How many times have we been told by others, andourselves, that we'd never be able to do, have, or be something? Similarly, the thought of intentionally cultivating wisdom is not even considered by most us. Instead, we stumble through life, learning what’s foolish / self-defeating / antisocial / horrible, by trying it out. If by chance we should come across the deep meaning of "wisdom", most of us doubt that we ourselves could possibly cultivate it. Deep down, many of us lack the self-confidence, discipline and drive to achieve meaningful goals.
Henry Ford was spot on when he said, "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right!" Watch this video
"Many
economists believe that health care costs will continue to rise. Even
more distressing, the Affordable Care Act will likely reinforce current
practice, which dictates surgical and pharmacological interventions that
can be expensive, inappropriate, burdened by side effects and, often,
ineffective.
Forty
years ago, as a researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health, I
began to study inexpensive self-care strategies — then called
“alternative therapies” — that might address the underlying biological
and psychological imbalances that contribute to chronic conditions.
These included nutrition, exercise and “mind-body” techniques like
meditation, guided mental imagery and biofeedback.
Since
then, research has demonstrated that mind-body approaches reduce stress
and improve mood and immunity. They decrease blood pressure in
hypertensives, blood sugar in diabetics and pain. Dietary modification
can play a major role in preventing breast, prostate and colon cancer,
as well as in diabetes and heart disease. And exercise, which can help
prevent all of these, can also alleviate depression.
We
spend about twice as much as many other industrialized nations on
health care, often with inferior outcomes. Three-quarters of that
spending is on chronic conditions, including heart disease, diabetes,
cancer, arthritis, depression and chronic pain — exactly the ones for
which self-care is best suited. Comprehensive programs that offer
self-care in a supportive group are even more promising, for both
treatment and prevention. This approach is also proving effective for
psychological trauma.
What
was unexamined and alternative 40 years ago is now well researched. It
should be fundamental. If we are going to reduce our ruinous costs and improve our declining national health, we must make self-care and group
support central to all care."
