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4 Studies That Show How Your Thoughts Can Make You Sick

July 16, 2015 by Power of Positivity

We have long thought that our mind plays a big part in our health and wellness. In general, when we think we are healthy, we tend to be healthier. And when we think we are sick, we tend to exhibit symptoms in line with our thoughts.

Is there any truth to the fact that our thoughts can make us sick?

Here are 4 studies that show how our thoughts can make us sick:

The Placebo Phenomenon

In a study of 270 patients seeking relief from arm pain, Professor Ted Kaptchuk of Harvard Medical School, divided the patients into two groups. Half the participants would receive acupuncture treatments and the other half would receive pain-reducing pills.

Soon after the study began, patients from both groups called in with side effects of feeling sluggish and increased pain. Most of the patients from both groups, however, reported real pain relief and the acupuncture group felt better than those on the pain-relief pill.

The important findings from this study come not from comparing two different treatments, but by studying the placebo effect. The pill was cornstarch, and the acupuncture needles were retractable and never pierced the skin. The study was actually measuring how patients would respond based on the side effects told to them.

The patients that called in with side effects expressed they had the side effects that researchers mentioned. However, the group that felt relief did not hear about any potential side effects. This study shows that what we think and what influences our thoughts can have the power to make us sick, or better as the case may be.

Other studies have shown that the expectation of receiving treatment can stimulate real physiological improvements including positive changes in blood pressure, a decrease in depression and fatigue. It proves successful in improving chemical activity in the brain and some symptoms of Parkinson’s.

Negative Thoughts Can Make You Ill

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences links positive thinking with improved health and brain activity from negative thoughts with a weakened immune system.

Dr. Richard Davidson, who led a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison,d measured the brain activity in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain of a small group of people. They were each instructed to recall one happy, joyous event and one event that left them feeling sad or afraid.

Then each participant was given the standard flu vaccine. They monitored the levels of antibodies in the group for six months and found the strongest immunity to the flu in those with the strongest activity in the left pre-frontal cortex, the side associated with happy thoughts.

Davidson goes on to say, “emotions play an important role in modulating bodily systems that influence our health. We turn to the brain to understand the mechanisms by which the mind influences the body.”

The Science of Positive Thinking

Barbara Fredrickson, a positive psychology researcher at the University of North Carolina, conducted an experiment by dividing a group of people into five smaller groups. Two groups were shown film clips that created positive emotions, one group was the control group and shown clips that produced no emotional reaction, and the remaining two groups were shown clips the elicited negative emotions.

After being shown the clips, the participants were asked to write down how they would respond in similar situations. Those exposed to positive emotions were able to write a significant number of responses. Translated, the results indicate positive emotions open the door to a wealth of possibility while negative thoughts limit our ability to see potential solutions.

What is even more significant is the amount of time these negative and positive emotions impact our thinking. Our thoughts can influence how we handle adversity later in life. The way we think now helps us see (or not see) the possibilities today and well into the future.

Sick Rumors

Fabrizio Benedetti at the University of Turin Medical School took 100 students up into the Italian Alps. A few days before the trip he told one person in the group that the thin air in the Alpine altitude could cause migraines.

On the day of the trip, the rumor spread to about ¼ of the group. Furthermore, those that heard the rumor experienced the worst headaches. And a saliva test showed symptoms of low oxygen conditions.

Benedetti said the following:

“The brain biochemistry changed in the ‘socially infected’ individuals. Negative expectations can be communicated to your friends, neighbors, and the like, and they spread very quickly, producing social nocebo effects in a large population of subjects.”

Researchers aren’t necessarily going to suggest you forgo medical treatment in favor of positive thoughts. These studies show, however, that how you think can induce sickness and can help to heal you as well.

The important takeaway is to understand how your thoughts and the thoughts of those around you can impact your health. Whether positively or negatively, and the choice lies within your mind.

5 Signs You’re Ready to Change Your Life

July 15, 2015 by Power of Positivity

Do you secretly (or not so secretively) long to change your life?

