ABSTRACT
In the introduction to The Healing Heart (Cousins, 1983), Dr. Bernard Lown describes a seriously ill patient: He had suffered a heart attack which had severely damaged the cardiac muscle; he was experiencing chaotic arrhythmia that was hard to control, and his breathing was labored. The patient was being kept alive with oxygen and an intravenous drip of cardiac stimulant. On one of the rounds, Dr. Lown mentioned to the attending staff that the patient’s heart had a “wholesome, very loud third sound gallop.” This condition indicates that the heart is straining and is on the brink of a failure. However, following this conversation, the patient “miraculously” improved and was discharged from the hospital. When asked by Dr. Lown about his recovery, he responded:
There is abundant anecdotal evidence demonstrating physiological consequences of conscious mental processes such as imagery, hypnosis, and meditation.
Furthermore, an impressive body of empirical research has accumulated over the last two decades which demonstrates quite convincingly that conscious processes, in one form or another, are clearly capable of leading to measurable physiological changes and should be considered significant determinants of disease and health. This chapter first briefly traces the history of thought in the field of psychosomatics and then outlines research dealing with physiological consequences of meditation, imagery, biofeedback, and hypnosis. The concluding section further emphasizes the role that consciousness plays in bringing about extensive physiological changes.
