In optimistic people, who constantly focus on positive thinking, the nerves frequently secrete a chemical that keeps the body's cells healthy and makes them less inclined to illness. By contrast, in pessimistic individuals who are full of resentment and wrath, the mind becomes inclined toward negative thinking and further feeds their pessimism. This daily input of anger and antipathy causes the continuous secretion of a nerve chemical that kills bodily cells. Therefore, people who are continually pessimistic and angry slowly commit suicide without knowing it.

When we were children, our parents often reminded us, "Whatever you do, be benevolent at heart, for kindness brings about good retribution and evil brings about bad retribution." I only came to realize that this reminder had a scientific basis when I attended graduate school. Fortunately, however, "be benevolent at heart" has always been the highest principle of my life and thinking.

Thinking and Nerve Chemistry

During my graduate program, I took a course in nerve chemistry. What impressed me most about this subject was the scientific discovery that both positive and negative thinking make use of mutually suppressive parts of the nervous system. That is to say, when a person's thinking is optimistic, tranquil, grateful and happy, the "positive thinking" part of the nervous system is at work while the "negative thinking" part of the system does not function and is suppressed. Conversely, when a person's heart is full of hatred, sorrow, dejection and terror, the negative part of the system is stimulated and put into action while the positive part becomes completely suppressed.

Long ago, scientific researchers also discovered a special feature of the nervous system; that is, nerve cells function through electrical transmission and love to take short cuts. Thus, nerve cells that function frequently are more easily activated than those that are seldom used. This is a case of "frequent use leading to development and infrequent use leading to degeneration."
An optimistic person always looks at things around him with a positive attitude, is always grateful at heart, does not take personal offenses too seriously and believes in receiving help from God. The positive thinking part of his nervous system thus has more chances to be activated while the negative thinking part tends to degenerate from disuse. Conversely, if a person looks only at the dark side of things, and faces everything with a demanding, judgmental attitude, or is often suspicious or afraid of his surroundings, the negative thinking part of his nervous system becomes highly developed. And as time goes by, it becomes more difficult to activate the positive thinking part.

Neurotransmitters and Health

In addition, scientists have found that messages are transmitted between individual cells in the nervous system through chemicals called neurotransmitters. One thing worth noting is that experiments show the neurotransmitters secreted by the positive thinking part of the nervous system stimulate the body's cells to grow and develop. Thus, an optimistic person who always uses the positive thinking part of the system will always secrete nerve chemicals that benefit health. No wonder researchers conclude that optimistic people are less prone to illness!

Recent medical studies have also found that the body's nervous and immune systems are interrelated. When the positive thinking part of the nervous system secretes chemicals that help bodily cells grow healthily, the immune system becomes more active and produces healthier, disease-resistant cells. Naturally, the body will thus have greater immunity to alien germs and viruses, and a person will not fall ill as easily. We have heard that when a cancer patient is optimistic, his condition usually improves more readily than normal. On the other hand, a pessimistic patient is deprived of this good luck because the immune system in his body is completely dominated by the negative thinking part of the nervous system. So many of his immune cells are dead and no longer serve a protective function.

Activating the Positive Thinking
Part of the Nervous System

Of course, ordinary people might not always be one-hundred percent optimistic or one-hundred percent pessimistic. However, if we can constantly maintain an upbeat, peaceful, blissful and pleasant mood, and avoid feelings of hatred, discontentment, jealousy, restlessness and suspicion, the positive thinking part of our nervous system will always function. And as time goes by, our immune system will thus become stronger and we will become less vulnerable to disease. In addition, the positive thinking part of our nervous system also becomes more developed, and our attitude increasingly optimistic, generating a positive cycle of improvement.

In recent years, many unusual illnesses have emerged around the world, and cases of long-suppressed contagious diseases have re-emerged. This is probably due to the fact that people today are not as sincere and benevolent at heart as those of earlier generations; so many illnesses have become very difficult to cure because the bodily cells of many people are not healthy.

Editor's Postscript: The most obvious way to counteract this trend of increased incidence of illness is to maintain a positive attitude and allow the body to fulfill its role as a natural disease fighter. As Supreme Master Ching Hai tells us, "All things are created by the mind. Our mind we must create; we must speak good things, think good things, and then we will change the negative to the positive. We should teach the cells in our own bodies to think good thoughts. Whatever good we think or speak, our minds, our bodies and the millions and billions of cells in our bodies will all listen immediately. That's why I say that you're your own master." (Originally spoken in Aulacese at the 2002 Christmas Five-day Retreat in Florida, USA, December 25, 2002)