Thank you for all your Love and Support!

Marisa, Sharon, John and I (Natasha) want to take this opportunity first off to say many, many thank yous….to all of you. Thank you for all the cards, flowers, gifts, and wishes. The power of prayer and generous thoughts and love has given my mom the strength to get through this challenging journey. Thank you to all our  friends, even the ones whom she hasn’t met yet and family, doctors, surgeons, nurses, residents, physiotherapists, dietary, Nurse -Practitioner, Respiratory therapists and the whole multidisciplinary team. You all know who you are. We could not have done it without you.  It is angels like you that make a difference!

Food for thought!

These past 2 years have been really trying to us, but it has been the reality of strong unconditional love that has gotten through this. As a nurse, I not only value my family more, but the experience has even be- humbled me even more. Believe it or not, my career has always done that for me, but this has probably been the most challenging. Its times like this that you really appreciate the meaningful things in life, to stop and smell the flowers…to be attentive to the “here and now”, because we truly don’t have tomorrow. If I can remind and pass on this message to everyone that has touched our lives, then we have all learnt from this. Love those close to you, and love those who need to be close to you. The spiritual journey we all take is different, but the message is all the same.

Cancer the great teacher!

I am sure most people know someone who has had, has or know of someone with cancer.  It affects so many, so how can this be a great teacher? I have learnt throughout my holistic studies that one can have dis-ease or illness, but still be healed? How does that happen? Well, my mom (Sharon) can be such a great example of that. As blessed as we are that she is cancer free, she has gone through the trivial challenges that come along overcoming it. I have watched and learned patiently how my mom has embraced such a challenge in her life, to live it as full as possible. To appreciate the smiles and laughter one has to share. She has been such an amazing example to what is to really fight for something…not in war, but in her own time and turf.

Healing the wounded Heart…. 

She has learnt that one must take responsibility, one must appreciate. That it isn’t the external world that owes her, but she owes herself. Acknowledging that only she can create her destiny….and as many of us know; that destiny can be quite bumpy. It is her kindred spirit that will inspire us all, as I only wish I could be as selfless as she. I think if we can all take something from this; it is that we need to be aware of what we are going to do to create balance in our lives and to help those around you.  It could be as simple as hugging the person next to you saying “I love you” or volunteering, or even donating to a local charity of your choice. It is up to you…help create someone else’s’ balanced destiny or it could easily be your own…you decide. 

A special message

I truly do want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to John Donnelly, whom has been my mom’s soul mate throughout all this. This soul has been so supportive to my mom through all this. He has been compassionate, patient and understanding. As he too has had many challenges in his past…such as taking care of his sick father whom battled MS to  the very end and his mom; whom past away a couple of years ago from a massive heart attack. John you are a resilient being, and an amazing man. Thank you for being a true crutch to my mom and showing her what unconditional love still feels like…Namaste!

 The Ripple Effect

I truly think that in all that life has to teach us, that we can all learn something. As if this whole experience hasn’t been a be-humbling one, it has also taught some of us to pay it forward.  Everyday I did Reiki on my mom to help calm her anxieties, (a Japanese relaxation technique that also works on the energetic level); this seemed to help her progress greatly complementing her care. It seemed to amaze me that on one of her last days she kept in tune with her inner voice, only to tend to the need of another patient, whom was going through the same thing my mom just went through. He saw her in the hallway and waved her to come to his room, as this was the only way he could communicate because he has a trach in. Without hesitation, she went to his bedside and held his hand, a complete stranger, and told him to hang on and have faith and hope and that he too will overcome his challenge. She said the look in his eye; he knew exactly what she was talking about. He motioned to her pointing to his heart, that he loved her in a platonic way. Sharon took the energy she received from Reiki and passed it on to another in need. As she could see he needed it more than she did…a perfect example of the ripple effect. If we can each practice this in each day….just think what a wonderful world we will live in, more gracious than the one we already do. Reiki means love, so share the love….I send much love and light to all of you.

Taken from www.NCCAM.nih.gov

Introduction

Meditation for health purposes is a mind-body practice in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).  There are many types of meditation. A conscious mental process using certain techniques — such as focusing attention or maintaining a specific posture — to suspend the stream of thoughts and relax the body and mind., most of which originated in ancient religious and spiritual traditions. Generally, a person who is meditating uses certain techniques, such as focusing attention (for example, on a word, an object, or the breath); a specific posture; and an open attitude toward distracting thoughts and emotions. Meditation can be practiced for various reasons–for example, with an intent to increase physical relaxation, mental calmness, and psychological balance; to cope with one or more diseases and conditions; and for overall wellness. This Backgrounder provides a general introduction to meditation and suggests some resources for finding out more.

Key Points

                People practice meditation for a number of health-related purposes. Resources for published research results on meditation are listed at the end of this Backgrounder.

                It is not fully known what changes occur in the body during meditation; whether they influence health; and, if so, how. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and some other components of the National Institutes of Health are sponsoring studies to find out more about meditation’s effects, how it works, and what diseases and conditions it may be most helpful for.

                Tell your health care providers about any complementary and alternative practices you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care.

What Meditation Is

The term meditation refers to a group of techniques, most of which started in Eastern religious or spiritual traditions. These techniques have been used by many different cultures throughout the world for thousands of years. Today, many people use meditation outside of its traditional religious or cultural settings, for health and wellness purposes.

In meditation, a person learns to focus his attention and suspend the stream of thoughts that normally occupy the mind. This practice is believed to result in a state of greater physical relaxation, mental calmness, and psychological balance. Practicing meditation can change how a person relates to the flow of emotions and thoughts in the mind.

Most types of meditation have four elements in common:

                A quiet location. Many meditators prefer a quiet place with as few distractions as possible. This can be particularly helpful for beginners. People who have been practicing meditation for a longer period of time sometimes develop the ability to meditate in public places, like waiting rooms or buses.

                A specific, comfortable posture. Depending on the type being practiced, meditation can be done while sitting, lying down, standing, walking, or in other positions.

                A focus of attention. Focusing one’s attention is usually a part of meditation. For example, the meditator may focus on a mantra (a specially chosen word or set of words), an object, or the breath.

                An open attitude. Having an open attitude during meditation means letting distractions come and go naturally without stopping to think about them. When distracting or wandering thoughts occur, they are not suppressed; instead, the meditator gently brings attention back to the focus. In some types of meditation, the meditator learns to observe the rising and falling of thoughts and emotions as they spontaneously occur.

Meditation is practiced both on its own and as a component of some other therapies, such as yoga, tai chi, and qi gong. A component of traditional Chinese medicine that combines movement, meditation, and controlled breathing. The intent is to improve blood flow and the flow of qi.. This Backgrounder focuses on meditation practiced on its own.

Meditation for Health Purposes

Meditation used as CAM is a type of mind-body medicine-Practices that focus on the interactions among the brain, mind, body, and behaviour, with the intent to use the mind to affect physical functioning and promote health. Examples include meditation and yoga. (one of the four domains, or areas of knowledge, in CAM). Generally, mind-body medicine focuses on:

                The interactions among the brain, the rest of the body, the mind, and behavior

                The ways in which emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and behavioral factors can directly affect health

People use meditation for various health problems, such as:

                Anxiety

                Pain

                Depression

                Mood and self-esteem problems

                Stress

                Insomnia

                Physical or emotional symptoms that may be associated with chronic illnesses and their treatment, such as:

                         Cardiovascular (heart) disease

                         HIV/AIDS

                         Cancer

Meditation is also used for overall wellness.

A large national survey on Americans’ use of CAM, released in 2004, found that nearly 8 percent of the participants had used meditation specifically for health reasons during the year before the survey.

Examples of Meditation

Mindfulness meditation and the Transcendental Meditation technique (also known as TM) are two common approaches to meditation. They are also two types of meditation being studied in NCCAM-sponsored research projects.

Mindfulness meditation originated in Buddhism. It is based on the concept of being mindful, or having an increased awareness and total acceptance of the present. While meditating, the meditator is taught to bring all her attention to the sensation of the flow of the breath in and out of the body. The intent might be described as focusing attention on what is being experienced, without reacting to or judging that experience. This is seen as helping the meditator learn to experience thoughts and emotions in normal daily life with greater balance and acceptance.

TM originated in the Vedic tradition in India. It is a type of meditation that uses a mantra (a word, sound, or phrase repeated silently) to prevent distracting thoughts from entering the mind. The intent of TM might be described as allowing the mind to settle into a quieter state and the body into a state of deep rest. This is seen as ultimately leading to a state of relaxed alertness.

Looking at How Meditation May Work

Practicing meditation has been shown to induce some changes in the body, such as changes in the body’s “fight or flight” response. The system responsible for this response is the autonomic nervous system (sometimes called the involuntary nervous system). It regulates many organs and muscles, including functions such as the heartbeat, sweating, breathing, and digestion, and does so automatically.

The autonomic nervous system is divided into two major parts:

                The sympathetic nervous system helps mobilize the body for action. When a person is under stress, it produces the fight-or-flight response: the heart rate and breathing rate go up, for example, the blood vessels narrow (restricting the flow of blood), and muscles tighten.

