trying to show you. They point to the barriers to healing that need to be addressed.
Heal the Mind
The true purpose of healing is to use the body to help us heal the mind that “needed” the body to be sick – and to become aware of our True Self identity, which is part of All That Is, and that possesses enormous power of health, healing, and happiness.
Dr. Grayson often relates to A Course in Miracles (ACIM) in his writings. One of the ACIM lessons that really shifted my perspective is we only need to heal the mind that created the sickness. It even goes as far as saying the first error is thinking the body can get sick.
What it could be teaching us is that the body can only get symptoms. It’s only the mind that gets sick.
What is its sickness? The belief in the illusion of separateness. This is the first error, the cause of our powerlessness. It’s the ego, or what ACIM calls “the split mind.”
Thinking it is separate, the ego needs to find its own identity. And what it identifies first with is the body. To the ego, the more it can identify itself with, the better. So when the body “gets sick,” the ego also identifies with the sickness: my diabetes, my cancer, my heart problem, my weight problem, and so on.
We tend to own sickness like owning a car. As with any possession, we want to protect what we own.
This self-identification with illnesses is what we need to let go of as Dr. Henry suggests, for it is a barrier to healing.
It is the mind, the ego identity that we need to heal.
The Tribal Mind
Our ego mind is quite susceptible to suggestions, especially because we believe most illnesses have an external cause. We follow the thinking of the tribal mind without assessing whether we’re giving up our inner power or whether we have a choice to embrace it.
The tribal mind is our collective consciousness as a society. If we are not aware of our own power, we’ll remain susceptible to the opinions of others.
Had I not given myself a chance at healing myself, I’d probably be still on maintenance thyroid medication, or had my thyroid surgically removed, which could have worsened my condition.
The tribal mind has limiting beliefs. The options it has are limited. We have to expand our awareness and align with the Mind of God, which has no limitations.
Dr. Grayson urges us to question any limiting belief we carry based on tribal beliefs. If there’s anything to doubt, we should doubt our limitations instead of doubting our power.
Banishing Guilt
Once again, as we recognize that our thoughts can make us sick, we must be sure that we do not blame ourselves or feel guilty about having such thoughts. Blame and guilt would be just another layer of egoic-mind thinking to keep us in suffering and help us become even sicker; guilt is also a frequent factor in creating illnesses.
We now know that our thoughts, our belief systems are the root causes of our sickness. This doesn’t mean we become powerless if we can’t control our thoughts. Having negative thoughts is an inevitable part of our human experience.
As we’ve previously learned from The Deepest Acceptance, the “positive” and the “negative” are both allowed in our awareness.
That’s the key, awareness! So Dr. Grayson teaches a thought-monitoring exercise in order to cultivate that awareness.
Guilt demands punishment. Unaware of this egoic thinking, we punish ourselves with sick thoughts, which manifests as symptoms of sickness in the body.
When we are aware, we simply allow negative thoughts to pass through without judging ourselves. Without judgment, there’s no room for blame and guilt, only acceptance, forgiveness, and healing.
Thought-Monitoring Exercise
You are now aware that you – not your thoughts – have the power. It’s not that you will stop from appearing in your mind, for the egoic mind is relentless and persistent. But now you recognize that you have the power to decide whether the thought is welcome.
Exercise time! Here’s a five-step exercise that will take about a minute to do, but can benefit you for a lifetime:
Step 1: Whenever you become aware that you’re not totally at peace, ask yourself: “What was I just thinking?” This question helps you recognize that it’s not the circumstance, but your thoughts about the circumstance that is disturbing your peace.
Step 2: As you identify the thoughts that disturb you, say: “There’s one of those disturbing egoic thoughts. It’s here only to disturb me.” This helps you become more of a witness, an observer.
Step 3: Now you’re in a position for changing where you put your focus on. Remind yourself, “Whatever I focus on will surely increase my reality, both internal and external.”
Step 4: Use an action word (cancel, dismiss, delete, banish) to give an executive order as the observing you. “I delete this thought pattern now.”
Step 5: Fill in the empty space with an affirmation, one you resonate with. “I am healthy and happy.”
As with any exercise, you know the drill: practice, practice, practice…
Wellness, Not Hellness
When we hang on to illusory thinking, we create our existential hell in the new moments, much of it going directly into our bodies.
We also create a hell for ourselves when we fight against the ego mind because fighting it makes it real and gives it power.
“Hell” exists only in our mind, created by the illusory thinking of the ego. When we hang on, attach to, and identify with the ego, we, ourselves, are creating our own sickness, our own “hell.”
Should we fight against the ego? Fighting doesn’t solve anything. It only creates more of the problem.
Dr. Grayson wants us to consider what sounds and feels better for us: “battle against an illness” or “allowing wellness”?
Identified with the ego, we’ll pick the battle. We’ll be at war with ourselves. We’ll perceive the world as a path to hellness – a place for suffering.
Identified with Love, we’ll choose acceptance. We’ll allow the well of love to overflow so it can heal us. We’ll perceive the world as a path to wellness – a place for healing – a heaven on earth.
The Power of Love
Fear, depression, and anger, and even our judging thoughts, all come from feelings of littleness, though expressed in apparently opposite ways. Love is the opposite of fear and anger, and is the higher energy, giving more power. When we realize we’re connected to the Source, love makes us stronger and thereby less prone to the opposite emotions that destroy our mindbodies as well as our spirit.
Dr. Henry reports the research done at the HeartMath Institute where they found that feelings of love, care, appreciation, and compassion produced a coherent heart rhythm and caused less cholesterol to be absorbed, which prevents arteries from clogging.
It also showed that these awesome feelings produce more DHEA, the hormone that counters aging and gives youthful vitality.
Meanwhile, on the opposite end, emotions such as fear and anger produce high levels of cortisol, which is associated with many degenerative diseases.
Love is a powerful healer. And we are always connected to the Source of this power.
We only have to realize this Truth. That realization is what brings about your power to heal.
Your Power to Heal: Resolving Psychological Barriers to Your Physical Health
PS: Thank you for taking the time to read. Tell me, what insight most resonated with you?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
HENRY GRAYSON, PhD, has been lecturing, teaching, and providing professional training for more than 30 years. He is the founder of the Synergetic Therapy Institute, co-chairman of the PSTD division of the Stand for the Troops Foundation.
He is also the founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of the National Institute for the Psychotherapies in New York, a postgraduate local and national psychotherapy training institute chartered by the Board of Regents in New York. He also founded and is director of the Institute for Spirituality, Science, and Psychotherapy, and is the founder and past president of the Association for Spirituality and Psychotherapy—a national membership organization.