Opinions?

[Beanela]

Study: Attitude Can't Overcome Cancer, Positive Thinking By Patient Has No Impact On Surviving Cancer, Study Shows - CBS News

I've heard MANY stories about the power of visualization curing illness, so I don't agree with this article.

[cdn2wheeler]

I saw that too, though on the BBC site.

In another thread there was some discussion - rather heated sometimes - about the difference between anecotal evidence and factual evidence. Point is, there's a world of difference between hearing about something and actually having evidence for it.

One can believe in optimism or not; in the cases that were studied, statistically it didn't seem to make a difference in survivability.

But one thing is clear: If a terminal diagnosis is given, one has the choice between living the remaining time to the fullest, or sinking into a whole of depression and/or depravity.

It's like a twist on that old slogan: Optimism may not add years to your life, but it just might add life to your years.

[torilink]

there is no way to measure positive thoughts, what may appear to be a person being positive, may in fact be a person putting on a brave face. A person verbally stating affirmations may in fact be a person with inner resistance to the very words they are speaking.

there is no way to measure it so there can be no real study that proves anything.

My opinion, positive thoughts & affirmations do nothing unless there is an inner belief system that coincides with it.

[Uplift]

I don't pay much attention to all the different studies. Too many variables. There are studies showing everything, it just depends who does them, and who's paying for them, especially when it comes to being accepted. Like there are plenty of studies showing that ceramic, hydrogen powered motors are way better than what we've got. Try buying one. Profit. Like in exercise and fitness. An ocean of conflicting studies, and conflicting results, conducted by conflicting companies and camps. Eggs are a classic. Studies show you shouldn't have any, studies show they are good for you.

[Lil Chris]

It's also rather interesting that CBS put out that report (and apparently bbs too)... One of the reasons I personally stopped watching the news and most of television. It's just that out of the say 30 news stories a night 28 are on murder and violence. This could possibly give one the impression that it's dangerous out there (oh, better not go outside). It's like the media propagates fear (and confusion like uplift points out)... Why, well that's another story...


I was talking to my dad tonight and we we're talking about this, and he utters "well people want to hear this, that's what they tell us anyway" and I was thinking Do they...? Does anyone really want to hear that 12 people got murdered tonight (night after night)... Where's all the good stuff...? The positive stuff... (I don't necessarily mean the light and airy hallmark moment stuff either). Then again perhaps it's just my state of mind bringing this into reality and filtering out the good stuff...

[cylon]

Originally Posted by Lil Chris

and I was thinking Do they...? Does anyone really want to hear that 12 people got murdered tonight (night after night)... Where's all the good stuff...?

Yeah. I'm 30 so my generation was just before we had news 24/7. I remember being a young kid and riding my bike all around town, exploring my neighborhood, sometimes I'd ride for hours and hours until I figured I had gone too far. Parents don't let their kids to that anymore. "Well it's a different world now". But is it?

I have given up news as well. And I was addicted to it, ESPECIALLY politics. I realized how negative the media was, so I basically gave it up and don't pay attention anymore. I used to make fun of people that did that.

[Rahzad]

Originally Posted by Lil Chris

It's also rather interesting that CBS put out that report (and apparently bbs too)... One of the reasons I personally stopped watching the news and most of television. It's just that out of the say 30 news stories a night 28 are on murder and violence. This could possibly give one the impression that it's dangerous out there (oh, better not go outside). It's like the media propagates fear (and confusion like uplift points out)... Why, well that's another story...


I was talking to my dad tonight and we we're talking about this, and he utters "well people want to hear this, that's what they tell us anyway" and I was thinking Do they...? Does anyone really want to hear that 12 people got murdered tonight (night after night)... Where's all the good stuff...? The positive stuff... (I don't necessarily mean the light and airy hallmark moment stuff either). Then again perhaps it's just my state of mind bringing this into reality and filtering out the good stuff...

