March 12, 2008

HEALTH CARE

Colour me confused when it comes to health care. I seem to have my feet firmly planted in at least two different camps - probably more. First of all, I should state that I am and always have been, pretty healthy according to most definitions. In as much as heredity has to do with health, I learned last summer that my birth father is/was, very healthy as well. As a result, it is very possible that I approach this subject with a little too much arrogance and while arrogance may be one of the seven sins, I don't think it is recognized as a health issue yet. A part of me would like to think that arrogance, of a sort, may be the difference between good and bad health, but I will leave that thought for another time.


I seem to be surrounded by people experiencing a wide variety of medical problems these days, which probably says more about my age than about the specific people involved. Perhaps I should start by stating my basic health philosophy which started when I read a statement that has stuck with me for over 40 years. Simply said: nature is always seeking balance, it is never in balance, but everything to achieve this state, exists naturally. I translate that statement to mean that for every disease and illness, there is something within the natural world that counterbalances or neutralizes it. The study of civilizations and cultures prior to our current one, produces volumes of evidence about the use of naturally based cures for virtually every ailment known to mankind. This kind of practice successfully exists all over the world, by cultures thousands of years older than ours, even though it is dismissed by our conventional Western based institutions.

In my own mind there are 4 independent and interdependent areas of medical practice vital to our survival:

1) the power of using our own thoughts to create good health or otherwise, that works constantly and efficiently with or without our consciously knowing about it
2) the choices we make about our own lifestyle and whether we pay attention to what we put into our bodies and how we use or abuse those same bodies
3) the need for trained practitioners to repair damages like cuts, breaks and emergencies, as well as help us with the relief of pain and the advice that aids in our recovery from various ailments
4) an interdisciplinary area to research and find solutions to the many man-made health issues like asbestos poisoning, unsafe additives, noise, air and water pollutants, abuses of any sort that will consider the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the human race

To find the truth about what is possible in any kind of health care, we need to look at the exceptions to find the solutions. If one person is "miraculously" cured of cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, depression or hangnails then it becomes possible for you and I to find the same kind of cure. Society's fixation with solving symptoms rather than discovering their cause, hasn't worked all that well. Perhaps we need to add a healthy dose of scepticism to our health formula along with some open-minded research into alternatives. I like to keep these blogs to "bathroom reading" length, as much for my sake as yours, so I will revisit some of these thoughts in the future. In the meantime, my challenge to you is to think about taking back some of the responsibility for your health from the doctors, the overcrowded hospitals and the no-alternative drug companies.

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