Sometimes in life, we get the urge to shake things up a bit, break the mold, and totally recreate our lives. That’s because we want to better match up to our current state of consciousness. If we stay in one place too long, whether physically or mentally, boredom and complacency can easily set in. That restless feeling makes us yearn for something new to make life exciting again.

Do these feelings resonate with you? Read on to reassure yourself that you are indeed ready to make big changes in your life.

5 Signs You’re Ready to Change Your Life

1. You feel restless and discontent most of the time.

One of the biggest signs that something needs to change in your life is feeling uninterested, uninspired, and unmotivated during your day. If how you spend the majority of your time doesn’t resonate with your soul anymore, you need to look deep within and figure out what should remain in your life, and what has worn out its welcome. Boredom can even be dangerous, as studies prove that disengaged, easily uninterested people are at a higher risk for depression, anxiety, and even addiction to drugs and other harmful behaviors.

Don’t fall into a trap of complacency and feel like you can’t make a change in your life. You are a powerful, perfectly capable being, and life is truly your oyster. Live your life according to the grand design in your head, not by other’s blueprints.

2. You have passions in life that are being left unfulfilled.

When you clock in to work every day, do you truly feel inspired and ready to tackle another day? Or do you feel an overwhelming feeling of dread wash over your whole body, making you feel hopeless? If you have a fire in your heart to accomplish something, never try to put out that flame. The longer you silence the voice within, the more persistent it will become.

Far too many people spend their lives doing things they don’t truly enjoy, so if you have dreams still living inside your soul, allow them to come to life. The moment you choose to live according to your unique passions is the moment you reawaken your inner child, so don’t hesitate to experiment with life and turn your visions into reality.

3. You have fallen into bad habits.

When people become disinterested in their environment and daily lives, they often use things like drugs, alcohol, food, sex, gambling, and other addictions to simply cope with their boredom. Addictions are often thought of as a direct result of our hectic modern ways of living, but you can overcome bad habits by revamping your life, if even in small ways.

Self-destructive behavior is unfortunately all too common in today’s world, but it can be beaten by living from a more loving, conscious place in your heart. If you talk to pretty much any successful person today, they will tell you that they had to totally reconstruct their life and mindset in order to get to where they are today. Use that as motivation in order to transform your own life; after all, only you hold the key to your destiny, so you must knock down those barriers within you that hold you back.

4. When you look around at the world, you see clearly through the deception of this superficial reality.

As you step out into the world, you almost laugh at the distractions and lies that surround you. Magazines, advertisements, TV shows, and businesses all want your attention, but you no longer allow them to rule you. Because of the chaos and corruption going on in our world, this has prompted you to seek answers within yourself, and not be tempted by organizations and ads telling you who to be and what to buy.

As you become more and more distant from this “machine” we feed each and every second, this is a sign that you long for a deeper connection and true meaning in life. Before awakening begins, one must unplug from the matrix, so to speak, and realize that the soul is the only ever-lasting thing on this Earth. If you no longer have interests in keeping up with the seemingly backward world we live in, you are definitely ready to start down the road toward enlightenment and big life changes.

5. You feel like you’re outgrowing old relationships, and even yourself.

Everyone we meet plays a role in our lives, even if they don’t stick around for very long. However, sometimes even long-term friendships and romantic relationships can start to crumble once both people begin to walk in different directions in life. It’s perfectly fine to end relationships with those who no longer resonate with you. That’s because ultimately, you have to do what’s best for your own personal growth.

This can also apply to the relationship you have with yourself. Maybe you wish you could just run away from yourself and start over as someone new. Indeed, we have all felt this way from time to time. But, you don’t have to embody someone else to start anew; you can recreate yourself at any time you choose, and the best time to do that is always now!

So, are you ready? If so, repeat the affirmation in the comments:

“I am ready for the positive change and abundance flowing into my life!”

10 Things You Need To Know About Highly Sensitive People

July 15, 2015 by Power of Positivity

We have talked about highly sensitive people before. But if this is your first time hearing the term, here is a quick recap.