You correctly discerned this CBS story as negative propaganda. Clearly, they are becoming more desperate as the days progress. Keeping in perspective, if this disease didn't exist, the groups that sponsored the study wouldn't exist. It is a self serving study.

Nobody wants bad news on TV, but keeping people scared as Maslow tells us, is the best way to keep people from actualizing.

[cdn2wheeler]

Originally Posted by Lil Chris

Does anyone really want to hear that 12 people got murdered tonight (night after night)... Where's all the good stuff...? The positive stuff... (I don't necessarily mean the light and airy hallmark moment stuff either).

Before his untimely demise, I saw an interview with ABC news anchor Peter Jennings in which he specifically addressed this issue: Why is the news always bad?

What he said put a whole different light on how news is gathered and what's reported.

Essentially, he boiled it down to this: The vast majority of the events that take place in the world are positive. They're uplifting. They're stories about people helping people, politicians actually keeping their promises, soldiers deciding not to shoot people, nuclear reactors that don't explode and oil tankers that don't leak.

It's only the aberrations, the negative stuff, that make the news because by their nature those events are outside of the normal experience.

That's why you'll never hear a story about the tens of thousands of people who drove on the highway and got to their destination safely. But the one accident is what you'll hear about because it's an aberration from the norm.

So it's not because it's negative that you hear it; it's because it's different from the usual. And, thankfully, the usual is generally pretty positive.

[Zukin]

Here's an interesting experiment to do while watching the news: listen to what the reporters say and then think about all the similar things that didn't happen.

How many trains DIDN'T derail.

How many people in that city DIDN'T get shot that day.

How many places DIDN'T get hit by hurricanes.

It'll change your perspective on the media and the world.

[Sam988]

This study surprised me. I've never been very supportive to the idea that "i'm god, i control everything", but i always believed in the power of the mind and determination to overcome all sorts of conditions.

Even believing that state of mind might not make much difference for others, i'll still believe (maybe deluding myself ) that if i got a terminal sickness, i could overcome it. Makes me feel better, and my hope would only die when i died too.

[Sam988]

Originally Posted by cdn2wheeler

Before his untimely demise, I saw an interview with ABC news anchor Peter Jennings in which he specifically addressed this issue: Why is the news always bad?

What he said put a whole different light on how news is gathered and what's reported.

Essentially, he boiled it down to this: The vast majority of the events that take place in the world are positive. They're uplifting. They're stories about people helping people, politicians actually keeping their promises, soldiers deciding not to shoot people, nuclear reactors that don't explode and oil tankers that don't leak.

It's only the aberrations, the negative stuff, that make the news because by their nature those events are outside of the normal experience.

That's why you'll never hear a story about the tens of thousands of people who drove on the highway and got to their destination safely. But the one accident is what you'll hear about because it's an aberration from the norm.

So it's not because it's negative that you hear it; it's because it's different from the usual. And, thankfully, the usual is generally pretty positive.

Spot on. I think it's funny when people say that they don't see the news because "they only bring negative stuff". What do they want to hear? The boy scout who helped the old lady cross the stree? Yeah as if that would make their audience levels go up....

Also, not all news channels are like that. I watch more the financial news channel than normal news channels; financial news are not about showing disasters but about showing how the economy is going. That's good quality news worth seeing.

[Anagogy]

Much the world's media is deliberately engineered for the purpose of "frequency control". I won't go into that here, but if you're interested check out Bringers of the Dawn by Barbara Marciniak.

With regard to positive thinking and the survival of cancer patients: does anyone else find it ironic that the study is relegated to the positive thinking of people who have cancer to begin with? Back the train up here -- if you subscribe to line of thought inherrent in the Law of Attraction, the fact that these people have cancer to begin with is suggestive that these people are not offering positive thought. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not out to point fingers at the victims. You can't blame someone for not believing in something that is highly predicated on the phenomenon of belief itself. The evidence of such is highly reflective of the expectations of all involved in such illusory "testing". Another problem is the fact that this is one of those experiments where you can't reliably separate subject and object or cause and effect. They can't see into these peoples minds and know the nature of their thoughts. They can only rely on subjective reporting.

