An Example of the Power of Mind Over Matter

The universe is alive with activity. Everything is in a state of constant motion. Despite the visible appearance to the contrary, nothing stays the same from one moment to the next. All things are in a state of constant transformation. The question is what drives these developments? What moves change? Many spiritual sources site the mind as the driving force behind all life action. And there is documented evidence to support the exertion that mind is indeed sovereign over matter.

• A statue of Buddha

The Placebo Effect

• The placebo effect is the phrase medical professionals used to describe a measurable restoration of health that cannot be credited to any actual physical treatment. Cancers cured from the ingestion of sugar pills thought by the patient to be powerful drugs, mock surgical procedures that relieve chronic pain are two examples of healing motivated by belief rather than medicine, surgery or any other physical therapy. There have been numerous studies done on this phenomenon, and while the results have not always been conclusive, the placebo effect is widely regarded to be an incident of merit within the medical and scientific communities.

Buddhist Monks

• Blood pressure, heart rate and metabolic rate are all body functions we normally think of as being involuntary processes. Meaning, unlike wiggling your toes or chewing your food, these are not bodily actions consider to be controllable at will. They happen automatically. And while we may perform actions that impact these operations (like running to increase our heart rate), we usually don't consider these functions to be under our conscious control. That's been the traditional school of thought. But it's an understanding that some are beginning to reevaluate in light of research done involving Buddhist monks who have been able to control so-called involuntary functions through meditative practices.

Hypnosis

• There have been eyewitness accounts to support that telling subjects under the influence of deep hypnotic suggestion that they are being touched by a very hot object will actually produce a visible burn in the area of suggested contact. So in a situation where the mind is shown to be the only acting agent, it seems to possess the power to effect striking, and in this example, actually photographable physical change. Hypnosis has been known to relieve pain, heal acne and stimulate spontaneous bleeding. There is a wealth of physiological effects attributable to hypnotic suggestion.

Telekinesis

• Telekinesis, literally defined as "mind-movement", is the ability to manipulate an object exclusively through the power of mental force. While there have been many eyewitness accounts that corroborate the authenticity of this phenomenon, there is no widely accepted scientific documentation to support it. This snubbed branch of scientific investigation falls within the field of parapsychology. Despite the skepticism of the general scientific community about its authenticity, witnesses claims they have observed people demonstrate the ability to move and bend objects seemingly by sheer will.

Everyday Faith

• Every time you talk to your car as if words alone are the only thing needed to fix whatever is preventing it from starting, every time you offer yourself a bit of silent encouragement in the face of hardship, you place just a bit of your faith in the idea of mind over matter.