4000 Years of Medicine

My idea of a modern Medicineman

A friend of mine posted "4000 Years of Medicine" on Facebook... Though humorous, it holds a kernel of truth.

4000 Years of Medicine

2000 B.C.  -  "Here, eat this root."

1000 A.D.  -  "That root is heathen!  Here, say this prayer."

1865 A.D.  -  "That prayer is superstition!  Here, drink this potion."

1900 A.D.  -  "That potion is snake oil!  Here, swallow this pill."

1950 A.D.  -  "That pill is ineffective!  Here, take this antibiotic."

2000 A.D.  -  "That antibiotic is poison!  Here, eat this root."

We have travelled far and long in our quest for healing-- from primitive superstition to cutting edge science.  But have we really arrived at the pinacle of medicine and healing?  I think most of us would agree that we are just beginning to understand 'real' science and the nature of the Cosmos; to discover the infinite possibilities of our 'Minds' and to investigate the 'spiritual/energetic' dimension of our Universe. 

I believe we still have far to go.  We will only get there if we take the sum of our knowledge and experiences (our collective history) and approach all the possibilites one by one, with appropriate reverence for their individual efficacy.  All personal biases must be put aside, for they only divide, divert and distract all of us from our only real goal as healers-- devising efficient and effective healing modalities for all and every ailment that has and will plague humanity.  Let us all cultivate an integrative approach to healing, flexibile and adaptive to anything and everything that works.  After all, is it not wellness, well-being and genuine cure we are all after?  If this is not your primary goal, then you should question your calling as a Healer.  Petty biases and discrimination waste everyone's time, and take their toll on the patients-- the people most desperately in need of healing.

Does anyone already know everything there is to know about medicine (or the nature of the Universe) that he or she can, with certainty, discount everything else outside their current truth as quackery?  Little by little, science is beginning to discover the efficacy of ancient healing modalities.  Soon enough we will also be able to scientifically prove the effectiveness of psychic/faith healing.  So do not dismiss anything offhand, just keep in mind that the idea of an 'atom' or that 'the world was round' was ridiculed just a couple of hundred years ago.

In my opinion, the best way to integrate modalities is for each Healer to pursue the ones they deeply believe in.  Discard (but not discriminate) everything you personally do not have faith in.  Have an open mind and keep learning, by following your natural inclinations and interests.  God will show you where you are needed and what you are capable of.  Plus, as I have already mentioned over and over, God uses a variety of Healers.  No one healer has a monopoly on healing, so be humble enough to recommend other fellow healers when the ailment requires it.   

The Virtue of Humility

A medieval Catholic Saint and a native American Holy Man in supplication

Humility has a negative connotation in the modern world.  In our current 'celebrity oriented' consciousness, it is often perceived as a weakness.  We often confuse 'greatness' with a hyperinflated sense of 'Self.'  We revel in the importance of our individuality and we indulge on the cult of our personality.  We all proudly wear our accomplishments as badges of pride for people to admire or fawn over, believing that we are somehow larger than life.  Thinly disguised as confidence, we constantly feed our egos to show the whole world how great we are.  But at what cost?

If we look closely at the human suffering that surrounds us... If we examine the misery that envelops all of us... If we dig deep into our collective history and analyze the causes of all the wars, famine, killings and destruction we have all suffered, we will find the titanic ego of a so-called great man or woman behind every one of them.  We greatly admire the glorious accomplishments of these titans, both good and bad, and we model ourselves after them.  We easily dismiss their abuses and excesses as unfortunate byproducts of the progress and civilization they help create, because we covet and envy their successes (e.g. Alexander, Ceasar and Napoleon are still widely exalted as godlike-heros).  After all who does not want to be admired and venerated like a god -- immortal and divine?

