There has been a tremendous increase over the past decade in the public's awareness of the impact of our behaviors on our health. The next vital step is to address not only the behaviors (smoking, being sedentary, overeating, etc.) but the thoughts and feelings (frustration, inadequacy, apathy, etc.) underlying these behaviors. Exercise and diet by themselves will not necessarily bring about good health. The real healing power lies in the consciousness behind our actions. Behavioral changes are of worth primarily in reinforcing our intention to love and honor our being, and, to that extent, opening us to the energy of the universal life force, or spirit.

Bernard Siegel, MD, in Love, Medicine, and Miracles, defines the attitude towards one's self as the single most important factor in healing and staying well, and the fundamental problem as an inability to love one's self.

A vital step in healing then becomes that of loving our self. Here we are not talking of ego love, but of revering our selves as part of goddess/god energy. To be self-degrading is to deny the goddess/god within. Self-love is not ego love, but great humility.

People at peace with themselves and their immediate surroundings don't usually get sick. "At peace" does not mean suppressing feelings. People who never share their problems, always smile, and neglect their own needs are among those most likely to become ill. Unexpressed feelings block the free flow of energy through the body, depressing the immune system and manifesting dis-ease. Expressing feelings in a healthy way generally means staying well. Lack of an emotional outlet is a common theme in the history of most cancer patients.

Siegel names four faiths crucial to recovery from serious illness: faith in self, faith in the doctor, faith in the treatment, and one's spiritual path, i.e., belief in some order or meaning in the universe.

Our minds are incredibly powerful forces for change. With our minds, in each moment, we choose to identify with ego or spirit. In that same choice we are creating our experience of reality. In identifying solely with ego, we see ourselves as no more than the body we inhabit. We see ourselves as separate from others and from the creative life force. We perceive limitation, and experience the fear that obstructs the free flow of energy from the universe and manifests as dis-ease. (continues)

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