What ex actly is disease?

How many of us worry about our health when we are young? Unless we have major health concerns of our own in our childhood years, or of someone dear to us, then we tend to think that we are invincible ... ... ...

But, as the years advance, if we are challenged with health problems, whether those problems are big or small, our attitudes begin to change and we realise that ignoring them is not an option.

So, the question is, if you had known that you would live this long, would you have looked after yourself better?

How true is this for all of us? In modern day Western society in general, we don't want inconvenience, we don't want to have to make effort; we live in 'the disposable society'. We don't repair things; we throw them away. We expect everything to be instant and easy. We have computers, HD television, mobile phones and Wi-Fi.

We also expect our bodies to conform to this no-effort rule that we seem to have adopted. We know and accept that we have to maintain and service our car and put the appropriate fuel in the tank for it to work properly, but somehow we seem to have the idea that the same does not apply to our body, this vehicle that we live in during our earthly life.

We eat denatured and processed 'foods' that barely resemble real food. We eat and drink toxic chemicals and buy genetically modified foods. We live under huge mental and emotional stresses, such as those from family pressures, the need to pay the bills and meeting deadlines at work to keep our jobs. We often 'prop up' our lives with prescription or over-the-counter medications to keep us going. We need dental work from time to time, we are subject to scans, medical tests and procedures, vaccinations, the radiation from long-haul f lights and airport security machines, the toxic air that we breathe, the impure water that we drink. And on and on.....

The brain is a bio-computer managing every function of the body via millions of electrical signals to and from every part of the body every second of our lives. These signals can be affected by other electrical fields around us. Thus, sitting in front of a computer all day, or using a mobile phone, for instance, can mean that "the captain is not properly in charge of the ship", by which I mean that the brain is not able to manage body processes effectively because its communications system is not able to function correctly in the presence of these fields in its environment. And, as more and more wireless technology is installed in our cities and workplaces, it is becoming impossible to avoid what Is sometimes termed "electrosmog", even if we choose not to install it within our own homes. As a result, we need to find a way of making our bodies more resilient to the sea of electromagnetic pollution that surrounds us but which we cannot see.

There is certainly a multitude of factors to consider in trying to find answers to chronic health issues. And how much can each one of us change things? Is it possible to reduce this electromagnetic pollution without affecting the lives that we have now grown used to? Have we thought about whether there could be a price tag on our health in order to maintain the modern-day life of instant results and ultra-convenience with our mobile phones and their internet capabilities available wherever we are, and with "smart" equipment in our homes?

Have you actually considered what your life may be like as you grow older? Or don't you want to think about it? Do you look at the older people in your community who have no control over their own lives because they can no longer cope on their own in any practical way -- and think that it won't happen to you? Do you think that your body should be able to keep going no matter how lax you are in looking after it? Do you put orange juice in your car tank instead of petrol or diesel and expect it to still operate as normal?

So where do we start with all this? Well, let's look at it pictorially. Imagine heaping all the well-known and acknowledged factors or stressors that can negatively affect your health and well-being into a pile. This pile would comprise items such as:

• processed foods;

• toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde and petrol fumes;

• toxic metals such as cadmium (from cigarette smoke or some paints) or mercury, nickel and silver (from amalgam fillings in your teeth);

• impure water;

• food additives such as aspartame (used as a sweetener);

• chemical sprays used in non-organic farming;

• bacteria and viruses;

• fungus and parasites;

• emotional trauma acquired in the school of life;

• and more and more.....

The size of this pile increases on a daily basis as more of these toxins pour into, and compromise, our systems.

Now imagine a wire fixed horizontally above the pile. While the top of the pile is way below the wire, the body is compensating adequately for the disruption that the toxins are causing and you will be thinking how lucky you are to be in good health. Your body will be finding 'work-arounds' for energy circuits that are not functioning correctly (by taking energy from other circuits, for example) to "keep the show on the road". The body is of such a phenomenal design that we are unaware of the compensations that it is constantly making every second of every day of our lives.

But, for all of us ... when we fail to halt the advancing threats and onslaughts of the various stressors in our daily lives, and the day comes when the size of the pile has increased to the point where it now reaches the wire, we are in deep trouble as symptoms start to appear. It may be that we develop a skin problem, or symptoms of a bowel problem, or our thyroid function starts to wane or we start to develop the signs of a mental health problem or find a tumour somewhere or have a heart attack or stroke. Whatever the situation, the body cannot compensate adequately any longer and we need help.

