The Power of Belief.

Does our belief about something have the ability to change the results? 

Apparently it does.

In a study called "Mind Over Milkshakes, researchers gave subjects either an "indulgent," high-calorie milkshake or a "sensible healthy," low-calorie shake. Before the subjects were allowed to drink the shakes, they had to read a detailed description of each. The researchers then measured how each milkshake affected the subjects' ghrelin response. Ghrelin is a stomach hormone that controls satiety--how full you feel. It goes down after you eat a big meal.

As you would expect, the subjects' ghrelin levels dropped after the indulgent, high-calorie shake. After all, this thing contained more than 600 calories. It would fill up anyone. When the subjects drank the low-cal shake, their ghrelin levels stayed basically the same.
Now the Reality: The shakes were identical; they were all moderate-calorie. The descriptions were a complete lie. So it couldn't have been any combination of fat, protein, carbohydrates, or calories that caused a big drop in ghrelin levels. It was a bunch of words written on paper that slashed the stomach hormone.

Or, perhaps, the subjects' belief about what the shakes contained--a belief that they got from the printed descriptions. Hence the study title, "Mind Over Milkshakes." It was the brain the controlled the ghrelin levels, not the contents of the milkshake.

Now what? What does this mean to me today? 

It all comes down to belief.  If you believe something --- even if it is a lie, the reality is that your body will respond to the belief regardless if it is true or not.

Be careful what you believe.  That is another reason for us to live in community with meaningful relationships to tell us the truth...because it only the truth that will set you free.

NOTE: Thanks for the book Peak Performance  and Runners World for sharing the story

I see it all the time. Couples get a divorce one complaining that the other is not respecting their wishes.
Perhaps they have forgotten there vows from their wedding day.  On this special day they are IN agreement.  Everyone is on the same page and excited about the future.  Then it happens.

They disagree on a number of topics.  Holidays- simple or a cruise? Saving for retirement or get that new car?  How do we discipline our spending? You get the picture.

I have learned that if we are NOT in agreement on a topic.  We agree to do NOTHING until both of us are at peace with the direction we are to go.

What usually happens is someone bullies the other into submission.  Manipulation and game playing are the usual partners in the tool kit to get what you want.

I just want to encourage you to wait for agreement.  Peace will reign in your relationships if you respect your partner.   After all marriage is a team game!  

Bob Dylan in his song Covenant Woman...speaks about a very special wife and her covenant with God...that he enjoys as well.  He says, "Covenant Women/got a contract with the Lord". 
Covenant is a legal binding agreement that someone makes with another.

a written agreement or promise usually under seal between two or more parties especially for the performance of some action

Marriage is a covenant relationship. The world says that it is just contract. God made a covenant with us...it cannot be retracted, changed, deleted or divorced from us. In the same way we cannot change or break or divorce ourselves in marriage.  It is a "till death do us part." relationship.

When you enter marriage...understand that it is a truly long-term relationship and should not ever be considered as anything else.   God is into "long-term relationships" and so we must reflect that same long-term commitment in all we do.