Previous chapter: 6.3 Examples of the physiological and biochemical effects of meditation:
7. Can words kill?
Now we have reached the point where we can answer the question and summarise:
Words initially have no other effect than as sensations in a sensory organ (ear) of the patient. However, depending on how the patient has been conditioned in the course of his illness and his biography, these words are processed and felt within the context of involuntary reflexes (conditioning), and lead to further mental, emotional and physical reactions, in the worst case also to death. For some patients, very strong words may be necessary for this to happen; for sufficiently pre-conditioned patients, already inconspicuous gestures may take effect.
Only the patient himself can finally build up the most effective and comprehensive protection against his environment and its emotional influence. He can start by trying to avoid exposure to unwholesome external stimuli. Beyond that, the more he succeeds in a) deconstructing and eliminating his emotionally damaging conditioning and b) in also recognising and consciously experiencing its underlying mechanisms, the more sovereign, equable and tranquil he will be when confronted with words or other external influences. In this way, he can favourably influence the course of his illness and experience emotional cure.
The task of family members, friends, doctors and therapists should be to accompany and encourage this work. On the long term, this assistance to self-assistance can be more useful than external adaptation to the needs of the patient.
In principle, the path described can be followed by any person, sick or healthy, from any situation in life. Even small steps in this direction will bring corresponding success, although at the beginning of meditation, the person involved often does not yet have sufficient experience to recognise this.
Maybe this article will be a motivation to follow this path.
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