Before the 1990s, no one had really heard about extreme sensitivity in humans. But in 1991, a psychologist named Dr. Elaine Aron began to study this trait more closely. Surprisingly, she found that 15-20% of the population carries the trait that classifies them as highly sensitive, which means they respond to external stimuli differently than non-HSP’s. They simply have a different way of processing sensory information due to parts of their brain that regulate emotions being more responsive than the brains of their less sensitive counterparts.

10 Things You Need To Know About Highly Sensitive People

1. Highly sensitive people might not even be aware of this fact about them.

Dr. Aron herself explained that many highly sensitive people live their life without even knowing they carry this trait. That can cause problems in relationships, though, so if you have a close bond with anyone who you think might be highly sensitive, take note of how they respond to emotional experiences and overly stimulating environments, in particular.

You will find that highly sensitive people share one obvious characteristic. They are very analytical and usually think more than they speak.

2. HSP’s need ample alone time to recharge their batteries.

Highly sensitive people are usually introverts, so that means they derive their energy from within themselves, not from external sources. They tend to avoid big crowds of people because it seems overwhelming and nerve-racking to them. HSP’s enjoy doing quiet activities, such as hiking in nature, drawing, writing, painting, or anything that allows them to express their creativity.

They easily pick up on other’s emotions and auras, meaning that their own energy can become drained or frazzled when bombarded with stimuli coming in from all directions. Solitude gives them a chance to align themselves once again and clear their energy of any negativity they may have picked up from others.

3. Men have the same likelihood of being highly sensitive as women.

On her website, Dr. Aron notes that just as many men as a woman have an innate tendency to be more sensitive, but our society just accepts sensitivity more in women. Sensitive males, in particular, might have a difficult time managing this characteristic due to social norms and conditioning.

If you know a male who shows high sensitivity, make sure to allow him to express his feelings without judgment, as HSP’s, or empaths, need the added emotional support.

4. Highly sensitive people view sex as a deeply sacred, meaningful act rather than just a physical one.

In order for an HSP to become interested in intimacy with a partner, he or she must feel completely comfortable with the person on a deep spiritual level. They might identify with the term sapiosexual, which means they find human intelligence to be the most attractive feature of a person.

They won’t consent to sex unless they feel a soul connection to another person. Sex is not taken lightly or seen as a game by highly sensitive people.

5. They have a hard time falling asleep because of their highly active brains.

Their minds work on overdrive most of the day, so turning the lights out and laying their head down doesn’t do much good for a brain that doesn’t want to sleep. They might lie awake some nights just tossing and turning, contemplating life and all its mysteries.

Highly sensitive people often suffer from insomnia due to their overactive minds and might sleep at odd hours of the day to make up for it. Most people know them as a night owl because they seem to come alive at night.

6. Because they analyze things, they make better decisions overall.

They take longer to contemplate important decisions and therefore make good choices most of the time due to their patience and extreme analysis of different variables. They have never been one to make hasty decisions because they don’t want to deal with the consequences of a bad choice.

Highly sensitive people would rather take their time mulling over something than make a decision they will regret later.

7. Having greater sensitivity is actually a genetic trait.

Oftentimes, sensitive people are misunderstood because others think they just want attention, but high sensitivity is actually an inborn trait. They can’t help the fact that their brains are wired differently than others, but this makes them feel like an outcast much of the time, unfortunately.

If you know a highly sensitive person, the best gift you can give is your unconditional love and kindness, and an ear to listen.

8. They don’t enjoy arguing or feeling shamed by friends, coworkers, partners, or family members.

Because they feel emotions so deeply, they don’t like to get into heated debates or arguments with people. They’d rather walk away from a confrontation, or at least talk things out rationally. They also embarrass easily and get deeply hurt when others bring up their past mistakes or shortcomings.

9. Highly sensitive people shy away from overly noisy or crowded places.

You will see them hanging out in a quiet coffee shop or book store rather than at a bar or mall, most likely. They like places where they can hear their own thoughts and process stimuli slowly, which makes busy, loud establishments an infrequent stop for highly sensitive people.

10. They can’t stand violent scenes in real life or on TV.

Highly sensitive people feel deeply in tune with all life on Earth. Thus, they don’t enjoy watching their fellow humans or other animal friends endure pain or torture. They stick to documentaries or funny TV shows or movies, steering clear of anything that exhibits violence.

