2. In the Counterclockwise study that the book is named for, Langer took a group of elderly gentlemen and had them live for a week as though it were 20 years earlier. In every way, from the music they listened to, to the food they ate, to the objects they interacted with, they were living in the past – except that they talked about it as if it were the present. At the end of the week the changes they experienced were remarkable, including better vision, increased mental acuity, less pain/arthritis, and on. The transformation was so extreme that strangers, looking at photographs taken before and after the experiment, guessed that the people in the “after” photographs were actually younger!

This groundbreaking study was one of the first to indicate the mind’s role in bodily health (this was back in the 70s and it was quite a new concept back then). If it is true that our mind dictates our physiology, how can YOU apply that knowledge to your own life?

4. This “psychology of possibility” is all about empowerment. Langer writes, “We can all say we believe in the possibility of improvement, but unless we really do, we won’t find it. That is, we are more likely to find it if we look than if we presume it cannot be found . . . We believe there are known limits to how fast we can run, how much we should eat or not eat, how quickly our bones can heal, or how much sleep is necessary to perform efficiently . . . ”

I love this idea and yet I am wary of it. It sounds eerily similar to the crystal-twinkie New Age, “The Secret”, just-will-yourself-pretty-and-rich!, “What The Bleep Do We Know?” sort of talk that makes me very uncomfortable. Though to be fair, I think a lot of this modern “manifest your destiny” ferver is based in a large part on Langer’s work, and not the other way around. Do you think there’s a difference between what Langer and her research are trying to convey, versus the sort of message that modern gurus and books like “The Secret” are selling?

More frequently science is confirming a very ancient understanding of the body. Chinese medicine for example, which really does “work,” describes the emotions as housed in the blood. Different organs hold different forms of thought: like worry, sadness, anger, joy.

What “What the Bleep,” etc. describe is that mind has a lot of creative potential. One’s perspective can literally create life. This is very common sense. If you go through life complaining. feeling like a victim, and embittered, it wears down the nervous system from a totally biochemical standpoint. Like flight-or-flight hormones galore which sets the body up for all kinds of problems since these biochemical signals are pro-inflammatory.

I mention Chinese medicine because it’s a 3,000 year old practice that looks at the mind-body relationship. I have seen Chinese medicine do remarkable things, ranging from deep internal autoimmune issues to both chronic and acute pain resolution.

I think that both Langer and New Age cult messages are saying the same thing, which for some reason the Western mind takes as airy fairy or superstitious: mind matters (and so does mindfulness).

As if my “To-Read” list wasn’t long enough, now you’ve gone and made it longer! This sounds like a GREAT read! I can’t wait to get it from my local library.

As a philosophical Buddhist, mindfulness has always been a daily goal. There is so much we miss every day…and yet, we’ve all heard the adage about taking time to smell the roses. In this day and age, with all of the technology we have keeping us constantly in the know about ‘everything,’ it’s easy to lose one’s focus. Like a thousand points of light, our minds can lose their luminescence when we’re spread too thin. We all need to make it a habit to unplug for a while, sit in serene silence, and just be. It’s amazing how refreshed you can feel after a mere 5 minutes of silent thought or simple deep breathing.

The concept of living as if I’m younger is definitely something I want to try. I had a total “Of course!” moment when reading about the living in the past study. I don’t know how it could make a difference to my life physiologically, but mentally I often feel like it’s too late to do all the things I thought I was going to do when I was younger. Crazy, I know, considering I’m only 30, but when I turned 30 I felt like I hadn’t really achieved anything significant in my 20s. If I start to live like I still have my whole adult life ahead of me that would be way more motivating, and I’d feel less defeated. Hard to explain, but I’m going to give it a try and see what happens.

Sounds like a really interesting book, I may see if my library has it!

I can’t sit still but I make a point of stopping what I am doing every hour to hour and a half and spend 2 min. Kissing and loving on my cat ( I work from home). I also did this with my daughter when she was younger. It acts as a “reset” and my focus is better for it – as are my relationships.

I haven’t read the book, but I am taking Health Psychology at University right now, which argues that we now have an alternative to the biomedical model: the biopsychosocial, multifactorial model where health is about wellness as much as absence of disease.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biopsychosocial_model
So I don’t see any need to follow the dichotomous thinking and see things on a wide continuum.

Yeah, I definitely feel like that we’re collectively moving towards that consensus regarding health (though it is still “fringe” in some circles). It’s neat because when Langer started out, she was regarded with such skepticism. How far we’ve come!

Oh, hell yeah! =)

It’s so good!

I hope you can get your hands on it!

Hi Sayward,
That’s just it! The success of Chinese medicine is all about the mind-body connection. And it acknowledges this, up front. In TCM, your technique is only as good as your understanding.

In Chinese medicine, the mind-body connection isn’t some New Age bandwagon. Rather, it’s common sense, practical, and logical. This sort of thinking has deeeeep ancestral roots and the theories it generates are practiced in hospitals throughout the country, studied and documented in peer-reviewed journals, etc.

“Will yourself well,” may be oversimplifying the mind-body connection. You picked up as much from The Secret, What the Bleep, etc.

Nonetheless, I think it’s pretty interesting to see current science confirming on a molecular level what old medicine already knew: that there is a connection between the mind and the body and that all things are indeed interrelated.

Which is why, for example, a straight-up pharmaceutical drug can oftentimes do more harm than good in the body. Which is also why things that seem simple- TOO simple- things like diet and nutrition, or a vaginal birth and breast-feeding can all make a significant impact on health. Science explains these discoveries in health with the names of hormones, commensal bacteria, and breaking down pathways involved in the gut-brain axis. Likewise, Chinese medicine has it’s own set of words and trajectories (that’s been in use for thousands of years!!) to say the same thing, if not more because it already accepts the complexity of the human body.

Seriously! My Mom just celebrated her 60th birthday. As part of the celebration, she and my Dad joined me and my husband on a trekking adventure to Machu Picchu. That included biking (getting covered in mud), ziplining through the jungle, and trekking all the way to Machu Picchu. Never had she thought she’d be doing this in her life, and here she is doing it at 60. She’s hooked! And she sees herself doing many more adventures in the years to come.

Lovin life is a lifelong journey :)

Thanks for your response!

Guess what?!? Chinese medicine does work for raw vegans! One of my favorite practitioners is an acupuncturist and he recommends a high-raw, animal free diet. A friend of mine just finished acupuncture school, and he is 100% raw, gluten-free, and vegan.

I live in LA, where the raw vegan community has a huge interface with certain members of Chinese medicine community. I mean, so many of the superfoods that we know and love are Chinese herbs, right?? I am sure Portland has its own niche of renegade acupuncturists that do not adhere to animal-based diet principles.

It is totally true that everyone has their own unique medicine. The path to happiness, energy, a strong mind, and a long life is unique to each person.

As far as I know acupuncture is the only traditional therapy covered by insurance companies. Why? Cause the medical community at large and worldwide sees it as legit.

So, when I speak of Chinese medicine, really I am speaking about the mind-body connection. Whether its needles, touch, the power of suggestion, mindfulness, mantra, crystals, feathers, prayer, or a placebo sugar pill there is certainly evidence of a mind-body connection that extends beyond technique and beyond mind.

Acupuncture itself- meaning just small needles- can do amazing things in the body and treat disorders related hormone balance, blood sugar, and even toxicity or infections in the body.

Maybe this is because there is more effort put on seeing the patterns, rather than cause and effect. There is a certain intelligence in the body that is beyond mental understanding.

So incredible! :)