Taking The Mystery Out Of "Alternative"

Over the past three decades, reports of new – and in some cases extraordinary – healing techniques have been widely publicized. That has had a very interesting effect on many people, and on how they choose to take their medicine.
In the United States alone, there have been countless studies and research papers written on alternative medicine, health and healing. Topics that have been extensively covered include acupuncture , Ayurvedic medicine, energy healing , vitamin and herbal supplements, meditation, yoga and deep breathing exercises. But is all of this “for real”? Or is just “mind over matter?”
Please stay with me: it goes much deeper then that.
Over four decades ago, the discipline of mind control -- pioneered by Religious Science founder Dr. Ernest Holmes and Silvia Mind Control – was developed to help relieve the suffering that came with illness and to help people come to a ‘ prosperity state of mind,’ and even get rich, if they had a mind to. And those techniques have persisted. They are more popular today than they were back in the ‘good old days’ of black-and-white TV.
Why are so many people looking for answers in directions that go beyond the good advice of the simple family doctor when it comes to treating their disorders? Because clinical studies prove that miraculous healings do, in fact, take place without the aid of modern science or simply "popping pills." People are waking up and looking into the cause of illness and dis-ease, and taking responsibility for their own cures.
Let us examine just a few of the off-the-beaten-track healing modalities that are available to the general public of Planet Earth today.

In Truth, “alternative” healing has been a staple of many societies since the beginning of time.
There is increasing evidence that in many cases today’s mainstream medicine is embracing the practice of alternative healing methods -- whether they come from religious men, shamans, or therapists -- by combining them with “traditional” treatments. For example, participants in the Benson Cardiac Wellness Program for coronary artery disease have been provided with relaxation response techniques that include prayer, meditation and cognitive therapy, and those patients have reported fewer symptoms of chest pain, less shortness of breath, less fatigue, fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety and anger, lower levels of cholesterol and blood pressure, greater weight loss and an increase in exercise tolerance, not to mention a feeling of overall well being and a more active sex life.

So is there something here? Something we should be taking a closer look at? Yes, there is…and that is exactly what we are going to do throughout this book.

Are cures possible?
World-famous doctors such as Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil and nutritionist Gary Null believe that such “alternative” cures are possible and have reported absolutely amazing results using healing techniques that have been used for hundreds of years abroad,(in India, China and Japan, just to name a few) but have gone unnoticed – or more recently have been suppressed by the American pharmaceutical companies – here in the good ol’ USA. At the same time, another set of ideas are just beginning to have an impact on the forefront of our society: that many so-called “necessary” surgeries, and use of dangerous chemicals, may not be such a great idea for the human body after all.
These doctors, along with countless thousands of others throughout the world, agree on this one simple, powerful principle: “What we ingest affects our health.”

Are pills the answer?
What does the word 'antibiotic’ mean, anyway? It means anti-life. Now, in this new millennium, people all over the world have started to look into pro-life approaches instead – approaches based on what's really good for the body and can actually cure the problem in a way that sustains life rather then kills it. People are looking for ways to not only live longer, but to liver healthier, with more vitality. They are looking for ways to sustain their bodies without the use of modern medicine or just “popping pills” as means of restoring good health, after many years of poor diet .
Why? Because many of us are suspicious of pills and pharmaceuticals -- and we should be. Just what are we ingesting? Might those things be the cause of our problems, rather than the cure? Could the things we take into our body – including the things we are told are good for us -- be the reasons so many people are running to the doctor’s office?
We will cover that question – and many others – very thoroughly though out this book.