The people who engage in such studies are not expecting this to work, and their expectations are matched. They try and use objective methods to measure the subjective mindset of their patients. But their attempts at objectivity simply lessen the resistance of their preconceptions expressing themselves in their realities. The scientist maintains a preconception of how the experiment will come out, but then says, "I want to see how it really is." This objectivity actually makes it MORE likely, their preconceptions will affect the outcome of the experiment. Why you ask?

In the mathematics of faith, believing something has already happened, and being utterly content that they never will, are the same. The faithful religious says, "I want this to come out a certain way, but nevertheless, I want to see how God would have it." The faithful scientist says, "I think this experiment will come out a certain way, but nevertheless, I want to see how nature would have it come out." This disavowel of personal involvement, or otherwise known as "objectivity", is one of the highest states of "allowing" there is. It is the ego that worries, fears, and feels anxiety, and the reason for that is the illusory state of separation engeandered by its structure. It creates a boundary -- a circumscribed space of awareness -- giving an illusory perception of finite limitation. When you believe purely, you don't fear, worry, or feel anxiety. You are disavowing the limitations imposed by your ego structure. You are in a state of non-resistance -- the same kind of non resistance engeandered by complete detatchment from a certain outcome.

This why many people have such a hard time manifesting certain things they are extremely attatched to. It can be difficult to accept a "happy go lucky" attitude with regard to things that are very important to us. I think this is why the Abraham-Hicks material is so advocative of searching for good feelings rather than strict thought monitoring. Many people don't realize how resistant their ordinary day to day thoughts really are. Especially people suffering from something as serious as cancer.

Scientists think objectivity deters our preconceptions from distoring the outcome of a given experiment. They are wrong. It enhances the probability of thought distortion. The degree of such is highly dependent on the experimenter.

[emilee]

Originally Posted by cdn2wheeler

Before his untimely demise, I saw an interview with ABC news anchor Peter Jennings in which he specifically addressed this issue: Why is the news always bad?

What he said put a whole different light on how news is gathered and what's reported.

Essentially, he boiled it down to this: The vast majority of the events that take place in the world are positive. They're uplifting. They're stories about people helping people, politicians actually keeping their promises, soldiers deciding not to shoot people, nuclear reactors that don't explode and oil tankers that don't leak.

That's why you'll never hear a story about the tens of thousands of people who drove on the highway and got to their destination safely. But the one accident is what you'll hear about because it's an aberration from the norm.

So it's not because it's negative that you hear it; it's because it's different from the usual. And, thankfully, the usual is generally pretty positive.

I think that by "in-forming" people with negative events and informations, without the balance of the positive, that people are being led to believe and accept that these things ARE the norm in our society. All I have to do is listen to people speak to find this is true. As far as the mind/healing report goes, or any report really, I don't believe there is ever just one school of thought, or experience, or one absolute that applies to all. emilee

[Rahzad]

Originally Posted by emilee

I think that by "in-forming" people with negative events and informations, without the balance of the positive, that people are being led to believe and accept that these things ARE the norm in our society. All I have to do is listen to people speak to find this is true. As far as the mind/healing report goes, or any report really, I don't believe there is ever just one school of thought, or experience, or one absolute that applies to all. emilee

BINGO! That's why the media is mind manipulation. They create the "Perception" the world is a VERY bad place, bad things happen as a rule, and evil is everywhere. They do this via selective reporting and it serves a main purpose of keeping peoples vibrations down. Once again, the core of this is subversive manipulation of the masses.

Walk into any house in America and you hear the little negative chatterbox tuned to a mind games news network. Its like having a perpetual "Negative Programmer" on in the home 24/7, and people can't seem to wake up to that.

