Almost four centuries ago, French philosopher René Descartes posited the somewhat self-fulfilling notion of “I think, therefore I am.” Dina Eisen would probably augment the 17th century adage to read something along the lines of “I think I am healthy, therefore I am healthy,” or “happy.” Eisen is one of the star turns at the forthcoming Eat Well conference that will take place at Cinema City on June 1. The 60-years-young health practitioner's name is officially prefixed by the title of Dr., having spent most of her working life as a GP, receiving patients and doling out prescriptions. Today she maintains a busy working schedule beyond the pale of conventional medical practice. Eisen's 90-minute slot at the conference goes by the enticing name of The Healing Powers of the Joy of Life. That put me in mind of a laughter yoga session I attended quite a few years back, where the moderator kept on repeating the mantra “fake it till you make it.” The idea behind the emotional inducement ethos was that it is possible to change our mood proactively and thereby impact positively on our general state of health. While accepting the inherent benefits of such an approach, Eisen says she takes things further. “There is a connection between our facial expressions and behavior and the way we feel inside,” she concurs. “But that's not the point here. What I have learned over the years is that if someone wants to heal, they have to look inward – you can call it awareness – and understand that anything that bothers them in others, in fact, is something they have inside themselves.” That appears perfectly logical and eminently obvious, but Eisen says that the realization was a wonderful epiphany for her, and that using it to good and practical effect is challenging. “We are so controlled by the outside world that when we see something bad, for example, on the news, we think we are getting angry because of what happened. Our brain is built for survival, so it is constantly looking for problems and trouble . That's why bad news always grabs our attention. “ That doesn't just apply to us Israelis,” Eisen continues . “You know that when lawyers in the United States want jury members to find someone guilty, they describe the defendant as a danger to society. They appeal to the primordial brain, which only thinks about survival and protecting our families. In simplistic terms it's about surviving and multiplying,” she laughs. Sounds like a basic Jewish tenet… Eisen suggests that if we really want peace here and elsewhere across the globe, we have to adopt a different tack. “To end the confrontations, wars and quarrels, we have to overcome this scared brain, and use our new brain – the neocortex.” The said organ is part of the cerebral cortex, which relates to higher functions, such as sensory perception, the generation of motor commands, spatial reasoning, conscious thought and, in humans, language. The former GP regularly lectures on her fundamentally positive approach to self-healing – humor and optimistic health – up and down the country, and also gives workshops. Her book Journey to Inner Kingdoms lays out the principles of optimistic health, and how to achieve self-acceptance, serenity and happiness through generation of new synapses. The latter cranial interfaces form the basis for Eisen's “Synapsot Vision.” That, she says, offers advantageous benefits for everyone. “We believe that by implementing the principles of 'synapsot' (synapses), one becomes healthier, happier and freer to pursue personal development, while establishing peaceful and friendly relationships – thereby creating a better world for us all.” That's not a bad payback for some positive introspection. “You learn to consider your thoughts, which is what I teach,” Eisen explains. “You take a look at your thoughts and choose which thought is beneficial to you and which is superfluous.” Eisen believes that the cerebral input provides hefty emotional rewards. “It generates lots of joy. You can control the only thing that is really within your hands – your thoughts. Otherwise, the world leaves you helpless. How can you deal with the horrors, woes and problems of life? Change your way of thinking and your approach.” According to Eisen, we can proactively change our mindset and emotional state. “You can even decide to be happy,” she says matter-of-factly. “That's a cognitive decision. It's not a matter of being born with certain abilities and if you don't have them, you're a lost cause.” Eisen knows what she is talking about, and is the walking, talking, smiling proof of the pudding herself. “I was a kibbutz doctor. I cared for everyone, and everything seemed to be fine. The problem was that I was never satisfied with what I had.” She was highly driven. “I wanted to be director-general of the Ministry of Health; I wanted to be a millionaire and influence the whole world. I was frustrated because I could never live up to my own expectations.” Something had to give. “I was overweight and a friend sent me to a group for people who overeat,” Eisen recalls. After a couple of sessions, she got the message. “I realized I was not addicted to food, I was addicted to negative thoughts.” She duly shed 35 kg. and in 2001, left conventional medicine and struck out on her current path of self-healing and disseminating her optimistic ethos to the world. She illustrates her notion of taking responsibility for our lives with a humorous anecdote. “A kid comes home with a bad school report and his dad asks him to explain his pitiful performance. 'I'm not entirely sure,' says the youngster. 'It might be genetic or environmental.' That's the thing. What do we actually know? We have to take control of our thoughts ourselves, and make ourselves happier and healthier.” The good news is that it is never too late to change for the better. “Our brain is very flexible,” says Eisen. “We can create synapses all our lives, regardless of our age. We can change the actual anatomy of our brain. Never say never.” Elsewhere in the Eat Well conference lineup – as the moniker suggests – there are several items devoted to what we put in our mouth, including Dr. Michael Weinfass's talk on “Anti-Inflammatory Sickness Preventive Nutrition.” Chiropractor and qualified medical doctor Adiel Tel Oren will advise his audience how to offload toxins that accumulate in body tissue; nutrition and medicine historian Dr. Uri Mayer Chizik will talk about what the mass-produced food industry would prefer us not to know, and how to read between the lines of the ingredients on food packages. For tickets and further information: (077) 896-57575 and bari-jer.eatwell.co.il
GP Dr. Dina Eisen (left) and Chiropractor and qualified medical doctor Adiel Tel-Oren