                The parasympathetic nervous system creates what some call the “rest and digest” response. This system’s responses oppose those of the sympathetic nervous system. For example, it causes the heart rate and breathing rate to slow down, the blood vessels to dilate (improving blood flow), and activity to increase in many parts of the digestive tract.

While scientists are studying whether meditation may afford meaningful health benefits, they are also looking at how it may do so. One way some types of meditation might work is by reducing activity in the sympathetic nervous system and increasing activity in the parasympathetic nervous system.

Scientific research is using sophisticated tools to learn more about what goes on in the brain and the rest of the body during meditation, and diseases or conditions for which meditation might be useful. There is still much to learn in these areas. One avenue of research is looking at whether meditation is associated with significant changes in brain function. A number of researchers believe that these changes account for many of meditation’s effects.

Side Effects and Risks

Meditation is generally safe. There have been a small number of reports that intensive meditation could cause or worsen symptoms in people who have certain psychiatric problems, but this question has not been fully researched. Individuals who are aware of an underlying psychiatric disorder and want to start meditation should speak with a mental health professional before doing so.

NCCAM-Supported Research

Some recent studies supported by NCCAM have been investigating:

                The potential effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation technique to prevent and treat heart disease

                Mindfulness-based stress reduction to relieve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and, in a different study, chronic lower back pain

                What happens to the brain’s activity and structures during Buddhist insight meditation (which includes mindfulness) in a study that uses a brain scan called fMRI

                The long-term impact of meditation on basic emotional and cognitive functions and on mechanisms in the brain that are involved in these functions

References

Sources are drawn from recent reviews on the general topic of meditation in the peer-reviewed medical and scientific literature in English in the PubMed database, selected evidence-based databases, and Federal sources.

Barnes PM, Powell-Griner E, McFann K, Nahin RL. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults: United States, 2002. CDC Advance Data Report #343 (PDF). 2004. Accessed on January 31, 2006.

Bonadonna R. Meditation’s impact on chronic illness.* Holistic Nursing Practice. 2003;17(6):309-319.

Cardoso R, de Souza E, Camano L, et al. Meditation in health: an operational definition.* Brain Research. Brain Research Protocols. 2004;14(1):58-60.

Caspi O, Burleson KO. Methodological challenges in meditation research.* Advances in Mind-Body Medicine. 2005;21(1):4-11.

Edwards L. Meditation as medicine: benefits go beyond relaxation. Advance for Nurse Practitioners. 2003;11(5):49-52.

Luskin F. Transformative practices for integrating mind-body-spirit.* Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2004;10(suppl 1):S15-S23.

Manocha R. Why meditation?* Australian Family Physician. 2000;29(12):1135-1138.

Meditation. Natural Standard Database Web site. Accessed on June 23, 2005.

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Expanding Horizons of Health Care: Strategic Plan 2005-2009. Bethesda, MD: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; 2005. NIH publication No. 04-5568.

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Mind-Body Medicine: An Overview. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Web site. Accessed on June 30, 2005.

Newberg AB, Iversen J. The neural basis of the complex mental task of meditation: neurotransmitter and neurochemical considerations.* Medical Hypotheses. 2003;61(2):282-291.

Pettinati PM. Meditation, yoga, and guided imagery.* Nursing Clinics of North America. 2001;36(1):47-56.

Tacon AM. Meditation as a complementary therapy in cancer.* Family & Community Health. 2003;26(1):64-73.

One of the most simple and easily learned techniques for relaxation is Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR), a widely-used procedure today that was originally developed by Jacobson in 1939.

The PMR procedure teaches you to relax your muscles through a two-step process. First you deliberately apply tension to certain muscle groups, and then you stop the tension and turn your attention to noticing how the muscles relax as the tension flows away.

Through repetitive practice you quickly learn to recognize—and distinguish—the associated feelings of a tensed muscle and a completely relaxed muscle. With this simple knowledge, you can then induce physical muscular relaxation at the first signs of the tension that accompanies anxiety. And with physical relaxation comes mental calmness—in any situation.

Once you have learned PMR and are familiar with the feeling of muscle relaxation, you can then induce relaxation without even bothering with the tension-relaxation process. All you need to do is use your imagination to think of and then relax the various muscle groups using your cue word(s). Usually this is done by starting at the top of your head and then working down through your body, as if relaxation were being poured over your head and flowing down over all of your body. This process is called Deep Muscle Relaxation.

And, anywhere, anytime, you can simply perform a quick “body scan” to recognize where in your body you might be holding muscle tension and then, using imagery and your cue word/phrase, let it go.

Take from http://www.guidetopsychology.com/pmr.htm

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kirlian photography refers to a form of photogram made with a high voltage. It is named after Semyon Kirlian, who in 1939 accidentally discovered that if an object on a photographic plate is connected to a source of high voltage, small corona discharges (created by the strong electric field at the edges of the object) create an image on the photographic plate.

Kirlian’s work, from 1939 onward, involved an independent rediscovery of a phenomenon and technique variously called “electrography,” “electrophotography,” and “corona discharge photography.” The Kirlian technique is contact photography, in which the subject is in direct contact with a film placed upon a metal plate charged with high voltage, high frequency electricity.

The underlying physics (which makes xerographic copying possible) was explored as early as 1777 by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg . Later workers in the field included Nikola Tesla; various other individuals explored the effect in the later 19th and early 20th centuries.

Kirlian made controversial claims that the image he was studying might be compared with the human aura. An experiment advanced as evidence of energy fields generated by living entities involves taking Kirlian contact photographs of a picked leaf at set periods, its gradual withering being said to correspond with a decline in the strength of the aura. However it may simply be that the leaf loses moisture and becomes less electrically conductive, causing a gradual weakening of the electrical field at the drier edges of the leaf.

Research

Kirlian’s idea that the resulting images of living objects were a physical proof of the life force was said to be supported in experiments that involved cutting part of a leaf off —the Kirlian images of such leaves, it was said, still showed the leaves as whole, as though the cutting had never happened.

However, research at Drexel University in the 1970s, under the direction of William W. Eidson, was unable to reproduce the effect when the glass used to capture the original leaf was replaced with new glass before the freshly cut leaf was photographed. They proposed that the “cut leaf” phenomenon was caused by microscopic etching in the surface of the glass which occurred during preparing the images of the uncut leaf. The team also reported on a number of demonstrable causes, such as surface moisture and pressure which can account for much of the variations in color, shape, and size of the resulting image.

It is claimed that a couple in love who had taken a kirlian photograph of their fingers together, showed an electromagnetic bond between the fingers while a divorced couple, who argued and bickered all the time, got a kirlian photograph of their fingerprint that showed an electromagnetic “barrier” in between their two fingerprints.

In addition to living material, inanimate objects such as coins will also produce images on the film in a Kirlian photograph setup. In the United States, Dr. Thelma Moss of UCLA devoted much time and energy to the study of Kirlian photography when she led the parapsychology laboratory there in the 1970s. Much of her time was devoted to efforts to avoid factors proposed by sceptical peer-review.

Current research continues by Dr. Konstantin Korotkov in the Russian University, St.Petersburg State Technical University of Informational Technologies, Mechanics and Optics. Dr. Korotkov has published several books. He uses GDV (Gas Discharge Visualization) based on the Kirlian Effect. GDV instruments use glass electrodes to create a pulsed electrical field excitation (called “perturbation technique”) to measure electro-photonic glow.

The Korotkov methods are used in some hospitals and athletic training programs in Russia and elsewhere as preventative measurements for detecting stress. The Russian Academy of Science has approved the GDV techniques and equipment in 1999 for general clinical use, though it should be noted that the “approval”, according to the certificates Dr. Korotkov himself is showing in his various web sites, only covers conformity with general electrical safety (standards 61010 and 61326).

There has been some published research in peer-reviewed scientific journals regarding GDV and related material, including several articles in the Journal of Applied Physics and in IEEE articles. Other people who study this phenomenon are Professor Milhomens in Brazil and Dr. Mandel from Germany.

Explanations

The accepted physical explanation is that the images produced are those typically caused by a high voltage corona effect, similar to those seen from other high voltage sources such as the Van de Graaff generator or Tesla coil. In a darkened room, this is visible as a faint glow but, because of the high voltages, the film is affected in a slightly different way from the usual. Color photographic film is calibrated to faithfully produce colors when exposed to normal light. The corona discharge has a somewhat different effect on the different layers of dye used to accomplish this result, resulting in various colors depending on the local intensity of the discharge.

Skeptics of the paranormal have long disputed the claims made concerning auras and Kirlian photography.

One of the most disputed studies was funded by the US Army. During this study, scientist Joe Slate took Kirlian Photographs of the fingertips both of people claiming to be psychic vampires and those identified as their victims. The photographs showed the “vampire’s” auras to be large and fiery red, while those of their “victims” were smaller and mellow blue.

