Bernie Siegel Quotes

Of one thing I am certain, the body is not the measure of healing, peace is the measure.

Allopathic doctors used to laugh condescendingly at those who posited that psychological, emotional and spiritual factors were important contributors to the sickness as well as healing of the body.

In order to heal others, we first need to heal ourselves. And to heal ourselves, we need to know how to deal with ourselves.

There are so many ways to heal. Arrogance may have a place in technology, but not in healing. I need to get out of my own way if I am to heal.

We get older, and we forget that we have to carve a little time out to feel good in your body, in your head, and in your spirit.

If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment.

If we are willing to do the mental work, almost anything can be healed.

Self-hatred is OK. I have self-hatred, too. It's OK. What's bad is if you don't know how to get out of it, don't know how to manage it. Self-hatred is, in fact, a good thing if you can clearly see the mechanism of it, because it helps you to understand others.

I've been amazed at how quickly people can heal themselves, actually.

To heal from the inside out is the key.

I have always made a distinction between healing and curing. To me, 'healed' represents a condition of one's life; 'cured' relates strictly to one's physical condition. In other words, there may be healed quadriplegics and AIDS patients, and cured cancer patients who are leading unhealthy lives.

Trying to suppress or eradicate symptoms on the physical level can be extremely important, but there's more to healing than that; dealing with psychological, emotional and spiritual issues involved in treating sickness is equally important.

If I don't feel good in myself, I pray, and I can throw off those bad feelings.

Happiness is normally the prime search of every rational human being. One way to derive increasing happiness during the year we have just entered is to strive diligently to promote the happiness of others, to think of them first, yourself second. Happiness is the greatest tonic, the greatest elixir, of all. Worry is among the worst poisons. One sensible New Year resolution: I will do my utmost to have consideration for others, to exercise usefulness, to radiate happiness, to conquer worrying over things I cannot possibly remedy.

Your anxiety is your baby. You have to take care of it. You have to go back to yourself, recognize the suffering in you, embrace the suffering, and you get relief. And if you continue with your practice of mindfulness, you understand the roots, the nature of the suffering, and you know the way to transform it.

Interestingly, God's remedy for Elijah's depression was not a refresher course in theology but food and sleep... Before God spoke to him at all, Elijah was fed twice and given a good chance to sleep. Only then, and very gently, did God confront him with his error. This is always God's way. Having made us as human beings, He respects our humanness and treats us with integrity. That is, He treats us true to the truth of who we are. It is human beings and not God who have made spirituality impractical.

Awareness in itself is healing.

I've tried everything. I've done therapy, I've done colonics. I went to a psychic who had me running around town buying pieces of ribbon to fill the colors in my aura. Did the Prozac thing.

I think that every therapist that I know, including my dad and my sister, have their own issues. But that empathy is what makes them good at their job.

Grateful people may recover faster from trauma.

It's the easiest thing in the world to be down about anything. I think the body responds to good vibes.

Stress and looks are directly connected as far as I am concerned. If you are happy, you look good.

When you treat yourself with the kindness and high regard that you would give to one of your spiritual heroes, your body becomes the epicenter of quiet joy rather than a battlefield for the ego.

I just don't deal with the negativity. I can't get involved in that side of it. I don't understand it, and you can't let it take away from your life and what you are trying to do.

I took the decision that everything I would post would be positive. If you say, 'Ahh, I feel terrible today,' and you spread that to the eyes and ears of millions of people, that's not good.