Summer Reading

Wellness is not just about nutrition, supplements and exercise. Wellness includes the mind, body and spirit.   So as we sit on the beach this summer with our sizzling read, I’d like to share with you some of my summer reading and why I find it particularly “hot” these days.   To quote one of my reads:  “Understanding on a scientific level how cells respond to your thoughts and perceptions illuminates the path to personal empowerment” Dr. Bruce Lipton  We are not victims to our genes.  This is a limiting, antiquated and disempowering belief, similar to the antiquated belief that the world was flat.  Science has known this for over a decade but this has not trickled down to us layman.   The science of epigenetics is proving this.   I am reading about the “new biology”  the science that tells us that our fully conscious mind can be more powerful than the “nature versus nurture” argument. Unfortunately the conventional medical establishment has not yet integrated this knowledge of cellular biology, quantum physics or nutrition into medical schools.  But several Drs are leading the pack. I am also reading Love & Survival by Dr. Neal Barnard who cites years of medical research proving that love, laughter and connection are far more powerful than any modern drugs alone.  But my favorite summer read is “Healing Essence” by Mitchell Gaynor, MD Medical Director, Cornell Center for Complementary & Integrative Medicine.  As an Oncologist he has learned first hand the power of healing from within.  He writes, “Modern medicine tends to regard healing as coming only from outside of us, overlooking the fact that we all have innate healing mechanisms, giving us the capability to be more than bystanders waiting for drugs and surgery to cure us.  Adversity usually forces people to confront reality-and to do so without pretenses and other creations of the ego.  Someone with serious illness usually has little concern for money, prestige, or position.  And healing begins with the realization that with vulnerability comes a freedom from many of the illusions to which most of us are so attached. Many of my patients have used their own experiences with pain and vulnerability to make enormous leaps in their spiritual and psychological growth, and this relates closely to the entire healing process.” ESSENCE is a guide for healing fear and includes diet, yoga and meditation.