Meditation, Healing and the Immune System

Meditation has long been believed to be a principle form of healing in the widest sense. For some spiritual practitioners it is the most fundamental form of healing making all others, including Western medicine, pale into insignificance. Meditation is for people from across any spiritual forms the best way to reach an awareness of the true nature of existence. Any form of healing – spiritual, physical or otherwise – arguably falls short in addressing the true nature of suffering which is related to a false perception of the world, the Universe and our position in it. It could even be argued that the desire to be fully healed will be perpetually thwarted so long as one does not come to a full mindfulness of their situation.

From a Western perspective it is fast becoming accepted that ones state of mind can have an intense and profound effect on their immune system. For this reason the recital of positive mantras and affirmations relating to the health of the immune system may well be of value. It is similarly being recognized that the relaxing effects of meditation have an overall positive effect on the immune system and can contribute to the healing of cancers, cardiovascular problems and can help patients to cope with A.I.D.S.

For many of us in the West meditation will be seen as complimentary to Western medicine, or as something used in conjunction with other alternative therapies, such as Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture, both of which are believed to be of help in strengthening the immune system and healing the body.

A Holistic Path to Healing

It is unlikely that you are to suffer a lack of wellbeing in just one aspect of your being. If you are physically hurt you are likely to be mentally stressed. If you are emotionally hurt you are likely to display physical symptoms, and so on. Meditation, arguably more than any other cure, addresses all of the facets of your being and therefore is the most adequate to providing a lasting remedy to your ills. Whilst, for example, injury may cause considerable stress, a purely physical cure, may still leave one emotionally hurt following the traumatic experience which led to the injury initially.

Meditation, however, whilst not being a remedy for serious injury will be able to help one cope with the aftermath as well as coping again with a similar recurrence, even if only through helping one to develop a better acceptance of circumstances. As a form of healing meditation attends to physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs, helping one to provide the balance necessary for the development of a strong immune system.

Spiritual Healing

Claims regarding extraordinary healing feats abound throughout the history of spirituality and healing. Although some of these claims are questionable, it is believed that the mind has a remarkable power to contribute to the healing of the body if the will exists and one believes fully in their ability to be healed. It is beyond doubt that persons cured from potentially fatal diseases cite their determination as central to their recovery. Meditation can operate in a similar way to ‘mind over matter’ positive healing helping to foster the conditions for the body, mind and spirit to thrive whilst contributing to a development of a full understanding of the nature of illness.