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Each of us possesses the correct software encoded into our DNA to create a whole new body. We have the mechanisms with which to grow new parts and eradicate nasty infections. All we need is the command to make it happen.
What if that too, is within our control?
Most of us regard our bodies as though they are a self-governing sack of organs and tissues. Our autonomic or parasympathetic nervous system keeps it all ticking over, freeing our conscious mind to think about higher skills, such as planning and decision-making.
Few of us believe that we can alter our bodily functions and processes merely by thinking about them. We see it as a separate entity, one which is regulated by chemical controllers such as hormones and enzymes. Illnesses and disease are something related to a neurological or chemical imbalance, or an invading organism, requiring a specialist doctor to tinker with our mechanics using drug therapy or surgery to set it straight.
From the time of conception to the very last breath, we give ourselves no other responsibilities over our physical selves than the supply of oxygen, nutrition, and exercise. We treat our bodies like vintage cars, popping the hood once in a while to check the oil and tweaked the air mix in the carburettor. We forget that the parasympathetic nervous system controlling us is just…