Page 7 - June 2021

The process of reducing toxic conscious
inflammation is similar in principle to
reducing chronic physical inflammation.
We first need to identify the causes of the
imbalance, then find alternative ways of
responding. For example, if we are not
even aware that a certain type of food
is unhealthy, we would have no reason
to remove it from our diet. In the same
way, if we are not aware of how certain
thoughts and beliefs create an inner state
of distress, we may assume that there
is no other way to live. Exploring how
we inflame our own consciousness may
seem “negative” but it is an essential step
before replacing it with truer, more joyful
and Loving ways of being.
Conscious inflammation is caused
by the inner state of judgment which
leads to fear. Fear tends to elicit even
more judgment, causing a cycle of
victimization, blame and outrage.
Inflammatory thoughts such as “this
shouldn’t be happening,” “this is terrible”
or “this is scary” are guaranteed to cause
distressing emotions. How many times
have thoughts like these come up in
regard to COVID-19?
There have been many studies that
show that negative and fearful thoughts
weaken the immune system and positive
thoughts enhance it. For example, a
study by Italian and UK researchers
in 2003 showed that depressed elderly
people have fewer lymphocytes and
T-cells – the white blood cells crucial
for fighting disease. Fear-based stress
triggers the release of cortisol. Prolonged
exposure to cortisol may lead to anxiety
and depression, shorten lifespan, cause
overall weakness and damage the
hippocampus of the brain.
On the other hand, people with an
optimistic attitude have more robust
immune systems. There have been
studies that show that positive emotions
increase resilience against the flu. For
more information on these subjects, see
links below:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/
health/wellness-and-prevention/the-
power-of-positive-thinking
https://www.apa.org/research/action/
immune
Another form of conscious inflammation
is labeling a person (or group of persons)
as selfish, irresponsible, ignorant,
bigoted, unconscious, greedy, a jerk, evil,
etc., which is often followed by a barrage
of intensely negative thoughts to justify
that point of view. This inflammatory
cycle, which has nothing to do with the
outer person or event, will propel dislike
into outright hatred, and can even boil
over into verbal or physical violence and
chronic disease. Think of every conflict
there is in the world today – personal,
social and political. Are they not all
caused by this dynamic? Notice how
at this juncture of human evolution,
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