English playwright, Joseph Addison, once wrote, “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”
Dr. Ken Pugh agrees. Pugh, of Haskins Laboratories, a science institute for language research, associated with Yale University, wrote, “Just like any other muscle in the body, the brain benefits from a good workout every now and then.”
Beyond simply building our brain muscles, however, reading can also greatly influence our thinking – depending, of course, on what we read. And, our thinking has a significant impact on our health. A more spiritual view of our life and health contributes to improvements in overall well-being.
Josef Mack, of Creative Holistic Business Solutions, recently advised, “Medical science is starting to put more credence in how our beliefs and thinking affect our health. It is very important for us to watch what we think and what we accept as truth and reality.”
Being careful of what we accept as truth and reality and keeping our thoughts full of love, joy, compassion, forgiveness and humility produce good health results.
Many books on spirituality reveal that our body is not the only thing that defines us. These books help us to understand ourselves in a whole new way.
For many people, the Bible is one such book. In the discourse on Job –who was facing all sorts of illnesses and great emotional loss, yet refused to view himself as less than worthy of God’s love–one party to the discussion states, “…there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.”
This understanding of the closeness and power of God restored Job’s health and abundance. It reshaped his understanding of who he was – not alone and ill, but in the presence of divine help.
Christian healer Mary Baker Eddy knew the power of books on spirituality. She was healed of the effects of an accident through reading The Bible. She wrote of The Bible, “It stands the storm. It engages the attention and enriches the being of all men.”
So open a book on spirituality – open the door to a new understanding of yourself and a path to better health.
