CHAPTER 1
You Are Wonderfully and Fearfully Made
Thanks To My Ancestors
I would like to dedicate all that we know today about modern medicine to my ancestors, the ancient Egyptians, who gave this world medicine. As you may already know, the study and practice of medicine started in Ancient Egypt. Primitive by today's standards, physicians in Egypt nonetheless showed great initiative and impressive knowledge of the human body and its inner workings, as well as the treatment of illness and disease. As a civilization, the Egyptians were very fearful of illness and disease. Perhaps it is for this reason that medicine became such an important pursuit for them. They did what they could to prevent illness, by bathing and purifying their bodies habitually, shaving off their heads and body hair (women included), and maintaining a diet that excluded many "unclean" animals (including fish). However, they still could not escape the onslaught of disease. Because of this dilemma, the Egyptians pursued rapid medical research to combat these diseases. Egyptian medicine became a far-reaching discipline, encompassing many other fields. Egyptian physicians, like physicians today, were specialists in their particular disciplines. These disciplines included pharmacology, dentistry, gynecology, crude surgical procedures, general healing, autopsy, and embalming.
I believe it is from the process of embalming, or mummification, that Ancient Egyptian physicians gained their greatest knowledge of the human anatomy. During the mummification process, which prepared the dead body for its journey into the afterlife, most of the organs were removed (brain, intestines, lungs, liver, etc.). This provided opportunities for examination and observation of many specimens through the years in the pursuit of medical knowledge. In fact, the Egyptians were so extraordinary in their knowledge of healing and anatomy that they impressed the Greeks, who were quite knowledgeable in the field of medicine in their own right.
I am so thankful that my ancestors, chronicled their medical research along with all their knowledge on papyrus scrolls. Some of these papyri still exist today, and I have had the rare opportunity to be able to see and read some of their medical research on original papyrus. The documents left behind by them helped to advance the pursuit and study of the field of medicine throughout history. Likewise, I have learned a great deal about the study and practice of medicine in Ancient Egyptian cultures.
Let's Talk About Our Body
In preparation for this chapter, I thought about my earlier years of study and research. The physical body that house our spirits and souls during our stay on this Earth are "wonderfully and fearfully made" indeed. It is truly awesome, and I am going to attempt to prove it by providing several examples that will astound your mind. I hope by the time you are finished with this chapter, you will have learned a few things that you didn't know previously!
I am often asked, "How can you believe and teach the power of the body to heal itself when there is so much sickness and disease in the world?" I respond by sharing what I call, The Wonders of the Body. I explain how the organs, tissues, and cells in the body were made to work perfectly and in very specific order. Sickness and disease is a result of improper care of ourselves and making poor lifestyle choices. This causes the body to break down over time. If supported properly, (i.e. taking care of ourselves, eating nutritious food, drinking pure water, exercising daily, etc), the body is practically unlimited in what it can do. It can heal itself of virtually any condition or disease known to man if the communication from the brain to the cells of the body is working without the presence of interference.
Our Creator spared no cost when it came to detail in designing our body. I have noticed that the more that scientists study how the body works; the marvelous simplicity combined with the astounding complexity, the more amazed they become. Constant study over an entire lifetime has barely begun to scratch the surface of just how intricate the inner workings of the human body really are.
Let me share with you a few of the examples of just how incredible our body, otherwise known as a machine, actually is. We see with it, hear with it, breathe with it, walk and run with it, and sense pleasure and agony with it. Its bones, muscles, arteries, veins and internal organs are organized with marvelous design, and when we examine this design in detail we find even more amazing facts. Every part of our body is made up of the same material called cells. Our body is the entire structure of a human organism. It consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms, two legs and internal organs. By the time we reach adulthood, our body consists of close to 10 trillion cells. This group of cells combines and works in tandem to form tissues. The tissues combine to form organs, which work together to form the organ system. The organ system of our body includes the musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, endocrine system, integumentary system, urinary system, lymphatic system, immune system, respiratory system, and nervous and reproductive system.
