The Buddha talked about the “impermanence of all things.” To use a metaphor, life is like the flow of a river. Although it may be the same river geographically, the water flowing through it is most certainly not the same from moment to moment. Thus the river is always changing. The same is true of the human body.

Almost all parts of our bodies are rebuilt over time. Stomach cells are renewed every two days. Skin cells last about two week before they are replaced. Red blood cells live for around four months. Your liver is restored in about a year and a half, and your bones are completely regrown over the course of a decade. Some brain cells and certain cells in the eye are never replaced over the course of a lifetime.

Which means if a disease exists in an internal organ over a long period of time, it’s not the body’s fault. Something besides the body is forcing it to recreate that disease over and over again. It is as if, spiritually speaking, there is some sort of “blueprint for illness” the body is following.

Guess what? There is. And it’s coming from you!

Each part of the body basically follows your own conception of what you are. It tries to create in alignment with your thoughts. So what happens when you constantly harbor destructive thoughts or self-punishing ways of thinking that do not stem from your essential true self?

What happens when you have been very aggressive toward someone else, getting angry or constantly lashing out in discontent?

Did you know that sometimes your own thought waves attacking other people can bounce back and hurt you?

If you’re clairvoyant, you can see the effects of your thoughts on the outermost part of the spirit body. This outer sheath, or astral body, is an exact representation of the physical body of an individual, right down to each and every hair and nail. When someone begins to fall ill, the first indication is a tear or lesion in his or her astral body. Soon, the damage begins to affect the physical body, causing lots of strange physical ailments to appear.

“If you have become ill, that is most certainly because you have started to harbor some negative thought patterns that have solidified into a kind of mental attachment that will eventually manifest as a particular kind of lesion,” says Ryuho Okawa, renowned spiritual leader and founder and CEO of the fastest growing religion in Japan called Happy Science. “Medical doctors will apply treatment to the physical body. But that is not where true healing begins because it doesn’t deal with the original cause of the astral lesion.”

Okawa maintains that to accomplish any sort of self-healing you must start by changing your self-awareness and then shift your thought patterns accordingly. “It is not an easy task to see ourselves objectively as if we are looking at ourselves in a mirror,” says Okawa. “We cannot easily understand if our mind is distorted or our ways of living have strayed. For this reason, it is essential to have the attitude of self-reflection and the feeling of gratitude.”

Cure illness using your subconscious mind

The body follows the mind’s lead. Okawa recommends creating a healthy image of yourself in your mind that is the complete opposite of whatever condition or illness you currently experience and become determined to manifest your healthy image by taking the following steps.

STEP 1:

Be aware of how you think about your body and any illness that you might have. If you constantly tell the aching parts of your body how bad the condition is, it will not get any better. But to change these habitual thoughts about your body, you need to be aware of them!

STEP 2:

Develop a positive mindset and take action to correct your condition. For example, think to yourself “Even though I’m experiencing this arthritis or angina or _____ (fill in your condition), I’m taking steps every day to change this condition.” And then take the steps.

STEP 3:

Include your body in some encouraging conversation. “You've done your best so far, body. Thank you! We’re going to be together for a few more years or decades. If you get better, even a little, I can do something for the world and repay my family a bit for all they have done for me. So please get better little by little, day by day. I’ll do all I can to help.” If you do this, your body will start reacting in a positive manner.

STEP 4:

Be patient. Even if you do not get better immediately, it is important to know that you are gradually changing in the right direction, planting the idea of better health into your subconscious.

STEP 5:

Be consistent and keep doing things that will help you get better, keep your thoughts positive and be sure to have gratitude in your heart for life and the opportunity to learn and grow!

This process works for matters other than illnesses. For example, maybe you think you’re rather unintelligent and do a lot of stupid things. Want to get smarter? Apply the steps above. Catch your inner critic when it says self-destructive things like, “I misread the instructions. Stupid me.” Or, “I didn't read the letter from the PTA about the meeting and I missed it. How stupid.”

If you keep reproaching yourself like this, you will not get any cleverer! Of course, it would be a lie to say to yourself such things as, “I’m a genius today.” Try telling yourself, “I'm getting more and more clever, day by day.” And when you see some change and improvement, praise yourself a bit!

Interested in making health changes in your life? Check out the film Immortal Hero, based on the true story of Ryuho Okawa, who suffered complete heart failure and literally came back to life through the force of his own mind and will in order to complete his mission on Earth to help uplift humanity. A limited theatrical release is planned for Mid-October, 2019.

Image credit:  A. L.