We are just beginning to understand the body as a machine powered by electro-magnetic energy. We are also beginning to understand that we are not our body. In the late 1960s, mass consciousness started to awaken to this awareness. Much was published about out-of-body experiences, other spiritual realms, ghosts, visitations by angels, etc. This helped to instill the idea that we could live without bodies. (Some believe there is a whole universe parallel to ours where beings don't have bodies.) The idea didn't become popular, however, until ordinary people began to write and publish their accounts of near death experiences (NDEs). When several books on NDEs hit the best seller list in the 1980s, we began to change our perception of and belief systems about life after death.

The Chinese scientists of the first century plotted the energy pathways that wired the body like a machine. They discovered that they could restore function to the body by regulating and removing blockages in these energy pathways. Their definition of the body as an electromagnetic device became standard holistic practice. The Chinese named the current that powers the machine chi, or life force. The batteries or energy collectors that reservoirs the chi are called Chakras.

With an understanding of the energy source for the body -- along with knowing we are not our bodies -- we can study the body as a machine. One thing that is obvious is that the physical body breaks down frequently and (in most people) doesn't wear evenly. Many of us are walking around with weak body parts that are drug-dependent, or missing body parts that were removed because of disease. Chronic and terminal disease rates are rising. There are few cures in site that don't involve using drugs the rest of one's life. We can no longer look the other way and believe that disease is out there waiting to strike at random. Now, we know that disease is created over a long period of time through neglect, abuse of the body or untreated emotional trauma.

I once asked my favorite bodyworker if the regular work I had received from him over the years was going to make my body wear evenly. He laughed and said, "Of course!" I realized that in his burst of laughter was the essence of preventative healthcare and Chinese medicine. All of my parts worked fine. Over the years and through my three pregnancies, my healthcare practitioner had regularly corrected imbalances, weak systems, allergies and vitamin deficiencies. My body definitely was wearing evenly, and I hadn't had a cold or infection in years, so my immune system must be strong.

To keep my emotional energy healthy, I also work on my emotional/psychological issues with the help of others. As the field of body/mind medicine advances, we see how unprocessed emotional energy connected to life experiences can create blowouts in energy systems. Many people get sick nine months to a year after a traumatic event. Louise Hay became famous for her work compiling emotional causes to the illness they create in her classic book, Heal Your Body. Even conventional medical treatment agrees that stress (fear) is the main cause of disease. Finding help and support for emotional problems will greatly enhance your health and prevent future problems in the body's electrical system.

There are many kinds of bodywork that address the energy systems of the body. Regular acupuncture/acupressure sessions keep the chi from becoming stagnate or blocking up to create disease. Other energywork methods focus on the chakras and other energy systems that hold or collect the energy the body needs for health. Cleansing and repairing these systems brings the person into balance. Regularly seeing your Chiropractor keeps the spinal energies strongly flowing to the organs, improving your health and preventing uneven wear and tear on the body from work strain, such as "low back blowout" or "computer neck."

We all know people who take better care of their cars than their body, and then trade the car in every other year. However, we only get one body to last a lifetime. I guess the Divine Designer planned it that way. You can make your body last and avoid all kinds of suffering. Ask yourself a few simple questions: What kinds of fuel are you putting into this machine of yours that is so well designed it heals itself? What kind of building blocks (vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and proteins) are you providing for your body? In what other ways are you fueling your body? Do you have a good diet and regularly exercise? Are you cleansing your body periodically and avoiding toxicity? Do you provide your body with enough water (8 to 10 glasses a day)?

A physical fitness consultant once told me that if people would just exercise and drink plenty of water, they could avoid most health problems. Why? Because regular exercise makes the body wear evenly; it moves lymph, blood and chi. Furthermore, the body is electromagnetic. Water is a conductor of electricity. The body needs water, not only for cleaning the insides, but to enhance the electrical system and brain. We are two-thirds water for a reason!

All disease is preventable. Take care of your body machine and clear your emotional garbage. Your body will support the quality of your life as long as you need it to get around in this physical universe.

Jackie Kosednar is a holistic practitioner in private practice specializing in spiritual counseling, personal growth seminars, and energy work on the bio-electical field. She is the publisher of Alaska Wellness magazine and author of the book, "One Miracle After Another."