Are you, or do you know a highly sensitive person who shares these traits? Join the discussion below.

10 Ways to Build Trust In a Relationship

July 13, 2015 by Power of Positivity

It’s not uncommon to assume some level of trust in a new relationship but sometimes that trust is misplaced or misunderstood. The question isn’t should you trust. In fact, it’s how do you build trust so your relationship can grow and thrive?

Before you can build trust, you have to understand what it means to you and your partner. Clearly communicating your expectations and understanding what your partner needs is the foundation for building a long-lasting relationship.

The problem is we tend to shy away from these conversations when a relationship is new for fear of scaring the other person away. And by not having the conversation, assumptions are made which can lead to disagreements and even betrayal down the road.

Take the time to understand what your partner is looking for in a relationship and make sure your needs are expressed. When you begin there, building trust becomes much easier. To help you take the next steps…

Here Are 10 Ways to Build Trust in a Relationship:

1 – Earn It

Don’t assume trust exists and always be working to earn it. When we stop taking trust for granted and make it a priority, we will be conscious of our actions and the perceptions of those actions to our partner.

2 – Keep Your Promises

It makes sense that we want to keep promises we make to our partner, but often the little things get overlooked. Make keeping your promises about little things as important as keeping your promises about the big things. Call when you are late, remember to pick up that item from the grocery store and remember to pay the bills on time. While these things may seem small, they go a long way towards building trust.

3 – Keep Their Secrets

Do not keep secrets from each other, instead keep them for each other. Keep your personal conversations at home. It is only right to talk about something once you hear your partner bring the subject up in a conversation. Also realize, he might share information only with certain people. It’s his story, so let him tell it and follow his lead.

4 – Communicate Openly and In-Person

Make it a rule that most communication, especially important subject matter, must happen in person. The true meaning of a message can get lost via text, email and sometimes even on the phone. Make sure you are both heard and understood by talking face to face.

5 – Don’t Judge

You might not understand why something is important to your partner, but the fact that it is important is all that matters. Before you can trust, you must respect each other and your differences without judgment.

6 – Become Vulnerable

Be real with your partner and that means sharing things that you often keep hidden. The ultimate sign of trust is living your truth and by doing so your partner will be more comfortable living theirs.

7 – Be Forgiving

Trusting doesn’t mean mistakes won’t happen and when they do be forgiving. Holding on to past transgressions will only erode the trust in the relationship. We should feel the ability to make mistakes and so should our partners, without it being a constant source of contention. Letting go of the hurt, accepting the apology and moving on builds a trust-based on truth and love.

8 – Work on Your Personal Growth

We are better people and better in our relationships when we take the time to work on our personal growth. It’s important in any relationship for the people in it to grow as a couple and as individuals. It’s a focus on our personal growth that keeps the relationship solid and the trust in each other growing.

9 – Be Supportive

It is important in any relationship to be supportive of the other person. It is even more important to show that support when we are in a stage of building trust. If one person in the relationship doesn’t feel that they can take a risk, make mistakes or try new things without support, the relationship will falter. On the other hand, being supportive in good times and bad opens us up to living our truth knowing someone has our back.

10 – Disagree in Private

A public forum is never a place to voice disagreement. If what your partner is saying doesn’t sit well with you, discuss it at home. Often disagreeing in front of other people can shame or humiliate the other person. This kind of behavior will damage your lines of communication and your trust factor. Waiting until you get home offers the benefit of formulating your thoughts in a respectful way to encourage an honest and open discussion.

Building trust isn’t hard when you approach your relationship with respect and understanding. The basic principle of trust is easy: do what you say you are going to do. Stay true to that and a trusting relationship will naturally begin to form.

5 Things You Should Never Apologize For

July 13, 2015 by Power of Positivity

In life, a person will inevitably make mistakes as long as they don’t live inside a bubble in some remote destination. So, that pretty much applies to the majority of people living on this planet. Mistakes make one stronger, smarter, and more well-rounded, not to mention, valuable life lessons are learned in the process. And, you should not always need to apologize for them!