Remember folks, we're in the times of "Thoughts Create", and the manifestation of our thoughts is speeding up.(haven't you noticed?) This kind of stuff will help you create a world you don't want, but one they want. Don't fall for it.

[emilee]

It's funny to me that the very same people who have complained to me about this very thing actually raise their eyebrows (at the very least) when I say that I don't watch television, or read the newspapers. (laughing) emilee

[impaul99]

Originally Posted by emilee

It's funny to me that the very same people who have complained to me about this very thing actually raise their eyebrows (at the very least) when I say that I don't watch television, or read the newspapers. (laughing) emilee

THere's no need to watch the news. Everyone around you will regurgitate them to you anyways.

I know people that are so addicted to watching the news that I think if they weren't glued to the TV for the News Hour they might have a nervous meltdown. It's like it's their daily programming (which it is).

LOL. I just had this vision in my head. You know when the signal cuts out and they have that message that says "Sorry for the inconvenience, we will return to our regular programming soon." LOL. I totally didn't realize that they admit it's "Programming" all along.

That's kinda funny. It's just like doctors who clearly state on their offices that they are "Practicing". Meaning, they aren't really doctors yet, they are just "Practicing". You are their guinea pig. They warn you right up front. We're just blind to it.

[Jennihul]

Wow, that's a really depressing story. About the cancer and positive mindset.

But, all things being equal, if I were diagnosed, I would choose a positive mindset anyway. Because if my life is shortened by some years or months, why would I want to waste my last days being bummed and bringing everyone around me down?

I would choose a positive mindset anyway because I could be an inspiration to someone else.

I would choose a positive mindset anyway because I believe I can change the course of my life with one.

The study is extremely flawed anyway. No one really knows how a cancer will behave in any particular human incarnation. As other posters said, no one knows how a person truly feels on the inside, where it counts. That kind of fear must be mind-numbing if not deflected or reconciled.

Jennifer

[Jennihul]

Originally Posted by Rahzad

BINGO! That's why the media is mind manipulation. They create the "Perception" the world is a VERY bad place, bad things happen as a rule, and evil is everywhere. They do this via selective reporting and it serves a main purpose of keeping peoples vibrations down. Once again, the core of this is subversive manipulation of the masses.

Walk into any house in America and you hear the little negative chatterbox tuned to a mind games news network. Its like having a perpetual "Negative Programmer" on in the home 24/7, and people can't seem to wake up to that.

Remember folks, we're in the times of "Thoughts Create", and the manifestation of our thoughts is speeding up.(haven't you noticed?) This kind of stuff will help you create a world you don't want, but one they want. Don't fall for it.

I think the media is merely a tool of general human consciousness. They are giving us what we tell them we want. By our readership, ratings and sales.

Even though in places like this forum we get to hang out with people that are vibrating on a higher plane than most of the people around us, we have to remember that the vast majority of people are still drooling over reality TV and tuning in to see Brittney's lack of panties. When OJ went on the Bronco road trip, everyone was tuned in. Bad news sells. Scandal sells. Disaster gleans much to much of our attention. The only way it will shift is if readers, by the millions, demand better content.


Jennifer

[emilee]

Hey Jen.....When I read your last post, a short video played in my imagination of "The New Crusades--Saving the Masses from the Media" (in a humerous context-- somewhat Gary Larson like) But it brought me to a question. Which way do you think people would be more fearful -- with the constant stream of the media's "Ain't it awful" reports, or if the soothing tones of hopelessness were taken away? warmth, emilee

[Jennihul]

Why would less exposure to horridness create more fear? Just curious.

Jennifer

[kulai]

Maybe we should all come together and set up a news station that only tells good news. We can call it GNN (Good News Network). For the first story we could go to the happiest place on earth, Disneyland, and interview people and children how their day went. How about it? Do you think this can work?
Everyone has a share in this, then we take it public, and in no time we can become millionaires !

