One thing that continues to amaze me is the power each of us has to control our lives. The power of the human mind is beyond our own capacity to understand, and modern science continues to discover more qualities that we each possess within us, that have the potential to make us into literally anything we choose.

Today you'll discover how to use that very power to dictate your state of health (or lack thereof).

Basically, (and this is me putting it in simplistic terms), you are as healthy as you believe you are. The simple things are often the most powerful.

Your current state of health is the direct result of the conditioning you have given yourself regarding your health over the years.

Neuroscientists have now proven what faith healers have known over the centuries: it's not your genes that determine your state of health - it's the way you perceive things about yourself and your life. If you're a pregnant woman, your perceptions and beliefs affect your unborn child physically. If you're interested in learning more, you can visit Dr Bruce Lipton's site here http://www.brucelipton.com/biology.php - really fascinating stuff.

So what does this all mean to you?

Well think about it: if the way you are today is based on your 'programming', it makes sense that the only way to change or improve your health is by 'reprogramming' your mind.

Now don't expect any overnight changes - afterall, your being overweight or unhealthy or sickly is the result of years of negative health programming.

Rather, commit to a lifelong program of positive conditioning or self-talk in order to change things from their root source.

Why do you think many 'diet' programs don't work in the long term?

It's because when people 'go on a diet', they're focusing on the outward effect, without paying attention to the root cause of the effect in the first place.

If you desire long-term changes for the better, where your health is concerned, you must combine inner work (the re-programming mentioned earlier) with outer work (sensible eating and regular physical activity). Any other plan is doomed to fail.

Your body is like a computer, with your subconscious mind and brain as the central processing unit. You are the one to input the information into the computer (you are the programmer of your life) - you give your computer instructions to follow.

The output that comes from your computer (the outward results of your life) depends on the instructions you gave it. Whether or not you believe it.

Here's how this relates to you: even if your current outward health looks bad, by consistently telling yourself that it is good, you eventually begin to believe it, and with that belief combined with persistent programming, your outward health inevitably changes to reflect your inner reality.

Always remember that you are a spiritual being. Your body is simply a container for the real you. You are not your body. So when you are saying 'I am perfectly healthy', know that you're referring to your true self, thus you are speaking the truth when you say that, for spirit is indeed perfectly healthy.

The neat thing about this is that when you say that, your physical body picks up the vibrations sent out by that line of thinking and starts to respond by changing to reflect 'perfect health'.

It may take time, depending on how focused, consistent and committed you are to the programming process.

You may feel funny or even silly when you start talking to yourself this way, but you'll get used to it and when the results start to show, you'll know that you've hit on something real and powerful. Which would you prefer - to feel funny for a while while you get used to your new way of thinking, and eventually reap great health, or to remain 'cool' and aloof about it, do nothing and remain vulnerable to every sickness and disease out there. Your choice. Your chosen consequences.

By focusing on the outcome you're working towards, you will eliminate any feelings of discomfort that may threaten to sabotage your efforts.

In summary, if you wish to be healthy or achieve a certain weight goal, begin today to program your mind to see yourself as already having achieved that goal. Write out an affirmation in the present tense that describes how you desire to be, then say it to yourself several times a day, at least three times a day (when you are about to sleep off, soon as you wake up and after lunch.).

Commit to this or a similar program of self-conditioning; don't be put off by its simplicity. That would be a mistake.

Do it and reap the benefits for yourself. And think about it. Since you have the power to choose your thoughts, doesn't it make sense to choose to think of yourself as healthy rather than unhealthy? Since you have the power to paint a picture of yourself, doesn't it make sense to paint a picture of your ideal self and dwell on that instead? Especially since your dominating thought or mind picture eventually manifests physically?

You're the programmer. Program health into your life today.