“Aura” without a camera

Kirlian photography is completely different from “Aura photography,” in which a colorful image is produced of a person’s face and upper torso using various methods of biofeedback. The images made with an Aura camera do not result from coronal discharge. In Aura Photography, no high voltage is involved as with the Kirlian technique, and no direct contact with the film is made.

In popular culture

• A picture showing a hand with an ancient Indian medal is the cover of George Harrison‘s album Living in the Material World.
• A picture resembling a hand print in the title sequence of the U.S. science fiction TV series The X-Files.
• The concert programme from David Bowie‘s 1976 Station to Station tour featured some results of the technique, and in 1975 Bowie claimed to have achieved markedly different results, using his fingertip and his crucifix, before and after he took cocaine.
• Science fiction author Piers Anthony wrote a series of five books (Cluster, Chaining the Lady, Kirlian Quest, Thousandstar and Viscous Circle) based around the premise of Kirlian transfer, the idea that a person’s identity resides in his or her Kirlian aura and can be transferred to a host, in effect transferring the individual into another body. The host must be a sapient being (i.e. non-beast) but may be of the same or different species and may be many light-years away, thus allowing the main character to traverse galaxies at will and “be” a variety of aliens during the course of a single book.
• The first track of the album “MIX-UP” (1979) by the British band Cabaret Voltaire is named “Kirlian Photograph”.
• In the movie Omen IV, Delia’s babysitter, Jo, takes Delia to a psychic carnival where she and Delia had their picture taken with a Kirlian camera. The picture came out with Delia’s dark and evil aura overtaking Jo’s lighter, greenish aura.
• Benn Jordan‘s eighth album is titled Kirlian Selections, in reference to his electric-influenced music style.
• In the comic book The Authority, team member Apollo is said to have a “Kirlian aura.”
• Kirlia, a species of psychic-type Pokémon, is named after Semyon Kirlian.
• In the World of Darkness book Project Twilight, Kirlian photography is one of the methods available to government vampire hunters to detect ghosts, spirits and auras.
• The electronic darkwave band Kirlian Camera take their name from this phenomenon.
• In the 1989 film Ghostbusters II, Drs Stantz and Spengler note multi-planear Kirlian emanations on pictures of a haunted painting in the Manhattan Museum of Art.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Traditional Chinese Medicine (also known as TCM, simplified Chinese: 中医; traditional Chinese: 中醫; pinyin: zhōngyī) is considered a Complementary or Alternative Medical system in most of the world. It includes a range of traditional medical practices originating in China that has developed over several thousand years. TCM practices include theories, diagnosis and treatments such as herbal medicine, acupuncture and massage; often Qigong is also strongly affiliated with TCM.

TCM theories derive from many sources including the theory of Yin-yang, the Five Phases, the human body Channel system, Zang Fu organ theory, and others.

History

Much of the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine derived from the same philosophical bases that contributed to the development of Taoist philosophy, and reflects the classical Chinese belief that the life and activity of individual human beings have an intimate relationship with the environment at all scales.

During the golden age of his reign from 2698 to 2596 B.C, as a result of a dialogue with his minister Ch’i Pai (岐伯), the Yellow Emperor is supposed by Chinese tradition to have composed his Neijing Suwen (內經 素問) or Basic Questions of Internal Medicine, also known as the Huangdi Neijing. Modern scholarly opinion holds that the extant text of this title was compiled by an anonymous scholar no earlier than the Han dynasty just over two-thousand years ago.

During the Han Dynasty, Zhang Zhong Jing (張仲景), the Hippocrates of China, who was mayor of Chang-sha toward the end of the 2nd century AD, wrote a Treatise on Cold Damage, which contains the earliest known reference to Neijing Suwen. The Jin dynasty practitioner and advocate of acupuncture and moxibustion, Huang-fu Mi (215 – 282 AD), also quoted the Yellow Emperor in his Jia Yi Jing (甲乙經), ca. 265 AD. During the Tang dynasty, Wang Ping claimed to have located a copy of the originals of the Neijing Suwen, which he expanded and edited substantially. This work was revisited by an imperial commission during the 11th century AD.

Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM) is notably different from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The Nationalist government elected to abandon and outlaw the practice of CCM as it did not want China to be left behind by scientific progress. For 30 years, CCM was forbidden in China and several people were prosecuted by the government for engaging in CCM. In the 1960s, Mao Zedong finally decided that the government could not continue to outlaw the use of CCM. He commissioned the top 10 doctors (M.D.’s) to take a survey of CCM and create a standardized format for its application. This standardized form is now known as TCM.

Today, TCM is what is taught in nearly all those medical schools in China, most of Asia and Northern America, that teach traditional medical practices at all. To learn CCM typically one must be part of a family lineage of medicine. Recently, there has been resurgence in interest in CCM in China, Europe and United States, as a specialty.

 Contact with Western culture and medicine has not displaced TCM. While there may be traditional factors involved in the persistent practice, two reasons are most obvious in the westward spread of TCM in recent decades. Firstly, TCM practices are believed by many to be very effective, sometimes offering palliative efficacy where the best practices of Western medicine fail, especially for routine ailments such as flu and allergies, and managing to avoid the toxicity of some chemically composed medicines. Secondly, TCM provides the only care available to ill people, when they cannot afford to try the western option. On the other hand, there is, for example, no longer a distinct branch of Chinese physics or Chinese biology.

TCM formed part of the barefoot doctor program in the People’s Republic of China, which extended public health into rural areas. It is also cheaper to the PRC government, because the cost of training a TCM practitioner and staffing a TCM hospital is considerably less than that of a practitioner of Western medicine; hence TCM has been seen as an integral part of extending health services in China.

There is some notion that TCM requires supernatural forces or even cosmology to explain itself. However most historical accounts of the system will acknowledge it was invented by a culture of people that were already tired of listening to shamans trying to blame illnesses on evil spirits; any reference to supernatural forces is usually the result of romantic translations or poor understanding and will not be found in the Taoist-inspired classics of acupuncture such as the Nèi Jīng or Zhēnjiǔ Dàchéng. The system’s development has, over its history, been analyzed both skeptically and extensively, and the practice and development of it has waxed and waned over the centuries and cultures through which it has traveled- yet the system has still survived this far. It is true that the focus from the beginning has been on pragmatism, not necessarily understanding of the mechanisms of the actions – and that this has hindered its modern acceptance in the West. This, despite that there were times such as the early 18th century when “acupuncture and moxa were a matter of course in polite European society”

Theory

Whole dried animals for sale in a traditional medicine market in Xi’an

The foundation principles of Chinese medicine are not necessarily uniform, and are based on several schools of thought. Received TCM can be shown to be influenced by Taoism, Buddhism, and Neo-Confucianism.

Since 1200 BC, Chinese academics of various schools have focused on the observable natural laws of the universe and their implications for the practical characterization of humanity’s place in the universe. In the I Ching and other Chinese literary and philosophical classics, Chinese writers described general principles and their applications to health and healing.

Porkert, a Western medical doctor, placed Chinese medical theory in context as:

Chinese medicine, like many other Chinese sciences, defines data on the basis of the inductive and synthetic mode of cognition. Inductivity corresponds to a logical link between two effective positions existing at the same time in different places in space. (Conversely, causality is the logical link between two effective positions given at different times at the same place in space.) In other words, effects based on on positions that are separate in space yet simultaneous in time are mutually inductive and thus are called inductive effects. In Western science prior to the development of electrodynamics and nuclear physics (which are founded essentially on inductivity), the inductive nexus was limited to subordinate uses in protosciences such as astrology. Now Western man, as a consequence of two thousand years of intellectual tradition, persists in the habit of making causal connections first and inductive links, if at all, only as an afterthought. This habit must still be considered the biggest obstacle to an adequate appreciation of Chinese science in general and Chinese medicine in particular. Given such different cognitive bases, many of the apparent similarities between traditional Chinese and European science which attract the attention of positivists turn out to be spurious.

Traditional Chinese medicine is largely based on the philosophical concept that the human body is a small universe with a set of complete and sophisticated interconnected systems, and that those systems usually work in balance to maintain the healthy function of the human body. The balance of yin and yang is considered with respect to qi (“breath”, “life force”, or “spiritual energy”), blood, jing (“kidney essence” or “semen”), other bodily fluids, the five elements, emotions, and the soul or spirit (shen). TCM has a unique model of the body, notably concerned with the meridian system. Unlike the Western anatomical model which divides the physical body into parts, the Chinese model is more concerned with function. Thus, the TCM spleen is not a specific piece of flesh, but an aspect of function related to transformation and transportation within the body, and of the mental functions of thinking and studying.

There are significant regional and philosophical differences between practitioners and schools which in turn can lead to differences in practice and theory.

Models of the body include:

• Yin or Yang
• Five elements
• Zang Fu theory
• Meridian (Chinese medicine)
• Three jiaos also known as the Triple Burner or the Triple Warmer

The Yin/Yang and five element theories may be applied to a variety of systems other than the human body, whereas Zang Fu theory, meridian theory and three-jiao (Triple warmer) theories are more specific.

