tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83921594383892243722024-02-08T07:02:14.514-08:00Christian Science in Iowagregoryghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17315721996621619261noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392159438389224372.post-33309080104316198492013-04-25T06:37:00.000-07:002013-04-25T06:37:50.170-07:00Music is therapy<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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A recent posting titled, “<a href="http://journaltimes.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/music-therapy-makes-a-difference/article_6fb6b620-b4bb-11e1-a3f4-001a4bcf887a.html">Music
therapy makes a difference</a>,” brought to mind a point that I often ponder,
namely that existence is more than a biological journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The piece points to a child with
developmental and cognitive disabilities who was able to respond more
effectively to the activities around him when music therapy was applied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Through his story, we are able to see that music made a
definitely positive difference where medical practices did not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also reminds us that music is an ancient
form of therapy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, the psalms
as recorded in the Bible were musical poetry that soothed, comforted,
spiritually uplifted and healed. The 42<sup>nd</sup> Psalm sings in part, “<span class="citedwrappermarker-highlight-normal">, “…hope thou in God: for I shall yet
praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”</span></div>
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As I read, I recalled a friend in hospice just prior to
passing from our experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For years
he had been unable to care for himself in any way and was heavily medicated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In his short spans of consciousness in a
nursing home, he was able to bring a kind of humor to those caring for or
visiting him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, in hospice, there was
no more medication and there was no obvious consciousness<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- until music was brought in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With live music and singing, his eyes opened
and a smile appeared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This joyful
indication of a live consciousness appeared whenever the music was present, but
not otherwise.</div>
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Music is not a drug or a medication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet it is therapeutic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Mitchell L. Gaynor, MD, Director of Oncology and Integrative
Medicine at the renowned Strang Cancer Prevention Center, writes in his book <i>Sounds
of Healing</i>, “Most of us have experienced moments of deep feeling, whether
it be exhilaration or sorrow, while hearing a piece of classical music to which
we particularly respond. … We shouldn’t then be surprised to learn that sound
in its purest form can promote healing at the very deepest levels of being.”
(p. 27)</div>
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<i>Sounds of Healing</i> introduces very positive healing
effects from attention to the whole individual and especially results of
chasing away mental blockage to physical healing through engagement with
musical sounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Dr. Gaynor relates that his medical training had prepared
him to look at and treat only the condition of the physical body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, as he began his practice, he noticed his
patients’ fears and how deeply his patients were searching for a deeper healing
experience beyond attention to the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>About his musical healing work, he writes “My healing work has become as
important as my work as an oncologist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
have come to see myself as a healer who happens to be a doctor, rather than as
a doctor who dabbles on the side in what too many people still dismiss as
‘alternative’ medicine.” (p. 25-26)</div>
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According to the <a href="http://www.musictherapy.org/">website</a>
for the American Music Therapy Association, those who benefit from music
therapy include: “<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Children,
adolescents, adults, and the elderly with mental health needs, developmental
and learning disabilities, Alzheimer's disease and other aging related
conditions, substance abuse problems, brain injuries, physical disabilities,
and acute and chronic pain, including mothers in labor.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Thoughts
about what is health care evolve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
recent times, music therapy reemerged about 1950, but even today is not
considered mainstream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, it is found
healing.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN;">It is
interesting that Dr. Gaynor identifies methods not presently taught in medical
schools as dismissed from the center of health care thinking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though effective, they may not be
covered by medical insurance, which may be a missed opportunity since they are
far less costly than drugs and bring about elevation of health. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN;">A
related form of ancient healing that remains active today is prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prayer is my primary form of health
care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has healed me of poor eyesight,
a damaged hand, a painful inability to move limbs on one side of my body and
other health challenges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have found
that I can trust God, divine Love, more than other health approaches for
healing.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Today
we might call our psalms hymns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One stanza
that has lifted me time and again is this from Hymn 153 by Mary Baker Eddy in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Christian Science Hymnal</i>:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“</span>O'er waiting harpstrings of the mind<span class="linebreak"> </span><br />
There sweeps a strain,<span class="linebreak"> </span><br />
Low, sad, and sweet, whose measures bind<span class="linebreak"> </span><br />
The power of pain”<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN;">As
Dr. Gaynor is illustrating with his practice, healing the body through mindful
and spiritual methods is not just an abstraction, but a practical approach to
health and healing.</span></div>
gregoryghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17315721996621619261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392159438389224372.post-73295612213386455812012-12-03T08:11:00.001-08:002012-12-03T08:11:43.482-08:00Spiritual Mindfulness - A Healing Consciousness<span id="internal-source-marker_0.6211977596637404" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Interest about the place of mindfulness in health studies has grown over the past 30 years with much of the research finding that mental and physical health is related to mind. The often studied placebo effect illustrates that health outcomes improve significantly when the patient believes medication has been administered, when no medication has. The effect of mind on health is continually evidenced in medical research. It is an evolving form of caring for health worth watching.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mindfulness as thought of in modern psychology typically involves three components:</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Being in complete attention or awareness</span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Being in the present moment</span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Being nonjudgmental and without elaboration or biased interpretation</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The idea of mindfulness is to allow one’s thought and consciousness to be free of limitations imposed by educational and social boundaries. It is to be aware of what is presenting itself for consideration such that intelligence is active rather than suppressed or dormant. Perception, conclusion and action can then result from intelligence rather than bias. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For example, centuries ago authorities ‘mindlessly’ rejected the mindful presentation that the earth is a sphere circling the sun rather than the belief that the sun passes over the earth. Sure enough, we see a flat world if we look over a prairie or a large body of water. So, the conclusion that the world is flat has viable, visible evidence. Yet, the higher evidence of the earth as a sphere circling the sun opened a boundary that allowed further discovery. More importantly, the opening of that boundary teaches the vital point that there is always more to understand about infinity.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Foundational work on the topic of mindfulness has been done by Ellen Langer, professor of Psychology at Harvard University and author of multiple books and articles including: “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mindfulness,”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> (A Merloyd Lawrence Book; Perseus, 1989.) In it she translates for general audiences much of her scholarly, award winning research. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dr. Langer points to some practices which stand in the way of a mindful response:</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">repeating what was done in the past</span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">considering the situation at hand similar to others that have been handled</span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">limiting thought through belief of limited resources and time</span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">not recognizing influence of context</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">She recognizes that health is one of the areas in which mindful approaches would benefit mankind.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Langer discovered during various experiments that elderly residents of nursing homes had improved health and longevity through increased liveliness, awareness and control of their circumstances. In one experiment, certain residents were given a plant to care for and this group showed definite improvement compared to those who were not given a plant.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">An active, caring mind made a positive difference.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Langer also became aware that mind rather than physiology is at work when a placebo brings about a positive result. She writes on page 190 of her book, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mindfulness</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">; “Placebo effects are real and powerful. Who is doing the healing when one takes a placebo? Why can’t we just say to our minds, ‘repair this ailing body?’ Why must we fool our minds in order to enlist our own powers of self-healing?”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Again, mind rather than a pill makes a happy difference.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Such discoveries continue to generate</span><a href="http://www.umassmed.edu/Content.aspx?id=41252"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">research</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> on understanding how</span><a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/mindfulness"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">mind heals</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> where attention to a material body was previously the general focus of medical research. The exploration has brought together academics and spiritual thinkers and a closer look at both eastern and western traditions.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My interest in spiritual mindfulness stems from personal experience with spiritual healing. A</span><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad343.pdf"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">study</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> published by the Centers for Disease Control shows that almost half of Americans pray for healing and I am one of them. Researchers of the role of the mind in health and the role of spirituality in healthcare like influential advocates </span><a href="http://www.dosseydossey.com/larry/default.html"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Dr.’s Larry Dossey</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and </span><a href="http://www.massgeneral.org/bhi/about/benson.aspx"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Herbert Benson</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> are finding that those who engage in spiritual activities have better health results than those who do not. Spirituality and prayer can be a powerful form of mindfulness.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Consider these questions: What role does active spiritual thought have in bringing about health? Does it have real power?</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In other words, if mindfulness can bring about improvement in health, is there a mindful awareness of spiritual power that brings to bear a factor beyond the brain, physiology or biology?</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For example, The </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Holy Bible</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> provides readers with these statements:</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“I am the Lord that healeth thee.” (Exodus 15:26)</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord;” (Jeremiah 30:17)</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">These powerful affirmations are then illustrated by the healings of various prophets and followers of the Word. Christ Jesus and his students encouraged yielding to a divine power that heals and saves us from limitations in the ever present Now.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My eyesight was corrected by mindful attention to spiritual intelligence. I had worn eyeglasses for over 40 years and required fairly heavy bifocals for reading and driving. After losing my glasses at one point, I obtained a new prescription for trifocals and a statement from the physician saying that my eyesight would continue to decline. It sounded like a sentence, and I knew the sentence did not come from God. I chose to break free from limiting thoughts about the future of my eyesight.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A statement, “There is more Christianity in seeing and hearing spiritually than materially,” awakened my understanding that spiritual power is real and available to heal. Over the next weeks, I began to find that I could remove my glasses frequently for my daily work. Several months later I took the eye exam to renew my drivers’ license and passed without glasses. I have not needed aid for seeing in any way since then.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The statement comes from a book written by spiritual teacher and healer Mary Baker Eddy titled, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. This work has renewed my interest in the teachings of the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bible </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and shown me a kind of mindfulness that merges Dr. Langer’s findings with spiritual presence.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As Dr. Langer’s work shows, awareness of the resources and truths around us as contrasted with mere acceptance of unhappy or unhealthy circumstances can change not only our outlook, but also our experience. How high can we look for those truths? The possibilities are infinite.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Blog author, George Gregory, loves to talk with others about the power of spiritual consciousness in healing. He is a Christian Science practitioner and represents Christian Science with the media and legislature in Iowa.</span><br />
