You are what you THINK. Five easy steps to improve your health through self narration.

Over seven months ago, my darling sister-in-law and her home school group set out to do a simple experiment, to put the following saying to the test, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me." What they found was quite the contrary, words can be more damaging and harmful that one might think.

They started by making a batch of white rice, then placed equal amounts in two separate mason jars. One of the jars said "love, friendship, happy" and the other "kill you, die." (Now mind you these are little boys who came up with these words). The results are appalling.

As you can see the jar with more positive words, the rice is still fluffy and white, contrary to the other jar, that now has mold. Also, notice how the yuck is moving up the jar, like it is trying to get out of there. Now, I have heard of these experiments before, but being a researcher myself, seeing these results first hand really makes you stop and listen to the thoughts that you repeat in your own head to yourself. I want you to now imagine instead of a mason jar, those are human bodies, the affect is the same.

As a clinician it is interesting to hear patients tell you about the way they speak to themselves. The constant criticisms, nagging, guilt, shaming, disgust. I often try and challenge them to be more kind and forgiving to themselves, for within that true healing comes. And more often than not, the voice in their head is not truly their own, but one that they may have heard in their upbringing that is now lowering their own vital force and creating pathology.

I often think of people as a pond when they first come to see me. I have to determine if the pH is regulating, if the filters are working, if the ecosystem is thriving. Some of my patients, as a metaphor, have a cleaner pond to begin with, making health come easier. While others start with more of a murky pond and take some more cleaning up. People have to imagine their thoughts as the purification system. "You are what you eat," translates and is symbiotic to "you are what you think."

Here are five easy steps to improve the thoughts in your own mind, which then translate into creating more positive results on the outside, which is far reaching (and this day and age, we need it more than ever).

1. Create little reminders.

On your water bottle or wherever you drink your daily hydration, write the words that you are needing to work on in your life. Some examples might be "love, forgiveness, gratitude, hope, vitality, health." The book, THE MIRACLE OF WATER, discusses how water has a memory and when a message is placed in that water, it can actually change the molecular structure of the water and now that is the memory that you are putting into your body.

This is also why I love gemstones, for example, the stone rose quartz is the stone for self love, self acceptance and brings peace and happiness. Sure, some people think this may be a little out there, but even if you do not believe it, we all need a reminder throughout the day to feel peaceful and have a moment of self love and wearing or carrying a stone can serve as that reminder.

2. Learn to be your own friend

Look yourself in the mirror everyday and tell your self one thing that you like about yourself. I know, I know, this sounds corny, but 80% of people who try this the first time will either have nothing to say or will start to cry, because for so long the words have been unkind.

Give yourself little compliments through the day. We all have something about ourselves to celebrate, why not be your own cheer squad. "Way to get out of bed today," "Good for you for flossing," "What a healthy option for lunch, yum, yum," "You really nailed that nap." The truth is, we are often our own worst enemy, that can change and for full vital health to thrive, it must.

3. Create an attitude of gratitude

Shawn Achor is one of my all time favorite researchers and as a matter of fact, he got into Harvard on a dare. He studies positive psychology and he states one of the best things a person can do at the end of the day is to tell a loved one or write down three things that they are grateful that day. This helps to reshape the mind and self talk, setting out to find things that you are grateful for is an antidote for negative thoughts.

4. Random acts of kindness really feed your own soul

Say hi to a stranger, waive to someone you do not know, open the door for someone. Do one random act of kindness daily. Kindness is one of the most underrated things in this day and age. But it is also one of the most powerful. Use it, spread it, receive it.

5. Love yourself so fiercely, that you inspire others to do the same.

When Pharrell Williams came out with the song, HAPPY, it swept over the nation and put a smile on so many faces. I watched this phenomenon and was very interested, because personally I did not think it was such a great song. I concluded that the world is hungry for some happiness, some positive and joyful message. And like Ghandi has taught, "be the change you want to see in the world." THERE IS A HUNGER FOR IT. Sure diet, poor environment, disease are making people sick, but so is loneliness, negative self talk, relationships that are not serving people, and isolation.

If someone cannot love themselves 20 pounds over weight, they are not going to be able to love themselves when the weight is gone. Commit to self love now, because once that is conquered, it can be spread in masses. It starts with the thoughts in your head, the keynote speech that you tell yourself when you look in the mirror, when you fail an exam and when, like all humans, we make mistakes. Nothing is more inspiring than self love, it is contagious and people are waiting to catch it.

So remember, the next time you hear those unwanted thoughts creeping in, think of the rice jars and imagine what your thoughts are doing to your health.