Today’s Solutions: May 20, 2026

Eastern monks and Western yogis have spent centuries meditating to enable the creative right brain to serve as a healthy counterpoise to the usually dominant left-brain and to synchronize both halves on the path to a deeper awareness. And a growing body of research shows that this harmonious balance does indeed create greater vitality and happiness.

The meditative path is a long one for most people. But Dutch physician Roy Martina found it is possible to activate the right brain through hypnosis, linking it with higher consciousness and simultaneously neutralizing the left-brain. In that case, the most important thing isn’t the synchronicity between the halves of the brain, but the connection between the right half and one’s higher consciousness.

The connection with a higher consciousness overrides the ego-driven subconscious sabotage that keeps illness alive, Martina believes. This method adheres to Albert Einstein’s adage that a problem can only be solved on a different level from the one on which it arose. Healing takes place on a higher level than the physical level of illness. Martina says he has seen tumors disappear, kidney patients stop dialysis, cartilage grow back and prevent the need for a hip replacement operation and striking improvement in “impossible” diseases such as Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis.

Is the opposite also true? Do we create our own illness? Are we responsible for our suffering? “You create your disease,” Martina says. “But no one does that intentionally. If a child doesn’t work through an emotional trauma, it may express itself as a liver malfunction 30 years later. … It’s not your fault. Most things happen on a subconscious level. And that’s why an aspirin or an operation doesn’t always help, and why symptoms keep recurring.”

And why working through the subconscious mind holds such potential for healing.

This is a description of an article that appeared in the March/April 2012 issue of The Intelligent Optimist. Members can read the full article here. Non-members can become a member here.

Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

Chile’s maternity leave expansion led to a three-year employment boost

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In October 2011, Chile extended postnatal leave from 12 to 24 weeks for women contributing to the country’s ...

Read More

Julie and Kariba: two elephants getting a second chance in Portugal

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Kariba has lived alone in a Belgian zoo for years. Julie has been with the Cardinali circus in ...

Read More

How DNA in the air could help track life on Earth

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In the lush forests of northern Belize, surrounded by hibiscus blooms, kingfishers overhead, and the busy trails of ...

Read More

Mexico bans dolphin shows in historic vote to protect marine mammals

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In a landmark move for animal welfare, the Mexican Senate voted unanimously to ban dolphin and other marine ...

Read More