All the Help you need

Mind Over Medicine, Scientific Proof that you can Heal Yourself by Lissa Rankin, M.D. will convince you of the truth of her findings, if scientific proof is what you need. However, many of us can skip all the proofs that she provides and simply believe in the validity of what Dr. Rankin proposes, that our emotional health is important if we are concerned about our physical health. Findings have been brought forth proving that a happy state of mind, a supportive environment and major stress reduction will enable our bodies to not only heal faster but can act as a preventive methodology when disease threatens.

I was totally supportive of this book before I read it. I truly believe that our minds are more powerful than any disease which it may encounter. The author provides scientific proof based on verifiable studies for those who would doubt the accuracy of this theory. Her experience with western medicine, as a practicing Doctor of Medicine, should convince those who limit their belief in information about health by only believing people with white coats.

Presenting her findings and agreeing with her theories will only take us so far. When we are unhappy in our lives, marriages, work and home environments, how can we implement the necessary changes so that we can be happy and therefore succeed in having a healthy life, free of disease? Fortunately, Dr. Rankin did not stop at just finding the formula for health but continued to inform us of methods for bringing more happiness into our lives.

Meditation is the key that she suggests we can use to unlock the door to our ‘Inner Pilot Light’ which she describes as the base of our inner guidance. She has created a wonderful visual map showing the contributing factors which affect our health and the bubble which acts as a glue to the balance by contributing gratitude, service, love and pleasure. Connecting to this inner knowing and healing wisdom to guide us, each in our own unique way, will inform us of the obstacles standing in our way.

She finishes the book with clear directions for taking the 6 steps to heal ourselves; believing in our ability to heal our self, finding our support team, listening to our body and intuition, diagnosing the root causes of our illness by determining what our body needs in order to heal, how balanced is our total health package (including spirituality, sexuality, physical body, relationships and work), write our own prescription, write and finally, take action on the prescription we write for ourselves. She provides suggested instruction on meditation to use and also provides assistance on her website with downloadable guides.

Dr. Rankin believes we hold the key to our own health and well-being and I agree. Her suggestions and questions are simply ways to get at the truth although she does heartily recommend having a support system in place before embarking on the journey because some of the truths we may encounter could be challenging to deal with alone. I agree with Dr. Rankin on much of the information in her book.

The only problem that I have with this book is her comments regarding alternative healing practices such as Reiki. In the discussion of placebos and no-cebos, she proposes that these same principals hold true. As a practicing Reiki Master for many years I really don’t know how you could pretend to give reiki and not give it. If you have belief in reiki, you know that all that is required to ‘turn it on’ is your intention to do so. I suppose if you hadn’t received an attunement and pretended that you did, it could affect the volume of healing energy flowing through your hands. However, my belief is that everyone has healing energy which may pass through their hands, only reiki practitioners have the volume turned up. This equates to a small note for a large book with many truths and excellent suggestions.

I received this book as a gift from Hay House in exchange for writing my review. I was in no way coerced to write a positive or negative review, simply to state my opinion.