My top 9 resources to start your self-healing journey
When navigating your own healing journey, it can be a hard and confusing time. The following list of 9 resources is designed to inspire and empower you with knowledge about the powerful connection between your own brain and body. Self-healing starts here.
>>Download List Summary PDF here
You’ve been to the doctor, probably more times than you can count, but things haven’t gotten better. Or maybe you’ve improved a bit, but you know you want a better quality of life for yourself. We are brought up with the idea that the doctor will fix you, however when that doesn’t work out, you realise they don’t have all the answers and you’re going to have to take matters into your own hands. You start researching for yourself, but where do you begin?
I remember being in that place, struggling with symptoms of brain fog and fatigue, trying to look for solutions and answers on my own. It was confusing wading through the sea of conflicting opinions and information overload.
I am glad I didn’t give up. What I discovered paved the way for my recovery journey. I learnt about my own brain and body and it empowered me with the knowledge and understanding that I could influence my own health and life.
Looking back, it’s easy to see the information that made a difference. I’ve compiled a list of resources that helped me to make it easy for you.
This is my list for you to embark on your own journey of discovery. It’s designed to empower you with an understanding of the power of our mind-body connection, inspire hope and illuminate the potential we all have inside us. Pick and choose, follow your own journey. You’ve got this.
Books/Audiobooks
1. How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body by David Hamilton, Ph.D.
‘An authoritative and accessible book by a qualified scientist, showing incredible proof of the mind-body connection.’
David Hamilton Ph.D. is an internationally recognised best-selling author and speaker who ‘uses science to inspire’. As a former pharmaceutical scientist, his work is now based around educating people about the mind-body connection.
This book explores how we can use the mind to influence our body. Hamilton looks at how imagination, thought processes and beliefs can stimulate our body’s own defence and healing systems to combat disease, pain and illness. He compiles scientific research on the mind-body connection and real-life stories from people who have successfully recovered from autoimmune diseases, heart conditions, chronic fatigue, sporting injuries and even colds and flu. First published in 2008, the new edition includes updated scientific research and new chapters that include examples of imagery to stimulate the immune system.
What you’ll get out of it: Inspiration on the power of the mind-body connection and its impact on our health. For those with a healthy scepticism, check out the full reference list of medical studies and journal articles that accompany the book.
My tip: Get the Audiobook. You can listen to David’s guided visualisations that enable you to implement these methods for yourself.
2. You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter by Joe Dispenser
This book brings to light the power of placebo, and our ability to influence the mind-body connection.
Joe Dispenza, a former Chiropractor, was inspired to study the mind’s ability to influence the body after his own experience of recovery from a spinal injury.
In the book, Dispenza explores the history, biology and latest research in neuroscience, psychology, hypnosis and quantum physics to demystify the workings of the placebo effect. He shares numerous documented cases of those who reversed cancer, heart disease, depression, crippling arthritis, and even the tremors of Parkinson’s disease. It’s a deep dive into the power of our beliefs and the impact they have on our health.
What you’ll get out of it: The book is fascinating, informative and inspiring. It gets a bit heavy with talk of quantum physics but the power of the mind and its ability to influence the body is spot on.
My tip: His ‘how-to’ approach involves meditation for extended periods. I personally prefer a more concise approach in applying this knowledge, which is what I teach in the Lighting Process seminar.
3. When the Body Says No, The Cost of Hidden Stress by Gabor Maté
Real life stories illustrating the impact of hidden stress and emotions on our physical body.
Gabor Maté, a medical doctor and author, spent decades working with and observing patients with varied chronic and terminal illnesses. He asked the questions most physicians didn’t – about the patient’s life and experience outside the narrow boundaries of illness. The book is a collection of case studies and real-life stories based off his research and clinical work. Maté explores how emotions and psychological stress play a powerful role in the onset of chronic illness.
What you’ll get out of it: These are not stories of healing and success – which is generally what I recommend focusing on. They are however a collection of real-life experiences of chronic illnesses, from a perspective that takes a deeper look at the history, environment and emotional state of the individuals. Drawing common threads among the stories, Maté highlights the role that hidden (unconscious) stress and our emotions have on physical body.
My tip: The book is a bit text heavy so consuming in small bites is recommended.
HINT: If consuming an entire book is a bit beyond you right now, I recommend checking out podcasts where these authors have been interviewed about their books. Podcasts are generally more accessible, and you’ll get a taste for what the book is about direct from the author.
Podcasts
4. THE ULTIMATE HEALTH PODCAST - EPISODE 142:
Dr. Bruce Lipton – The Biology of Belief – Reprogramming Your Subconscious Mind, The Importance of Loving Yourself
This podcast interview is an accessible introduction to Lipton’s ground-breaking book ‘The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter & Miracles’.
Bruce Lipton, Ph.D. is an internationally recognised leader in biology and the bestselling author of The Biology of Belief. He is a former research scientist at the forefront of epigenetics – an emerging area of scientific research into how environmental factors influence gene expression. In the interview they talk about the power of your subconscious mind and the role of programming, how only 1% of disease is associated with genetics, and how the picture you have in your mind creates chemistry in your body.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2W0AKfbvk7Q4iG8nyB1BP8?si=bb11b002a96c4216
Link for Spotify – your you can access on your preferred Podcast platform.