________________________
Law of Attraction Made Easy

[emilee]

Hey Jen...It would come from the not knowing. We are constantly informed of where the "danger" is, in what form it is presenting itself, the intensity of it, possibly the duration.....lots of information for people to "guard up" against it. Without that, I wonder if people would become as children, always afraid of what "monster" might be in the closet.

kulai: There is a Good News Network online. It reports only good news, but not all news with a positive perspective.

peace, emilee

[Ilya]

Answering the original question. This study is probably useful for the doctors who use positive thinking as the part of the treatment. Depending on how good this study is, some doctors may put less resources on the psychoterapy and use different numbers when estimating a patient's survival rates.
As for us common people, we have no choice but keep positive outlook no matter what. I bet there is no study that says that being depressed helps with cancer. That would be a sensation.

[Lil Chris]

I got to thinking that... Isn't it interesting that television is sometimes called "PROGRAMMING"... Something to think about...

[Jennihul]

Originally Posted by emilee

Hey Jen...It would come from the not knowing. We are constantly informed of where the "danger" is, in what form it is presenting itself, the intensity of it, possibly the duration.....lots of information for people to "guard up" against it. Without that, I wonder if people would become as children, always afraid of what "monster" might be in the closet.

kulai: There is a Good News Network online. It reports only good news, but not all news with a positive perspective.

peace, emilee

It's my home page.

Actually, I see your point. Humans enjoy wallowing in fear so much that even if they weren't spoon-fed reasons to be fearful, or use the constant bombardment to desensitize themselves, they would, on the whole, probably create reasons out of thin air.

But not all of them do that. Just the screwed up ones.

Jennifer

[Betrade]

Figures lie and liars figure.

Studies can prove anything, and experts take money to testify in courts to produce the result that they're being paid to present, regardless of the facts or the "truth", because "truth" can be very subjective.

I know this. I have a cousin who's been a Catholic priest his entire adult life, and was given less than six months to live about 16 years ago. He had some type of cancer, that may have been lukemia, and had metastasized in the lungs.

This is a man who spent over 30 years caring for lepers in India; sacrificing his life to serve others who had it worse than he did. He still prays for me, and many others every day at his morning mass, which he still gets up and says every day, even though I'm not a practicing catholic and haven't been for many years. If anyone asked about his illness he would always just say "What illness"??

He's alive and well. He's about 86 years old now, and he's slowing down considerably, but that cancer is long gone. He was basically prayed over and he knew he was healed; end of story.

They call these things spontaneous remissions, and there are many well documented cases of these occurrences. They're rare, but they do happen, and if we could learn why, then maybe they wouldn't be so rare anymore. After all, there are lots of other diseases that used to kill people, yet we treat them today with ease. Just think what a diabetic had to endure just 100 years ago.

My Dad's best friend had congestive heart failure that was so bad he was given 30 days at best. His doctor advised him to get his affairs in order immediately. His heart was so bad he couldn't walk across his bedroom to the bathroom. If he tried, he would be so exhausted and so out of breath he would just collapse. He had to be wheeled around the house, because the slightest exertion would just wipe him out completely.

My mother, his wife and daughter in law prayed over him one night while he was asleep. He woke up feeling better and a little stronger. He got a little better each day, and when his doctor finally examined him a month or so later, his heart was no longer diseased, and there were no more symptoms. He was completely healed, and even th doctor called it a miracle. He lived 11 years. He ended up dying of cancer, but he did manage to live a good 9 years or so when he was supposed to be dead according to all of the "experts".

[mansell]

Unfortunately many things in this world that cant be explained already by science or are beleived by the "highers" are shunned as false. But with simple logic such as we havent even unlocked 90% of our brian yet can prove that we dont know all yet and maybe there is some sort of ability we have . Others are true such as when in a tight situation we can pump adrellin through our selves to change to the outcome so who says this couldnt be another yet explained gift we have?...personally i do agree its possible and has happened