Do you believe that to live is to heal? Do you believe that because you are alive; born into a physical body; and bound by the physical laws of this world that you are and were born…unwell? If your answer is “No” to both questions, then you belong to the vast majority of people living today. On the contrary, if your answer is “Yes,” then you belong to a small minority of people living today. Regardless of what you may or may not believe, I invite you to ponder the old saying, “The road of the many is often the wrong way.”

I ask these questions because, I realized that many of us believe that those who have been diagnosed with some kind of definitive physical or psychological imbalance, addiction, or disease, are “sick” or “unwell”; and those who have not been diagnosed with any particular sickness or disease are “healthy” and “well.” In other words, if someone we know has a diagnosed problem, but we do not, then we think to ourselves, “He or she is sick, but not me.”

I also realized that many of us are unconscious to our deeper feelings about someone who we deem “sick.” For example, when we encounter or hear about someone who has been diagnosed as sick, diseased, or dying, we may, very demonstrably, express concern, empathy, or some form of condolence to or about that person. Yet, all the while, in our mind, we judge that person by recalling all the reasons why we believe he or she is unwell. Furthermore, we may think to ourselves: “Oh that poor person, I’m so glad I’m not sick like them. Thank God I don’t have that problem. I am so blessed.” When we abide by these types of beliefs and attitudes, it means we have—erroneously and unconsciously—judged and seemingly separated ourselves from the outward reflection of our own inner “un-wellness” and “dis-eased” mindset.

The following is a true personal example. Many years ago, I went to a breast surgeon to have a biopsy taken from a mass in my right breast. Several months earlier, I had discovered the mass, and brought it to my gynecologist’s attention. At the time, she advised me to have it checked—(but, I chose not to because I didn’t believe it was an issue, even though it had been painful for quite some time). After the breast surgeon had thoroughly palpated the mass, he asked me, “If you noticed this mass a few months ago, and you know that your grandmother and mother died from cancer, and your sister currently has metastasized breast carcinoma, why didn’t you have it checked sooner? Smugly, I replied, “Because, unlike them, I don’t think I’ve lived a lifestyle that is conducive to developing cancer.” The surgeon sternly looked me in my eyes and sarcastically replied, “Well, Mrs. Kennedy, no breast lump is ever normal—regardless of your lifestyle.”

The point I am trying to make is that many of us do not know what “disease” really means. Due to this, I often hyphenate the word so that it reads, “dis-ease.” My intention in doing so is to jar reader’s unconscious beliefs about this frequently misused and misunderstood word. Disease unhyphenated means, “A condition in humans, plants, or animals that results in pathological symptoms and is not the direct result of physical injury.” Whereas, if hyphenated, “dis” becomes a prefix meaning, “to undo” or “to do the opposite”; and, “ease” means, “a lack of difficulty.” Hence, dis-ease means, “the lack of ease or comfort,” as in discomfort, unrest, or agony. So, hyphenating disease, (dis-ease), changes its meaning and context significantly—bringing the concept of a general lack of wellness and lack of ease or comfort into focus.

The fact is that everyone lives with “dis-ease.” It is an essential aspect of life. Throughout our life, all of us will consistently experience various forms of suffering, distress, pain, and loss. Additionally, everyone who is born will surely die. Actually, the moment we are born, our bodies are simultaneously beginning to die. Therefore, how can we label anyone else as “sick,” “diseased,” or “dying”; yet, totally fail to recognize the same plight in ourselves? In other words, how can we readily recognize dis-ease in others, but repeatedly overlook our own dis-eased symptoms? Take a moment to think about this important question?

Prior to me being diagnosed with breast cancer, I believed I was healthy and well; despite the fact that for years, I had suffered from a history of persistent stress-related aches and pains, such as blinding migraines and irregular painful periods. Until then, I lived with a false sense of wellness. I rationalized to myself that since I was a vegetarian; an avid fitness instructor; and young that I was perfectly healthy. Thus, I assumed I was immune to developing any type of disease—particularly cancer. I also believed that my relatives had cancer because of their “unhealthy lifestyle.” I again rationalized that since they were heavy smokers and drinkers, ate meat, never exercised, or took an interest in their health, it only made sense that they had cancer.

