NaturalNews.com printable articleOriginally published February 25 2008
Brenda Cobb: 4 Reasons People Get Sick and Healing Through Thoughts by Kevin Gianni (see all articles by this author)

(NaturalNews) This is an excerpt from Brenda Cobb's interview for the Raw Summit, a complete interview encyclopedia of cutting edge living and raw food knowledge. You can find the complete transcripts and audios at (http://www.rawsummitarchives.com/). In this interview, Brenda Cobb, author and founder of The Living Foods Institute in Atlanta, GA, gives the 4 reasons why she feels people get sick and the emotional component to healing.

Raw Food World Summit Interview Excerpt with Brenda Cobb, Kevin Gianni: When you talk about illness and you talk about people who have disease and who can heal themselves, it's more than just food, correct?
Brenda Cobb: It really is. I believe that it's much more than the food. I think that's one of the reasons that the program that I use now, developed over the nine years of having been doing this, is so effective to the health of people - because we look beyond the food. Now, we certainly do use a 100% organic, the raw food and the living food.The way we describe raw food and living food is raw food, we believe, is fruits, vegetables and not seeds that have not been cooked. We believe a living food is a sprouted food, something that's growing when you eat it; among them bean and lentil sprout and sun flower, and buckwheat sprout. And so, that certainly is a part of the program.

But we believe there are really four main reasons that people get sick. The number one reason we believe is because of how people think, we think it's more important than what we're eating; and part of that number one reason is emotional stuff because most everybody, and you can hardly avoid it if you go through the human experience on the planet earth, is going to have emotional stuff sometimes that has been buried so deep that they don't even really it's there. And so it's good to work on the emotional stuff and clear that out, there is sometimes issues with forgiveness - forgiving yourself or things or somebody else who has maybe done you wrong and really letting go of those things. And then another part of that number one reason is stress because the world we are living in is stressful. It's never what happens to you, it's always you're reaction to what happens to you and you can stress yourself out or you can learn how to deal with stress so that it becomes constructive rather than destructive. So that's the first area we help people with.

The number two area we help people with is toxicity because there's toxins that have built up over years of breathing the air, drinking water that is not pure, of eating processed foods with additive colors, chemicals, dyes, maybe foods that have been genetically modified, hybridized, taking prescription and over-the-counter medications, drinking alcohols, smoking cigarettes, whatever it might be. Toxic relationship, toxic job contributes to toxicity in the body. So, we believe you have to get all the toxins that are already in there out so the body can do what it was created to do in that field itself.

The third reason we think people are getting sick is because of their decisions and we are believing that a lot are deficient in vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Now, we are doing our best to get these through good nutrition, but also realize that the soil today is not what it was in great, great granddaddy's day and that there is not as much of the mineralization and so forth in the soil. So, there are some super foods and algae and some products that we used that helped to boost that along with the good nutrition. But we do believe that you cannot take a product in place of good nutrition. You've got to have good nutrition as your foundation and then if you want to do any supplementation, I like the supplement only with food sources, you know, a raw food powder or an algae and we also use herbs and essential oils to help the body to cleanse and detox and nourish. We found that to be very effective.

And then the fourth thing that we found make people sick is the dirty, toxic impacted colon. So our program also focuses on cleansing the colon, getting out the impacted waste, mucoid plaque, worm, parasites. You know, from years of eating maybe foods made with flour and water that makes a glue or a paste and people get that gunk and that sticky stuff inside of their colon and it sticks in there and sometimes it can become really hard and there's a barrier between the good nutrition, even if you're eating good food. You've changed your ways and now you're eating raw and living food. If you got a lot of plaque built up in the colon, you can't really assimilate the nutrients as well. So, we like to simultaneously be putting in the good food while we are also getting out the bad stuff and then when we do all of it together, we really feel that, that's supporting the body, the mind, the spirit, the mental, the emotional, the physical, the spiritual, and that the body can bounce back from most anything.

Kevin: Let's talk about number one. How are some of the ways that someone can deal with the way that they're thinking or not even deal but free themselves of some of the stress and some of the emotional issues that they have?

Brenda: Well, first thing is a lot of times we are thinking thoughts that we don't really even realize are negative. Many people, if you talk to them about negative thinking or negative speaking and you ask them, "Do you speak or think in a negative way?" Most people will say, "No, I don't." But then when you really kind of get down to how they are talking to themselves, you will see that the way that they're talking is not really positive, that they are meaning to say something positive but they're saying it in a negative way.
So that's the first thing, it's really just kind of teaching people to unprogram themselves; you know, it's kind of like when you were a child and you're sad, you're told, "Don't speak unless spoken to," you know or "Don't talk to strangers," and then you grow up and you're in a job, you're in a sales position, you've got to speak and you've got to talk to strangers. So, now what are you going to do? So, it comes just as a part of reprogramming some of those old tapes that we have heard and how to talk about ourselves positively.

