Integral Medicine

[sirguessalot]

:)-->

Hi All,

I'm embarking on yet another hair-brained life-morphing adventure in less than 48 hours from now, during which I'm gonna be cut off from the web and email and such for who knows how long (except for what cyber-nibbles I can muster along the way).

But before I leave, I thought I'd dare to post a link to what I think is possibly one of the most emergent approaches to medicine in the world today...full of many new possibilities, and very worth keeping our eye on and supporting its development...Integral Medicine

My quick take on it...

First, to get anywhere new in medicine...conventional and post-conventional medicines need to somehow snap out of their present cocktail of existentialist nightmare, disfunctional politico-business models, and academic, social and cultural prides and taboos and such...perhaps even finally more fully redeeming the many many miracles of modern science and technology and medicine and emergency medicine for the actual well-being of all

One of the hold-ups, it seems, is how gross-realm medicine so often gets stuck in its own gifts, and to the extreme end of seeing and treating only the illness (and not really the patient), and often by trying to simply add and subtract things as good and bad.

Also, how so many of the harmful results of convential medicine seem to stem from most things being done primarily for the doctors' and hospitals' and lawyers' convenience (as opposed to the patients')...heck, even the Bible warns against this rather low ministerial center of gravity in the OT and NT

Meanwhile, so many of the holistic, retro, very retro and "alternative" practioners would do good to snap out of their own mixtures of panacea-trances and cultic and occultic cabals and old-fashioned loathings of anything new and tekkie (especially if and when poverty and illness increases and all the best stuff in conventional medicine gets harder and harder to reach).

The gift of the truly holistic and such (not merely labelled or just plain-ole watered-down versions) is how it specializes more in preventative, and treats the patient as a whole of many parts, often neither adding nor subtracting, but by simply opening, unblocking, unravelling, and untangling mostly what is already there, and often using very free and easy things (like bodywork, breathwork and mindwork) and very cheap simple household and garden-variety things (such as foods, herbs and lifestyle).

By integrating the diversity of values from conventional with the diversity of values found in all those many many old and old, old-school and new and new, new-school healing arts and other loony things like folk medicine, shamanism, eastern traditions, and even "wierder"...our co-intelligent processes and modes of feedback might actually shift into a radically higher gear in the field of medicine. Something I'm sure we'd all like to see.

But this way of medicine not only merely integrates the values of all approaches, but perhaps even more importantly, it starts by treating the physicians themselves ;)--> and by supporting and developing more open and efficient and effective styles and ways of interdisciplinary dialogue...which quite dangerously seem to be getting harder and harder to do in some places. And too, sadly enough, it appears that most of the mighty US is already among the slower-pokes in this very vital and very happening renaissance in well-being.

And so, I guess...

If it sounds worth doing so, look into it, read up on it, ask your doctors about it (although, most likely only a few doctors will have even heard of "integral medicine," or will even be interested. But keep in mind, that even 1% or .1% of ten-million doctors is still a lot of doctors. And also, how some are already intuitively going there somewhat successfully on their own and calling it whatever they need to.)

And, IMO, there is no reason to be afraid to follow that white rabbit...and no, not as thru layer after layer of deception and impossibility, but as thru layer after layer of budding partial truths and ever-greater possibility

I'm not an expert on much. But I've seen a wide variety of miracles in my life, and I also know a lot of sick people I am very worried about. Something has gotta change.

My hope is that we will all know greater how to both live and die with grace.

Peace and love and much blessings,

Edited February 11, 2005 by sirguessalot

[sirguessalot]

a few links from that Google

The Noetic Cafe

Ethics in the clinical practice of integral medicine

A 60-Second Guide to Integral Medicine

[Belle]

I recently discovered the Noetic Cafe! I haven't explored it as much as I would like, but do plan to spend some time there.

Enjoy your hair-brained, life-morphing adventure. I look forward to hearing about it when you get back. Just watch out for hair balls! :D-->