"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones'' Proverbs 17:22 In the last several years scientist have begun to explore the complex connection between mind and body, proving this biblical truth. Modern medicine is just beginning to use the mind-body connection for healing. We have all heard of cases where placebo or dummy pills relieved pain, lowered blood pressure and even shrunk malignant tumours. Since the same inert pill can lead to such totally different responses, we must conclude that the body is capable of producing any biochemical response once the mind has been given the appropriate suggestion. Silva method instructor Velores Figures has had more than ten years experience in both the corporate and private sectors in teaching people how to use their mind to improve their health and their life.

What is the Silva Method? A: The Silva Method is a 16 hour training course designed to give students practice at using the mind in its most effective way to create better health, reduce weight and blood pressure, stop smoking, sleep better, get rid of migraines and control pain, improve memory, learn and retain information better, and enhance intuition.

What interested you in learning the Silva Method? A: I was a law student in London and I came across a book on the method. I thought the course would help me reduce stress and study better. That it did, however, the most important result for me was enhancing my intuition so that I could find my own purpose and gift to the planet. Until that point, I was living my father's and then my former husband's dream for my life and not my own. I was a good lawyer but I am blessed with a wonderful ability to facilitate people to transform their lives. I have worked with children with learning differences, people in recovery or with chronic illness such as diabetes, chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, MS and migraines as well as professional athletes and stressed out managers needing to enhance their performance. I have also been able to assist my Harvard law school classmates and former legal colleagues function better. The two bachelor's degrees and law degree which I earned before becoming a wellness facilitator have served me and my clients very well.

Intuition is often dismissed in the business world, having come from a business background yourself what do you think of this? A: There are many studies to show that the most successful CEO is the one who can use intuition in decision making rather than relying solely on the limited physical senses. One of my students in the states uses Silva enhanced intuition to provide advice in his stockbroker's newsletter. Gary Zukov, the award winning Harvard trained physicist defines intuition as perception beyond the physical senses which is meant to assist you. In other words, one must use a balance of both right and left brain in order to succeed. Jacqueline Wonder, author of `Whole Brain Thinking', found that the most effective leaders are able to `shift left' when writing reports or analysing data and then `shift right' when brainstorming or counselling a subordinate.

Who can benefit from learning the Silva Method? A: Everyone! My youngest student was six years old, my eldest 94. There were students, athletes, lawyers, stockbrokers, accountants, homemakers, doctors, people from all walks of life. We have over 300 hundred graduates in Bermuda and more than 25 million world-wide.

You also do One Brain. Can you tell us about that? A: Nearly ten years ago, a friend in the US told me about energy work based on kinesiology that could assist my youngest daughter who has learning differences. We both took the course. Her progress was so wonderful! She began to excel in school and just recently has enrolled in the National Holistic Institute in northern California where she is studying massage therapy and energy work. I now have a private practice which helps people to shift blockages to empower them to make better choices in their lives. Again, it is helpful over a wide-range of mind, body, and spirit issues. Very similar to results with Silva but in a private and confidential setting which suits some people more. Also, adding body work is more helpful to some. It has the added advantage of helping individuals pin point the origin and the patterns of stress in their lives so that they can go back and eliminate it at its source.

For example, many people experience stress, sometimes debilitating stress around reading and learning. Through One Brain, we can detect the exact origins and correct it so that learning and reading become easier. My daughter could not read a book at age nine. She had been to Children's Hospital in Boston and had to be sent to a private school abroad. She now reads very well and often for her own pleasure. And is able to perform well on standardised tests. There is a book available for children, Without Stress, Learning is Easy. I think this could make a huge difference to children in Bermuda.

Since, I have been teaching and practicing One Brain, I have been able to assist individuals with such widely differing challenges as making choices to leave addictive relationships, clear eating disorders, reduce blood sugar and pressure levels and clear negative energies in general to lead happier and more productive lives.

What do you think are three important things we can do daily to minimise stress and take care of our mental health? A: Pray, Meditate, and exercise.

*** Ms Figures works out of the International Centre and can be contacted at 293-6339 or 799-5683 or e-mail vfigures(at)ibl.bm for details on the next Silva class to be held on September 9-10.