poke. Prof. Ling Tan, Anindya Yumika Dewi, Markus Dwi Agus His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, recently spoke to an audience in New York City and said, Western medicine is good. It is like the kindergarten of medicine. This got me thinking. Western medicine is good. Thank God for it. But I think the Dalai Lama is right. Western medicine is very elementary in its understanding of the complexity of the healing process. By trying to reduce everything down to biochemical parts, Western medicine somehow loses touch with the mystery of healing. The reality of unexplainable events like spontaneous remissions and the placebo effect become things to fear and resist, rather than mysteries worthy of embracing, appreciating, and being curious about. The possibility that things like energy medicine or John of God or the power of prayer can affect the body need not be diminished. A graduate level understanding of the healing process moving beyond kindergarten would accept what weve learned from Western medicine without rejecting what other cultures have known about the healing process for thousands of years. We need not be so dualistic about the whole thing. Its not either/or. Its both/and. I wish someone would have asked the Dalai Lama how Western medicine can grow up. Whats the missing link? My take is that Western medicine needs to quit dismissing that which it cant yet explain, to let go of the medical establishments attachment to ego and dogma, and to be open to an understanding of the healing process that takes into account all we have learned about medical technology without discounting all that we dont know about what really facilitates healing- things like love, faith, community, ritual, positive belief, the flow of energy, and other things you cant readily examine under a microscope. How do YOU think Western medicine can evolve beyond kindergarten?
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 23:16:25 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015