Attitude: It's All in the Salt

“The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.” ~~Author Unknown~~

Have you heard about Himalayan rock salt lamps? When seeking out the perfect birthday present for my cousin recently, I encountered them for the first time. Upon looking them up online, here’s what I read:

“Science offers a solid basis for the unanimous claims by lamp owners around the world about the positive effects which salt lamps and salt crystal bring to us through soothing light and color, the cleansing effect it provides for indoor air, and with powerful negative ions which have been studied enough to be known as beneficial, in a myriad of ways.” (http://bit.ly/eo8Ff0)

Of course, the pitch goes on and describes all the benefits, which are not exactly the point of this, so I won’t write them all here – feel free to check the link to a vendor selling these lamps, above. What the point IS, is the conversation that ensued… and I shall leave with whom I had the conversation out to protect the innocent…

Her: “Does it work?”
Me: “I choose to believe that it works. Does it matter?”
Her: “Yes.”
Me: “Why? If you believe that it works, isn’t that enough? If you believe that you will feel better, that the negative energy around you will be absorbed; if you trust in the renowned therapeutic effects, won’t you feel better? Is ‘psychosomatic’ really a ‘bad’ thing?”

Hmmm…

From Wikipedia:

Psychosomatic medicine is an interdisciplinary medical field studying the relationships of social, psychological, and behavioral factors on bodily processes and well-being in humans and animals. The influence that the mind has over physical processes — including (and I choose to read, “but not limited to”) the manifestations of physical disabilities that are based on intellectual infirmities, rather than actual injuries or physical limitations — is manifested in treatment by phrases such as the power of suggestion, the use of "positive thinking" and concepts like "mind over matter".

Hmmm….

I think I’m going to buy a few lamps…