What I believe about the relationship between thoughts and physical health

I believe that “Sickness of the mind prevails everywhere. Nine tenths of the diseases from which men suffer have their foundation here.” (5T 443). I believe that “The condition of the mind affects the health to a far greater degree than many realize. Many of the diseases from which men suffer are the result of mental depression. Grief, anxiety, discontent, remorse, guilt, distrust, all tend to break down the life forces and to invite decay and death…In the treatment of the sick the effect of mental influence should not be overlooked. Rightly used, this influence affords one of the most effective agencies for combating disease.” (MH 241)

I believe that the mind was designed to control the body and not the body to control the mind (CG 360). I believe that the mind was designed to control the body properly when the mind, itself, is under the influence of truth (correct information put together in the correct order, and with the correct emphasis). I believe that when the mind is under the influence of error (incorrect information, incorrect order, and/or incorrect emphasis), it cannot control the functions of the body as it is supposed to, and dysfunction in the body will eventually develop. 

As I have stated in nearly every one of my health series, there are more causes for dysfunction in the body than the mind, including inheritance, physical trauma, chemicals, and the enemy. While these other factors are present and need to be accounted for, you will find the cause of the disease or dysfunction in the mind 90% of the time. I do believe that wrong thinking is a result of our sinful nature. And I believe that a sinless state would only be possible when one is thinking correctly. I do NOT believe that we can, in our sinful nature, make ourselves think correctly. I believe that right thinking is possible by the grace of God alone, accepted by faith alone—a result of the co-working of the human and the Divine. Humanity has no capacity to save itself from its slavery to sin. If we did, we would have no need of a Savior.

Mark Sandoval