One way we do it is to teach people some very simple affirmations; even though they may sound very simple, almost too simple and people will say, "Gosh, it seems so easy, how can it work if it's so simple?"Well you know, anytime you say the words, "I am" and then you feel that blanking with another word, you're saying the most possible, positive or powerful three words that you can say. So if you say, "I am healed" then you're going to create the energy of healing. But if you say "I am sick" you're going to continue to create the energy around sickness. So, that's one thing, really being careful when you say "I am". You know, let's say you work really hard all day and you're tired, so you're saying "I am so tired". Well, the more you say it, the more tired that you get.

Instead, if you go out and take a little walk around the block and say, "I am energized, I am enthusiastic, I am excited to be alive," you begin talking to yourself in that way, breathing the fresh air, getting the body moving a little bit, you'll see that at the end of that 20 or 30 minutes, you are actually feeling better. So, that's one thing.

Now, as far as emotional stuff, really we like to help people to understand what are the emotional components that are related to the disease or symptom that they've manifested. I used a couple of books that I really like for that. I used a book called Feeling Buried Alive Never Die by Karol Truman and I used a book that a lot of people have heard of called You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay and then I used a book called Radical Forgiveness by Colin Tipping and we really study those levels of "okay, first let's get real about what is that emotional component and does it ring true for you and sometimes people will say, 'Wow, I cannot believe how much that is like me, what you're telling me, this emotional thing.'"All the times people will even be in denial more and they'll say, "Well no, I don't think that's it, I don't see how that could be causing my problem." So we just gently and lovingly work with people to get them more aware.

We have specific exercises that we do in our emotional healing classes to help people to be able to see within themselves and, you know we get them to face some of the things, you know, asking them questions like "what is it about yourself that you would like to see change" and "you know, how do you think that the way you've thought in the past has impacted you and do you think that you are fulfilling your mission in life" and just get people dialoguing and thinking, you know when you start talking among yourselves, you can even create a wonderful mastermind group and all of the sudden just from hearing what other people are saying, many times we get our own answers. We're not looking to somebody else to figure it out for us, you know we can figure it out our self but it helps to be able to discuss it with others.And so that is also a part of the way that we help people through emotional healing. Now, with stress, we are doing breathing exercises, relaxation exercises, stretching, yoga, you know helping people to learn how to relieve stress that gets impacted in their self and in their organs, in their glands. Most people don't breathe to their full capacity, that shallow breathing, and they find that when they really use more of their lungs and breathe in deeply, that itself can relax.We talk and teach about meditation and how just to be free of thought for a little bit, don't even think about anything and, you know something Kevin, that's more challenging than it sounds. So, just not focus on thinking about a particular thing and to rest the mind and I think all of those things put together can really impact the person in a positive way.

To read the rest of this interview please visit (http://www.rawsummitarchives.com/) . This is just an excerpt of over 14 hours of cutting edge living food, raw food or health information revealed during the Raw Food World Summit.

About the authorKevin Gianni is a health advocate, author and speaker. He has helped thousands of people in over 85 countries learn how to take control of their health--and keep it. To view commentary on natural health issues, vegan and raw food diets, holistic nutrition and more click here.His book, "The Busy Person's Fitness Solution," is a step-by-step guide to optimum health for the time and energy-strapped.To find out more about abundance, optimum health and self motivation click here... or you're interested in the vegan and raw food diet and cutting edge holistic nutrition click here.For access to free interviews, downloads and a complete bodyweight exercise archive visit www.LiveAwesome.com.

Gratitude & Positive Mental Attitude

What are you grateful for? Your grandchild’s smile? Having breakfast with your spouse? A new opportunity that’s come your way? A beautiful sunny day? Yet, when is the last time you really expressed your gratitude for the things that really matter?

Giving thanks for the good things in your life will help to reinforce your positive mental attitude, and even help you to cope with stress.Focusing on the good in your life, instead of focusing on what’s missing, is also important to attract more good into your life. In fact, whatever you focus your thoughts on you tend to manifest in your life. So take a break from your busy day to think about what you’re grateful for -- Make a list of everything you are grateful for. Focus on this daily.

The Healing Power of Gratitude

By Joan Buchman
Note: Joan Buchman is a fibromyalgia patient who lives near San Diego, California. She has participated in many groups of the CFIDS/Fibromyalgia Self-Help Program, including leading several introductory courses.

I struggled with fibromyalgia for eight years before achieving stability. Little did I suspect as 1999 began that a crisis was coming that would upset that stability or that help would come from a simple daily exercise.

My fibromyalgia began when I developed muscle pain in my upper legs over several months in 1991. Then I started having problems with my sleep, waking up several times during the night and feeling totally exhausted in the morning. After months of visits to a number of doctors, I was finally diagnosed with FMS in October 1992. I was relieved to find a name to go with my symptoms, but after that initial euphoria, was left with the task of learning how to live with this debilitating and chronic illness.