There are also separate models that apply to specific pathological influences, such as the Four stages theory of the progression of warm diseases, the Six levels theory of the penetration of cold diseases, and the Eight principles system of disease classification.

Diagnostics

Following a macro philosophy of disease, traditional Chinese diagnostics are based on overall observation of human symptoms rather than “micro” level laboratory tests. There are four types of TCM diagnostic methods: observe (望 wàng), hear and smell (聞 wén), ask about background (問 wèn) and touching (切 qiè).^[8] The pulse-reading component of the touching examination is so important that Chinese patients may refer to going to the doctor as “Going to have my pulse felt”^.

Traditional Chinese medicine is considered to require considerable diagnostic skill. A training period of years or decades is said to be necessary for TCM practitioners to understand the full complexity of symptoms and dynamic balances. According to one Chinese saying, A good (TCM) doctor is also qualified to be a good prime minister in a country. Modern practitioners in China often use a traditional system in combination with Western methods.

Techniques

• Palpation of the patient’s radial artery pulse (pulse diagnosis) in six positions
• Observation of the appearance of the patient’s tongue
• Observation of the patient’s face
• Palpation of the patient’s body (especially the abdomen) for tenderness
• Observation of the sound of the patient’s voice
• Observation of the surface of the ear
• Observation of the vein on the index finger on small children
• Comparisons of the relative warmth or coolness of different parts of the body
• Observation of the patient’s various odors
• Asking the patient about the effects of his problem
• Anything else that can be observed without instruments and without harming the patient

Treatment

The below methods are considered as part of the Chinese medicine treatment:

1. Chinese herbal medicine (中藥)
2. Acupuncture and Moxibustion (針灸)
3. Die-da or Tieh Ta (跌打)
4. Chinese food therapy (食療)
5. Tui na (推拿) – massage therapy
6. Qigong (氣功) and related breathing and meditation exercise
7. Physical exercise such as T’ai Chi Ch’uan (太極拳) and other Chinese martial arts
8. Mental health therapy such as Feng shui (風水) and Chinese astrology
9. Cupping such as Ba Guan (拔罐)

Specific treatment methods are grouped into these branches. Cupping and Gua Sha (刮痧) are part of Tui Na. Auriculotherapy (耳燭療法) comes under the heading of Acupuncture and Moxibustion. Die-da or Tieh Ta (跌打) are practitioners who specialize in healing trauma injury such as bone fractures, sprains, and bruises. Some of these specialists may also use or recommend other disciplines of Chinese medical therapies (or Western medicine in modern times) if serious injury is involved. Such practice of bone-setting is not common in the West.

Branches

Traditional Chinese medicine has many branches, the most prominent of which are the Jingfang (经方学派) and Wenbing (温病学派) schools. The Jingfang school relies on the principles contained in the Chinese medicine classics of the Han and Tang dynasty, such as Huangdi Neijing and Shenlong Bencaojing. The more recent Wenbing school’s practise is largely based on more recent books including Compendium of Materia Medica from Ming and Qing Dynasty, although in theory the school follows the teachings of the earlier classics as well. Intense debates between these two schools lasted until the Cultural Revolution in mainland China, when Wenbing school used political power to suppress the opposing school.

Scientific view

Efficacy

Much of the scientific research on TCM has focused on acupuncture. The effectiveness of acupuncture remains controversial in the scientific community, and a review by Edzard Ernst and colleagues in 2007 found that the body of evidence was growing, research is active, and that the “emerging clinical evidence seems to imply that acupuncture is effective for some but not all conditions”. Researchers using the protocols of evidence-based medicine have found good evidence that acupuncture is moderately effective in preventing nausea. A 2008 study suggest that combining acupuncture with conventional infertility treatments such as IVF greatly improves the success rates of such medical interventions. There is conflicting evidence that it can treat chronic low back pain,^[14][15] and moderate evidence of efficacy for neck pain and headache. For most other conditions reviewers have found either a lack of efficacy (e.g., help in quitting smoking) or have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to determine if acupuncture is effective (e.g., treating shoulder pain). While little is known about the mechanisms by which acupuncture may act, a review of neuroimaging research suggests that specific acupuncture points have distinct effects on cerebral activity in specific areas that are not otherwise predictable anatomically.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the American Medical Association (AMA) have also commented on acupuncture[1][2]. Though these groups disagree on the standards and interpretation of the evidence for acupuncture, there is general agreement that it is relatively safe, and that further investigation is warranted. The 1997 NIH Consensus Development Conference Statement on acupuncture concluded:

…promising results have emerged, for example, showing efficacy of acupuncture in adult postoperative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting and in postoperative dental pain. There are other situations such as addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma, in which acupuncture may be useful as an adjunct treatment or an acceptable alternative or be included in a comprehensive management program. Further research is likely to uncover additional areas where acupuncture interventions will be useful.

Much less scientific research has been done on Chinese herbal medicines, which comprise much of TCM. Some doubts about the efficacy of many TCM treatments are based on their apparent basis in sympathetic magic (causation due to analogy or similarity) — for example, that plants with heart-shaped leaves will help the heart^{[citation needed]}, or that ground bones of the tiger can function as a stimulant because tigers are energetic animals. While the doctrine of signatures does underlie the selection of many of the ingredients of herbal medicines, this does not necessarily mean that some substances may not (perhaps by coincidence) possess attributed medicinal properties. For example, it is possible that while herbs may have been originally selected on erroneous grounds, only those that were deemed effective have remained in use. Potential barriers to scientific research include the substantial cost and expertise required to conduct double-blind clinical trials^{[citation needed]}, and the lack of financial incentive from the ability to obtain patents. Traditional practitioners usually have no philosophical objections to scientific studies on the effectiveness of treatments.^{[citation needed]}

Pharmacological compounds have been isolated from some Chinese herbal medicines; Chinese wormwood (qinghao) was the source for the discovery of artemisinin, which is now used worldwide to treat multi-drug resistant strains of falciparum malaria, and is also under investigation as an anti-cancer agent. It was one of many candidates then tested by Chinese scientists from a list of nearly 200 traditional Chinese medicines for treating malaria. It was the only one that was effective. Many Chinese herbal medicines are marketed as dietary supplements in the West, and there is considerable controversy over their effectiveness.

Safety

Acupressure and acupuncture are largely accepted to be safe from results gained through medical studies. Several cases of pneumothorax, nerve damage and infection have been reported as resulting from acupuncture treatments. These adverse events are extremely rare especially when compared to other medical interventions, and were found to be due to practitioner negligence. Dizziness and bruising will sometimes result from acupuncture treatment.

Some governments have decided that Chinese acupuncture and herbal treatments should be administered by persons who have been educated to apply them safely. One Australian report said in 2006, “A key finding is that the risk of adverse events is linked to the length of education of the practitioner, with practitioners graduating from extended Traditional Chinese Medicine education programs experiencing about half the adverse event rate of those practitioners who have graduated from short training programs.”

Certain Chinese herbal medicines involve a risk of allergic reaction and in rare cases involve a risk of poisoning. Cases of acute and chronic poisoning due to treatment through ingested Chinese medicines are found in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, with a few deaths occurring each year.^{[citation needed]} Many of these deaths do occur however, when patients self prescribe herbs or take unprocessed versions of toxic herbs.^{[citation needed]} The raw and unprocessed form of aconite, or fuzi is the most common cause of poisoning. The use of aconite in Chinese herbal medicine is usually limited to processed aconite, in which the toxicity is denatured by heat treatment.

Furthermore, potentially toxic and carcinogenic compounds such as arsenic and cinnabar are sometimes prescribed as part of a medicinal mixture, in a sense “using poison to cure poison“. Unprocessed herbals are sometimes adulterated with chemicals that may alter the intended effect of a herbal preparation or prescription. Much of these are being prevented with more empirical studies of Chinese herbals and tighter regulation regarding the growing, processing, and prescription of various herbals.

In the United States, the Chinese herb má huáng (麻黄; lit. “hemp yellow”) — known commonly in the West by its Latin name Ephedra — was banned in 2004 by the FDA, although the FDA’s final ruling exempted traditional Asian preparations of Ephedra from the ban. The Ephedra ban was meant to combat the use of this herb in Western weight loss products, a highly modern phenomenon and well removed from traditional Asian uses of the herb. There were no cases of Ephedra based fatalities with patients using traditional Asian preparations of the herb for its traditionally intended uses. This ban was ordered lifted in April 2005 by a Utah federal court judge. However, the ruling was appealed and on August 17, 2006, the Appeals Court upheld the FDA’s ban of ephedra, finding that the 133,000-page administrative record compiled by the FDA supported the agency’s finding that ephedra posed an unreasonable risk to consumers.

Many Chinese medicines have different names for the same ingredient depending on location and time, but worse yet, ingredients with vastly different medical properties have shared similar or even the same names. For example, there was a report that mirabilite/sodium sulphate decahydrate (芒硝) was misrecognized as sodium nitrite (牙硝), resulting in a poisoned victim. In some Chinese medical texts, both names are interchangeable. The Chinese Medicine Registration Board of the Australian state of Victoria issued a report in 2004 which noted this was a problem that needed to be addressed.

