“I think, therefore I am” is a quote I’m sure you, my readers, are familiar with. It’s a statement that lets you understand that you are alive. But scientific research has taken us beyond that statement so that now we understand that what we think can have great bearing on who we are and who we become.At a women’s empowerment conference held last week Saturday presenter Saadia Bean explained the modern findings and how they can be used in our everyday life to improve our health and wellbeing.What we think directly impacts our physical body, said Ms Bean, a director and counsellor of the Family Intimacy Centre. She explained that it is our thoughts that cause us to have emotions or feelings.If we look at a sunset, for example, we may feel calm and relaxed thinking about how beautiful it is.Others looking at the sunset will be concerned about getting home before it becomes dark something bad could happen because of the lack of light.In both scenarios it is our thought that drives our feeling. In the first example we feel calm and relaxed and the second we become afraid.How we feel actually impacts us physically because emotions elicit the release of chemicals in our bodies. When we feel happy, endorphins, enkephalins and serotonin are released into the bloodstream. These hormones are chemical messengers in the body that play an important role in controlling pain, and feelings of stress and frustration.Endorphins are commonly referred to as the body’s natural happy pills, and serotonin is largely responsible for the good feeling you have after you’ve exercised.Ms Bean said these hormones that are released when we have faith in ourselves and in our lives, have a positive effect on our physical bodies as well as our mood. Conversely, she said, chemicals released by our bodies when we are feeling angry or afraid have a toxic effect on our bodies.Cortisol and adrenalin are the two chemical messengers the body releases when we are feeling fearful. A build-up of these hormones in the system causes us to feel depressed and stressed and there are changes to the physical body. In the case of adrenalin, blood sugar levels rise, heart rate increases, the pupils of the eyes dilate, there is reduced blood flow to the skin and intestines and fat is released into the blood.Adrenalin is a hormone that prepares our body to physically escape danger. It is useful if we need to run away from a lion, or fire or if we need to save someone by lifting something heavy.Triggering the release of this hormone when we don’t need to run away results in its effects being toxic.According to Ms Bean the other facet of these toxic chemicals being released into the bloodstream is that they affect our mood and attitude.“Attitude is a state of mind as a result of feelings,” she said.But she warned that people should not ignore how they feel. “Feelings are important. They help us to describe experiences in life and give information about what is happening inside ourselves and inside others.”According to Ms Bean, feelings cannot be right or wrong.“They are an internal guidance system. Desirable feelings indicate that we are on track with what we want in life. Undesirable feelings indicate that we are off track with what we want.”As our thoughts determine how we feel, and as we have the ability to choose what we think, she urged the conference attendees to cultivate empowering thoughts that take a positive view.This will result in positive, or what she called “faith-based feelings” and such feelings will yield an attitude that helps the body rather than damages it.Ms Bean explained that our attitudes determine how we react to any given circumstance or situation.“Behaviour is a response resulting from an attitude of the mind,” she said.As such, we expect the person who sees the sunset as beautiful to feel enjoyment at the sight of it; the person who sees it as the end of daylight will have an attitude of irritation or fear. The person who thought of the sunset as beautiful will perhaps smile and try to share the view with someone else. The person who thought of the sunset as the end of daylight will likely rush home in a panic, causing a rise in their blood pressure and perhaps their blood sugar levels. Elevated blood pressure and blood sugar levels are damaging to the body.According to the scientific findings the person who is relaxed and enjoying the view, is taking better care of both their physical and emotional wellbeing, than the one who becomes worried at the sight of the sunset.As humans we are beings of habit. When we repeat a particular behaviour we are at risk of making it a habit. Ms Bean explained that this makes it even more important that people take control of what they think, as the end result of any thought has the ability to strengthen the body or damage it.She pointed out that research done on brain functioning by American neuroscientist Caroline Leaf shows that a whopping 87 percent of illnesses can be attributed to what we think and only 13 percent to genetics, diet and the environment.The Women’s Empowerment Conference 2011 was presented by the Family Intimacy Centre in collaboration with the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute and the Women’s Resource Centre.