A Q&A with David Hamilton
By Alchemy 01/12/2011
The good doctor will be holding a seminar here on the 9th December. To get you all excited, The Team caught up with him earlier on today to ask him a few Qs.
1. You mentioned in a recent blog that you jokingly have suggested that thinking about the power of exercise can exercise you body? Just by thinking about it?!
A – Yes, many studies now show that the brain doesn’t distinguish that much between whether we’re doing something or imagining in. In particular, some studies show gains in strength through imagined exercise that are not too much different from the strength gained through actual exercise.
2. From your perspective as a man of science and also from a holistic and theoretical capacity, what underpins forgiveness for you? Are there traits that you might take from either perspectives to work towards forgiveness?
A – On a scientific level, as far as studies on forgiveness have shown, we know that forgiveness reduces blood pressure and stress hormone levels throughout the bloodstream, so it is good for the heart. It also reduces hurt, anger and depression. Also, from a scientific or evolutionary perspective, to be more precise, forgiveness is actually natural to us. Our genetic ancestors thrived over millions of years because they were able to live together in groups. Groups with strongest bonds faired better because groups offered protection and also help with getting food. They had to swiftly get over conflicts in order to retain the harmony in the groups, and this meant forgiveness at times, and thus the capacity to forgive is in our genome today. So there is a genetic tendency for forgiveness but I’d also say we have a spiritual driver towards forgiveness too, because the major world religions and wisdom traditions encourage it.
3. Have there ever been circumstances where it isn’t best to let go?
A – Forgiveness isn’t always the answer, especially if the wounds are raw and it was more than just a minor offence. Sometimes we need our pain as it gives us strength at times and also helps us remember what happened. Sometimes, people need to hold onto that. But, in the long term, it is healthier (most of the time) to let go.
4. For our readers, can you perhaps provide them with quick routine for their mind to heal themselves? What would you advise?
A – Yes, the most common method that people use is where they imagine they are tiny and are inside the body. They imagine what the site of injury or disease looks like and they imagine changing it into an image of wellness. They might use tools to do this. For instance, people tend to use an imaginary sponge and water to clean diseased cells (which they imagine as brown and shrivelled) and clean them so well that they are restored to a healthy pink colour. People with tumours, on the other hand, imagine shrinking them, where they might imagine they’re made of ice. People receiving chemotherapy typically imagine the chemo agents as little piranha fish nibbling at the tumours so that they shrink to nothing. The key is to turn an image of illness into an image of wellness and to do it repetitively.
5. On one of your blog posts you claim that kindness slows ageing. Are there any acts (compassion, contrition, forgiveness etc) that one can adhere to to attain this, of is it all about striking a good balance?
A – I’d say it’s about striking a good balance and showing kindness and compassion on a regular basis. The study I mentioned in my blog was one where volunteers practiced a Tibetan Buddhist meditation (The Loving Kindness) and within six weeks there were substantial reductions in what’s known as inflammation in the bloodstream. Inflammation, as well as playing a role in wound repair (the redness and swelling are important), throughout the body it plays a role in aging. Any way of reducing ‘system-wide’ inflammation is a way to slow aging and drug companies are investing heavily in trying to make a drug for the role. Incredibly, a regular practice of the loving-kindness meditation was combatting inflammation and thus slowing aging. That’s why I’d say we need to show kindness and compassion on a regular basis – like outs our disposition. Of course, not so that you benefit from it, but because it’s the right thing to do. Think of the health benefits as side-effects.
6. In your past work as a pharmaceutical scientist, how did you come to write about your work? Science as it goes is well documented through academia and research papers – tell us about how the jump came about where you were writing more subjectively…
A – I worked in drug development, where I helped to develop drugs for cardiovascular disease and cancer. I became more interesting in the placebo effect, which is well documented, and was fascinated how a belief in something could facilitate improvements in health. I resigned after 4 years because I wanted to make exploring this idea, writing about it and speaking about it, my career.
