Every day we are affected by what we hear, what we say, what we see and the tangible things in life. While these senses can enrich our experience as a human being, they can also defile us. We choose, every day, how we use these senses and they dictate who we are. They also dictate the state of our health.
Our mouth is perhaps one of the most defiled, in many ways. When we get up in the morning – what is the first thing we do with it? Do we speak soft words of love and appreciation, or are we consumed with getting on with the day and speak words of harshness as the stress of getting out the door consumes our thoughts.
We know how important the mouth is. We spend time every morning caring for it. We brush our teeth, floss and perhaps use a mouthwash. Then what do we do? Do we stick a cigarette to our lips, undoing the great care we just administered to our mouth?
At breakfast, we do some real harm that generally continues throughout the day. We allow a scalding hot liquid acid to scorch the tender lining of our mouth. It stains the teeth, and causes microscopic cracks in them. That searing fluid then makes its way down the delicate esophagus to the poor stomach, that now has to deal with it. The acids and caffeine enters the blood stream and the deleterious effects permeate nearly every system of the body. All this we do under the premise it will wake us up and make our day better.
That’s not the end of the breakfast mouth damage. Most breakfast’s today consist of sugary foods – cereals, pancakes, toaster pastries, waffles, and donuts are the worst. However other heavy carbohydrates such as bagels, cereal bars, even oatmeal turn into a sugar once in the system. This start of the day leads to further insults as the day progresses.
This mouth of ours consumes other injurious substances throughout the day – sodas, ice cream, gelatin desserts, puddings, pies, candy, cookies, iced teas, alcohol, and the list goes on. The food choices made are not generally the greatest.
What would be more appropriate is to allow common sense, the desire to be healthier rule the choices made. After all, are we allowing a small slab of meat (the tongue) determine how healthy we will be? We’re smarter than that, I hope.
Aside from the food choices are the words that we speak. Are they words of kindness and encouragement, or ugly and seeping with ridicule, negativity and are demeaning? You become what you speak. What comes out of your mouth defines you and defines how others perceive who you are. If you want respect, speak respectful words. If you want others to treat you with loving kindness and encourage you, perhaps if those same things came out of your mouth you would find the same coming back towards you.
Our hearing is another powerful sense that can determine our overall health and quality of life. Do you waste precious brain cells listening to (and/or watching) negative talk shows, violent movies, or demeaning songs? Or do you listen to music which calms frazzled nerves and uplifts the spirit.
Music is a powerful healer. Studies have shown that music has a direct effect on blood cells. I watched a video at a seminar which was teaching us the power of music in healing. Using lycopodium powder on a membrane, scientists were able to evaluate the patterns created by music which were replicated in cells. Classical music creates beautiful mosaic-like patterns which show calmness. Dissonant sounds were chaotic in pattern and under a microscope were shown to literally burst blood cells.
What our ears take in help to characterize who we are. What we hear permeates our brain whether we are conscious of it or not. I realized this a few years ago. I was listening to the words of a rap song my son was playing. I was abhorred at the words and chastised him for listening to it. He retorted “Oh Mom! I don’t pay attention to the words, I just listen to the music!” As I thought about it, I realized something. During my teenage years Led Zeppelin, Guns and Roses and other acid rock groups were popular. I hated their music – hated how I felt when they played. As a result whenever I could, I’d turn off the radio or change the station. I did everything I could to avoid hearing it. Despite that, today as an adult, I know the words by heart to every one of those songs!
Do you listen to yourself and the responses you receive? Are you paying attention by the tone in another’s voice how you are affecting them? When someone is conversing with us, we tend to listen to our words, or what we think they will say, or listen with ears tuned into how we are going to respond, rather that truly listening to them. When a person feels they have been heard, truly heard, it quells even the most angry, stubborn disposition. To hear and acknowledge the presence of someone and being conscious of what they are saying is a powerful tool in creating a healthy relationship and a rich life.
Our vision effects our perception of life. What we notice, what we allow our eyes to see creates our reality. We live in a gorgeous area. I feel grateful to live in such a fabulous locale. Coming into my subdivision at home in the spring the trees are full of pink and white blossoms, in summer they’re vibrant green; in the fall they’re bright yellow and red and in the winter red berries contrast the white snow. When was the last time you noticed things around you. When did you last glance upwards and see the beautiful trees – the green contrasting the white or watch the birds as they flit around the water.
Do your eyes see all that’s wrong or all that’s right? Do they search out the beauty in people or find their faults? Do they see all they don’t have, but want, or are they content with what they see around them? We are at choice when it comes to how we view things. This then patterns our day, is the blueprint of how are life will go. Fortunately, we can also choose to change it. How we see life determines the degree of happiness or misery. It can, for the most part, give us fulfillment.
Our touch is healing. Like a baby who isn’t touched can fail to survive, we too can fail to thrive. Touch is a universal language. To touch with softness, caring and love is to give a gift. If you find a lack of touch in your life, do something about it for health’s sake. Volunteer somewhere in which you can give a massage – not a trained massage, but a loving touch. Rub at a shelter, the feet of an elderly woman, or caress a dog who is wounded and scared. And if you lack touch, get a massage on a regular basis – it will support your health and wellbeing in many ways.
Our senses fulfill our lives. With enriching, fulfilling experiences we also support our health in remarkable ways.
© 2008 Holly A. Carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D.
