You have the power to heal your life,
and you need to know that.
We think so often that we are helpless,
but we are not.
We always have the power of our minds…
Claim and consciously use your power.
-Louise Hay
Throughout history, events and happenings that could not be logically explained or threatened our sense of order, often created fear. The knee-jerk reaction was to label the event as witchcraft, sorcery, wizardry, voodoo, black magic or white magic, the benevolent counterpart of malicious black magic.
On the positive side, these occurrences might be called psychic surgery, faith healing or miracles.
Here is the key to understanding: these occurrences are based on the power of ritual, belief, expectation - and how the mind works.
Simply put: your subconscious mind 1) does not think in the traditional sense, 2) is highly suggestable, 3) cannot tell the difference between a real or imagined experience and 4) controls your physiology (body functions).
Most important: the subconscious, which is 90% of your “mind”, NEVER stops listening and taking suggestions!
While your conscious mind, the remaining 10%, is the thinking and reasoning part of the brain, it is, nevertheless, controlled by the subconscious.
Given this, let’s add the “placebo” to the mix.
Placebo comes from Latin, meaning “I will please.” The word was first used in a medicinal context in the late 18th century to describe a "commonplace method or medicine." In 1811, it was defined as "any medicine adapted more to please than to benefit the patient."
A placebo is anything that seems to be a "real" medical treatment -- but isn't.
It could be a pill, a shot, a serum, a manipulation, suggestion or a touch.
Researchers use placebos during blind studies to help understand what effect a new drug or some other treatment might have on a particular condition.
What all placebos have in common is that they do not contain an active substance meant to affect health.
So, here’s the modern-day miracle.
In what is called “The Placebo Effect, these non-chemical, non-active, inert substances can produce measurable, positive health outcomes. The patients’ belief, at the deepest subconscious level, activates their own healing powers. This goes well beyond just imagination.
Here’s is an even more remarkable miracle.
Patients who knew they were taking placebos reported real improvement and twice as much symptom relief. Placebos can change heart rate and blood pressure. They can alter chemical activity in the brain in cases involving depression, anxiety, pain, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome and even some symptoms of Parkinson’s. The Placebo Effect has been measured and validated in thousands of medical experiments over the years.
However, there can be a dark side.
The power of the mind can heal the body- or- destroy it. It can plunge emotions into darkness and inhibit healing. By causing negative stress, placebos can trigger asthma, psoriasis, warts, acne, and eczema.
Imagine you are wearing a pair of glasses tinted red and you didn’t know it! All your perceptions would be influenced by the crimson-colored lens. The same thing happens when you view the world through the lens of your expectations or preconceived notions of how the world “should” be.
Your mind is always trying to predict the future. Through anticipation, the mind changes your physiology, so your experience becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy - of whatever you believe.
Here is a big take-away: your expectations affect your brain, influence your perception and control your experience. How you anticipate events shapes your reality.
What does all this mean to you?
You can use the power of “The Placebo Effect” to enhance your life on every level by setting up positive expectations for you and those around you. Here’s how:
1) Do everything you can to eliminate being around people who are negative, destructive, jealous, vindictive or drain your energy.
2) Purposefully surround yourself with friends and acquaintances who have a positive outlook on life.
3) Limit your exposure to the news. Seriously. It's almost always negative.
4) Pay attention to your environment and choose to make it nurturing and pleasant.
5) Listen to the way you communicate with others. Stop complaining and criticizing. Restrain from giving advice and LISTEN instead. Many people are in fear. Show compassion, tolerance and hope.
6) Notice when you are getting into negative self-talk, such as "I'm a failure." "My relationship will never be good." "I will never succeed at my real dreams." "I'm too old." "I'm not smart enough." "The world is not a safe place to live." Say to yourself: “STOP IT!!”
You have the power to harness “The Placebo Effect” and live an exceptional life.
IMAGINE THAT!
JAMES MAPES’ BIO 2017
An extraordinary keynote speaker for the uncertainty of 2017, James Mapes defies categorization. When philanthropist/Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen quizzed Mapes as to how one person could do so much during his life, James’ answer was simple: “Because no one told me I couldn’t.”
A true Renaissance man, James is considered the world’s foremost authority on applied imagination, having studied human behavior for more than 30 years. Since childhood, James wanted to make the impossible into the possible. This has led to a life-long fascination with the subconscious and the power of the imagination.
Speaker, coach, best-selling author, clinical hypnotist and award-winning performer, Mapes is recognized for his ability to inspire, motivate, educate and guide others to develop and enhance the unlimited potential of their creative imagination and incalculable powers of the mind. His programs address creativity, motivation, leadership, change, wellness and peak performance.
As creator of Quantum Leap Thinking™ and the Transformational Coach™, James Mapes is one of the most sought-after international speakers in the corporate industry today. He has worked with hundreds of public and private companies in more than 70 countries.
His clients include financial institutions, software companies, the military, the healthcare industry, major non-profit organizations, along with training & development divisions of large corporations. Companies, associations, universities and business schools including - IBM Corporate, U.S. Coast Guard, Lockheed Martin, The Pentagon and The Princeton Center for Leadership Training - have quoted Mapes in training manuals and textbooks.
In addition, Mapes has ignited audiences with his critically acclaimed hypnosis show, Journey Into the Imagination. More than two million people have marveled at this unique presentation at Performing Arts Centers and universities, plus Manhattan’s Town Hall and Lincoln Center - winning praise from the media, including the New York Times, Variety and the New York Daily News. He is branded as “The Imaginologist.”
His engaging, enlightening new book, IMAGINE THAT! Igniting Your Brain for Creativity and Peak Performance is the first web-enhanced volume of its kind. A provocative adventure of the mind, IMAGINE THAT! is a cutting-edge roadmap showing readers how to lead an exceptional life by learning to apply their imagination for productivity.
Mapes delves into hot-button topics like reframing thinking patterns, shattering limiting myths, self-hypnosis, transforming fear into love and forgiveness. The beauty of this ground-breaking book is not only the relevant information but also how it rides the wave of technology by giving the reader access to 21 short video clips of James Mapes’ demonstrations and coaching.
His previous book, Quantum Leap Thinking: An Owners’ Guide to the Mind has been published in ten languages.
James is a weekly contributor to The Huffington Post and The Good Men Project.
www.jamesmapes.com O) 203-261-1200 James@JamesMapes.com