Much of society likes to push the idea that we have evolved into “perfect beings” that should never err or slip up once in a while, but that would only make sense if we had somehow morphed into a species of super robots. In short, you should not fear, or purposely avoid mistakes.

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein

Here are 5 ‘mistakes’ you should never have to apologize for:

1. Making decisions that you know will make you truly happy, even if others don’t agree.

In life, you may have already realized that people tend to criticize others for almost any decision they make nowadays. You find a new boyfriend or girlfriend that you absolutely adore, and others just have to rain on your parade and give you 20 reasons why you shouldn’t be with that person. You want to move to a new city, state, or even country, and everyone informs you why that will be the biggest mistake of your life.

People enjoy living vicariously through others because secretly, they wish they had your life. They only wish they had the bravery or willingness to follow their hearts despite any opposition truly. You don’t have to answer to anyone; just live your life the way that makes you happiest, and you will eventually attract others into your life who have the same go-getter attitude.

2. Putting your needs and desires first, for once.

Somehow, making your own heart happy got twisted into a selfish, egotistical, entitled idea. In reality, no one else can ever offer the happiness that you can give to yourself, so it only makes sense to make your own fulfillment a priority.

If you have taken your life into your own hands instead of waiting on others to teach you how to live it, then you already have mastered an important aspect of self-development. We all have 100% responsibility for how we choose to live our lives, and only by putting our needs first can we ever attempt to help others in need then, too. After all, how can we help others if we don’t first address how to help ourselves?

3. Falling in love with someone who things didn’t end up working out with.

A lot of people have the tendency to look back on past relationships with regret and guilt in their hearts, wishing the relationship had never happened. However, would you be the same person today without experiencing that relationship? Would you have learned all those lessons about life had you never made the decision to be with that person?

You don’t ever have to apologize for your past to anyone; everything that happened to you played a crucial role in your evolution as a spiritual being, and everyone takes a different path in this incarnation. Only you have walked your journey, so only you can truly understand it.

4. For wanting more than your life currently offers you.

Wanting more in life does not make you ungrateful or spoiled. Instead, it makes you ambitious. It means you have goals and dreams and want to fulfill them while you still can. Also, it means you don’t settle for less than you know you’re capable of. Others might view you as just an unrealistic dreamer who will never truly find happiness, but it doesn’t matter what others think in the end.

You can express gratitude about what you’ve been blessed with while still aspiring for more in life, so don’t ever feel bad about having big dreams. Go after them with all your heart, and the universe will surprise you in ways you never imagined.

5. For living in a way that directly challenges the mainstream.

Others like to nitpick every aspect of people’s lives in today’s world, so much so that people actually feel guilty about how they choose to live. Just live in your truth and don’t mind what others say; remember, if anyone feels threatened by how you live your life, they might actually be jealous of you. Sometimes, people feel so uncomfortable and dissatisfied with their own lives that they must bash others in order to make themselves feel better.

If you want to homeschool your children, live off-the-grid, eat only from your own garden, let food be your medicine, and teach your children peace and love instead of what’s on television, don’t apologize. Everyone deserves to live the life they want without feeling remorseful for simply following their hearts.

This Water Experiment Proves Positive Thinking Works

July 11, 2015 by Power of Positivity

This water experiment will blow your mind.

As you may already know, our thoughts create our reality through the power of our intention. In other words, positive thinking brings about a positive reality, while negative thoughts create the opposite effect.

The late and great Dr. Masaru Emoto conducted extensive studies on how exactly our thoughts and intentions can alter the shape and structure of water crystals. What he discovered is simply astounding.

In one double-blind study, a group of about 2,000 people in Tokyo focused positive intentions and thoughts toward water samples inside an electromagnetically shielded room located in California. He also set aside another group of samples in a different location used as controls. However, he didn’t make the group aware of this fact.

An analyst identified and photographed ice crystals from both sets of samples. Then, 100 judges blindly assessed and critiqued the images for aesthetic appeal.

The conclusion indicated the crystals from the treated water were given a higher score than those in the control group, which is consistent with prior studies measuring the impact of intention on water.

