By Danette Vernon

Have you ever played, or watched one of your kids play one of those video games where you sit inside of the game, curtained in as it were—just you and the game—all alone in there?
Yes? Well, that is much like what it is like for all of us in our thoughts, especially when we are engaged in angry, anxious or sad thoughts, we are all alone with them—and they can seem “so real.” The event that we are worrying over may have played out, yesterday, or 50 years back, yet here we are, still “playing the game” of that event.
How do we get so stuck, and how does it affect our health?
Science tells us that the more we think of a particular event, the stronger the neuro-network is in our minds. Even the Bible says, “As man thinketh in his heart, so he is.”
And once we adjust to how “we” generally feel and therefore think, we hardly realize how often we are playing “the game” of anger, or sadness. “Playing” just becomes a part of our lives, cruising along in the car, falling asleep ... all the while, playing the game again, as if we have nothing else to do.
Marcus Aurelius, a Roman Emperor and philosopher from 161-180 AD, said, “no one can breach your boundaries without your permission,” which means no one can make you angry, or anxious, or sad, only you do that — it is your choice. Hard words to hear, as we all sometimes feel, or believe, that how “we” reacted to a particular event is the only way anyone in their right mind would react, but frankly, it just isn’t true.
All events are neutral, only we give them meaning, life, space, in our heads — sometimes forever.
How is all of this affecting your health?
Re-occurring negative feelings contributes, to many emotional and physical ills. And surprise — to being overweight, as anger, anxious and sad thoughts leave an acidic residue on the body that must be dealt with, as the body is always working to have your blood and therefore your body at a particular pH. Your body is constantly adjusting to be slightly alkaline and will pull from your bones, teeth, liver, etc., to get the minerals it needs to re-alkalize after you have had “yet another acid-residue thought.” The end result, in theory, is that in an effort to shield your organs from this high acid environment, your body veils them in fat. In addition, you risk the possibility of getting shorter; as un-checked acidification leads to osteoporosis.
So, note to self — un-checked emotions may lead to brittle bones — quite literally your thoughts can “break you!”
If you would like to work towards reversing this process, begin by tuning into your thoughts and learning what foods support an alkaline environment in your body. For more information please contact Danette Vernon at Therapeutic Solutions at 524-2554.