THE HEALING SELF

This is the third joint publication by the authors, and they make a great alliance with a physician teaming up with the professor of neurology at Harvard, this time looking at mind-body wholeness, health and healing and means of sustaining the immune system over the lifespan so as to maximise healthspan at a time when, in the US, the last 10 years of life are generally spent in a debilitating condition. The two parts look at the healing journey and outline a seven-day action plan for the maintenance of health. They see the most urgent crisis facing us as one of immunity, at a time when there are long trails eventually leading to chronic illness, sometimes over a period of decades. This is where lifestyle medicine can make a critical contribution, especially as the strength of the allopathic approach lies in emergency intervention. As indicated in the title of my review, mind and body cannot be separated in health terms, and indeed mind is spread throughout the body.

The authors take issue with the gambling model of illness, where it is supposed that it is largely a matter of luck. Certainly, genetics play a role, but epigenetic and lifestyle factors seem to account for 70% of illness and disease. This includes core beliefs and values. The authors draw both on scientific studies and case histories to illustrate their argument. An important overall theme is the development of awareness, which is also correlated ultimately with spiritual enlightenment. We can work on becoming more conscious and mindful in our everyday activities, and the authors provide a great deal of good advice in this respect. They show how love and the sense of being loved can play a significant role in mental and physical health, relating this generally to the health of the heart. They argue that stress can lead to inflammation and in turn to atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease while citing many factors and variables in the mix.

Many of us find ourselves in a chronic stress overdrive whereby our normal lifestyle can block healing: the focus of life is on externals and work, with emotional needs downgraded and we are subject to a constant barrage of demands. This in turn correlates with an unconscious attitude to life and a passive stance towards one's own health. The authors show how we can assume more control of our health and transform our beliefs by changing our interpretation of life and therefore our outcomes. We can adopt positive and healing beliefs, on which the authors offer sound practical advice that can support the wisdom of the body and the aspirations of our higher self in terms of a more conscious life. (p. 147) Nor need we turn pain into suffering – as an animal parallel, they cite a fascinating study showing how good mothering in rats can override poor inheritance by changing a significant number of chemical pathways. In our case, we can change imprints by choosing our beliefs, behaviours and interpretations.

The second part is highly practical with seven sections on the anti-inflammation diet, stress reduction, anti-ageing, exercise and rest, core beliefs, non-struggle and evolution. Here the authors provide a great deal of practical guidance, and in each chapter they recommend a series of do's and undo's, suggesting that we only pick one per week. The news on coffee is better than on alcohol, which they recommend avoiding, at least late at night. They recognise the importance of a healthy gut microbiome, also making recommendations in this respect. Advice on stress reduction includes the practice of meditation and centring, while that on anti-ageing includes advice from a number of other sections as well as the belief side; also guidance on maintaining the length of one's telomeres.

In common with other experts, they emphasise the importance of movement, exercise, rest and sleep. Under non-struggle they specify surrender, acceptance and flow as well as an overall trusting philosophy of life. They develop this further in the final chapter on evolution by contrasting the implicit health consequences of a spiritual or atheistic sets of beliefs. They remind us of key themes that we can reinforce every day as well as of the core qualities of consciousness and how to look after our emotional body. They end by affirming the spiritual 'pull of the Self' as the ultimate direction and purpose of life. This is a wise and comprehensive book about health at all levels and will help any reader enhance the quality of their lives if they take the authors' advice on board.