Over 30% of adults use alternative medicine each year, reports The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine. These approaches generally focus on acute symptoms, like pain, as well as preventing and caring for patients with chronic disease. The goal of treatment extends beyond healing illness to well-being.
And yet, illness is common. The average adult gets 2-4 colds each year. 50 million Americans suffer from allergies-making it the 6th leading cause of chronic disease in the US. Why, if the population is about more than disease treatment, are people so ill?
Modern culture is not one well-schooled in well-being. Consequently, there's an implicit assumption that disease is the way of the world. We talk a good game, sprinkled with lots of holistic and alternative labels, but truth is, we tend to fall into the same old trap with different names.Healing and well-being can, though, be common.First, we have to distinguish between the "take something" or "do something" prescriptive drug-like approach typical of western thinking about healing and a truly comprehensive approach. Specialized pain clinics have only a 58% success rate (which includes drug therapy), because they are still just trying things in hopes of hitting "the one" that works for a given person. And that's understandable, since you don't want your medical doctor doing things that aren't medically indicated.
And second, we don't want to get into "blame the victim" thinking either, as if anyone should be able to rise above anything or they're "doing it wrong." Real life is complex, people take on a range of challenges, and they aren't right or wrong to do that. And we all go through phases, for a time, for a long time, for a lifetime in some cases. Let's not set unrealistic and unfair objectives and expect everyone to meet them.
But we CAN recognize that health is more than treating illness. And we can change our mindset from accepting that getting ill is normal and unavoidable to recognizing that continual health is not only possible but also well-established. Google "people who never get sick" and you'll find (1) a lot of them exist and (2) a lot of very different theories about how they do it. A lot of these fall into the "Yeah, I know" category - except that if we really knew, we'd all be enjoying the same effects. We need to move from speculation to reliable, demonstrable results.
I'm not talking strictly about things like Taoist mysticism for longevity here (though that too), incidentally, but sources more culturally close to home as well. Western businessmen, from Charles Haanel to Napoleon Hill, for example, and continuing with modern voices like Bob Proctor, practiced a Christian/Greek/Hindu hybrid "vibration" based approach to life that included prosperity and good health. In fact, Proctor was turned to this approach as a struggling young man when a mentor asked, "Bob, have you ever seen me sick?" and realized he had not. We don't have to become mountain mystics to live healthy lives.
One of the most challenging health problems is long-term pain. It can be overcome, by truly holistic, demonstrable methods. When people don't know that, however, they instead simply accept the pain, emotions, stress and challenging circumstances as simply part of life. But all they're lacking is a thorough, comprehensive system-all can be overcome by demonstrable, appropriate approaches to healing.
When we want different things to happen, we have to do different things. Once there's clarity about the nature of the problem, healing can be best fitted to the particular person. By embracing thorough, comprehensive models, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, that energy and clarity can be directed and focused instead of dissipated. And when that happens, healing can flow effectively.
But the first key to effective healthy living may seem surprising in this context:
Healing Key One is Medical Evaluation and Treatment.While pain and its cause can be elusive, these can also be related to acute conditions, wholly or in part, and can (and should) be treated medically. That's the place to start. It's the easiest and most direct route. It also gives you a good starting point for what exactly is going on. Treat the infection, set the bone, clear the arterial clot, stop the bleeding, get an X-ray... these are good places to start. If you're having a heart attack, go to the ER first, not your energy healer. I know some folks are anti-doctor. Find one you like.
Yes, many other factors are relevant too - exercise, stress management, environment, diet, and so forth. But there's nothing holistic about ignoring the best and quickest path out of acute illness: Western medicine.
And yet, illness is common. The average adult gets 2-4 colds each year. 50 million Americans suffer from allergies-making it the 6th leading cause of chronic disease in the US. Why, if the population is about more than disease treatment, are people so ill?
Modern culture is not one well-schooled in well-being. Consequently, there's an implicit assumption that disease is the way of the world. We talk a good game, sprinkled with lots of holistic and alternative labels, but truth is, we tend to fall into the same old trap with different names.Healing and well-being can, though, be common.First, we have to distinguish between the "take something" or "do something" prescriptive drug-like approach typical of western thinking about healing and a truly comprehensive approach. Specialized pain clinics have only a 58% success rate (which includes drug therapy), because they are still just trying things in hopes of hitting "the one" that works for a given person. And that's understandable, since you don't want your medical doctor doing things that aren't medically indicated.
And second, we don't want to get into "blame the victim" thinking either, as if anyone should be able to rise above anything or they're "doing it wrong." Real life is complex, people take on a range of challenges, and they aren't right or wrong to do that. And we all go through phases, for a time, for a long time, for a lifetime in some cases. Let's not set unrealistic and unfair objectives and expect everyone to meet them.
But we CAN recognize that health is more than treating illness. And we can change our mindset from accepting that getting ill is normal and unavoidable to recognizing that continual health is not only possible but also well-established. Google "people who never get sick" and you'll find (1) a lot of them exist and (2) a lot of very different theories about how they do it. A lot of these fall into the "Yeah, I know" category - except that if we really knew, we'd all be enjoying the same effects. We need to move from speculation to reliable, demonstrable results.
I'm not talking strictly about things like Taoist mysticism for longevity here (though that too), incidentally, but sources more culturally close to home as well. Western businessmen, from Charles Haanel to Napoleon Hill, for example, and continuing with modern voices like Bob Proctor, practiced a Christian/Greek/Hindu hybrid "vibration" based approach to life that included prosperity and good health. In fact, Proctor was turned to this approach as a struggling young man when a mentor asked, "Bob, have you ever seen me sick?" and realized he had not. We don't have to become mountain mystics to live healthy lives.
One of the most challenging health problems is long-term pain. It can be overcome, by truly holistic, demonstrable methods. When people don't know that, however, they instead simply accept the pain, emotions, stress and challenging circumstances as simply part of life. But all they're lacking is a thorough, comprehensive system-all can be overcome by demonstrable, appropriate approaches to healing.
When we want different things to happen, we have to do different things. Once there's clarity about the nature of the problem, healing can be best fitted to the particular person. By embracing thorough, comprehensive models, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, that energy and clarity can be directed and focused instead of dissipated. And when that happens, healing can flow effectively.
But the first key to effective healthy living may seem surprising in this context:
Healing Key One is Medical Evaluation and Treatment.While pain and its cause can be elusive, these can also be related to acute conditions, wholly or in part, and can (and should) be treated medically. That's the place to start. It's the easiest and most direct route. It also gives you a good starting point for what exactly is going on. Treat the infection, set the bone, clear the arterial clot, stop the bleeding, get an X-ray... these are good places to start. If you're having a heart attack, go to the ER first, not your energy healer. I know some folks are anti-doctor. Find one you like.
Yes, many other factors are relevant too - exercise, stress management, environment, diet, and so forth. But there's nothing holistic about ignoring the best and quickest path out of acute illness: Western medicine.