Our instincts are correct, but our approach is all wrong. Our yearning for immortality and divinity comes from the deepest core of our being.  But our mortality and our human limitations drives us to transcend these very limitations in the most bizarre ways.  Since we readily identify with our bodies and our 'ego' as 'me' or 'I,' and because it is clearly separated from the 'other' (other creatures and our environment), we mistakenly believe that this 'Self' comprises the extent of our Being.  So we strive to be more than what we are, if not through the magnitude of our accomplishments and status, then through the alteration of our consciousness.  The instinct that creates empires and dynasties, are the same instincts that drive hard-core junkies into drug use.  In the culture of 'I,' it is always the survival of the fittest.  It is 'me' against the world and others be damned.  If 'I' cannot achieve success righteously, then 'I' will get it by any means necessary.  Since the yearning for immortality and divinity are programmed into our Souls, there is no alternative.  Both winners and losers suffer from this unquenchable transcendental thirst.  Kings die wanting more kingdoms to conquer, and failures find alternatives (e.g. gambling, liquor, drugs), because our sense of 'Self' (ego) is an illusion.

Most Religions and spiritual traditions teach us about the Divine, but they reserved the 'inner teachings' to a chosen few.  These initiates were taught about our true nature and our immortality since ancient times.  So I have often wondered why these priests and priestesses of sacred knowledge never fully revealed these 'truths' plainly, instead of veiling them in riddles.  I guess they were afraid that some people would distort the teachings to serve their own 'selfish' agendas.  But I believe in the power and simplicity of these teachings, and I am confident that they cannot be easily distorted to serve 'selfish' ends.  Because in order to harness its full power, we have to align ourselves with our highest spiritual potential.  I other words, anyone who diligently embodies these 'truths' cannot help but be transformed from their ignorant and selfish ways.

The truths I am speaking of, are simply this:  "Our Soul/Mind is immortal and divine."  "We are all connected (one) in God."  "Our minds are infinite."  "True humility and love are the keys that will unlock our communion with God."

Jesus said:

"Whosoever … shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18:1, 4).

"For he that is least among you all, the same shall be great" (Luke 9:48).

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3)

The Buddha said:

"Whenever I interact with someone, May I view myself as the lowest amongst all, And, from the very depths of my heart, Respectfully hold others as superior."

Lao-Tzu said:

"ALL things in Nature work silently. They come into being and possess nothing. They fulfil their functions and make no claim."

"Follow diligently the Way in your own heart, but make no display of it to the world."

"Keep behind, and you shall be put in front; keep out, and you shall be kept in."

"Goodness strives not, and therefore it is not rebuked."

Self-importance and pride isolates us from the world (and everything beyond).  How can we be receptive to the infinite wonders of existence when we are only focused on our 'Selves?'  We must remember that we are just a tiny part of a Whole, and should act accordingly.  When we behave as an integral part of this universal reality, we might finally attain our 'true nature'-- unbound by time and space.  Besides, humility fosters harmony and community, as naturally as 'egotism' promotes competition and conflict.  Just remember to be honest with yourself, because false humility will never be good enough.           

Homeostasis: Life in Balance

Homeostasis is a magical word.  The coincidental presence of the word "home" within "home-ostasis" should already clue us in to its importance.  Homeostasis is vital for the health and healing of all living organisms, as well as to the health and healing of all ecological systems, including our planet, Earth.

A term (milieu intérieur) defined by French Physiologist, Claude Bernard and later coined by American Physiologist, Walter Bradford Cannon, Homeostasis (from Greek hómoios meaning "similar" and stásis, meaning "standing still") can be simply defined as The ability of a system or living organism to adjust its internal environment to maintain a stable equilibrium.  A word that was originally used to describe physiological phenomena, the term has been extended to include all living systems in such diverse disciplines as medicine, science, ecology, sociology, philosophy, politics and religion. 