Aren’t we just talking about “ faith healing?”
Maybe it is. But maybe not – maybe it goes much deeper then that. A great writer named Napoleon Hill once wrote, "What the mind conceives and believes, it can achieve” This is true to a much larger degree than many people believe, but it is not simply a matter of faith . It’s a mater of physics.
Stay with me now, please.
Our homo sapiens minds and our physical bodies are essentially made of matter, energy, space and time…and the controlling factor, the factor that dictates our overall well-being, is energy.
Why is that? Because energy runs the whole machine. Without it, the other three would not exist.
That’s just good old-fashioned high school science…so what's the news? It's this: correctly applied techniques for manipulating or controlling energy can allow bodies to be healed, to be made whole, and to live far longer than anyone heretofore thought possible. In fact, strictly through controlling energy flows, we can live forever.
We really can “achieve what we believe.”
Way back in the late 1950’s, L. Ron Hubbard said it as well. When you have a spiritual being that realizes who he or she is, he wrote, when that being realizes who's in charge and comes to recognize energy flows and his or her ability to run or control the energy of the body, then the body can go on living for a very, very long time. And this can happen without the aid of conventional medicine, which Hubbard himself strongly opposed for most of his life. No endorsement of Dianetics or Scientology is intended here, but the point is clear: you and I can indeed live very long, very productive and joyful lives without the use of drugs that supposedly sustain life. It is, in fact, very possible that we can deal with body energies and live happily for a very long time strictly by controlling various energies.
One of the chapters in the book Miracles In The Kitchen is devoted to controlling your energy, to help improve your health.

‘Juicing’ turns people around, 360 degrees

Today, people like Gary Null, Jack La Lanne and many others have been promoting the idea of extending life – and a very healthy life, at that – strictly through the use of fresh organic vegetable juicing, combined with good clean water and plenty of regular exercise. People around the globe have been applying these techniques to their daily lives and living far past what conventional doctors have referred to as “terminal case life expectancy” – or, to put it simply, dying at a predictable age. These “juicing” techniques address the chemical energy in your body – its acidity level as opposed to its alkalinity. The principles on which a high juice diet is based assume that fresh organic vegetables and fruit juices, good clean water, and deep breathing and exercise can change one's life, and may be all that one requires to sustain stamina and vitality for decades.
It has gone well beyond theory and into practice … and it’s a practice that seems to work very well for millions of healthy people running around the globe today.

Shamans from many cultures have applied what we (western medicine) are just now learning
Our ancestors knew about spiritual healing centuries ago. They lived in connection with their spiritual essence, and also used natural herbal remedies in the treatment of severe challenges to the human body. A study of the ancestral wisdom of our Native American culture reveals that spontaneous healing has occurred in what might have been deemed a ‘suspect’ manner.

Science and our faster pace of life have ruptured our relationship with nature, but it is possible to reestablish our harmony with nature and be healed completely of some very troubling dis-eases strictly by reconnecting with nature. As an old shaman I knew once named Leonard J. Mountain Chief, a Blackfeet elder said, "Healing is available to anyone. All one has to do is to get out of one's own way and let the nature do the work."

There are many routes to wholeness
The list of alternative supplements, herbs , homeopaths, vitamins and healing modalities are endless and the choices are many. What’s required, especially in cases of severe challenges, is research and evaluation, so people can make the correct decisions based on personal belief, hopes, dreams …and by determining what is really going to work for you to sustain your optimum health.
Already the little voice in your head is saying, "But, he/she is my doctor. If alternative medicine is so great why doesn't he/she prescribe it?"
Good question! Many contemporary doctors don't know about the many choices available in the world today, and some may not care to know. But others do know about the many roads to good health and well-being that a patient can travel today, in conjunction with western medical modalities for treatment of dis-ease or discomfort.
Listen to what the “traditional” doctors and practitioners say … but remember it is your personal responsibility to seek out what you FEEL is the best route for our body, your health, your life and your longevity .

Here is just a short list of alternative methods available for your consideration:
We will cover many of these in this book:
1 Acupuncture
2 Chiropractic
3 Herbal remedies
4 Energy manipulation or energy healing
5 Organic fruit and vegetable juicing
6 Meditation
7 Sweats and water purification
8 Drumming and soul retrieval
9 Vitamin supplements
10 Deep breathing exercises
11 Prayer work
12 Touch for health
13 Hiring a personal fitness trainer
14 Counseling to resolve past issues
15 Past life regression therapy
…and the list continues to grow.
What works? It all works; the choices are many. The only choice that is important is the one that you make. Only you can decide if alternative medicine really work? That decision is yours.
Best of health.
Jay North has worked in the healing arts for over thirty five years, he has had several thousand articles published and has worked to help hundreds of people over come personal challenges. He can be reached through his website www.SpiritHealing.net
####