Relationship with Western medicine

Within China, there has been a great deal of cooperation between TCM practitioners and Western medicine, especially in the field of ethnomedicine. Chinese herbal medicine includes many compounds which are unused by Western medicine, and there is great interest in those compounds as well as the theories which TCM practitioners use to determine which compound to prescribe. For their part, advanced TCM practitioners in China are interested in statistical and experimental techniques which can better distinguish medicines that work from those that do not. One result of this collaboration has been the creation of peer reviewed scientific journals and medical databases on traditional Chinese medicine.

Outside of China, the relationship between TCM and Western medicine is more contentious. While more and more medical schools are including classes on alternative medicine in their curricula, older Western doctors and scientists are far more likely than their Chinese counterparts to skeptically view TCM as archaic pseudoscience and superstition. This skepticism can come from a number of sources. For one, TCM in the West tends to be advocated either by Chinese immigrants or by those that have lost faith in conventional medicine. Many people in the West have a stereotype of the East as mystical and unscientific, which attracts those in the West who have lost hope in science and repels those who believe in scientific explanations. There have also been experiences in the West with unscrupulous or well-meaning but improperly-trained “TCM practitioners” who have done people more harm than good in some instances.

As an example of the different roles of TCM in China and the West, a person with a broken bone in the West (i.e. a routine, “straightforward” condition) would almost never see a Chinese medicine practitioner or visit a martial arts school to get the bone set, whereas this is routine in China. As another example, most TCM hospitals in China have electron microscopes and many TCM practitioners know how to use one.

Most Chinese in China do not see traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine as being in conflict. In cases of emergency and crisis situations, there is generally no reluctance in using conventional Western medicine. At the same time, belief in Chinese medicine remains strong in the area of maintaining health. As a simple example, you see a Western doctor if you have acute appendicitis, but you do exercises or take Chinese herbs to keep your body healthy enough to prevent appendicitis, or to recover more quickly from the surgery. Very few practitioners of Western medicine in China reject traditional Chinese medicine, and most doctors in China will use some elements of Chinese medicine in their own practice.

A degree of integration between Chinese and Western medicine also exists in China. For instance, at the Shanghai cancer hospital, a patient may be seen by a multidisciplinary team and be treated concurrently with radiation surgery, Western drugs and a traditional herbal formula. A report by the Victorian state government in Australia on TCM education in China noted:

Graduates from TCM university courses are able to diagnose in Western medical terms, prescribe Western pharmaceuticals, and undertake minor surgical procedures. In effect, they practise TCM as a specialty within the broader organisation of Chinese health care.

In other countries it is not necessarily the case that traditional Chinese and Western medicine are practiced concurrently by the same practitioner. TCM education in Australia, for example, does not qualify a practitioner to provide diagnosis in Western medical terms, prescribe scheduled pharmaceuticals, nor perform surgical procedures. While that jurisdiction notes that TCM education does not qualify practitioners to prescribe Western drugs, a separate legislative framework is being constructed to allow registered practitioners to prescribe Chinese herbs that would otherwise be classified as poisons.

It is worth noting that the practice of Western medicine in China is somewhat different from that in the West. In contrast to the West, there are relatively few allied health professionals to perform routine medical procedures or to undertake procedures such as massage or physical therapy.

In addition, Chinese practitioners of Western medicine have been less impacted by trends in the West that encourage patient empowerment, to see the patient as an individual rather than a collection of parts, and to do nothing when medically appropriate. Chinese practitioners of Western medicine have been widely criticized for over-prescribing drugs such as corticosteroids or antibiotics for common viral infections. It is likely that these medicines, which are generally known to be useless against viral infections, would provide less relief to the patient than traditional Chinese herbal remedies.

Traditional Chinese diagnostics and treatments are often much cheaper than Western methods which require high-tech equipment or extensive chemical manipulation.

TCM doctors often criticize Western doctors for paying too much attention to laboratory tests and showing insufficient concern for the overall feelings of patients.

Modern TCM practitioners will refer patients to Western medical facilities if a medical condition is deemed to have put the body too far out of “balance for traditional methods to remedy.

Animal products

Dried seahorses like these are extensively used in traditional medicine in China and elsewhere

Animal products are used in certain Chinese formulae, which may present a problem for vegans and vegetarians. If informed of such restrictions, practitioners can often use alternative substances.

The practice of using endangered species was once controversial within TCM also. Many substances fall into this category, with modern Materia Medicas such as Bensky, Clavey and Stoger’s comprehensive Chinese herbal text dealing with substances derived from endangered species in an appendix, with an emphasis on recommending alternatives. Some, such as the use of tiger’s penis for impotence, cannot seriously be attributed to Chinese Medicine, nor any vague complaint about practitioners using these types of substances taken seriously, as the substances they talk about simply don’t appear in the ingredients lists of the pharmacopoeia. Use of rhinoceros horn (xī jiǎo / 犀角) for “cooling the blood” was replaced with buffalo horn (shuǐ niú jiǎo / 水牛角) starting from perhaps 5CE, and Bovis Fel (niú dǎn / 牛膽 / 牛胆) is a modern replacement for Ursi Fel (xíong dǎn / 熊膽 / 熊胆). Note that “horny goat weed” (yín yáng hoù / 淫羊藿) is actually a plant (Epimedii Herba).

Medicinal use is having a major impact on the populations of seahorses, which are considered a fundamental ingredient, and used to treat a variety of disorders, including asthma, arteriosclerosis, incontinence, impotence, thyroid disorders, skin ailments, broken bones, heart disease, as well as to facilitate childbirth and even as an aphrodisiac.

Shark fin soup is traditionally regarded as beneficial for health in East Asia, and its status as an “elite” dish has led to huge demand with the increase of affluence in China, and some are questioning whether this is worth the environmental price.

The animal rights movement notes that a few traditional Chinese medicinal solutions use bear bile (Ursi Fel / xíong dǎn). Since 1988 the Chinese Ministry of Health started controlling production of this, which previously used bears killed before winter. The bears are often fitted with a sort of permanent catheter, which may have been thought at the time to be more humane than killing the bears. The treatment itself and especially the extraction of the bile is very painful, causes damage to the intestines of the bear, and often kills the bears. However, due to international attention on the issues surrounding its harvesting, bile is now rarely used by practitioners outside of China; gallbladders from butchered cattle (Bovis Fel / niú dǎn) are recommended as a substitute for this ingredient.

Opposition

Starting from late 19th century, some politicians and Chinese scholars with background in Western medicine have been trying to phase out TCM totally in China.

The attempts to curtail TCM in China always provoke large scale debates but have never completely succeeded. Still, many researchers and practitioners of TCM in China and the United States argue the need to document TCM’s efficacy with controlled, double blind experiments. These efforts remain hampered by the difficulty of creating effective placebos for acupuncture studies.

The attempt to phase out TCM in Japan partially succeeded after Meiji Restoration. However, in the 1920s a movement emerged that attempted to restore traditional medical practice, especially acupuncture. This movement, known as the Meridian Therapy movement (Keiraku Chiryo in Japanese) persists to this day. Furthermore, many Japanese physicians continue to practice Kampo, a form of traditional medicine based on the Shang Han Lun tradition of Chinese herbal medicine. The most scientific derivative of TCM practiced in Japan is ryodoraku. It was developed by Yosio Nakatani in 1950. It utilizes objective electricity test instruments and direct current stimulation of acupoints instead of subjective interpretation of symptoms and treatment. Ryodoraku research is centered at Osaka Medical College, Japan.

Modernization

Traditional Chinese Medicine is getting a modern dose by transforming the plants and ingredients to soluble granules and tablets. Modern formulations in pills and sachets used 675 plant and fungi ingredients and about 25 from non-plant sources such as snakes, geckos, toads, bees and earthworms.

Technically: The roots of NLP dates back to the early 1800”s and is a synthesis of patterns of behavior modeled from very successful people. It is a branch of the Cognitive Sciences and Cognitive Behavioural Psychology.  NLP grew out of General Semantics (Alfred Korzybski), Transformational Grammar (Noam Chomsky), Anthropology and Cybernetics (Gregory Bateson), Reframing (Paul Watzlawick), Family Systems (Virginia Satir), Gestalt Therapy (Fritz Pearls), Medical Hypnosis (Milton Erickson) and several related studies.

Practically: NLP is the study of how patterns of mind (attitudes, beliefs, decisions, and emotions) influence our nervous system (mind/body) and our actions.  NLP includes attitudes and techniques that can help people intentionally influence how they think, act and respond.  How we think and what we think has a profound influence on our health, happiness and productivity in life.

NLP is a human potential technology that empowers you with Self Knowledge. Self Knowledge leads to Self Realization. Self-Realization leads to Self-Transcendence and this is the doorway to personal freedom, happiness, love and fulfillment. Anything and everything is possible if you have the mind set and attitudes that support your success.  If your attitudes don’t support you in living a richly rewarding life then you may want to consider changing. Changing your mind and attitudes does change your life.

