While we applaud the the government (NCCAM, National Institutes of Health 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, Maryland 20892 USA nccam.nih.gov) for their support of research into alternative medicine, the reductionist approach which they are currently using to explain these various modalities has some drawbacks and neglects some of the recent advances made in this field. Many therapies do not neatly fit into any of these categories. Some are touch therapies, while others are non-touch; some can be either. Synthesis rather than reduction may be a more useful approach. Below are brief descriptions of some of the alternative medical systems in use.
Chinese Medicine
While Chinese medicine includes acupuncture, acupressure, and herbal remedies among others, it possibly can be summed up with an ancient formula. Practice + Intention = Inner Harmony + Qi (Chi) Flow = Health and Longevity. In the West medicine is for the treatment of disease. Chinese medicine also has that, but it has another category, sometimes referred to as enhance the righteous which is meant to maximize what is right, rather than to fix what is wrong. In Chinese medicine, Qi, is believed to be the life force itself. It is free and available to anyone, everywhere contained within the air and within all things. It can be in three possible states: harmony, deficiency and stagnation which determine the degree of health or disease. The goal of Chinese medicine is to increase harmony. (go to www.qi-journal.com for more info)
Ayurveda
Ayurveda is the main system of healing in India. It is as much a way of life as a system of medicine and encompasses science, religion, and philosophy. Its ultimate aim is to promote self-realization and a harmonious relationship with the world. In Ayurveda all aspects of existence is pure intellect or consciousness. Energy and matter are one. Energy is manifested in five elements: ether, air fire, water, and earth. The five elements combine to form three basic forces, known as tridoshas and closely resemble the four humors which were the foundation of western medicine until the Cartesian mind body split in the seventeenth century. When a dosha imbalance is diagnosed, the first step is to eliminate toxins in the body. Subsequent treatments fall into three main categories; medicines from natural sources, dietary regimens, and behavioral modifications. Ayurveda has attracted increasing attention from medical scientists in the West, and in Japan. The World Health Organization promotes its practice in developing countries.
An individual is considered to have three bodies within the Ayurveda system. The physical body, (annamaya kosha); the astral body (sukshma sharira), which consists of three koshas or layers; and the seed body (karana sharira). It is considered that your true self, or pure consciousness, lies beyond all these bodies.
The first five chakras (see below) are associated with the physical body, and meditations on each of these, along with breathing exercises and a vegetarian diet is believed to assist you not only to enhancing your physical body, but to guide your prana or vital energy into positive channels which allow you to master your mind.
Your astral body is believed to be connected to your physical body by a subtle thread while you are alive. When dreaming, your astral body is liberated from the restraints of physical reality, but only at death does the astral body separate from the physical body. The astral body is considered the home of your personality, your thoughts and all the qualities that are non-physical in nature.
The first sheath of the astral body (pranamaya kosha) contains your prana or life force, the network that this life force runs through, and the chakras that receive and transmit energy. It is within this layer of the astral body that it is believed you experience sensations, including heat, cold, hunger and thirst. It also governs how you react to the world.
The second sheath (manomaya kosha) is the mental and emotional layer. This is where it is believed you experience feelings such as anger, lust, grief, excitement, depression, and delusion. This governs how you know the world and how the world affects you; learned habitual actions. It contains the conscious, subconscious and instinctive portions of your mind.
The third sheath (vijnanamaya kosha) is the intellectual layer and where the ego resides. Within the Ayurveda system, the ego is considered somewhat differently than in western psychiatry. It is considered your sense of unique individuality; who you perceive yourself to be. For those interested in progressing along a spiritual path, it is considered important to purify your ego while you hone your intellect by thinking positively, doing selfless deeds, and involving yourself in focused inquiry.
The seed body (karana sharira) stores your karma, the consequences of past actions, and all the subtle impressions from this and past lives. It is believed that it is this body which causes you to have taken up your present physical body and family at birth. It determines your talents and aptitude, your emotional make up and your physical appearance. This seed body has only one layer, the bliss sheath (anandamaya kosha) where you experience joy and happiness.
Homeopathic / Vibrational
In Homeopathic Medicine, which is increasingly being known as Vibrational Medicine, disturbances in the energy field which surround the body is considered as a possible cause of illnesses, including psychological problems.
Until about 1900 homeopathic doctors and hospitals were more common than allopathic (currently considered traditional) ones. While they had substantial success in treating patients they were unable to provide a scientific rationale of why their methods worked. Part of the reason why resurgence in this field is being experienced is that this rationale has been provided. (As treatments increase harmony, they are generally pleasant to the senses. Allopathic treatments, in contrast, work by antagonizing a portion of the body on a molecular level to generate a response, and are frequently unpleasant experiences.)
The scientific rationale of why homeopathic treatments work has two components. The first is that all matter, from the sub atomic level to the universe and everything in-between, vibrates. Light can be viewed as either a particle or a wave. According to Einstein’s E=mc² formula, energy and matter are the same. The second is that the universe is holographic in nature. If you take a holographic picture of an object and cut it into a hundred pieces, the smallest piece will still contain the entire picture, although it will be fainter.
While this rationale has not been fully embraced by the traditional medical community, it is being studied and accepted by an ever growing number of scientists. Breakthroughs in this field may create a revolution in health care treatment.
The medical significance of this is staggering. It appears to confirm tenets from all major religions that the individual has the ability to heal. Increasingly homeopathic physicians are viewing themselves as facilitators of healing within the mind/body rather than as the healer.
While allopathic medicine is expected to continue serving in the front line during medical or trauma crises, homeopathic medicine (which is increasingly linking with holistic, shamanic, New Age, and alternative medicines) and becoming known as Vibrational medicine, is focusing on long range recovery and the prevention of symptoms.
Shamanic
Shamanic treatments are still in existence in many places around the world. One of the several similarities which exist, regardless of origin, is the belief that each individual has four bodies, only one of which, the physical, can be seen by most. The other bodies are the emotional, the mental, and the spiritual. Anytime the bodies are congruent, or in harmony, the person is healthy. When the bodies are out of harmony illness results.
Energy therapies of the mind/body
Most, if not all energy therapies rely on an understanding of Chakras and Auras.
Chakras
Chakras are the seven energy centers of the body, which are spinning vortexes of activity created by the presence of consciousness within the physical body. These currents of energy run within the body and exchange energy with the world outside the body. Each chakra has a particular emotional and spiritual issue which affects its proper functioning. The first chakra, associated with survival and self preservation, is at the base of the spine. The second, emotions and sexuality, covers the abdomen and genitals; the third at the solar plexus is associated with power or will, fourth, love and balance, by the heart. The fifth chakra, communication, is at the throat. The sixth, the third eye, seeing externally and within, is between the eyes. The seventh at the top of the head, is associated with enlightenment and awakening. Individuals can learn to access each of these seven centers and facilitate wellness within. As the chakras become more opened and balanced, an individual’s aura will be affected as well.(go to www.Luminanti.com/chakra.html for more info)
Auras
Auras are the energy fields which surround the body. Auras are capable of being photographed using Kyrillian photographic techniques. Some people claim to be able to see the auras surrounding the body, and many claim to be able to feel them. By noting the color and intensity of the auras, suggestions can made on ways a person’s life could be improved, including to visit a physician. (go to www.thesoulelement.com for moreinfo)