The word disease breaks down into two syllables: dis-ease. The body is not at ease. Unbeknown to us, it has been battling relentlessly for a long time before we become aware of any problem. There have been imbalances occurring on an energetic level that a physical test would not have been able to determine or show. On the day that a heart attack occurs, for example, the imbalances in the energy system are now at such a level that the body cannot continue to "keep the show on the road" in any effective way any longer and the body is in need of urgent care and attention.

Consider the example of having a fire alarm on your house and the alarm bell keeps on sounding. Do you take down the fire alarm and throw it in the trash because it is annoying you by making all that noise, or do you investigate the fire that it is trying to tell you about?

Pain is like the fire alarm sounding. It is a warning to you that there is a problem somewhere in your body that needs attention. Swallowing analgesic medication to kill the pain is like throwing the fire alarm in the trash. The medication does not address the cause or source of the pain; it just stops the brain from feeling the pain. If you can't feel the pain, you may then think the problem has gone away, but the truth is that the "fire" is still raging and getting worse and you are now unaware of it. Does that sound like a great idea? The painkiller will only be effective for a short period of time and then the body will remind you again that it has a problem. Many people constantly take painkillers and do not address the reason for needing them. The body's struggle to achieve optimum health is already heavily compromised and this is now made harder by the additional load placed on it from taking the medication.

In terminal disease or after an accident, for example, medication offers unquestionably the best possible treatment. The comfort of the patient is the highest priority and the use of medication in palliative care is invaluable. In the case of chronic disease, however, medication can be essential in managing the situation but, all too often, the factors that are causing the symptoms are never investigated or treated.

The sad fact is that most of us become more and more dependent on medication as the years advance. We are in management mode, attempting to "keep the show on the road" as more and more problems develop and, in doing so, we add to the load on our bodies by introducing more drugs. Our bodies are unable to detoxify adequately and we get more toxic and more tired and more ill.

And, if we now acknowledge the added concerns of an energy system that is out of balance long before those symptoms ever appear at all, would we reconsider our definition of good health more carefully?

The increasing burden on the NHS is crippling it and the costs of running it are soaring. We need to find ways of helping ourselves so that we reduce the burden upon it and learn to take responsibility for our own health.

So what is YOUR definition of being healthy?

Do you describe good health as merely being without symptoms? Or is there more to it than that? I have heard people describe themselves as "fit and healthy" when they are walking with a stick and unable to lead a life independent of outside help! So is it all just a matter of expectations then........?

How about looking at the idea of good health as FREEDOM? Freedom to be active, freedom to make choices about what you would like to do today, freedom to walk, run, dance, stay in or go out. Without good health, these choices may not be available to you and there may be major restrictions on your lifestyle and therefore, also, major frustrations. Many would agree that, without our health, we have nothing, but we often only realise the truth of that when we, or someone dear to us, are/is confronted with serious health issues.

In the western world, we have grown up with a health system that allows us to hand over responsibility for our health to another person -- our doctor. We expect him or her to correct the problem for us, via drugs, injections and/or surgery. We do not usually see this as a team effort in which we should be playing a part. We don't like being told that our diet must change and our favourite foods must be eliminated or restricted. We don't like having to change our lifestyles. We generally don't want to hear that we have to do anything that involves effort or causes inconvenience to our lives. We want to do what we want to do when we want to do it and we don't want any consequences. So is what we really want the "magic wand" that fixes it all for us ...?

Could we really make a difference to our health if we took some steps to change a few things? And, if so, what would those things have to be?

Am I looking after my body well enough?

Trauma to the body can occur in many ways and not only on the physical level. It can also occur on the emotional and mental levels. Let us first look at the ways in which our bodies are frequently assaulted on a physical level.

We get one body for this lifetime and we may love it or hate it but we have to work with it. It may have health problems from the start (such as babies born with congenital defects) or it may develop problems later in life (due to infection or trauma, for example). And it may also have an elevated risk of developing some of the health conditions from which previous generations of the same family have suffered.

For the purpose of looking at physical damage to the body, it is useful to use the analogy of a motor car. If you consider your body to be a vehicle that you live in during your earthly life on this planet, you can make some comparisons with the way that you treat your motor car. If your motor car becomes damaged in some way (in a road traffic accident or by your negligence in maintaining it properly, for example), then you need to consider the level of the problem that results from this:

• Is it a write-off?

• Is it actually driveable at all?

• Is it safe to drive?

• Does it just need cosmetic repairs?

If your car is judged to be a write-off, is it truly beyond repair or is the cost of doing the extensive work that it now requires deemed to be just too great? How big is that cost exactly and does your desire to keep the car not make it worth it?

