All Is Well: Heal Your Body With Medicine, Affirmations, and Intuition (6 page)

plished amazing feats.

As a physician and healer, I cannot stress enough the impor-

tance medicine plays in healing. If you are ill, you should contact

a medical practitioner. These professionals have the knowledge

and skill to use technology to your advantage. They can prescribe

unique practices and medicines based on the combination of

symptoms and ailments you present.

But it is also important to remember that medicine has its lim-

its. That’s why we’re writing this book.

As the field of healing has shifted, many people have moved

away from any interaction with the mystical. The miraculous

cures that technology has brought about seem to offer more mod-

ern and tidy solutions. But remember that technology makes mis-

takes, too. Blood tests and pregnancy tests frequently come back

with faulty results. Medications have side effects. Things go wrong.

So what’s my point? That technology without limits is folly.

And intuition alone is equally foolish. We must use a combina-

tion of techniques—and employ a combination of experts—to

achieve true health. In fact, my life is a perfect demonstration of

how medicine, intuition, and affirmations can heal your life.

Back in 1972 when I was 12, my family had a lot of finan-

cial stress, and we had many conversations about money. Within

a period of three months my spine curved into a severe case of

scoliosis, which necessitated surgery. Because of my spine’s al-

tered structure, I developed an enlarged heart and decreased lung

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A Perspective on Using Medicine

capacity as well. The surgery was dramatic and lifesaving—com-

plete with rods and screws.

I remember walking down Longwood Avenue in Boston be-

fore the surgery, looking up at the tall medical buildings and say-

ing to anyone who would listen, “Someday, I’m going to come

back here, and I’m going to study medicine and science.” That

surgery changed my future. The doctors saved my life by using

medicine; as a result, I became a physician and a scientist so I, too,

could save people’s lives.

But life has a way of not working out exactly the way we ex-

pect it to. As a pre-med student, I developed narcolepsy that made

my consciousness—my intellect—go on the blink. I couldn’t stay

awake in my classes. It looked like my dreams of being a doctor

and a scientist were going down the drain. They simply weren’t

going to materialize because I couldn’t keep my grades up if I

couldn’t keep my eyes open.

So again I turned to medicine. And again the doctors helped;

they found a drug that would keep me awake. But I soon had to

stop taking it because of a life-threatening side effect. Sadly, my

dependable world of medicine had nothing else to help me.

This development launched a series of voyages into other heal-

ing methods. I tried one after another: alternative, complementary,

integrative—you name it. I tried Chinese herbs, acupuncture, and

even a macrobiotic healing diet for three years. All these methods

helped me somewhat, but none completely worked in my quest to

stay awake.

A wonderful thing that came out of this exploration was that

I learned, through seeking help from a medical intuitive, about

my brain’s facility for intuition. Out of desperation, I also went

to a shaman, who told me that when I learned how to access my

intuition, my health problems would get better.

But all these advisors could only take me so far. There was

one element of my health that was not being addressed—my emo-

tions! I had begun to see a pattern developing. I found that if I was

angry about something for a very long time, or if I was around irri-

tating, angry people, my narcolepsy would act up and I would end

up falling asleep—against my will—within 24 to 48 hours. Believe

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A ll i s w e ll

me, I timed it; it was always 24 to 48 hours. And I figured out

that if I was nervous about something, or around anxious, high-

strung people, I would eventually start feeling sleepy. Lights out!

The same thing was true for people who were sad or depressed.

One day I walked into a bookstore and found Louise’s little

blue book. While I had seen that certain thought patterns were

associated with illness, I didn’t know how to use this knowledge

to get healthy—other than to avoid certain people or situations,

which just isn’t practical in the long run. But Louise’s book of-

fered me the tools I needed to neutralize the negative thought

patterns that I knew were contributing to my health problems:

affirmations!

It was certainly worth a try. Conventional, alternative, and

complementary medicines were all helping some, but not com-

pletely, and avoiding someone else’s emotions or my own was get-

ting exhausting. So I got out a notebook, and with some choice

pens started writing specific affirmations that seemed to be associ-

ated with my health problems:

I choose to see life as eternal and joyous. I love myself just the

way I am. I love myself just the way I am.

I, Mona Lisa, rely on Divine wisdom and guidance to protect

me at all times. I am safe.

I, Mona Lisa, rely on Divine wisdom and guidance to protect

me at all times. I am safe.

These are classic Louise Hay–isms. I repeated them over and

over again, and slowly but surely my sleep spells decreased. I got

into medical school and graduated with an M.D. and a Ph.D. I

never would have been able to do this without affirmations.

I’ve had my share of ups and downs with my health over the

years. (Haven’t we all?) Each time I had a down, I’d turn to con-

ventional and integrative medicine. I’d also take out Louise Hay’s

book, and I’d use medical intuition to find the imbalances in my

life. This combination always did the trick.

This is how I stay well. Medicine, intuition, and affirmations.

It’s also how I help other people.