What you’ll get out of it: It’s a good intro in the Lipton’s work before embarking on his book. He is a leader in his field and explains the mind-body connection from a scientific point of view: How our biology is influenced by our mind, and the power of our subconscious mind.
My tip: I found this interview more accessible than reading the text heavy book. You will notice that the hosts have strong Canadian accents. Skip past the product promotion, the interview starts 4 mins in.
YouTube videos
5. TED Talk: Is there scientific proof we can heal ourselves? - Lissa Rankin, MD
Lissa Rankin, M.D is a medical doctor who, when searching for answers, decided to look beyond what she had been taught to practice in western medicine. Her research into 50 years of medical literature highlighted the power of the placebo as concrete evidence that the body holds within it innate self-repair mechanisms. In this TED talk she talks about the placebo and the nocebo effect, how our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs can alter the body’s physiology, and why it’s so important to look at the health in a holistic way.
What you’ll get out of it: Lissa’s holistic and self-empowered approach to healing is refreshing and well evidenced. She gives a nice explanation of how what’s happing in the brain affects what’s happening in the body, laying out how the stress response influences the production of hormones and our nervous system.
My tip: This TED Talk is a good intro to her book Mind Over Medicine, Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself, which I highly recommend.
6. TED Talk: Your body language may shape who you are – Amy Cuddy
Amy Cuddy Ph.D. is a social psychologist, author and speaker known for her TED Talk on ‘power posing’ which was named by The Guardian as ‘One of 20 Online Talks that Could Change Your Life’ and is the second-most-viewed TED Talk. In this talk, Cuddy speaks about how our body postures and language influence how we think and feel about ourselves. She explains how modifying your body’s posture, using the example of the ‘power pose’ for two minutes, results in lower cortisol levels and feeling more empowered.
What you’ll get out of it: There is a lot of information on how our mind affects our body, but also how our body affects our mind. This talk is a great example of this two-way relationship.
My tip: I don’t necessarily think it’s about ‘faking it’ – rather, it’s about rehearsing that feeling in your body, to then embody it. Put her 2 min exercise into practice for yourself!
7. TED Talk: Breathe to Heal – Max Strom
Max Strom TEDx speaker, author and global breathing teacher, known for teaching breathing patterns for personal transformation worldwide. In this talk he shares his insights into the reasons why anxiety, stress and poor health are skyrocketing, and what we can do about it. He reveals his insights on the healing power of the breath and gives a practical exercise to tap into this for yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lb5L-VEm34&t=917s (18 mins)
What you’ll get out of it: Breath is another brilliant example of how we can influence our body to affect our mind and our well-being.
My tip: Using your breath is an easy, practical way to calm your nervous system. You can start right now using the practical example at the end of the video.
8. YouTube Video: Understanding Pain in less than 5 minutes, and what to do about it!
Created by the Australian Pain Society, this video is a brilliant resource for anyone looking to understand the basics of chronic pain and how to change it. It simply explains what the current research has been saying about chronic pain – that it’s not a joint or muscle problem, rather a ‘re-wiring’ of the brain. In other words, the brain and nervous system have become sensitised and the way to resolve the perception of pain will be influenced by biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors.
What you’ll get out of it: If you want something immediately that gives you a clear overview of what pain is and how it works in five minutes, this is the resource to go to. It also has a concise explanation of how your thoughts and emotions impact your nervous system.
My tip: This quick 5 min video is a must-watch for everyone to understand the difference between acute and chronic pain.
9. YouTube Video: The Lighting Process for CRPS – Amanda Ashley
Amanda Ashely is colleague of mine and fellow Lighting Process Practitioner based in the US. In this informative talk she shares her own pain recovery story and covers some of the core concepts we look at in the Lighting Process. She talks about the impact of the ‘fight or flight’ response on our nervous system, and how prolonged stimulation of this stress response affects our brain and body’s ability to process pain appropriately. Speaking from her experience from working with clients, Amanda discusses how people can get stuck in states of chronic illness, and how the Lighting Process works to change this.
What you’ll get out of it: A break-down of some of the core concepts of the Lightning Process and how this relates to healing chronic pain and chronic fatigue.
My tip: If you in Australia and are wondering if the Lighting Process could help you, book a discovery call with me.
BONUS:
How does the Lightning Process work? The PER and CFS/ME - Phil Parker
For more specific information on how the Lightning Process works and success stories, check out Phil Parker’s YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY_nte7wsQM&list=PL842EA181DB451353&index=4
Too long, didn’t read?
>> Download the 1 page summary of the resource list here
This is the resource list I wish I had discovered when I had CFS and was looking for solutions.
These resources are intended to inspire and empower you with knowledge about the powerful connection between your own brain and body. If you would like to learn HOW to apply this knowledge, book a call with me to discover more about the Lightning Process – a training program designed to give you the knowledge, tools, and support to apply the science of the mind-body connection and rebuild your health.