The Brain and Nervous System
The master computer, the brain, combined with all of its wirings is called the nervous system. Everything that happens in the cells of our body comes from the brain telling them what to do. This is true from the time we are conceived until the time we die. The brain communicates with the body by sending messages down the spinal cord to the cells, tissues, and organs along the nerves. The brain gets signals from 130 million receptors of light in the eyes, 100,000 hearing receptors, 3,000 taste buds, 30,000 heat sensing nerve endings, 250,000 cold sensing nerve endings, and 500,000 touch sensing nerve endings. It receives most of these messages from all parts of the body at the same time! I hope you are getting a good idea of the awesome complexity of the brain and how it is able to handle such enormous inputs of information without you being aware of it. This all happens automatically without your even having to think about it. Isn't that is awesome?
The Eyes
Our eyes are a thing of beauty. The retina is the main nerve in the eyes. It is like film in an old box camera and is responsible for capturing all of the light rays, transforming these images into electrical impulses that are carried by the optic nerve to the brain. The retina is thinner than tissue paper and has 137 million nerve endings that carry pictures of what we see to our brains. These electrical impulses flash along the nerves at 393 feet per second, which is the equivalent of 270 miles per hour. One cubic inch of brain tissue, about the size of a sugar cube, contains over 10,000 miles of connections similar to the wires in a large fiber optic cable. The information is processed so rapidly that it would take a computer the size of the state of Texas to duplicate the speed and complexity of the brain.
The Tongue
Although moist and slippery, this large muscle in our mouth has thousands of taste buds covering its surface. These taste buds are collections of nerves cells that connect to nerves running into the brain allowing you to differentiate between the four common tastes-sweet, sour, bitter, and salty; combining the four into many other combinations.
The Cardiovascular System
The cardiovascular system is also known as our blood stream. One drop of our blood contains 5 million red blood cells, 7,000 white blood cells, and thousands of platelets. Sixty thousand of these blood cells could fit on the head of a pin. If you laid out all the veins and arteries in your body in a straight line, they would stretch over 12,000 miles. In 60 seconds your heart pumps all the blood in your body completely throughout your entire body. Now, talking about an efficient system!
Even with the above knowledge, we still have only scratched the surface of The Wonders of the Body. The question that remains is, "How can we ensure that everything in our bodies will work the way it was intended, if provided the proper environment"? The answer is actually simpler than you might think.
Since the brain and nervous system is responsible for controlling the major functions in the body, we have to make sure that nothing is interfering with the way they are working. We have to make sure that they are not getting "busy signals" and that the lines are not getting crossed. This would end up scrambling the information from the brain before it gets to the cells. Factors that interfere with how the body works include poor diet, lack of sleep, stress, worry/anxiety, lack of exercise, blocked nerves, toxins and poisons in the body just to name a few.
Any interference with the nerves and their communication with the brain must be removed. Only then can you expect to be optimally healthy, because without "open channels" between the brain and rest of the body, your resistance is low; making you much more susceptible to getting sick. You can make sure that the "lines of communication" are open between the brain and all the cells in the body by making sure that the nerves in the body are working properly.
We must provide the proper environment for this healing to take place, and it is our job to make better choices in our lifestyle in order to do so. We have to do our part in order for the body to be able to do what it is capable of when the proper environment is provided. Otherwise, it would be like putting the lowest grade fuel into a Ferrari and then wonder why the engine is sputtering and not running as it should!
A qualified Homeopath, Naturopath, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine or Chiropractor are among the many health care professionals capable of determining whether or not the cause of your sickness, disease, or pain is due to a lack of proper communication in your nervous system. If blocked nerves are the cause of the problems you are having with your health, only a qualified professional will know what to do to correct the interference in the nerves and restore things back to their original state. When this is accomplished, the body heals itself from the inside out.
Doctors do not "cure" or "heal" you of anything. Their job is to work with you to remove the interference or the infectious element. They can also perform a corrective surgical procedure in order for the body to then heal itself. My counsel to you is to turn in the opposite direction and run from any doctor who tells you that they are capable of healing you! Healing comes when the proper function to the design of the human body is restored.
The next time someone questions how well made our bodies actually are, just share a few of these "Wonders of the Body" with them, and watch their eyes grow large in amazement. I think you can see the kind of impact it could have on their lives. Health is a complex entity, but it is our responsibility to make sure that we do our part in protecting our bodies and the way they are made to work to the best of our ability.