Taken from

Mary Lou Hill, Master NLP. Founder of mind effects http://www.mindeffects.ca. 2008

Note from HOPE through Health: Mary Lou Hill was my instructor in my NLP training. She has not only made an impact in my world but has taught me the skills to help empower others around me.

Eye Accessing Cues

By Roger Ellerton Phd, ISP, CMC, Renewal Technologies Inc. www.renewal.ca

Have you ever noticed that people’s eyes move when they are thinking? This is valuable information that can provides us with clues as to whether they are thinking in pictures, sounds, feelings or talking to themselves. Or in other words, information about their lead and preferred representational systems.

William James (Principles of Psychology, 1890) first suggested that internal representations and eye movements may be related. This observation was not explored further until the 1970’s when Richard Bandler, John Grinder, Robert Dilts and others conducted further experimentation in this area.

According to neurological research, eye movement both laterally and vertically seems to be associated with activating different parts of the brain. In the neurological literature, these movements are called lateral eye movements (LEM) and in NLP we call them eye accessing cues because they give us insights as to how people are accessing information.

To get an idea how your eyes move, consider the following questions. For each question, as you think of the answer, notice the direction(s) your eyes move (up down or to the side) or if your eyes do not seem to move notice if you have a sense that you are looking in a certain direction (even if only for a fraction of a second).

1. What is the colour of your front door?
2. What will you look like in 15 years?
3. What does your favourite music sound like?
4. What would your voice sound like if you had marbles in your mouth?
5. When you talk to yourself, what type of voice do you use?
6. What does it feel like to be in a nice warm bath?

Did you notice your eyes had a tendency to look up for the first two questions, to the side for the next two questions and down for the last two questions? In general, if you are making a picture in your mind your eyes will tend to go up to the left or the right, for sounds laterally to the left or right, and down to the left or right for feelings or when you talk to yourself.

More specifically, if you are right-handed, you may have noticed the following (for people who are left handed, interchange left and right in the following text):

• Question 1 – eyes up and to your left. This is a question about something you have seen before and hence you remembered it — visual remembered (VR).
• Question 2 – eyes up and to your right. This is a question about something that I assume you have not seen before and hence you constructed this picture – visual constructed (VC).
• Question 3 – eyes on the horizontal plane to your left. This is a question about something you have heard before – auditory remembered (AR).
• Question 4 – eyes on the horizontal plane to your right. This is a question about something you have not heard before – auditory constructed (AC).
• Question 5 – eyes down and to the left. This is a question about your self talk – auditory digital (Ad).
• Question 6 – eyes down and to the right. This is a question about your feelings- kinesthetic (K).

Note: The above eye patterns are how your eyes would move if you are right-handed. The following picture describes the eye patterns for a right-handed person as you look at them – please note this distinction. These patterns are fairly consistent across all races, with the possible exception of the Basques, who appear to have a number of exceptions to the rule. For many left-handed people, the chart is reversed i.e. mirror image.

 People’s Eyes do not Always Move

Sometimes people’s eyes do not move and this may be due to:

• Look to talk rule: Some people have a look to talk rule. That is, when you are making eye contact with them, they will also look at you and their eyes will seem not to move or move very slightly and quickly. What may be happening in this situation, is that they are defocusing their eyes so that their ‘internal’ eye can look in the appropriate direction.
• Near term memory. If the answer is something that is well-known to the person (i.e. What is their name?) or is a recent observation, then they do not need to search for the answer and their eyes will not move.

Using Eye Patterns to Assess Truthfulness or Congruence

If a person is describing something that they have seen or heard, then their eyes should primarily move to visual or auditory remembered. However if a person is making something up, then their eyes will tend to move to visual or auditory constructed, indicating that the person is constructing some part of the situation they are describing. This may indicate that the person is uncertain or untruthful about what they are thinking.

Be careful assuming someone is untruthful. For example, suppose you asked me a question about something that I had never thought about before. To formulate an answer, I may have to look at or hear one or more pieces of true information in a way that I had never done so before. In this situation, I would be constructing an answer and my eyes would most likely move to visual or auditory constructed.

The term homeopathy comes from the Greek words homeo, meaning similar, and pathos, meaning suffering or disease. Homeopathy is an alternative medical system. Alternative medical systems are built upon complete systems of theory and practice, and often have evolved apart from and earlier than the conventional medical approach used in the United States. Homeopathy takes a different approach from conventional medicine Medicine as practiced by holders of M.D. (medical doctor) or D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) degrees and by their allied health professionals such as physical therapists, psychologists, and registered nurses in diagnosing, classifying, and treating medical problems.

Key concepts of homeopathy include:

                Homeopathy seeks to stimulate the body’s defence mechanisms and processes so as to prevent or treat illness.

                Treatment involves giving very small doses of substances called remedies that, according to homeopathy, would produce the same or similar symptoms of illness in healthy people if they were given in larger doses.

                Treatment in homeopathy is individualized (tailored to each person). Homeopathic practitioners select remedies according to a total picture of the patient, including not only symptoms but lifestyle, emotional and mental states, and other factors.

a. Conventional medicine, as defined by NCCAM, is medicine as practiced by holders of M.D. (medical doctor) or D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) degrees and by their allied health professionals, such as physical therapists, psychologists, and registered nurses. Some conventional medical practitioners are also practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine.

2. What is the history of the discovery and use of homeopathy?

In the late 1700s, Samuel Hahnemann, a physician, chemist, and linguist in Germany, proposed a new approach to treating illness. This was at a time when the most common medical treatments were harsh, such as bloodletting,^c purging, blistering, and the use of sulfur and mercury. At the time, there were few effective medications for treating patients, and knowledge about their effects was limited.

Hahnemann was interested in developing a less-threatening approach to medicine. The first major step reportedly was when he was translating an herbal text and read about a treatment (cinchona bark) used to cure malaria. He took some cinchona bark and observed that, as a healthy person, he developed symptoms that were very similar to malaria symptoms. This led Hahnemann to consider that a substance may create symptoms that it can also relieve. This concept is called the “similia principle” or “like cures like.” The similia principle had a prior history in medicine, from Hippocrates in Ancient Greece–who noted, for example, that recurrent vomiting could be treated with an emetic (such as ipecacuanha) that would be expected to make it worse–to folk medicine. Another way to view “like cures like” is that symptoms are part of the body’s attempt to heal itself–for example, a fever can develop as a result of an immune response to an infection, and a cough may help to eliminate mucus–and medication may be given to support this self-healing response.

Hahnemann tested single, pure substances on himself and, in more dilute forms, on healthy volunteers. He kept meticulous records of his experiments and participants’ responses, and he combined these observations with information from clinical practice, the known uses of herbs and other medicinal substances, and toxicology eventually treating the sick and developing homeopathic clinical practice.

Hahnemann added two additional elements to homeopathy:

                A concept that became “potentization,” which holds that systematically diluting a substance, with vigorous shaking at each step of dilution, makes the remedy more, not less, effective by extracting the vital essence of the substance. If dilution continues to a point where the substance’s molecules are gone, homeopathy holds that the “memory” of them–that is, the effects they exerted on the surrounding water molecules–may still be therapeutic.

                A concept that treatment should be selected based upon a total picture of an individual and his symptoms, not solely upon symptoms of a disease. Homeopaths evaluate not only a person’s physical symptoms but her emotions, mental states, lifestyle, nutrition, and other aspects. In homeopathy, different people with the same symptoms may receive different homeopathic remedies.

Hans Burch Gram, a Boston-born doctor, studied homeopathy in Europe and introduced it into the United States in 1825. European immigrants trained in homeopathy also made the treatment increasingly available in America. In 1835, the first homeopathic medical college was established in Allentown, Pennsylvania. By the turn of the 20th century, 8 percent of all American medical practitioners were homeopaths, and there were 20 homeopathic medical colleges and more than 100 homeopathic hospitals in the United States.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, numerous medical advances were made, such as the recognition of the mechanisms of disease; Pasteur’s germ theory; the development of antiseptic techniques; and the discovery of ether anesthesia. In addition, a report (the so-called “Flexner Report”) was released that triggered major changes in American medical education. Homeopathy was among the disciplines negatively affected by these developments. Most homeopathic medical schools closed down, and by the 1930s others had converted to conventional medical schools.

In the 1960s, homeopathy’s popularity began to revive in the United States. According to a 1999 survey of Americans and their health, over 6 million Americans had used homeopathy in the preceding 12 months. The World Health Organization noted in 1994 that homeopathy had been integrated into the national health care systems of numerous countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Mexico. Several schools of practice exist within homeopathy.

Persons using homeopathy do so to address a range of health concerns, from wellness and prevention to treatment of injuries, diseases, and conditions. Studies have found that many people who seek homeopathic care seek it for help with a chronic medical condition. Many users of homeopathy treat themselves with homeopathic products and do not consult a professional.

