Loving unconditionally and accepting love from others makes your life not only meaningful but healthy. Researchers have found that tender, loving care reduced atherosclerosis and risk of heart attacks in rabbits fed with high amounts of cholesterol. Even watching movies about love or subjects that inspire altruism has been shown to increase levels of immunoglobulin-IGA – the first line of defense against colds and the flu.
I offer many natural remedies, but when it comes to self-healing, nothing comes close to the healing power of love. Love is the power to connect. All lives and things in the universe are part of one interconnected whole. Love opens hearts and engenders compassion. Wellness Medicine recognizes that the healing power of love breaks down blockages and separations, eases pain, comforts loss, and unites humanity with the universal divine. When you cultivate self-love, like a mother’s unconditional love for her child, there is nothing you wouldn’t do to get yourself well. Likewise, universal love among all people will help heal the strife and the suffering in our world. I believe that world peace cannot exist until each and every citizen of the world learns to heal themselves.
Love is a powerful force of nature. In order to harness its energy, you must first cultivate love of self. Only then will you be able to love and be loved. Every day, do at least one thing that promotes love of self: engage in an activity that makes you happy, repeat affirmations of positive self-imagery, or even write letters to yourself as if to a new love!
Romantic love can be a double-edged sword, however, sustaining those who have a mate but cutting down those who lose one. It is commonly observed that among senior couples, when one person dies, the other quickly follows. Universal love, on the other hand – or the closest human feeling to it, maternal love – frees you from the anguish of separation and desire. It unites you with the source of the essence that is the same in every animate and inanimate thing.
Love is the most powerful emotion you will ever experience, and studies show that while you are feeling it, endorphins and immune cells are produced in great number. How can you nurture this life-lengthening emotion? As a child, you learn to love your parents, your pets, and your siblings. As an adult, you come to love your spouse, your children, and your friends.
Centenarians are beloved by their family members, and studies show that people with happy family lives tend to have less illness and a longer life span. A good familial relationship does not necessarily come automatically, but it is worth the personal effort to build and maintain one. Investing in your relationships can pay dividends in a life rich in love, respect, and a sense of belonging. Fill your family with happiness based on trust, mutual help, love, peace, listening, humility, honesty, justice, and sharing.
God is nature. The expression of God in human nature is universal love. It is within us, not outside of or separate from us. Universal love is the capacity to embrace all in the universe, from the smallest ant to the unfathomable sky, the beautiful and the ugly, the good and the bad. Universal love can disarm all prejudices, dissolve all differences, and bring the mind back to one core awareness –everything comes from the same source. By realizing and practicing universal love, you learn to accept yourself and your life and become part of the larger life, which is the eternal universal divinity.
How can we do so? Practice gratitude by appreciating the sources and people make it possible for you to have what you have, be it food, clothing, shelter, a job, an education, or a relationship. Practice kindness by looking for opportunities to make someone feel happy: sweep the sidewalk in front of your neighbor’s house, give up your seat on a bus to an elderly person, and bring food to the homeless. Once you begin, you will find many pathways to universal love.
May you Live Long, Live Strong, and Live Happy!
Dr. Mao Shing Ni, best known as Dr. Mao, is a bestselling author, doctor of Oriental Medicine and board certified anti-aging expert. He practices acupuncture, nutrition and Chinese medicine with his associates at the Tao of Wellness in Santa Monica, a Wellness Medicine group that won the “L.A.’s Best” Award. Dr. Mao and his brother, Dr. Daoshing Ni founded Tao of Wellness in Santa Monica over 25 years ago. In addition, he is the cofounder and Chancellor of Yo San University in Venice/Marina del Rey. To subscribe to a free newsletter please visit www.taoofwellness.com To make an appointment for evaluation and treatment please call 310-917-2200 or you can email Dr. Mao at contact@taoofwellness.com
