Several years ago I took my daughter and a leap of faith to join a medical mission in Gambia.

The fact that we were not of the same religious background as the group that we went with was of no consequence to me. In fact, I loved the daily morning prayer circles and the sermons at church were quite uplifting. At some point during the trip a pastor sat by me at dinner and asked about my belief in god. When I shared my uncertainty, he suggested that assuming something does not exist just because you cannot see it is just arrogant.

Many years later, I think I have to agree. How often do we dismiss hope, faith, trust, or any other intangible just because we can’t see it or touch it or just because we cannot wrap our arms or minds around it?

And what impact does this lack of faith have on our health and wellbeing? It turns out that whether you believe in a gal up in the sky watching over you, or just in a universe that’s got your back, turns out that having faith can have a huge impact on your health; mind, body and soul.

MIND Studies show:

📌Having faith gives us a greater capacity to deal with adversity like illness, grief, natural disasters, social unrest, war, terrorism and overall stress. (sound familiar anyone?)

📌Faith is associated with positive emotions such as hope, optimism, greater meaning and purpose in life, greater self esteem, greater agency and a sense of control and wellbeing. (tell me you would not pop a pill that promised all of the above!)

📌Faith is associated with better mental health including reduced depression and anxiety, and reduced suicide attempts.

📌Those who have faith are less likely to abuse substances like alcohol and cigarettes.

📌Aaaaaaaand faith increases the likelihood of engaging in positive behaviors like exercise, healthy diet, healthy weight.

BODY Studies have proven:

📌Faith is associated with reduced hypertension and cardiovascular disease including a reduced risk in both heart attack and stroke.

📌People who have greater sense of faith have a reduced risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

📌Positive emotions that are engendered thru greater faith result in reduced inflammatory molecules like CRP and reduce inflammation overall.

📌Those with higher levels of faith have improved endocrine function, reduced autoimmune disease and improved immunity. All of this to say that having faith can have profound effects on your physical, mental and emotional health. SO what if you hear all of this but you just don’t know. Maybe you are not religious and you do not consider yourself spiritual?

Maybe you just don’t think there is a higher power.

My advice is to meet yourself where you are at. You can’t force yourself into believing. But i would encourage you to do this, as I did those many years ago when that pastor in Africa challenged my arrogance. Acknowledge that you are not all knowing. But that does not mean that what we don’t know can’t exist. Perhaps just acknowledging this will create an opening for the possibility of something bigger than you, something greater than us and a degree of surrender, faith, hope, and optimism that can serve and heal you mind, body and soul. Its great to be back with you after my mini sabbatical this summer.

I have done a lot of soul searching and know that nourishing ourselves mentally, emotionally and physically is so important right now.

It is important to our personal health, the health of our relationships, the health of our workplaces and to the health of the world.

If you are interested in bringing this message to your team, professional groups or organizations respond to this email and I will send you all you need to set up the most inspirational keynote or workshop.

You can listen to the whole episode here.