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JDPlacebo02A couple years ago, I read Christian D. Larson’s The Ideal Made Real (1912). It’s about purposely creating a life—the ideal life—in your mind first, and through conscious focus, making that ideal life become your world, your reality.

When I started reading Dr. Joe Dispenza’s You Are the Placebo (released April, 2014), I was immediately reminded of Larson’s book. There is one huge and significant difference, though. Dispenza cites source upon source to back up what he writes about. Larson did not have this luxury when he published his book; there just weren’t that many studies going on that he could cite for proof to back up what he was espousing.

You Are the Placebo has no shortage of “proof” throughout its 280-plus pages. One would have to be a complete skeptic not to see all the connections between one’s thoughts and the quality of life made from those thoughts, though I doubt the skeptic would even pick up his book. Doubt, as you well know, murders faith.

Those with a positive mindset tend to create positive situations, while those with a negative mindset tend to create negative situations. This is the miracle of our own free-willed, individual, biological engineering. – p. 74

Dispenza spends the first couple chapters citing examples of how what we think about can become our reality. In the many clinical studies (mostly new drug trials) where people were given a placebo, he shows that people turned their lives around just by believing a little pill could help them.

And that’s the point of the book: Do we really need a pill for our minds to make real what we think we want to happen?

JDispenza02I know some people that, when they get sick, run to the doctor for a prescription, shot, or some quick solution to their problem. Their faith in the medical community is beyond question. As Dispenza cites the numerous studies throughout his book, the people who were given a placebo (unbeknownst to them, of course) did just as well or even better than the people given the real medication.

At some point, he inevitably gets into the science of what’s happening in the mind and body. There’s talk about epigenetics, cells, neurology and the like. But you don’t have to be a science geek to follow along. Granted, to the newcomer of these topics, it may be confusing at first. I found some videos on Youtube that were a great help (see Resources below). If you read the book, I recommend watching the videos; they’re a tremendous aid.

When we continue thinking the same thoughts, the neuron keeps firing in the same ways, strengthening the relationship between the two cells so that they can more readily convey a signal the next time those neurons fire. – p. 80

Though the book is focused on health, the principles can be applied to anything in life: success, relationships…you name it. Keep an open mind as you read the book; look for ways to apply these principles to whatever areas in your life you would like to work on. You’ll find he gives great advice and how-to’s on exactly what to do and how to do it.

Every time you have a thought, in addition to making neurotransmitters, your brain also makes another chemical—a small protein called a neuropeptide that sends a message to your body. Your body then reacts by having a feeling. The brain notices that the body is having a feeling, so the brain generates another thought matched exactly to that feeling that will produce more of the same chemical messages that allow you to think the way you were just feeling. – p. 87

It’s a practical book, not just a synopsis of all the studies that have been done worldwide. You don’t need a PhD to appreciate and truly grasp everything in it.

Towards the end of the book, he talks about meditation and the techniques he uses to apply everything he discusses in the book. One thing that really impressed me was his coverage of brain wave patterns, key to a successful meditation session.

For example, if we can anticipate a possible known future scenario and then focus on that thought to the exclusion of everything else even for just one moment, the body will physiologically begin to change in order to prepare itself for that future event. – p. 110

Here is just a sampling of some of the physical and mental conditions he covers and, through meditation and right thinking, how people improved their health and turned their lives around:

  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Broken neck (paralysis)
  • Excessive estrogen production, fibroid tumors
  • Depression
  • Cancer

If you’re looking for a good summer read with lots of meat to it, pick up the book. It’s not a beach-day book, but it is one that can potentially bring many sunnier days to your life.

Resources:

Christian D. Larson at Wikipedea
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_D._Larson

The Ideal Made Real – Various formats at archive.org
https://archive.org/details/idealmadereal00larsiala

Dr. Joe Dispenza’s website
http://www.drjoedispenza.com/

Get You Are the Placebo: Free digital samples from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Placebo-Making-Matter/dp/1401944582
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/you-are-the-placebo-joe-dispenza-dr/1115629443?ean=9781401944582
Hay House: http://www.hayhouse.com/you-are-the-placebo-1

Epigenetics & Biology Videos (Youtube)

What is Epigenetics? (~3 minutes).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eF0CpsMeJg

Epigenetics, a NOVA special (~52 minutes). The audio track is off, but it’s a good program.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D44cu7v9x1w

Then there’s Bruce Lipton’s Biology of Belief (~68 minutes). Essential.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjj0xVM4x1I

Joe Dispenza on Youtube

Search results for Dispenza:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Joe+Dispenza

Dr. Joe Dispenza and Dr. Jeffrey Fannin (featured in his book) – “Brain, Mind, and the Placebo Effect” (~2 hours):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HckrMvdPVH0

Your Immortal Brain – Mastering the Art of Observation (~60 minutes):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqdS08eThT0

Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself (a previous book by Dispenza) – Introductory Lecture (~12 minutes):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lbnrRqBjgE

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