3. What kind of training do homeopathic practitioners receive?

In European countries, training in homeopathy is usually pursued either as a primary professional degree completed over 3 to 6 years or as postgraduate training for doctors.¹⁴

In the United States, training in homeopathy is offered through diploma programs, certificate programs, short courses, and correspondence courses. Also, homeopathic training is part of medical education in naturopathy. A whole medical system that originated in Europe. Naturopathy aims to support the body’s ability to heal itself through the use of dietary and lifestyle changes together with CAM therapies such as herbs, massage, and joint manipulation. Most homeopathy in the United States is practiced along with another health care practice for which the practitioner is licensed, such as conventional medicine, naturopathy, chiropractic, dentistry, acupuncture, a family of procedures that originated in traditional Chinese medicine. Acupuncture is the stimulation of specific points on the body by a variety of techniques, including the insertion of thin metal needles though the skin. It is intended to remove blockages in the flow of qi and restore and maintain health or veterinary medicine (homeopathy is used to treat animals).

Laws about what is required to practice homeopathy vary among states. Three states (Connecticut, Arizona, and Nevada) license medical doctors specifically for homeopathy.

4. What do homeopathic practitioners do in treating patients?

Typically, in homeopathy, patients have a lengthy first visit, during which the provider takes an in-depth assessment of the patient. This is used to guide the selection of one or more homeopathic remedies. During follow up visits, patients report how they are responding to the remedy or remedies, which helps the practitioner make decisions about further treatment.

5. What are homeopathic remedies?

Most homeopathic remedies are derived from natural substances that come from plants, minerals, or animals. A remedy is prepared by diluting the substance in a series of steps (as discussed in Question 2). Homeopathy asserts that this process can maintain a substance’s healing properties regardless of how many times it has been diluted. Many homeopathic remedies are so highly diluted that not one molecule of the original natural substance remains. Remedies are sold in liquid, pellet, and tablet forms.

6. How does the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulate homeopathic remedies?

Because of their long use in the United States, the U.S. Congress passed a law in 1938 declaring that homeopathic remedies are to be regulated by the FDA in the same manner as non prescription, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, which means that they can be purchased without a physician’s prescription. Today, although conventional prescription drugs and new OTC drugs must undergo thorough testing and review by the FDA for safety and effectiveness before they can be sold; this requirement does not apply to homeopathic remedies.

Remedies are required to meet certain legal standards for strength, quality, purity, and packaging. In 1988, the FDA required that all homeopathic remedies list the indications for their use (i.e., the medical problems to be treated) on the label. The FDA also requires the label to list ingredients, dilutions, and instructions for safe use.

The guidelines for homeopathic remedies are found in an official guide, the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, which is authored by a nongovernmental, non-profit organization of industry representatives and homeopathic experts. The Pharmacopoeia also includes provisions for testing new remedies and verifying their clinical effectiveness. Remedies on the market before 1962 have been accepted into the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States based on historical use, rather than scientific evidence from clinical trials.

7. Have any side effects or complications been reported from the use of homeopathy?

The FDA has learned of a few reports of illness associated with the use of homeopathic remedies. However, the FDA reviewed these reports and decided that the remedies were not likely to be the cause, because of the high dilutions.

Here is some general information that has been reported about risks and side effects in homeopathy:

                Homeopathic medicines in high dilutions, taken under the supervision of trained professionals, are considered safe and unlikely to cause severe adverse reactions.

                Some patients report feeling worse for a brief period of time after starting homeopathic remedies. Homeopaths interpret this as the body temporarily stimulating symptoms while it makes an effort to restore health.

                Liquid homeopathic remedies can contain alcohol and are permitted to have higher levels of alcohol than conventional drugs for adults. This may be of concern to some consumers. However, no adverse effects from the alcohol levels have been reported either to the FDA or in the scientific literature.³

                Homeopathic remedies are not known to interfere with conventional drugs; however, if you are considering using homeopathic remedies, you should discuss this with your health care provider. If you have more than one provider, discuss it with each one.

As with all medicinal products, a person taking a homeopathic remedy is best advised to:

                Contact his health care provider if his symptoms continue unimproved for more than 5 days.

                Keep the remedy out of the reach of children.

                Consult a health care provider before using the product if the user is a woman who is pregnant or nursing a baby.

8. What has scientific research found out about whether homeopathy works?

This section summarizes results from (1) individual clinical trials (research studies in people) and (2) broad analyses of groups of clinical trials.

The results of individual, controlled clinical trials of homeopathy have been contradictory. In some trials, homeopathy appeared to be no more helpful than a placebo; in other studies, some benefits were seen that the researchers believed were greater than one would expect from a placebo.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses take a broader look at collections of a set of results from clinical trials. In sum, systematic reviews have not found homeopathy to be a definitively proven treatment for any medical condition. Two groups of authors  found some positive evidence in the groups of studies they examined, and they did not find this evidence to be explainable completely as placebo effects (a third group found 1 out of 16 trials to have some added effect relative to placebo). Each author or group of authors criticized the quality of evidence in the studies. Examples of problems they noted include weaknesses in design and/or reporting, choice of measuring techniques, small numbers of participants, and difficulties in replicating results. A common theme in the reviews of homeopathy trials is that because of these problems and others, it is difficult or impossible to draw firm conclusions about whether homeopathy is effective for any single clinical condition.

9. Are there scientific controversies associated with homeopathy?

Yes. Homeopathy is an area of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). A group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine. Complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine, and alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine, that has seen high levels of controversy and debate, largely because a number of its key concepts do not follow the laws of science (particularly chemistry and physics).

                It is debated how something that causes illness might also cure it.

                It has been questioned whether a remedy with a very tiny amount (perhaps not even one molecule) of active ingredient could have a biological effect, beneficial or otherwise.There has been some research studies published on the use of ultra-high dilutions (UHDs) of substances, diluted to levels compatible with those in homeopathy and shaken hard at each step of dilution. The results are claimed to involve phenomena at the molecular level and beyond, such as the structure of water, and waves and fields. Both laboratory research and clinical trials have been published. There have been mixed results in attempts to replicate them. Reviews have not found UHD results to be definitive or compelling.  

There have been some studies that found effects of UHDs on isolated organs, plants, and animals. There have been controversy and debate about these findings as well.

                Effects in homeopathy might be due to the placebo or other non-specific effect.

                There are key questions about homeopathy that are yet to be subjected to studies that are well-designed–such as whether it actually works for some of the diseases or medical conditions for which it is used, and if so, how it might work.

                There is a point of view that homeopathy does work, but that modern scientific methods have not yet explained why. The failure of science to provide full explanations for all treatments is not unique to homeopathy.

                Some people feel that if homeopathy appears to be helpful and safe, then scientifically valid explanations or proofs of this alternative system of medicine are not necessary.

10. Is NCCAM funding research on homeopathy?

Yes, NCCAM supports a number of studies in this area. For example:

                Homeopathy for physical, mental, and emotional symptoms of fibromyalgia (a chronic disorder involving widespread musculoskeletal pain, multiple tender points on the body, and fatigue).

                Homeopathy for brain deterioration and damage in animal models for stroke and dementia.

                The homeopathic remedy cadmium, to find out whether it can prevent damage to the cells of the prostate when those cells are exposed to toxins.

1.                 Belon, P., Cumps, J., Ennis, M., Mannaioni, P.F., Sainte-Laudy, J., Roberfroid, M., and Wiegant, F.A. “Inhibition of Human Basophil Degranulation by Successive Histamine Dilutions: Results of a European Multi-Centre Trial.” Inflammation Research. 1999. 48 (Suppl. 1):S17-S18.

2.                 Davenas, E., Beauvais, F., Amara, J., Oberbaum, M., Robinzon, B., Miadonna, A., Tedeschi, A., Pomeranz, B., Fortner, P., Belon, P., Sainte-Laudy, J., Poitevin, B., and Benveniste, J. “Human Basophil Degranulation Triggered by Very Dilute Antiserum Against IgE.” Nature. 1988. 333(6176):816-8.

3.                 Lewith, G.T., Watkins, A.D., Hyland, M.E., Shaw, S., Broomfield, J.A., Dolan, G., and Holgate, S.T. “Use of Ultramolecular Potencies of Allergen To Treat Asthmatic People Allergic to House Dust Mite: Double Blind Randomised Controlled Clinical Trial.” British Medical Journal. 2002. 324(7336):520-4.

4.                 Bell, I.R., Lewis, D.A., Brooks, A.J., Lewis, S.E., and Schwartz, G.E. “Gas Discharge Visualization Evaluation of Ultramolecular Doses of Homeopathic Medicines Under Blinded, Controlled Conditions.” Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2003. 9(1): 25-38.

