The Importance of Boosting the Spiritual Immune System

Just like with the physical immune system, we need to keep the mental, emotional, psychic, and spiritual immune systems in top condition. We’re all familiar with how to boost the physical immune system, but we may not all be aware of how we can keep the others boosted with healthy T-cells. It’s an analogous carry-over idea — just as garlic, adequate sleep and exercise boost the physical body’s immune system, so does meditation, self-analysis, introspection, prayer work and such boost the immune system of our other bodies — especially the spiritual — and bestows a spiritual healing and physical wellness simultaneously.

Many spiritual teachers have made mention of this concept (or something like it). Proverbs says, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” This aphorism may give us an insight or starting point for regaining balance in our various bodies by allowing us to see that our materialistic culture, which is focused on worldly and monetary achievement to the excoriation of all others “rots the bones” — while we may still exercise and devour wheat grass juice and Nature’s medicines like mad. Balance is the key here, folks. Balance, well nourished and fortified.

Paying the Price with Poor Spiritual Wellness

It may interest you to know (and perhaps your higher self is already aware) that there are both internal and external diseases of the spirit. As stated by the HomeCuresThatWork.com website:

“Internal diseases of the spirit are those spiritual diseases to which we are predisposed. We find ourselves falling victim to these diseases at times even when we sincerely desire to avoid them. Some of these diseases of the spirit include: anger, rage, envy, jealousy, bitterness, unforgiveness, hate, self-centeredness, and self-indulgence.”

Yes, we can all agree that negative emotions are harmful. These are very close to the seven deadly sins identified by St. Thomas Aquinas. But, how many of us have realized that they are as harmful to our spiritual body or self as is taking slow-acting poisons like arsenic? We really must watch our thoughts, emotions, and actions, and keep them moderated and in check through ample indulgence in healthy, organic “spiritual food” such as breath control, meditation, tai chi, qi gong, and the like — which are also, coincidentally (or not, likely), supreme tonics for the physical and mental bodies, too!

On the subject of external diseases of the spirit, Rob Fischer, writing for HomeCuresThatWork.com has this to say:

“External diseases of the spirit are attacks on our person that come from outside of us. These can include all kinds of hardships, sufferings, and circumstances beyond our control. Examples of an external attack on our spirit might be the diagnosis of a physical disease like cancer, experiencing a traumatic natural disaster, or a being hit by a drunk driver. Mere physical or mental health is insufficient to get us through some of these trials that come our way. We need to be armed with spiritual vitality as well.”

Hear, hear.

But, easier said than done for most of us. We have to enter into a certain spiritual discipline in order to secure ourselves from corrosive, external disease that eats away our spiritual vitality. We have to put our higher-self foot down and say, “Enough! It starts today. I forgive the source of my negative emotions. I take more self-responsibility for my own internal issues, and forgive all who may have caused me pain and suffering, including spouses, family members, former partners, and those who sought to do me wrong in their narrow-mindedness.”

Increasing Your Spiritual Healing Vigilance

It really is good spiritual exercise and a massive tonic for our spiritual immune systems to get disciplined about better spiritual health and well-being to treat it as anything else of importance we would put on our to-do list. And, for…HEAVEN’s sake, don’t be passive about your spiritual health and leave it up to some preachy, hypocritical middleman to do it for you. As with the health of all of our bodies, our spiritual health is up to us as individuals and is our business only. We alone are the masters of it, and can choose the best spiritual healing techniques for our greater good, make no mistake (Catholics, Muslims, and others in their spiritually lost flocks, sects, and denominations, take note).

You want to know how to improve your immune system quickly? The strongest immune system booster is…are you ready for this? Your own mind! That’s right. Yes, probiotics like raw milk kefir and medicinal mushrooms are excellent ways to boost the immune system. But, if you want to know how to build up immune systems in a healthy, natural way, get into meditation. The scientific evidence is there. In fact…

I borrowed this snippet from an article on Mindful.org:

Mindfulness Meditation and Possible Mechanisms of Increased Immunity

It’s tempting to get carried away by the implications of the research suggesting that mindfulness can help improve immune functioning. However, the question still remains as to the exact mechanisms involved in the mindfulness-immune system connection. Ask any researcher and they’ll tell you they don’t know yet. Some possibilities have been suggested, and it is likely that a convergence of all of these play a role. Here I present three possible ideas:

1. Decreased Stress, Increased Emotional Regulation: It has been confirmed through research that what we think and feel impacts our immune system via chemical messages from the brain. Therefore, stress, negative thinking styles, and certain emotional states can have a negative impact upon our immune system, creating an environment increasingly susceptible to disease. Mindfulness’s mechanisms toward greater well-being are complex and multifold, but practice is implicated in decreased stress, decreased rumination, and increased ability to deal with difficult emotions. In this way, practicing mindfulness might stave off impaired immunity.
2. Targeted Brain/Immune System Communication: Another link between mindfulness and the immune system is mindfulness’s direct impact upon brain structures responsible for talking to the immune system. More specifically, research indicates that mindfulness meditation increases activity in the prefrontal cortex, right anterior insula, and right hippocampus, the areas of the brain acting as our immune system’s command center. When these parts are stimulated through mindfulness, the immune system functions more effectively.
3. Activation of the Second Brain (the Gut): Mindfulness can boost immunity via the gut microbiota. As per a previous article I wrote here on Mindful, the human body is comprised of trillions of micro-organisms, most of which reside in the gut, which are called the gut microbiota. It turns out that the gut microbiota are key players in the development and maintenance of the immune system; the bacteria in the body that helps distinguish between intruder/foreign microbes vs. those that are endogenous. Studies have shown that stress tips our microbial balance, putting us at risk for dysbiosis, (a shift away from “normal” gut microbiota diversity), stripping us of one of our prime defenses against infectious disease, not to mention the cascade of reactions that ensue, which potentially wreak havoc on the central nervous system (CNS). Mindfulness-based stress reduction impacts our immune system by helping to maintain healthy gut microbiota diversity that is often upset by stress.

No matter the exact mechanisms, there is viable evidence that practicing mindfulness meditation helps boost our immune system defense against disease, and fosters wellness. And while we are a long way from this becoming a mainstream treatment practice—given possible egregious side effects if not done properly—this research paves the way for the addition of a new wellness adage: “Meditation each day keeps the doctor away.”

Keep the Doctor Away with Sonic Nova, Spiritual Healing Coach

As with taking potent probiotics, minerals, and supplements regularly to boost the immune system, you need to ensure your spiritual wellness by taking the right steps to ensure lasting spiritual healing via holistic methods that boost the immune system of our spiritual, mental and physical body as well (which in turn positively affects your overall health and wellness). Anything less is cheating you out of your birthright to supreme health and well-being! Get in touch with me, Sonic Nova, spiritual healing life coach, for more help on this.