CHAPTER 2
Necessities Of Life
While leading a group of fifty men, I decided to ask them a question, "What are six things that are most vital for sustaining life on a daily basis?" I was surprised to learn amount of things these men felt was necessary to sustain life. Two months later, I asked the same question to a group of women and to my amazement, their responses were exactly the same as the men. Work, food, sex and housing were common responses. Neither group was able to answer the question correctly. In this chapter, I will discuss the six necessities of life-air, food, spirituality, sleep, sunlight and water.
The Air We Breathe
Many of us take the air we breathe for granted. We breathe without thinking how precious it is. It is likely that most of the air in our communities is not clean, yet it is all we have and we can't live without it.
We must keep in mind that air is the most essential element needed to sustain life. To a degree, the strength of our system depends upon the amount of pure fresh air we breathe. Our body is made up of cells, these cells in turn make up our tissues and tissues make up the organs of our body. Every function carried-out by the body is directly related to the life of the cells. Cells need four things to live and function properly. These four essentials are oxygen (air), water, nutrients and cleansing.
• Without oxygen, cells will die in approximately three minutes.
• Without water, cells will die in a few days.
• Without nutrients, cells will die in a few weeks.
• The waste from the cells must be removed promptly or death will result in a matter of hours.
Air purifies the blood, giving it the bright red color, while providing life energy to every part of our body. You might make breathing deeply more of a priority after reading about the benefits of fresh air. Too many of us spend most of our time indoors every day. Our children spend about six hours each day in the classroom. Many adults spend at least eight hours inside of the buildings where they work. We spend all night in our homes eating, playing, and sleeping. When do we take the time to enjoy the "great outdoors"? Fresh air is highly underrated. Getting outdoors on a regular basis can improve one's health and sense of well-being. Air-conditioned, second hand, or stale air adversely affects our health, strength and intellect.
The air that you breathe on the inside of a building or vehicle is not as fresh as it should be. Dust is a fact of everyday life. It collects on every surface. As we try to get rid of it, the dust swirls around us and makes its way into our respiratory system via nose and mouth. In your homes, if you cook and occasionally burn a meal or two, those fumes get inhaled also. You need a break from the indoor air. Companies try to sell us products to clean our home or office air that is fine, but there is just no substitute for fresh air. Fresh air cleans our lungs. As you begin to breathe fresh air, you will cough a bit at first as your lungs are getting rid of the impurities that we suck up on a daily basis; but after a while you'll begin to breathe deeper and deeper which brings more oxygen to your cells. The increased oxygen brings with it increased energy to do the things we need to do. More oxygen brings greater clarity to the brain, which needs twenty percent of our body's oxygen to function. You would find yourself thinking clearer than you could before. Exercises performed outdoors in fresh air offer increased aerobic benefits. The cleaner the air you breathe in, the more it helps improve your breathing technique. The better your breathing technique, the more it increases your stamina and carries more oxygen to your muscles that reduce the lactic acid build-up in the muscles which leads to cramping.
I am aware that fresh air is not easily found everywhere. For instance, in large where factories and vehicles operate day and night, spewing smoke and particles into the air, fresh, clean air would be a premium. If you live in a large city getting away will bring your body the benefits of fresh air and the healing it so needs. Fresh air produces a healthy mind, clean lungs, and a calmer constitution when we actively use it. Getting outdoors should not be a chore, but a privilege. Enjoy the earth and get your dose of fresh air.
We live in very demanding times, and our health depends on us being able to relieve our bodies and minds from constant stress. Breathing with awareness can focus and concentrate our attention on the inside. This slows down our pace and eases the pressure, anxiety, anticipation and excitement that are common stress reactions.
At any time, you can consciously experience your breathing to help you concentrate your mind and relax your body. Compare how you feel after your session with how you felt before. Write about your experience in a journal.
As Good As Air Is For The Body, It Can Also Be Damaging At Times
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, when air is accumulated in the body it can cause a variety of diseases. An accumulation of air in the body amounts to too much pressure in the body. The external environmental air pressure should be the same as the air pressure inside of the body; otherwise we would have an imbalance in our system.