Many diseases are a result of disturbance of homeostasis, a condition known as homeostatic imbalance. As it ages, every organism will lose efficiency in its control systems. The inefficiencies gradually result in an unstable internal environment that increases the risk for illness. In addition, homeostatic imbalance is also responsible for the physical changes associated with aging. "Just as we live in a constantly changing world, so do the cells and tissues survive in a constantly changing microenvironment. The 'normal' or 'physiologic' state then is achieved by adaptive responses to the ebb and flow of various stimuli permitting the cells and tissues to adapt and to live in harmony within their microenvironment. Thus, homeostasis is preserved. It is only when the stimuli become more severe, or the response of the organism breaks down, that disease results - a generalization as true for the whole organism as it is for the individual cell." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeostasis)

Homeostasis occurs not only within our bodies, but also in our environment.  Pollution is an environmental disease that nature compensates for to ensure its own system's survival.  The Earth is a living organism.  Medicine people from all over the world have been warning us about the importance of living in harmony with the environment for hundreds of years.

Chemist James Lovelock and Microbiologist Lynn Margulis formulated the Gaia Theory (Principle) proposing that all organic and their inorganic surroundings on Earth are closely integrated to form a single and self-regulating complex system, maintaining the conditions for life on the planet -- The scientific investigation of the Gaia hypothesis focuses on observing how the biosphere and the evolution of life forms contribute to the stability of global temperature, ocean salinity, oxygen in the atmosphere and other factors of habitability in a preferred homeostasis.  The Gaia Hypothesis has since been supported by a number of scientific experiments and provided a number of useful predictions, and hence is properly referred to as the Gaia theory. In fact, wider research proved the original hypothesis wrong, in the sense that it is not life alone but the whole Earth system that does the regulating. In 2001, a thousand scientists at the European Geophysical Union meeting signed the Declaration of Amsterdam, starting with the statement "The Earth System behaves as a single, self-regulating system with physical, chemical, biological, and human components." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis)

From ancient Hermetic texts we read: "That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above, corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracles of the One Thing."  Daoist sages have always counselled on the wisdom of embracing opposites -- the moment we chose one side and block out the other, we upset nature's balance.  Therefore the idea of Homeostasis is not new, it has always been with us from the earliest times.  But we have chosen to ignore it.

The freak storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and temperature shifts we are currently experiencing are homeostasis at work.  The Earth is alive!  We must learn to balance our needs with the planet's own need or we will perish in the process.  The Earth is hemorrhaging and it is correcting itself.  The only way to reverse this catastrophe is by actively living in harmony with the Earth right now -- we've got to stop polluting it today!  I understand that we have complex economic and political systems inplace to consider, but how do you bargain with the Earth?  I do not think this planet will sit and wait for us to sort our political, economic, diplomatic and bureaucratic differences before it starts correcting the imbalances we are causing to its system.

The pattern of Life exist from the smallest systems within us (cells, molecules, organs) to the vastness of the Universe (planets, star systems, galaxies).  We are truely made in the image of God -- one organism, related and interrelated atomically as well as ecologically.  Homeostasis is critical for our survival and to the health of our planet, and vice versa.  We must therefore respect our planet, as we care for ourselves individually.  We are locked in this fate by our very existence.  We have no choice but to live in harmony with Earth (our only home) for our own collective survival.

“Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. This is not just a dream, but a necessity.”  ( by the Dalai Lama XIV)

"MITAKUYE OYASIN" - "All (are) My Relatives" (Lakota Sioux Prayer) 

Prayer Helps You Heal

Aside from actively seeking Medical and therapeutic help, prayer can help you heal. 

Prayer exists in all cultures.  It has many forms.  But basically, it is just communicating with the Divine.  But since divinity comes in as many different forms as there are Religions and beliefs, it is hard to recommend one particular way to pray.

Your way will always be the best for you.  Just be sincere and humble... No words are needed.  Just communicate from your deepest self (your soul), and "God" will hear and understand you.  I like to describe "praying" symbolically as touching the Hand of God.