If your car is not driveable or not safe to drive in its current condition, then the damage has occurred in a crucial part of the engine or chassis. If so, the car cannot be used to transport you around without essential work being carried out by experts who are suitably trained and qualified to do such work. Without this work, the car will be unfit for its intended purpose and you will have to make a decision about whether you want the necessary work done.

If the level of damage is cosmetic, (say, there is a minor dent in a door or wing, but no damage to engine or chassis), then you can choose whether to address this in order that the car is "perfect" again or ignore it as it makes no difference to the running of the car and its use.

There is also, of course, the situation where there may be a part of the car not working correctly but the car appears to be running normally and you may be completely unaware of any problem. An example of this scenario may be the failure of a reversing light or brake light and, by continuing to drive the car in this condition, both car and driver are put at risk of major damage and the lives of others could also become affected.

Whatever the problem, how have you got here? How did your motor car get this way? Did you drive it recklessly, park it carelessly, fail to service it appropriately or forget to protect it adequately? Did you put water in its fuel tank instead of petrol or diesel and expect it to still do its job properly? Did you expect that it would reward you with years of loyal service if you neglected its needs?

If the damage to the car has occurred through no fault of your own (the dangerous driving of someone else, for example), you are still faced with the decisions about repairing it.

Now let's apply this analogy to your body, your personal vehicle for this lifetime. Do you think that your personal vehicle should keep on going no matter how you treat it? Do you become indignant, anxious, tearful and surprised when it grinds to a halt or tells you firmly that it can't go on any longer unless you make big changes to your lifestyle in order to consider its needs?

Sometimes it is essential that we have medical or dental interventions to save life or protect it. These may involve changing the body in some way from its original blueprint (removal of a gland or organ, for instance). We may need drugs or surgery at the hospital following an accident of some kind. Or we may need anaesthesia at the dentist's office to make the repair or extraction of a tooth more comfortable.

And by what other means could your body become changed from its original blueprint?

• Impacts (accidents or fights, for example)

• Sporting activities

• Cosmetic surgery

• Self-created trauma (tattoos are examples of this)

• Infections

• Toxic metals and chemicals

• Nutritional deficiencies

• Electromagnetic stress (such as radiation)

• As a result of emotional or mental trauma

How can you reduce this list?

Some of the answer to that question is self-evident. You may be somebody who loves sporting activities involving danger because it is exciting (an "adrenalin junkie") and so you know the risks that you are taking. Maybe you think that it won't happen to you anyway. Do you shrug your shoulders and say that you will have to take any consequences that result because your life is nothing without the thrills?

Excitement means different things to different people. Maybe you find the power of the mind more exciting -- new discoveries, advances in science, finding your unique creativity in the arts or music, perhaps. But these do not usually involve endangering the physical body.....

Unlike the motor car, your body is programmed to heal itself. We need to provide the nutrients that it needs to sustain life and to repair itself as necessary. This means looking at the fuel that we are "putting in the tank" (our dietary intake) and adding appropriate nutritional supplementation when the body is showing signs of struggle. In addition, we need to nourish it in other ways (such as clean air, pure water, adequate daylight, exercise and sleep) and protect it from any toxicity in its environment.

And the body will suffer if we do not attend to our needs on mental and emotional levels too. We need to be able to love and be loved. We need to be able to feel proud of our endeavours and achievements. We need to let go of our disappointments and dashed expectations instead of resenting them. We need to be able to find meaning in life's difficult challenges and to move forward with clarity and purpose.

So we could start by asking ourselves some questions:

• How often in my daily life am I actually focussed in the NOW? Am I typically trying to "fix" a past or future event in my life? In other words, (back to the analogy of the human body as a motor car), am I driving the car with my attention on the radio or on a discussion with a passenger in the car, rather than on the road and the traffic around me? Do I ever arrive at my destination with no memory of

• Do I believe that I have any power in my own life? Am I proactive or reactive? Do I just wait for life to happen to me?

• How much do I really consider my true needs? Do I value myself enough or is my self-worth low?

• How big a price am I willing to pay, in terms of my health, in order to avoid taking responsibility for it?

• How can I help myself to heal the trauma and/or disease (if any) that has already happened?

• Do I believe that pain and suffering are an inevitable part of life? And, if so, is it possible to change that belief?

• Do I believe that a state of health, joy and well-being is actually achievable for me? And is there a way of making that happen within a life that is also exciting for me?

• Do I expect to live a long life that has quality right to the end?

• What is life really all about for me?