Health and the Correction of Thought
Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 3:55PM I’ve written about my previous career as a composer, pianist, and teacher before on this blog (“Are Filters On?”, “Steinways and Health”). Among other things, that time in my life provided an interesting area of investigation into the way our thinking affects how we perceive ideas and achieve results.
Let me give you an example.
Frequently I would find myself repeatedly correcting a piano student about how they played a wrong note—all music teachers can relate to this, I’m sure! I would, for instance, say “It’s a G-sharp.” They in turn would nod understandably and then proceed to play the same G-natural that they had just played. I would again say “G-sharp” and they would play “G-natural.” And so the dance would go for a little while.
My wife (who would sometimes be in an adjacent room and hear the lessons) and I would afterwards humorously refer to this process as the “G-sharp phenomenon”—a phenomenon which didn’t restrict itself to any age group, level of education, or professional achievements.
It became clear to me that in their earnestness and desire to do the right thing, the pupils had become so overly focused that they were oblivious to my corrections. They mistakenly thought that if they just kept repeating the passage over and over again that somehow, by sheer dint of effort, they would miraculously get it right. It was a type of self-hypnotism—nothing less than that.
What did I do?
In order to catch their attention, I would firmly put a stop to it which startled their thought and broke the tunnel vision. I then made them simply think through—note by note, rhythm by rhythm—what the music was requiring them to do. This basic technique invariably led to them playing the passage accurately without any intervening practice on their part. Once they understood exactly what it was they needed to do, their fingers reproduced it. Their body responded under the right understanding of the music.
Good news for all of the music teachers out there to be sure! And good news for all of us, too.
Why?
Because the same process can affect our health and our well-being.
If we continuously accept a model of health that involves a wrong answer—one in which inevitable deterioration, illness, disease, and decrepitude becomes our conception of life—then in many ways aren’t we behaving just like those students? Unflinchingly looking to the same one method—a method based on surgery and drugs—a method that may, and often can, fall short of our hopes and desires?
I’ve seen how stopping to think can bring about significant improvements to my health. What could I possibly be thinking about that would yield such a result? My—our—unbroken, permanent connection to an all-loving God. A God whose help is always available. A relationship that is entirely spiritual. It’s the relationship that the Scriptures speak of in Psalm 46:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
And it’s a relationship that I’m continuing to learn more about in my study of Christian Science—a system of both health care and spiritual growth—that’s proved repeatedly effective for me and for many others.
A method that anyone can avail themselves of and see firsthand how they can learn to play a “G-sharp” instead of a “G-natural”!
Christian Science, God, The Bible, The Scriptures, classical music, health care, piano, prayer, spirituality, thought in CAMs, Church, Disease, Health, Living, Media, Medicine, Mental Health, Mind-Body Connection, Music, Religion, Science
Reader Comments (15)
Ken, I'm glad you weren't listening when I was practicing my flute this afternoon! I'm still working on remembering to play F#'s... haven't even gotten to needing G#'s yet. I've found that when I play a phrase wrong over and over, it's actually better to stop practicing for a few minutes and go back to it with a fresh perspective and thought later.
It's like that, too, with what I call "rut thinking" (thinking that just stays in the same track and goes on and on, as you've described in the article). Climbing out of a thought-rut is so freeing!
Just like playing the right notes in music brings harmony, I've found that thinking of my body and its care in a new way can bring health. How wonderful that we all have the freedom to do that.
A very helpful article about changing our thinking and improving our health -- after a careful review of our thought process. Thanks, Ken.
Growing up, when I was playing piano in a recital and messed up, I'd be at a total loss, I'd have to start all over. I never did take time to understand the logic of the music so I could pick it up where I'd left off. So I get your point about the value of really understanding God in order for life to go forward in harmony. I'd love to know how other people think of God. But as I'm coming to understood Him in Christian Science as loving His children unconditionally, it's making me able to continue loving even someone who's actions are unkind!
Great analogy on how we can correct our thinking related to doing right things the right way. It reminds me of horses that have the blinders on so they will stay on the pathway they are directed by the horseman. While I know that I have choices, sometimes I need to focus on getting the task done rightly, not just done.
Do you think diligence/determination can sometimes be a distraction in thought?
This topic reminds me of a statistic I heard some time ago: “According to some scientists we have around 60,000 thoughts per day, and 95%-98% of those thoughts are the same ones day in and day out, or rather the same types of thoughts. Let’s do some math here: 95% of 60,000 = 57,000”
I’m not sure how accurate these figures are, but I can see how staying on a particular thought pattern can limit our options. If we don’t “firmly put a stop to it which startled their thought and broke the tunnel vision” as Ken mentioned in his post, we can miss all kinds of opportunities for a positive change in any situation.
So many good thoughts. Let me focus. Kevin's question intrigues me. Can diligence/determination sometimes be a distraction in thought? Reminds me of a time when I was at work typing and someone walked into the room and said "you're working too hard." That did help to change my thinking. I think it takes a lot of love to help someone get out of a mental rut. I'm seeing love at work in Ken's teaching.
Sharla's experience, and my own in getting "lost' while playing music (I play flute too, Sue), reminded me of something Dave Brubeck said at a workshop in NH years ago. "People who really listen to jazz listen for your mistakes and then what you do with them." -- love the forgiveness. So the spiritual take away for me now is that you/I maintain the best we can a foundation of love (study, prayer, etc.) and forgive ourselves and others as we put it into practice, trusting as Sharla said in God's unconditional love. In the meanwhile I've got a few G-naturals to correct. Thanks, Ken, for the idea.