I subscribe to Joseph Murphy's definition of Prayer:  "Effective prayer is a sustained, affirmative attitude of mind which results in conviction.  Once your desire is completely accepted subconsciously, it works automatically as part of the Creative Law.  The real test of whether your mind accepts the idea completely and cannot conceive of the opposite.  You must believe what you want to believe, and when you do, you have really impressed your subconscious mind; then your subconscious mind will respond accordingly." (The Miracle of Mind Dynamics)

Prayer and Faith are two sides of the same coin.  There can be no effective prayer without faith -- it is just how our mind works!

"What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. (Mark 11:24)

So desire your cure with all your heart and with all your mind. Be humble and contrite -- forgive everyone, forgive your circumstances, but most of all forgive yourself.  Believe that you deserve to be whole again!  God will hear your plea.

Divine Healing

"Healing" is a coordinated process between God/the Divine, the healer and the patient.  These three important variables must be present in order for "true healing" to occur.  This is the root of all ancient healing modalities since the dawn of time.  Different religions and belief systems have attributed the cosmic/divine component (God) to whatever diety they currently believe in or to nature, or to Chi (Prana), or to science (medicine).  But the healer (doctor/shaman/medicine man) has always been present to mediate between the patient and the Divine.

Our bodies are actually built to heal itself.  But because we are also made up of Mind, Energy and Soul (aside from our physical body), the complexity of our nature sometimes leads to a breakdown of sorts, which results in disease and sickness.  The root of "disease" afterall, is dis-ease or disharmony in our system.  When a breakdown happens, a third-party expert (detached from the subjective experience of the disease) is generally better equiped to channel and administer the skills required to realign the body to health.

The healer serves as a conduit for the Divine, the cosmic forces or energies needed for the healing to happen.  While there are people who can actually heal themselves (Yogis, Masters), most people are not yet in that stage of development where they can regulate their own spiritual, mental and soul bodies -- It is like performing surgery on your own body (difficult but certainly possible).  It is also the reason why no one healer can cure all diseases.  We are still in an evolutionary stage where we still need one another.

Each healer has a specialty.  Medical doctors specialize on the physical, psychiatrist and therapists treat the mind, priest/rabbis/monks deal with the soul, while shamans and energy practitioners channel energy.  Traditional healers and medicine people generally specialize in either the mental, soul or energy (spirit) bodies, but many practitioners combine all three, as well as offer traditional massage and herbal therapy to realign the body too.  No one has a monopoly on health.  It is therefore vital that healers cooperate with one another to give the patient the best possible care.  But without exception, the source and drive of all healing comes from the Divine (God) -- the deepest part of ourselves inside and out, where our "being" and the Cosmos unite.

We are truely one with God.  But our physicality deceives our minds and makes us believe that we are limited and localized within our bodies.  God surrounds us and permeates every cell in our bodies.  God is Chi, God is Prana, God is all science, God is the Cosmic Mind.  These things are united as one, with all the known forces in the Universe and beyond.  We are more than our bodies, and this reality makes it possible for us to heal.  The only service the healer (no matter what type) does, is to realign us back into unity with the Divine.  The Divine is always present and available to anyone, it is our own nature and distorted perspectives that misaligns our system and causes disease.

Welcome

Healers and healing have existed since the dawn of humanity.  Like a "fail-safe" mechanism for humans, the Creator provided us with technicians to help our bodies and minds reboot when it gets glitches.

Shamans or Medicinepeople have been with us since the beginning, venturing into the unknown to guide and protect us, as healers, artists, spiritualist, storytellers and visionaries.  As we embark on the 21st century armed with our latest technology and science, we have to be aware that we still have a lot of questions that remain unanswered and we still need our shamans to boldly lead us into uncharted territory -- only now we refer to our modern day adventurers and explorers as scientist, inventors, engineers, doctors, surgeons, therapists, psychologists, healers, innovators, filmmakers, actors, writers, etc.

I created this blog as a forum where I can toss wild and sometimes irreverent ideas and opinions for anyone to repond to. Because I believe that we are all searching for "Truths" in the end, and that it is basic for all of us to want to evolve and learn as human beings. Let us embark on this sacred journey together with the blessings and love of our Creator.

Welcome.