<br />gregoryghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17315721996621619261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392159438389224372.post-43999282915726937852012-09-19T09:26:00.001-07:002012-09-19T09:30:35.442-07:00Rethinking healthcare through overcoming obesity<br />
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Obesity in <st1:country -region="-region"><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country>
is bringing about a rethinking of what is meant by “healthcare.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem seems bigger than the present
system of disease-care can handle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could
a more spiritual approach change the picture?</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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In August the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/index.html"><span style="color: blue;">Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention</span></a> (CDC) released their <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html"><span style="color: blue;">latest report</span></a> on obesity
indicating that again, as in recent years, a third of American adults are
obese.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Worldwide, obesity has more than
doubled since 1980.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Medical science
links a number of diseases to obesity including heart disease, stroke,
diabetes, and cancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What does poverty have to do with it?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Obesity is stated as a condition of
excess body fat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The term obese conjures
up pictures of people eating more than is useful for their body condition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And certainly, we Americans in this fast food
nation eat lots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Notice the NYC <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/13/new-york-approves-soda-ban-big-sugary-drinks_n_1880868.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular"><span style="color: blue;">ban
on large sugary drinks</span></a>.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However,
obesity seems as related to too little as well as too much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Poverty and obesity are linked.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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Poverty is a lack of something
desired or needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may be seen as a
lack of financial support and the great preponderance of obesity occurs where
income is low or absent. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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“Part of this [obesity] is due to
lower incomes and education, which … also reflects lower public investment in
education, public transportation, and recreational facilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bottom line: cheap, unhealthy foods mixed
with a sedentary lifestyle has made obesity the new normal in <st1:country -region="-region"><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country>.
And that makes it even harder to change.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So says Walter Willett who chairs the department of nutrition at the
Harvard School of Public Health as reported in “Why we’re so fat” by Rachel
Pomerance in <a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/08/16/why-were-so-fat-whats-behind-the-latest-obesity-rates"><span style="color: blue;">usnews.com</span></a>.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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Poverty may alternatively be a lack
of hope or purpose such as in the story of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/04/i-lost-weight-jennifer-bonner_n_1854336.html?utm_hp_ref=health-and-fitness&ir=Health%20and%20Fitness&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008"><span style="color: blue;">Jennifer
Bonner</span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Following an accident
involving her brother, Bonner relates a sense of hopelessness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She compensated for a lack of fulfillment
with heavy eating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From <st1:metricconverter productid="334 pounds">334 pounds</st1:metricconverter> she got herself to a
sustainable weight in the 100’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
change, in short, was that she fought back against transferring her weighty
practices to her newly born daughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She found her joie de vivre anew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Healthy thinking and living are connected.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The need to fight back<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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"It will take time and
resources to win in the fight against obesity," said <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/media/subtopic/sme/dietz.htm"><span style="color: blue;">Dr. William Dietz</span></a>,
director of CDC's <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/"><span style="color: blue;">Division of
Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity</span></a>. "This epidemic is complex
and we must continue to change the environments that make it hard to eat
healthy, and make it hard for people to be active. By doing this, we not only
help today's adults, we also invest in our children and grandchildren, so they
won't have to endure this serious and costly health burden."</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Healthcare or disease-care?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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As reported in <a href="http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/obesity-epidemic-astronomical?page=1"><span style="color: blue;">webmd.com</span></a>,
“Dietz believes that beating obesity may even require a recasting of our entire
healthcare system, since obesity needs to be prevented rather than treated
after it happens. ‘We can't afford to treat obesity and its consequences,’
Dietz says. ‘So this begs the question whether it's time to move from a
disease-care system to a real healthcare system.’"</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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Is the fight with obesity one to be
addressed by added resources or are there other approaches?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t the thought that there are insufficient
resources to fight obesity another kind of belief in poverty?</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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It’s interesting to contemplate