Hi Kevin. It's a good point you raise about diligence/determination. I think that diligence/determination is a 2 sided coin and I've seen both sides at different time.
Sometimes if I singlemindedly trudge down a path without thinking moment by moment about what I'm doing and why, I find myself figuratively playing G natural over & over instead of the correct G sharp. However, if I diligently, and with determination, keep my eye on my goal - while thinking freshly and clearly moment by moment the steps or tasks required to get to the goal, then that gets me to the goal faster (less dead-ends and more sure results).
I've found this to be particularly true when I've been sick and needed to feel better. Sometimes its quiet thoughtful rest that is most helpful and sometimes a good vigorous walk in the woods with an appreciation of all the good I see around me that helps. But neither of those work well if they are simply done thoughtlessly or as if they were a prescription.
Thanks Virginia for the thoughts on forgiveness and for the idea of how good it is to expect creative constructive results. I think it's also important to consciously turn away from the mental ruts projected by medical drug ads on tv. Many double the value of constantly looking at illness and expecting certain results. Christian Science shows us another path toward health and health care based on spiritually-centered thoughts
Sue,
I really like this part of your answer....
"...if I diligently, and with determination, keep my eye on my goal - while thinking freshly and clearly moment by moment the steps or tasks required to get to the goal, then that gets me to the goal faster (less dead-ends and more sure results)."
I think that is the key -that moment by moment examination of thought is important.
Is that how/where we really connect with God and his/her vision for each of us as his children? Is that the key to consistent health? Any thoughts? Thanks all for your thoughtful responses!
I enjoyed reading all of the comments about this article. Wanda's reference to the number of potential daily thoughts we have and how repetition can easily become the norm challenged me to assess some of my familiar and comfortable thought patterns and see if they are still serving a purpose or if it is time to be open to new thoughts and activities. Phoebe
I love the ideas here that we can break out of constricting repetitive thought patterns that affect our lives adversely. Forgiveness, openness to creative results and solutions, diligence in watching our thought and an awareness of the ways thought does influence our lives all resonate with me. It seems to me that Ken’s analogy of thinking through what the music is demanding next –the intrinsic logic – is so true to our asking ourselves each moment what spiritual life is demanding of us. I like applying these ideas to health as well, particularly to any addictive behavior, such as smoking, chemical abuse, or even habitual over eating.
Kevin's last questions gets me thinking of how important it is to keep thought on God, spiritual reality, moment by moment. It allows for spontaneity and being open to guidance in whatever we’re doing. I’d have to say keeping thought tuned in to God is a vital part of being healthy. It’s neat to make that connection. Thanks for the question.
Thanks all for your comments and answers to my question(s). I have a few more questions.
I would like to hear a bit more about what everyone thinks "spiritual" means in the context of everyday life. If, we have a health issues, relationship issues, or other challenges HOW do you make the jump from changing our thoughts to thinking "spiritually" ? What does "spiritually/spiritual" look and feel like? Why does thinking spiritually effect our lives?
I look forward to the responses!
Hi Kevin! When I wrote about spiritualizing thought, specifically regarding problems like addictions or chronic over-eating, I meant a specific thought change that came from realizing that destructive behavior couldn’t control me. An example of this was when I was habitually reacting in anger when my husband and I had very different viewpoints on important issues, and we were trying to resolve them. It seemed it was impossible to discuss these differences without argument and anger and hurt feelings resulting. I got to the point where physical symptoms of chest pains were occurring. Without seeking a doctor’s analysis, I felt that these were strongly related, and decided that my health was more important than winning arguments, or even engaging in highly charged disagreements without taking a breath to step back and cool off. I now had to spiritualize my thought to be able to withdraw from these clashes and later discus them in a calmer state of mind. I found I needed to know that I wasn’t chained to reacting in anger and emotion to differing and sometimes threatening values or viewpoints – views that rocked my world – so to speak. The next part of the spiritualization process, for me, was to base my refusal to react not merely on my own will-power – because that hadn’t worked in the past. I needed to base it on the God-given dominion spoken of in Genesis in the Bible – on the power of God’s being in my life. I found that when I made a connection with this, I was able to remain calm, and not feel that everything I valued was constantly at risk if I didn’t “slug it out” verbally all the time. I had to realize that God would help me. This reduced the anxiety, the stress, the arguments and as a result – healed the chest pains – not right away, it took several years of working on this consistently. It has been a wonderful healing for me. I hope this helps with understanding the “spiritualization” I was speaking of.
As I was thinking about Kevin’s last questions I came across this in the Bible -- Job 36:24-25 “Remember that thou magnify his [God’s] work, which men behold. Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off.” So what is it that “men behold”? Good in some form. I have a friend who tells me that I express peace. I don’t always feel peace, but she must be seeing some results of my prayer and desire to feel God’s peace. That’s encouraging to me. The spiritual qualities that anyone expresses, such as love, joy, good-will, do show. It’s an inner feeling of connection with God that shows on the outside.
One answer to the question “Why does thinking spiritually effect our lives”? – Because we are spiritual, created by Spirit, God, thinking spiritually aligns our thought with God and our true being and brings out our God-given, innate harmony – we have to be true to our true self to experience this harmony.
I can identify with what Jane wrote. I’ve been praying to overcome anger and gain better health. I’m finding that it’s what I’m thinking more than the circumstance that is important. How am I seeing things? Do I need to change my thought? There are many helps, such as prayer, another’s experience, Bible verses, and thoughts from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy to name a few. We hear/realize/accept God’s truth, which is what changes our thought. It’s more than the human mind can do on its own.