At that time, I did not realize I had prejudices and ignorant beliefs about those who I judged as “sick.” Now, however, I clearly recognize that not only did I, but most people do. Subconsciously, we judge others as sick or diseased, but fail to recognize our own “un-wellness” or “dis-ease.” We delude ourselves by believing that, unlike them, we are “well”—despite our many symptoms to the contrary. For example, we judge others as “sick,” while we suffer from one or more of the following:

• Regularly take prescription or over the counter pain medications
• Drink alcoholic beverages three or more days per week
• Must use sleep aids for some type of insomnia
• Daily consume two or more cups of coffee
• Have been taking antidepressants for months or years
• Depend on blood pressure medication
• Rely on diabetes medications
• Are thirty or more pounds overweight or significantly underweight
• Have several strained personal or work relationships
• Over indulge in sexual activity or have many sexual partners
• Frequently engage in “road rage” reactions or confrontations
• Suffer from persistent worry or anxiety
• Have a history of financial instability or lack
• Suffer from frequent bouts of constipation or diarrhea

So, as you can see from this list, we do not notice how distracted we are from the everyday reality of our own presentations of “dis-ease” and “un-wellness.” Hence, we live in total denial.

Well, the truth about life and the living is this: Everyone and everything born of this world and bound to a physical body, is destined to experience pain, suffering, sickness, and ultimately…death. Life is fair in this regard. Furthermore, the unfortunate fact is that the great majority of us will die—not from natural causes—but rather, from an incurable sickness or disease. Why? It is because, unbeknownst to us, our daily life is driven by our unconscious pathological mindset.

A pathological mindset is the long-term habitual repetition of “negative thought patterns.” Specifically, if we habitually think about or react to situations, people, or memories with negative thoughts or emotions, such as anger, fear, worry, resentment, sorrow, or jealousy, then we experience some form of suffering—physiologically and environmentally. The most common consequences of negative thinking are acts of violence; physical tension; relationship dramas; and feelings of despair or lassitude. Usually, however, we fail to recognize the real source of these situations and feelings. The long-term consequences of not addressing the cause, is a matured form of dis-ease, as in cancer or heart disease.

So, all health problems are the effects of toxic emotional thought patterns. Negative habits in mind are pathological, and they produce toxic chemical and physiological reactions in our body. Such toxicity eventually accumulates, resulting in the manifestation of dis-eases, like persistent pain, deformation, tumors, cysts, chronic sickness—and ultimately—full-blown disease. Therefore, no manifestation of pain, sickness, or disease just “happens.” Instead, dis-eased thoughts create a dis-eased body and life circumstances.

When I have expressed this sobering principle to my students or patients, some have asked me, “If we live only to die from sickness or disease, then what is the purpose of life?” I explain that the purpose of our life is to “heal.” We are born to heal our “karma” or “pathology in mind.” For some, this answer is difficult to comprehend or accept. However, the truth is that every aspect of our physical life—without exception—is the formed reflection of our mindset. How and what we think determines the quality and conditions of our health and life circumstances. Hence, the purpose of life is to identify and repair our faulty mindset.

In summation, the purpose of our life is to liberate ourselves from ignorance, perpetual suffering, and a death that—unnecessarily—results from a lifetime of dis-eased thinking. To accomplish this, recognize that every living being is created equal. Everything and everyone born will, equally, experience suffering and death. Therefore, all of us are born “un-well” and “dis-eased.” For this reason, endeavor to heal the source of your life circumstances—your mindset. Heal by correcting your erroneous beliefs, judgments, and behaviors so that, when it is finally time for you to vacate the physical body and world, you can leave, and truly…“rest in peace.” This is the goal of life. To live is to heal.

Author's Bio: 

Gladys Wesley-Kennedy is a Qi Gong Master, artist, author, holistic health educator, and the founder of The WHAI.LLC (The Wellness & Healing Arts Institute), and Meditative Fitness Programs. For more than twenty-five years, Master Gladys has been successfully designing and conducting educational holistic health and therapeutic fitness programs. She is particularly well respected in the areas of ancient Asian healing modalities, such as Qi gong (energy healing), acupressure, meridian therapy, and herbal medicine. Due to her gifted hands-on healing work, thousands of people worldwide have recovered from debilitating sicknesses or life-threatening diseases. She has also written several published Zen philosophy and meditation related books, e.g., The Essence of Zen; The Doorway to Zen; and, Expressions from Within – A Poetic Journey of Awakening.
Master Gladys has also had the rare good fortune of living and studying Zen philosophy and the ancient healing arts with many revered and awakened Asian masters, throughout Asia and the United States. More significantly, as a result of her personally practicing the principles and methodologies learned, she healed herself of breast cancer, and has since dedicated her life to the propagation of the ancient healing arts, holistic health education, and Zen philosophy.