Recently, the spine problem that started when I was 12 began

to escalate. I started to list forward like the Leaning Tower of

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A Perspective on Using Medicine

Pisa—I stood at a 70-degree angle, always facing toward the

ground. The surgeons I saw in Phoenix, Arizona, said it was

straight back syndrome, a complication of the extensive scoliosis

surgery I had had nearly 40 years before. I couldn’t walk very

far or lift my arms. Intuition told me to reevaluate the structure

and support in my life, and I did. I looked at my purpose with

the help of spiritual advisors and friends. I also worked with a

Chinese acupuncturist and
qigong
master, but all these remedies

only took me so far.

I still wanted to be able to walk. The surgeon said that an op-

eration was necessary or I’d be in a wheelchair. So on February 13,

2012, I went to the operating room—and almost died when an

abnormal vein blew during surgery. Medicine again saved my life.

The surgeon stopped the bleeding, resuscitated me, and fixed my

spine, making me three inches taller. And he gave me back my life.

I would love to tell you that medicine alone—so neat, so tidy,

so rational—was the saving grace. I was in the ICU for more than

two weeks and in the hospital for four weeks: let us say recov-

ery was tricky. But now I’m better than ever. So what was it that

brought me back? Of course, in the hospital, I used medicine. And

I used intuition to figure out how to strengthen my body and cre-

ate balance in my life. I relied heavily on affirmations to change

my thoughts. And believe me, they needed changing! This is how

you heal the whole person. How you create lasting health. Medi-

cine alone wouldn’t do it, and neither would intuition or affirma-

tions. Only a balanced approach holds the full promise of healing.

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The First Emotional Center: Bones, Joints,

Blood, Immune System, and Skin

The health of the first emotional center depends on your feel-

ing safe in the world. If you don’t have the support of family and

friends that you need to thrive, you will see this insecurity mani-

fest in your blood, immune system, bones, joints, and skin. The

key to enjoying health in this center is balancing your own needs

with those of the meaningful social groups in your life. Family

and friends, work, and an organization to which you are devoted

all take up time and energy. But they are also meant to give back,

in the form of friendship, safety, and security; they should provide

a sense of belonging. These are all reasons human beings seek out

other people and groups. However, the needs of the group should

never be allowed to overshadow your own needs—particularly

your health.

When you are not getting what you need from relationships

or activities on which you spend considerable time, your body and

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A ll i s w e ll

mind will start to tell you. At first the signs may be as simple as

fatigue, skin rashes, or joint pain. Mild problems in the first emo-

tional center can serve as an early-warning system, letting you

know when you have gone off track. Ignoring your body’s warn-

ings could lead to a world of hurt: chronic fatigue syndrome, fibro-

myalgia, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, Epstein-Barr virus,

hepatitis (A, B, or C), mononucleosis, Lyme disease, allergies, rashes,

psoriasis, joint pain, and autoimmune disorders like lupus all stem

from an imbalance in the first emotional center.

The part of your body in which the sickness manifests depends

on what’s causing the feeling of insecurity. For example, if you

feel so overwhelmed by family responsibilities that you put your

own needs on the back burner, the insecurity you feel will create

illness in your bones. Feeling hopeless and helpless will show up

in your blood. Feeling completely alone and outcast from your

family will bring illness to your immune system. And being un-

able to set boundaries with those around you will show up in skin

ailments. We’ll get into more specifics as we move through each

organ system. For now, just remember: it is important to listen to

your body’s warnings and take action. By focusing on
why
you are

not feeling safe and secure, you can change thought and behavior

patterns that may be adding to your sickness.

First Emotional Center Affirmations and Science

So what’s the importance of affirmations? If you fundamen-

tally don’t believe that you are capable or worthy of receiving sup-

port, foundation, and security, medicine alone won’t be able to

cure what ails you. You must address the underlying beliefs that

led you down the road of health problems in the first place. If you

are experiencing illness in your blood, immune system, bones,

joints, or skin, you are probably also having negative thoughts,

such as:

• I can’t independently support myself.

• I have nobody to help support me.

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We Are Family

• I feel depressed, joyless, hopeless, and helpless.

• I am unloved and alone.

This is where affirmations come in; they help you change

these core beliefs. If you use affirmations to address the negative

thought patterns and beliefs—the doubts and fears—
and
apply

available medical science, you will start to see huge changes in

your health and in your emotional life.

If you look at the affirmations that address illness in organs

of the first emotional center, you’ll see that they have to do with

building support, foundation, security, structure, family, move-

ment, and flexibility. The health of your bones in general reflects

the structure of your life and how you draw on and use the sup-

port others offer you. If you feel loved and supported, your spine

will feel structurally strong and flexible. Conversely, if you feel a

lack of support and security in your life, you may suffer from os-

teoporosis and bone fractures.

A lack of security doesn’t necessarily come only from relation-

ships around you. It can also come from a weak relationship with

yourself. Louise’s affirmations note that an inability to support

yourself independently in the world is associated with a weakened

immune system and susceptibility to viruses, which can result in

illnesses such as Epstein-Barr and mononucleosis. She refers to this

as a “draining of your inner support.” If you look at the biological