The Power of Love

The Power of Love

Ask Roger

The theme this month is around “The Power of Love” – and this week I want to consider this in the context of healing.

As the famous 13th century poet Rumi said –

“Love is cure
Love is power
Love is the magic of changes
Love is the mirror of divine beauty.”

So can love help us to heal?

 It can and has been scientifically proven. In a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry[2], scientists found that wounds heal faster in couples who are in a stable and loving relationship. The reverse was also true. People in hostile relationships tended to have slower wound healing capacity. Thought to be due to the pro-inflammatory cytokines released when a person was sad, lonely or the subject of abuse, the presence of this compound was found to be much lower in people who were in love.

Experts also believe that people in happy and stable relationships tend to live longer. They theorize that love helps provide each of the partners with security and someone to share the load of life with. What’s more is the fact that couples often tended to look out for each other and pushed the other to stay healthy. They say that at times just having someone to simply understand the other person’s fears helped lower stress levels and beat loneliness (a common cause for depression and mortality) thereby reducing the chances of a person suffering from ailments.

In terms of keeping fit and healthy, although you cannot stop your physical workout, it has been seen that couples who work out together often achieve their goals more easily than going at it alone. Apart from that, couples were more likely to inspire the other person to stay fit helping you stay healthy.

We can often see love in the relationship between pets and their owners.  Animals definitely sense our emotions – particularly dogs – and for those of you who own a pet dog you will know exactly what I mean.

We lost our Golden Retriever a couple of years ago after 16 years and I am sure she knew everything I thought or said. When feeling a bit off center, she sensed this and would make a fuss by getting close and nudging me – when I was meditating she would lie quietly and so on.  People remarked “You have such a happy dog” – she had this one expression that really looked as if she was smiling!

A saying I heard many years ago went something like – “To find true love and happiness it has to be shared with another”

Are you showing love to others – if not try it and see!

With Love & Light
Roger