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19 Febuary, 2005
The Healing Power of the Brain

We've all heard the statistics about what percentage of our brain power we actually use. Apparently there's a big a lump of really useful stuff in our skulls that's just sitting there unharnessed. What powers lurk in there?

One super-power that we know lurks in the largely untapped regions of our brains is invulnerability. That's how those people who walk on hot coals are able to perform such an amazing "feat" (pardon the pun). They don't just have really thick skin, although I'm sure that helps.

Of course, there are possible explanations for it. Perhaps the power merely comes from increased adrenaline secretion. But who controls that secretion? The brain. Or maybe this invulnerability comes from mere suggestability, as in the case of hypnosis. But once again, the brain is responsible. I do not pretend to know how this function of the mind works. But I do know that it works.

Many people refuse to accept that our minds can help us in ways we don’t understand or control. Some even refuse to accept that other people accept it. And yet it happens nonetheless, and people continue to use it to their advantage. Personally, I think that these nay-sayers just haven’t been sick enough.

Dr. Stephen Aung has a clinic in downtown Edmonton. His services are not covered by Alberta Health, despite the fact that they make people healthier. He is practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, or "TCM", and he is very, very busy. In fact, he is a World Health Organization advisor on medical acupuncture.

TCM involves many different approaches and procedures, including acupuncture, meditation, and even suction cup therapy. Obviously these techniques don't function like drugs or chemotherapy, entering the body and physically beating the pulp out of invaders or blocking neuro-receptors and whatever else western medicine does.

TCM is built upon the flow of Qi (pronounced "chi"). Qi is energy, or life-force. Of course, many are reluctant to put their faith in an abstract concept they can't physically perceive or measure with a device. And yet, skeptics around the world insist that everyone should put their faith in gods and goddesses that never show any evidence of existence. My question is this: if religious faith makes sense, why wouldn't medical faith?

Dr. Aung told me that the best sleep is had when the head is pointing north. This is because of the planet's magnetic currents. I tried it and it worked. I suggested it to an insomniac acquaintance. She scoffed and said that it only worked because of the power of suggestion, because the idea had been planted in my head, and not because it actually works.

She was completely unaware of the contradiction in her words. I told her that if her rational science was that precious to her, she could doze through her days while I "trick" myself into sweet, sweet dreams and, consequentially, a happier life.

Maybe all alternative treatments are indeed hooey, scientifically speaking. But isn't the point of medicine to make us well? So if thinking warm fuzzy thoughts, turning my bed around, breathing deeply, smiling, focussing my thoughts, and sticking pins in my arms will make me well, I don't see why it matters *how* it makes me well.

Tension and depression cause the brain to release chemicals that are harmful in excess. So there's your science. Find a way--any way--to relax and smile, and you're on the road to wellness. In any case, you won't be any worse off than the pill-poppers.

So go ahead, let yourself relax and believe. You may just turn your sick days into holidays.

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