Emotional Well-Being: The Most Powerful Healer

True words! The greatest tool for healing is the emotion of joy. Diet and physical activity are important, but I've met people who are disciplined in their diets and jog every day, yet they suffer disease as a result of unresolved emotions such as fear, sadness, anger or a grinding bitterness because of a refusal to forgive. Negative emotions can manifest in cancer, arthritis and heart disease. But there is another way. When these negative emotions flare, are recognized, owned and processed, release comes and joy takes over. It's automatic. One's capacity for love, health and enjoyment of life increases exponentially the beneficial byproducts are motivation and discipline.

That's good medicine!

North Americans live in an atmosphere of constant change and stress. We struggle daily for health and longevity, but diet and exercise alone cannot make us live longer any more than our cars will run smoothly on the type of oil or gasoline we put in the engine alone. The whole car must be maintained brakes, transmission and cooling system.

People are like this. We're three-part beings. Our internal organs crave life-producing nutrition; our muscles, joints and cardiovascular systems need physical activity; and our primary emotions of fear, anger, sadness, joy and excitement must be both felt fully and expressed appropriately in order for us to achieve emotional balance.

Our Western model has been the denial and suppression of emotions to the detriment of human health.

Allow me to paint you a picture of a truly emotionally healthy person.

His name is John. He lives in New York. On a chill November morning last year, he awoke early to the memory of the recent terrorist attack and stark fear gripped him like a tight band around his head. But instead of moving away from the fear, John became curious about it. As he examined and embraced his fear, it subsided and dissolved, and an overwhelming sadness took over sadness for all those affected by the tragedy and who suffered loss of life and loved ones. Some of those killed were his own relatives.

The sadness was like a painful hollow in his chest. His tear ducts felt like the gates to a hydroelectric dam holding back millions of gallons of water! John let the tears flow and allowed himself to mourn for those he loved-and he miraculously began to feel peace and strength. He became gratefully conscious of the rich intimacy he had shared with family and close friends since the terrorist attack. Many of his uncles had shown deeper emotion than they ever had before. For the first time as an adult, his father had hugged him. He'd even looked John in the eyes and, with a new vulnerability, had told John he loved him. John's tears stopped and he moved into his most powerful emotion joy!

He jumped out of bed. It's a new day with new hope and restored energy! John began in the grip of fear. Now he feels only gratitude, love and joy.

We all have that capacity for joy. It's built in. Our minds are made for mathematics, computer technology and driving the car, but emotions are of the heart and the heart is the engine of the human soul. When we learn to take care of our hearts as John did, we become motivated by joy, the most powerful emotion of all. Joy produces courage, strength and brilliance, but to find that joy we must be willing to go through and let go of all those negative emotions of the past and present: fear, anger and sadness.

A joyful heart is my prescription for you today!