I spent the next few years experiencing the stages of grieving and over time came a long way toward acceptance of my condition, creating a life within the limits of this illness. My regimen included reading all I could about my illness, resting, and learning what kinds of exercise I could do without exacerbating my condition. I also joined a local FMS support group, became good friends with other FMS patients and re-evaluated which activities and relationships were causing me stress, making some changes. I gradually improved to where most days, physically,
I was between 40% and 60% of my functioning before FMS. Physically, mentally and emotionally, I had crafted a life that worked for me and my illness; I was feeling the best I had in many years.

Family Crisis Upsets a Delicate Balance
Then, in early 1999, a family crisis arose that upset the delicate balance I had so carefully created. Suddenly, a previously slow-growing thyroid cancer that my husband’s sister, Janette, had been living with for over 20 years, became active and very fast moving. After unsuccessful chemotherapy, the cancer had spread to her liver and she was going downhill quickly. My husband Paul and I asked her to come live with us, which she accepted. She moved in on February 14. For the next 5-1/2 months, we lived together, sharing the ups and downs, the laughter and tears, the hope and the fear. She died on July 29.

As Janette’s primary caregiver, I was unable to continue with my daily routine of exercise, regular resting and social activities. The high stress and the loss of my routine led to some increase in pain and fatigue. The stress of care giving for those months affected me emotionally more than anything. Seeing someone I loved fading before my eyes was very difficult. During this crisis, the emotional support I needed came from an unexpected source.

Help from a Simple Exercise
A few months before Janette came to live with us, I was browsing in a local bookstore while doing Christmas shopping. I spotted a book titled “The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude.” I recognized Sarah Ban Breathnach as the author of “Simple Abundance.” Most of the book consisted of a page for each day of the year, followed by five blank lines. I was intrigued by her idea that there could be powerful effects from writing each day five things you were grateful for. I bought the book as a gift to myself, little knowing what a significant role that small book would play in helping me survive one of the most stressful periods of my life.
For a month and a half before Janette came, I wrote in my Gratitude Journal every day. It was the last thing I did at night before going to sleep. Sometimes I struggled to find 5 things for which I was grateful; occasionally, one of those was, “I’m grateful this day has ended.” But I stuck with it.

During the months Janette was with us, I felt it was very important to keep up with the Gratitude Journal and I focused on aspects of this situation from which I could pull out something to be thankful for. Often, it was something Janette was doing to find peace with her life and death. She reached out to just about everyone who had ever been in her life. In return, she experienced an outpouring of love like I had never seen. She received many letters, phone calls, even visits from old friends who traveled cross-country to see her. At times, this outpouring was overwhelming to her. But, at the same time, she was so nurtured by it, it helped give her strength to go on. Janette was a constant inspiration, for in her final months, besides reaching out to others, she took time to appreciate her surroundings and the pleasures of everyday life. We took her to the California Coast one weekend and she was inspired by the nature that was there. She stared at the ocean and the contentment on her face was amazing. Paul took her to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and she loved it. She was reaching out to grasp everything around her, even though she knew she didn’t have long to live.

Learning the Power of Gratitude
Janette taught me to treasure what I have right now. Gratitude means appreciating what you have and making the most from that. So I began to express in my journal appreciation for people in my life and my life as it was. That led to feelings of gratitude for the lessons I had been learning about myself because of my illness. I had learned that moving as fast as I could, doing as much as possible, was not making me happy. I was not taking any time to nurture my physical, mental or emotional needs. I believe that my body was shouting at me to slow down and savor life.
I think I would have learned about gratitude on my own by writing the Gratitude Journal for that entire year. But Janette, as a shining example of experiencing gratitude during a crisis, gave me a crash course in finding gratitude in my life. From Janette’s model of living her last days with grace and appreciation of everything she had right then, I learned that I can live a happy and peaceful life with my chronic illness. In fact, I would even say I am grateful for FMS, for without it, I would not have been forced to take a close look at how I was living. My life today is not the life I had imagined, but, looking back, I realize that I was not on a track for happiness and peace. Because of FMS, I have had the opportunity to find out what is really important for me to live a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Gratitude is not about “looking at the bright side” or denying the realities of life. Gratitude goes much deeper than that. It’s about learning from a situation, taking the good to help deal with other challenges in the future. It’s about finding out that you have more power over your life than you previously imagined. You can stop being a victim of your circumstances and reach out to the joy in living. If you open your heart to the good in your life, gratitude becomes as much a part of your life as breathing.
So I continue to write in my Gratitude Journal. Only now, I do it in my head, every minute of every day. I do not limit myself to five lines.

The gift I gave myself that Christmas of the Gratitude Journal changed my life. After struggling with FMS for years, searching for answers and cures, I was finally able to reach a level of acceptance that has dramatically improved my quality of life. I am better at pacing my activities, listening to my body and have more patience with myself and others. I have found joy at every turn, from appreciating the beauty of nature to improved relationships with family and friends. I still have muscle pain and fatigue. Those symptom levels remain fairly constant. But that journal opened the door to unconditional happiness with the hand I was dealt. I can look beyond the pain and fatigue and look forward to each day and the joy it will bring. And it all started with a book I saw at a bookstore amid the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping.