Can you be truly happy?

May 27, 2011

By Søren Ventegodt, MD, EU-MSc-CAM

Can you be truly happy? Of course you can. All it takes is a fair amount of insight into yourself. You need to understand your ego and your own divine nature in your human core. You need to use all you are wisely and in loving service of others. When you are happy... you can love and when you can love others... you can help them to heal their life.

Consiousness is the key to personal freedom, a healthy body and mind, emotional intelligence, the gift of unconditional love and an unbound, happy one-to-one relationship. Understanding your life includes a deep look into the identification with body and mind, and this will free all aspects of you, from mind to sexuality.
Profound self-insight allows you to understand your role in the world and to engage all your personal resources and talents of body, mind, spirit and heart in your daily living. Your life will spontaneously self-organize, as you become an integral part of the universe and tap into the many resources of the healthy, awakened human being.

What can we learn from our human experience?
We as human beings are really meant to suffer. Only if we suffer can we wake up and learn. So we should not complain about suffering, but simply ask: How can this suffering be of value to me? What does it mean? How do I reach freedom and understanding?
We suffer, because we do not understand ourselves. In this situation we make wrong choices and act from negative attitudes and fear. Little by little we destroy our own happiness and our health declines. Physical and mental diseases, sexual problems and social difficulties follow.
It is surprisingly easy to improve quality of life and health. All it takes is deep and dedicated introspection. A self-inquiry that brings you down to the basics in life, to your innermost Self, your existential core. This process of existential healing is often called salutogenesis with a concept coined by the Israeli researcher Aaron Antonovsky (1923-1994). Salutogenesis means literally "creation of the solution" and is the exact opposite of pathogenesis, the process that makes you ill

So getting to know yourself makes you healthy and happy. It is that easy.

Why is it so difficult to get to know one self? The answer is simple: Strong negative emotions surround the existential core, causing a strong resistance, a strong unconscious repulsion, from the core. Therefore you need somebody to help you go where you least of all want to go. To take your hand and guide you back to your core. Someone who can take you to that place, where you had lots of pains and failures at the beginning of your life...... that is the job of the holistic therapist.

Feelings and healing
Let us admit that it is about feelings and emotions. Some of these feelings are connected to the mind and spirit, but most of them seem to be related to the body – and its functions, energies and organs. Sexuality is one of the aspects of the body that gives raise to some of the strongest and problematic negative feelings, like guilt and shame. Feelings, we will do anything in the world to avoid to feel. We need help and support to feel that, to explore these old and painful areas in our existence. So this is why we have holistic therapy.

Efficacy of holistic therapy
How efficient is holistic therapy? Well, in coronary heart disorder, it seems that about 80% of the patients elected for heart surgery were well again after less than three month, if they used Dean Ornish holistic treatment (1,2,3). Even cancer seem to react positively to interventions that only addresses life style, emotional matters and spirituality (4,5). Sometimes spontaneous remissions of cancer and other severe disorders have been observed in holistic therapy (4,5,6,7). We also know that chronic pain in inner organs and the locomotor system is highly responsive to holistic medicine (8,9). We also know that there are only rare side effects with alternative medicine (10).

So holistic medicine – mind body medicine that primarily works through consiousness (BodyTalk is one example of this of course) – is extremely effective and causes very little harm.
The principle of supported self-exploration
The principle of supported self-exploration and self-inquiry are simple and easy to understand. It is a little more complicated to make it work in practice. But if you know where to look, if you understand in which direction you need to go to find the Self, it is not difficult. And it does not have to take long time. Often people can learn this in a few days. This is why we have developed a two-day course in scientific holistic medicine.
Below we bring some of the testimonials from this course held May 7-8 2011 in Haslemere, England near London. Most of the participants were also BodyTalk practitioners.

References
1. Ornish D, Brown SE, Scherwitz LW, Billings JH, Armstrong WT, et al. Can lifestyle changes reverse coronary heart disease? The lifestyle heart trial. Lancet 1990;336(8708):129-33.
2. Ornish D, Scherwitz LW, Billings JH, Brown SE, Gould KL, et al. Intensive lifestyle changes for reversal of coronary heart disease. JAMA 1998;280(23):2001-7.
3. Ornish D. Avoiding revascularization with lifestyle changes: The Multicenter Lifestyle Demonstration Project. Am J Cardiol 1998;82(10B):72T-76T.

4. Frattaroli J, Weidner G, Dnistrian AM, Kemp C, Daubenmier JJ, Marlin RO, Crutchfield L, Yglecias L, Carroll PR, Ornish D. Clinical events in prostate cancer lifestyle trial: results from two years of follow-up. Urology 2008;72(6):1319-23.

5. Spiegel D, Bloom JR, Kraemer HC, Gottheil E. Effect of psychosocial treatment on survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer. Lancet 1989;2(8668):888-91.
6. Ventegodt S, Morad M, Hyam E, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Induction of spontaneous remission of cancer by recovery of the human character and the purpose of life (the life mission). ScientificWorldJournal 2004;4:362-77.

7. Ventegodt S, Solheim E, Saunte ME, Morad M, Kandel I, Merrick J. Clinic holistic medicine: Metastatic cancer. ScientificWorldJournal 2004;4:913-35.