Fact sheet taken from http://nccam.nih.gov/ 05-11-2008

Reiki : A therapy in which practitioners seek to transmit a universal energy to a person, either from a distance or by placing their hands on or near that person. The intent is to heal the spirit and thus the body. (pronounced “ray-kee”) is an energy medicine. Therapies that use energy fields with the intent to affect health. Some fields, such as magnetic fields and light, have been measured while others, such as biofields, have not. Examples of energy therapies include magnetic therapy and Reiki, practice that originated in Japan. In Reiki, the practitioner places his hands on or near the person receiving treatment, with the intent to transmit ki, believed to be a life-force energy. Practitioners also believe that they can treat themselves with Reiki and send ki across short or long distances. In the United States, Reiki is part of CAM. This Backgrounder provides a general overview of Reiki and suggests some resources you can use to learn more about this practice.

Key Points

                People give and receive Reiki for various health purposes.

                It is not fully known whether Reiki influences health and how it might do so. The existence of ki has not been proven scientifically.

                The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is sponsoring studies to find out more about Reiki’s effects, how it works, and diseases and conditions for which it may be most helpful.

Reiki as an Energy Medicine Therapy

The word Reiki is made up of two Japanese words: Rei, or universal light, spirit (sometimes thought of as a supreme being), and ki., thus, the word Reiki means “universal life energy.”

In CAM, Reiki belongs to a domain (area of knowledge) called energy medicine. In this domain, therapies are based on the belief that disturbances in energy cause illness. Energy medicine practitioners seek to improve the flow and balance of energy in a beneficial way.

About Energy Medicine

Energy medicine seeks to use, for potential health purposes, forces of two types:

                Forces that scientific instruments can measure (for example, forces associated with electromagnetic fields).

                Forces (called biofields or putative energy fields) that some people believe surround and penetrate the human body, but whose existence is not yet scientifically proven. Ki, the life-force energy described in Reiki, is in this second category.

Researchers have been interested in detecting and describing the physical properties of biofields. Some, using certain sophisticated tools, have claimed to detect or photograph differences in study participants before and after energy treatments. However, it is not clear what is being detected or photographed. Others have claimed to detect energy interactions between healers and people they treat. However, these findings have not been validated, and the exact nature of the energies is not clear.

A Description of Reiki

Reiki is a therapy that the practitioner delivers through the hands, with intent to raise the amount of ki in and around the client, heal pathways for ki, and reduce negative energies. Reiki can be practiced in several ways: on its own, along with other CAM therapies, and along with conventional medical treatments.

When a practitioner performs Reiki, usually the client sits or lies comfortably, fully clothed. The practitioner places her hands on or slightly above the client’s body, using 12 to 15 different hand positions, with the intent to transmit ki. The hands are positioned with the palms down, fingers and thumbs extended. Each hand position is held until the practitioner feels that the flow of energy has slowed or stopped, typically about 2 to 5 minutes. Some Reiki practitioners believe they are helped by “spirit guides” for proper flow of the energy.

Practitioners perform Reiki most often in offices, hospitals, clinics, and private homes. The practitioner and client determine the number of sessions together. Typically, the practitioner delivers at least four sessions of 30 to 90 minutes each.

Depending on their level of training, people can perform Reiki on themselves as well as on people who are either close by or at some distance away (even at a long distance). In the latter case, Reiki is a type of “distant healing.”

^{For more on this topic, see NCCAM’s Backgrounder “Energy Medicine: An Overview.”}

More About Ki

People who believe in the existence of ki hold that ki:

                Is spiritual in origin.

                Makes up and moves through all living things.

                Is available in infinite quantities, positive in nature, and important to all aspects of health.

                Is present both inside the body and on its surface.

                Flows throughout the body in specific channels.

                Has its flow disturbed by negative thoughts or feelings.

They also believe that if ki’s flow is disrupted, the body’s functioning becomes disrupted, and health problems can occur. The concept that sickness and disease arise from imbalances in a vital energy field is the foundation not only of Reiki but of some other CAM therapies, such as traditional Chinese medicine, a whole medical system that originated in China. It is based on the concept that disease results from disruption in the flow of qi and imbalance in the forces of yin and yang. Practices such as herbs, meditation, massage, and acupuncture seek to aid healing by restoring the yin-yang balance and the flow of qi. (in which the energy is called qi. In traditional Chinese medicine, the vital energy or life force proposed to regulate a person’s spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical health and to be influenced by the opposing forces of yin and yang. or chi) and homeopathy A whole medical system that originated in Europe. Homeopathy seeks to stimulate the body’s ability to heal itself by giving very small doses of highly diluted substances that in larger doses would produce illness or symptoms (an approach called “like cures like”). (vital force).

Use for Health Purposes

People have sought Reiki treatment for a wide variety of health-related purposes. Some examples include:

                Effects of stress.

                Chronic pain.

                Recovery from surgery and anesthesia.

                Side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer.

                Lowering heart rate.

                Improving immunity.

                Mental clarity.

                Sense of well-being and/or spirituality, an individual’s sense of purpose and meaning of life beyond material values. Spirituality may be practiced in many ways, such as through religion.

                Enhancing the sense of peace in people who are dying.

A recent national survey on Americans’ use of CAM found that 1.1 percent of the 31,000 participants had used Reiki in the year before the survey.

Effects of Reiki

Clients may report a deep feeling of relaxation after a Reiki session. Relaxation in and of itself may have beneficial health-related effects, such as reducing pain, nausea, and fatigue. A client might also experience warmth, tingling, sleepiness, refreshment, and/or the easing of one or more other symptoms after treatment.

Reiki appears to be generally safe, and serious side effects have not been reported. Some practitioners advise caution about using Reiki in people with psychiatric problems.

Sometimes a Reiki client experiences what practitioners call a “cleansing crisis.” The person may have symptoms such as a feeling of weakness or tiredness, a headache, or a stomach ache. Reiki practitioners believe that these are effects of the body releasing toxins. They advise the client on how to deal with such symptoms if they occur, such as by getting more rest, drinking plenty of water, or eating a lighter diet.

Some Other Points to Consider About Reiki as CAM

If you are considering or using Reiki as CAM:

                Do not use Reiki as a replacement for conventional care or to delay the time it takes you to see a doctor about a medical problem.

                Tell your health care providers about any complementary and alternative practices you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care.

                Ask the Reiki practitioner about his training and experience (see also the NCCAM publication “Selecting a CAM Practitioner”). Ask about any costs as well, for these can vary from fees to donations to no charge.

                Reiki has not been well studied scientifically, but you can find and read research studies published on its use for various health conditions.

History of Reiki

There are different beliefs about the origin of Reiki–one is that it is based on Tibetan sutras (texts of Buddhism) written by monks. Sources agree that in the mid-19th century, Dr. Mikao Usui, a Japanese physician and monk, developed this healing approach and spiritual path, named it Reiki, trained others in it, and developed an organization.

One of Dr. Usui’s students further developed these teachings and opened his own clinic in Tokyo, where, in 1936, an American named Hawayo Takata went for treatment. Later, she trained in Reiki, became a Master, and is credited with introducing Reiki to the West in the late 1930s.

Training, Licensing, and Certification

A person does not need a special background or credentials to receive Reiki training. Many who seek the training are health care professionals. Students must learn the practice from an experienced Reiki teacher or Master, as it is not a therapy that can be self-taught.

There are a number of different schools of Reiki. Usually there are three or four levels (or degrees) of expertise, depending upon the school or type. Each level begins with an attunement, or initiation into that level. Receiving an attunement is believed to bring the ability to access Reiki energy and to open what is conceived as a central core of energy in the body.

The techniques taught can vary greatly between Reiki schools and teachers. In time, some students undertake the effort to become a Reiki Master, which enables one to teach Reiki and perform attunements. This process can take years. Some members of the Reiki professional community are interested in developing additional, voluntary standards for their profession.

The laws regulating the practice of Reiki vary from state to state, and sometimes by local areas as well. For example, in Florida, a Reiki practitioner must also be a certified massage therapist, Pressing, rubbing, and moving muscles and other soft tissues of the body, primarily by using the hands and fingers. The aim is to increase the flow of blood and oxygen to the massaged area. Most other states do not consider Reiki to be massage and thus do not regulate it as a form of massage therapy.

Some Points of Controversy

As in other CAM therapies, there are areas of controversy in Reiki. For example:

                Since little is known scientifically about Reiki, accepting its teachings about its healing properties and about ki is a matter of faith.

                Some people believe that effects attributed to Reiki occur for psychological reasons (such as the placebo effect or suggestibility), or that there are no true effects.

                Some people feel Reiki is incompatible with their religious or spiritual beliefs. (even thought reiki is not a religion, but way of relaxation.)

                Government licensing and regulation of Reiki practice is a controversial area.

NCCAM-Funded Research

Some recent NCCAM-supported studies have been investigating:

                How Reiki might work

                Whether Reiki is effective and safe for treating the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

                Reiki’s possible impact on the well-being and quality of life in people with advanced AIDS.

                The effects of Reiki on disease progression and/or anxiety in people with prostate cancer.

                Whether Reiki can help control blood sugar levels or improve heart function in people who have nerve pain from diabetes.

Taken from http://nccam.nih.gov/ 05-09-2008