Category Archives: Health

Anatomy and mysterious Italian diseases?

By Bob CummingsJanuary 16, 20124 commentsHealth, Notes from Bob Cummingsanatomy, cervicale, colpo d'aria, health, prayer, spirituality, thought

DaVinci’s VITRUVIAN MAN (photo courtesy of Flickr.com user I BE GINZ)

“The knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone…” That’s how the song goes.

Are you well versed in anatomy? I am most definitely not. My biology class in school covered the subject, but to this day, with a few exceptions, I just couldn’t tell you what bone is where. Most of them, I seem to never even have heard of. This handicaps me a bit when doing crossword puzzles and other word-based puzzles that use these words.

But recently I read an article online that suggests that this might actually be good for my health. Sound a little strange? Perhaps.

Thinking and effective exercise

By Bob CummingsJanuary 3, 2012Health, Notes from Bob Cummingsdepression, exercise, health, placebo, prayer, spirituality, thought

Picture courtesy of Flickr user Jacobunny

When thought meets exercise, exercise is more beneficial.

“A particular mind-set or belief about one’s body or health may lead to improvements in disease symptoms as well as changes in appetite, brain chemicals and even vision, several recent studies have found, highlighting how fundamentally the mind and body are connected” writes Shirley S. Wang in an article in the Wall Street Journal today.

A 1999 study conducted by James A. Blumenthal, PhD at the Duke University Medical Center found that older patients with major depression experienced therapeutic benefits from an exercise program equal to what others received from antidepressant medication.

Healthy giving

By Bob CummingsDecember 20, 2011Health, Notes from Bob Cummingscaregiving, depression, giving, health, holidays, quality of life, stress, thinking, volunteering

Giving can be fun. It also can be healthy.

Giving has been found to increase happiness and reduce depression, to improve one’s quality of life.

Spirituality can relieve stress

By Bob CummingsDecember 12, 20114 commentsHealth, Notes from Bob Cummingshealth, holiday stress, prayer, spirituality, stress

Picture courtesy of flickr user Samael Kreutz

A 2010 Mayo Clinic article says that spirituality can help relieve stress.

And some ways it does this is by helping us feel a sense of purpose, connect to the world, release control and burden, expand our support network and lead a healthier life.

Spirituality means different things to different people. This article states, “spirituality takes the form of religious observance, prayer, meditation or a belief in a higher power. For others, it can be found in nature, music, art or a secular community. ”

Stress is mental and emotional strain resulting from excessive demands on our strength, abilities and resources. Doesn’t it follow then that what would help is a mental and emotional change for the better?

A spiritual solution for holiday blues

By Bob CummingsDecember 6, 20113 commentsHealth, Notes from Bob Cummingsconnection, depression, family, health, joy, loneliness, love, peace, prayer, spiritual retreat

Another holiday season is upon us. It’s supposed to be a joyous and festive time. But unfortunately for many, this season may come with feelings of loneliness or depression. There is, however, a spiritual solution for this.

A recent study¹ by the University of Michigan Health System published in Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing found that a nondenominational spiritual retreat could increase hope and reduce depression.

This got me to thinking of how beneficial it would be to have a “mini” spiritual retreat of sorts each day – a time to be calm and to think – to think of something good in our lives, to feel love for family and friends, to look beyond ourselves, focus on the connections we do have and to kindly consider others – a time to be quiet and to listen for inspiration.

Cyber Health Day?

By Bob CummingsNovember 28, 2011Health, Notes from Bob CummingsBlack Friday, Cyber Monday, health, iCrossing-a digital marketing company, Pew Research Center, prayer, spirituality

Cyber Monday courtesy of Flickr user Geektonic

The Monday after Thanksgiving is known as Cyber Monday, which shoppers look forward to. But is there a Cyber Health Day?

I never used to be very interested in shopping on “Black Friday” (the day after Thanksgiving). But a few years ago my wife and I wanted to get a printer for a relative and we saw a good choice at a great price advertised for Black Friday so we got out to the store at 6:00 a.m. We purchased the printer at the much-reduced price. And we purchased a number of other items, also at significant savings. As long as we were out-and-about we went to a couple of other stores nearby. Then we went out for breakfast. We were back home around 9:00 a.m. And we actually had fun doing all this.

Gabby Giffords on ABC’s 20/20

By Bob CummingsNovember 15, 20113 commentsHealth, Notes from Bob Cummings20/20, ABC, Diane Sawyer, Gabrielle Giffords, Healing, health, hope, Mark Kelley, optimism, rehabilitation, spirituality, traumatic brain injury

I watched Diane Sawyer’s exclusive interview with Gabrielle (“Gabby”) Giffords and her husband Mark Kelley on ABC TV’s 20/20 last night. It was very moving! And it was wonderful to see the progress that Congresswoman Giffords has made since she was shot in the head last January.

Her husband Mark said he believes that optimism is a form of healing and hope a form of love. He said, “You can’t have too much hope“. Sawyer shared how Gabby’s husband Mark and her mother Gloria formed an indomitable alliance of optimism.

For health: forgiveness is good, bitterness is not

By Bob CummingsNovember 7, 2011Health, Notes from Bob Cummingsbitterness, CNN, Elizabeth Cohen, forgiveness, Healing, health, spirituality, University of Michigan Institute for Social Research

Recently, while in an airport waiting for a flight, I heard on CNN a summary of an article by Elizabeth Cohen, Senior Medical Correspondent for CNN, in which it was pointed out that bitterness is bad for our health.

In her article Cohen shares some significant points made by some contributors to a new book entitled, “Embitterment: Societal, psychological, and clinical perspectives.” In short, bitterness interferes with the body’s hormonal and immune systems, leads to higher blood pressure and contributes to heart disease and other illnesses.

Can human beings really live to be 1,000?

By Bob CummingsNovember 1, 2011Health, Notes from Bob Cummingsaging, Alzheimer's, Healing, health, immortality, mortality, religious, spirituality

A study published in 2000 by the American Psychological Association found that “religious involvement was significantly associated with lower mortality.” Similarly, a study published in The American Journal of Public Health in 1997 found that frequent religious attendance reduced mortality.

Researchers suspect some of this comes from healthier behaviors and more social interaction characteristic of those with religious involvement. But, to their credit, they accept that the research results show a connection between religious involvement and reduced mortality and indicate that more research is needed to understand why.

I recently read an interesting book entitled, “Long For This World – The Strange Science of Immortality” by Jonathan Weiner. Much of the book centers on conversations with Aubrey de Grey who believes that aging is a disease caused by the accumulation of waste at the cellular level, sometimes called the “disposable soma theory”.

Charles Darwin sees connection between thought and blushing

By Bob CummingsOctober 25, 2011Health, Notes from Bob Cummingsblushing, Charles Darwin, consciousness, divine, Healing, health, spirituality, thought

Blushing provides a great example, I think, of how consciousness can affect health. An emotional response in thought (e.g. feeling embarrassment) has a direct effect on the body – a change in blood flow seen as blushing in the face. I have found that through prayer, a change in thought resulting from feeling a connection to God, or feeling God’s love, can result in physical healing.

Charles Darwin (courtesy of flickr user shehal)

So I was pleasantly surprised to come across some of Charles Darwin’s writings about blushing in Chapter 13 of his book, The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals (see pages 325-326). Now I’m not getting into any debate here between evolution and creationism. I’m just sharing interesting insights from a well-known and respected naturalist.

Darwin wrote (emphasis added by me), “It is not the simple act of reflecting on our own appearance, but the thinking what others think of us, which excites a blush.

Category Archives: Health

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