8. Ventegodt S, Morad M, Merrick J. Clinical holistic medicine: Chronic pain in the locomotor system. ScientificWorldJournal 2005;5:165-72.

9. Ventegodt S, Merrick J Clinical holistic medicine: Chronic pain in internal organs. ScientificWorldJournal 2005;5:205-10.

10. Ventegodt S, Merrick J. A Review of side effects and adverse events of non-drug medicine (nonpharmaceutical complementary and alternative medicine): Psychotherapy, mind-body medicine and clinical holistic medicine. J Complement Integr Med 2009;6(1):16.

Testimonials from the 2-day course May 2011, Haslemere, England

This course is unique in that it can help people to heal their lives in only 2 days. It is able to assist people in self discovery and create permanent change and to lead happier and healthier lifestyle. The course is designed to look at life objectively in a holistic way and questions our belief systems and how they have held us back form living life to the full.
Colin, Southampton

This is the most genuine 'course' that I have been on, which brought me straight back to what really matters: LOVE – seeing my true self. From Søren's example I feel a lot safer to just be myself – I feel a lot more liberated to just LIVE.
Margaret Whyte, BodyTalkPractitioner, UK

Very useful and insightful course. It opened a lot of new channels for my feelings, and was very thought provoking and good basis for change work.
TB, UK

To find my sexual energy and submerge my life in love on Søren's course has allowed me to live as my true self. To live without fear, limitations and weakness is to be free. Gratitude forever more to the beautiful universe, human beings, love and Søren.
Becky Clare, Holistic Therapist UK

The essence of the course is presented summarized in less than 1 hour. However the value of the course is in the contributions of each individual and Søren's comments and guidance. It is applicable to the entirety of life – professional and private.
Michael, Banker, Woking

Søren, you broke through my barriers. I have been trying for years and you did it! Wonderful, thank you!
Sue, Woking

The incredible ability of Søren is to name the very nature of the underlying cause of the 'outward' complaint is certainly something invaluable to watch and experience. I have worked with many teachers to date but none was able to be as precise as Søren. It is very encouraging that in time more members of the medical profession may be shown this as a way forward.
Beata, Rachowiecka, Therapist, Langley

Opportunity to see the true nature of the body's ability to heal myself by using love and touch. I feel a major shift in my pelvis and digestive system and all my partner did was give love and recognition to this area.
Kat Knecht, BodyTalkPractitioner, Frome

A phenomenal workshop 2nd time around deepened my grasp of the knowledge and I still learned/reawakend more. Anyone serious about life should take this course – for health, happiness and love.
Maria Wilson, BodyTalkPractitioner Woking

An excellent event for professional and personal development.
Bryan Lane, Therapist, London

This course gave a safe space to explore and resolve long standing issues. Søren's ability to evaluate and direct us to the issues was a gift to experience and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from him. Thank you.
Karen, BodyTalkPractioner, Winchester

The course has opened my eyes to a new me, to be truer and more honest in life and love so that I may be joyful in my new life.
Louise, Godalming

Søren's ability to honour everybody's space is true wisdom. Thank you.
Laurence Udell, Chairman

The course achieved everything and more to enable me to go forward and achieve my personal goals. Thanks to the wonderful tuition and support throughout the weekend, I feel a new stage of my life has begun.
Helen O'Key

Søren makes this work look so easy. We are all able to learn from it. Many thanks for allowing me to find the real me.
Julia Plant, Therapist Southampton

Very useful information, very loving, a positive experience. I have been deeper and further and seen greater intensity through 'the more to life' programs and I recommend this big experiential training, which incorporates focus and flexibility.
Sarah Corin Manager, Egham

About Søren Ventegodt
Søren Ventegodt, MD, EU-MSc-CAM holds the European Masters degree in complementary, psychosocial and integrative medicine and is often acknowledged as a leading researcher in holistic medicine and quality of life. He has written about 200 scientific papers on holistic medicine and the course is based on the five textbooks in holistic medicine he has co-authored. He is the director of the Research Clinic for Holistic Medicine, Quality of Life Research Center, and Nordic School of Holistic Medicine, Copenhagen. He is editor of the Journal of Alternative Medicine Research published by Nova Science Publishers in New York. His unshakable belief in the great significance of spiritual and sexual health for the improvement of quality of life, physical and mental health has made him one of the controversial thinkers in today's scientific and medical world. He is a dedicated student of Osho, Sathya Sai Baba and Mooji.

Meet Søren Ventegodt
You can meet Søren Ventegodt at his 2-day course, July 27-28, Florida, USA: Defining holistic healing – introduction to scientific holistic medicine (CHM), its theories and methods. Find more information about the course at the IBA home page.

View the newsletter | Print this Article | Facebook | Twitter

« Back to all news

 
Home Learn More Practitioners Courses Membership Testimonials
Who We Are BodyTalk Find a Practitioner Find a Course Join Today Videos
Get the Newsletter Access Become a Practitioner Founder's Courses Membership at a Glance Foundation
Contact Us Breakthrough Practitioner Levels Beginner's Courses Membership Levels Store
FAQ Mindscape BodyTalk as a Career View All Instructors Membership Prices Media Kit
Privacy Policy News Invest in Yourself Course Listing




Copyright © 2005 - 2024 International BodyTalk Association (IBA) | Legal