Based on one’s consciousness, a person can directly alter the geometric shape and structure of water. That’s because both our thoughts and water derive from the same energy. For a number of years, Dr. Masaru Emoto has researched and performed many studies on how our intentions can alter the structure and energy of liquids. Ever since learning about micro cluster water in the US and Magnetic Resonance Analysis technology, he vowed to uncover more about our impact on the water we drink.

For years, Dr. Emoto froze droplets of liquids and examined the molecular changes in water caused by our thoughts and intentions. He then photographs the frozen water crystals in order to visually document these changes.

Here are a few examples of his water crystal experiments:

In another example, he taped the words “thank you” on a bottle of distilled water, and miraculously, the water crystals from this sample had a strikingly similar shape and composition to crystals that had been exposed to Bach’s “Goldberg Variations,” representing gratefulness for the man it was composed for. As you can see from this example, giving thanks for our water, our land, and our Earth can transform the very particles that make them up and provide us with more healing and good energy.

However, when these water samples were labeled with negative words, exposed to heavy metal music, or spoken to negatively with words such as “Adolf Hitler,” no water crystals formed and the structure became chaotic and fragmented.

Also, when the researcher added fragrant floral oils to the liquid. Surprisingly, the crystals actually took on the original shape of the flower from which it extracted.

Dr. Emoto found that samples taken from clear mountain springs and streams had a beautiful crystalline structure. But thee water crystals observed at polluted or stagnant sources were deformed and chaotic. This example doesn’t have to do directly with the words we speak or conscious intentions we have. Instead, it shows that negativity stems from destruction. And we caused pollution that wreaks havoc on our most precious resource. However, when we take care of our Earth and let it exist naturally, our water remains beautiful, fresh, and unadulterated.

What does this mean?

So, you see these examples and gained exposure to Dr. Emoto’s groundbreaking work. So, you can see that we have the power to alter our physical world with our thoughts and intentions. Water is life. Thus, we must protect it, honor it, and bless it. Only then will it nourish us properly and heal us.

If you would like to see more of Dr. Emoto’s studies and evidence about how our positive thoughts and intentions affect the water we drink, please watch this video for more information:

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Here are 4 studies that show how our thoughts can make us sick:

5 Signs You’re Ready to Change Your Life

1. You feel restless and discontent most of the time.

2. You have passions in life that are being left unfulfilled.

3. You have fallen into bad habits.

4. When you look around at the world, you see clearly through the deception of this superficial reality.

5. You feel like you’re outgrowing old relationships, and even yourself.

So, are you ready? If so, repeat the affirmation in the comments:

10 Things You Need To Know About Highly Sensitive People

1. Highly sensitive people might not even be aware of this fact about them.

2. HSP’s need ample alone time to recharge their batteries.

3. Men have the same likelihood of being highly sensitive as women.

4. Highly sensitive people view sex as a deeply sacred, meaningful act rather than just a physical one.

5. They have a hard time falling asleep because of their highly active brains.

6. Because they analyze things, they make better decisions overall.

7. Having greater sensitivity is actually a genetic trait.

8. They don’t enjoy arguing or feeling shamed by friends, coworkers, partners, or family members.

9. Highly sensitive people shy away from overly noisy or crowded places.

10. They can’t stand violent scenes in real life or on TV.

Here Are 10 Ways to Build Trust in a Relationship:

1 – Earn It

2 – Keep Your Promises

3 – Keep Their Secrets

4 – Communicate Openly and In-Person

5 – Don’t Judge

6 – Become Vulnerable

7 – Be Forgiving

8 – Work on Your Personal Growth

9 – Be Supportive

10 – Disagree in Private

Here are 5 ‘mistakes’ you should never have to apologize for:

1. Making decisions that you know will make you truly happy, even if others don’t agree.

2. Putting your needs and desires first, for once.

3. Falling in love with someone who things didn’t end up working out with.

4. For wanting more than your life currently offers you.

5. For living in a way that directly challenges the mainstream.

Here are a few examples of his water crystal experiments:

What does this mean?

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