what could be meant by a real <a href="http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2012/09/05/stanford-experts-argue-need-for-health-care-not-sick-care/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+stanford/scope+(SCOPE)"><span style="color: blue;">healthcare</span></a>
system as distinct from a disease-care system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The disease-care system is familiar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It starts with disease as a fact and manages it, such that disease is
always present until or unless the disease is cured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By contrast, a healthcare system or wellness
system could be one that starts and stays with health, preventing disease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The focus is not so much on the body as on
useful, fulfilling activity.</div>
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Models of whole health care are
found in communities today in which attention is not so much on health as on
caring for each other and the environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Although these models may not be the direction of a healthcare system we
will see developed, they provide useful insight into alternative ways of
thinking about health.</div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Buettner"><span style="color: blue;">Dan Buettner</span></a> in his book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91285403"><span style="color: blue;">The Blue
Zones</span></a></i> illustrates how communities composed of individuals having a
sense of purpose and a spiritual connection have a longer than average life
span where obesity is not an issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Individuals so occupied have a more fulfilling engagement with life and
little focus on the physical body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
result, at least in the communities his team studied, was longer, healthier,
happier life.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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Buettner also identified diet as a
factor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, the foods taken were more
of what was available than selections of items specifically chosen for
health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Diet was not a prime consideration
about being healthy, but was generally a result of engagement with the
environment and culture.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The individual picture<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Let’s narrow the focus from the
community to the individual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is the
picture of the ideal?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The model in a
magazine ad?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A star athlete?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if I admire the appearance of these
individuals, appearance is all I get unless I get to know them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I know them, their physical appearance
becomes of less importance to me than our relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The individual is more than a biological
specimen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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To me the ideal is the man of God’s
creation, namely “the image and likeness of God,” from Genesis 1, verses 26
& <st1:metricconverter productid="27 in">27 in</st1:metricconverter> the
Bible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not suggesting of thinking
of God as having a physical body in a human form and then imagining man as
having the same form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quite the opposite,
I am referring to man with spiritual qualities of goodness such as beauty,
strength, liveliness, intelligence, honesty, integrity and spiritual purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever illustrates those qualities is
Godlike to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The beauty of a happy
smile can be more engaging than a statuesque body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Intelligence solves problems.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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Are these qualities in each
individual and can they be uncovered if hidden?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have found that, just as a rose in my garden responds to sunlight,
virtually everyone responds to respect and the kind of love that recognizes
their inherent good qualities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have
found that response in prisons, hospitals, workplaces and family life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To me this Godlike picture or package of good
qualities is not just a distant or future possibility but the reality of the
individual now.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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Plunging beneath the external
picture to find the core value is like finding a treasure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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I ask myself whether I can look at
every individual and find elements of value that transcend the labels attached
to them, whether it is race, body condition, religion, wealth or something
else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That may be hard if they are
culturally diverse from my experience or have practices that I have been taught
are undesirable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, if I am able to
look beyond the label to see the fundamental value, the items being labeled
become less prominent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Years ago I
worked as an engineer in <st1:place>Puerto Rico</st1:place> with a young woman
who would have been labeled obese.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Women
were not easily accepted in engineering at that time in the ‘70s and it was not
an easy road for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, as her
manager at the time, I was able to assign her to teams working out some of the
toughest problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her competence as an
engineer and a team contributor brought about solutions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When new teams formed, she was among the most
requested talent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the labels of sex
identity and size became less noticed, her size reduced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She eventually left the firm to join a <st1:place>Silicon
Valley</st1:place> software firm of national prominence where her stature as
an engineer grew. </div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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Knowing that each adult and child
has something precious to contribute to the whole is a useful way to think of
whole health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those individual
contributions make a purposeful community that fosters good life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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For me, starting with God and
Godlike qualities in His creation is far more helpful than starting with an
unhealthy picture.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">George Gregory is a Christian Science Practitioner
living and blogging in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Iowa</span></st1:place></st1:state>gregoryghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17315721996621619261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392159438389224372.post-1564761468820253822012-05-28T13:08:00.000-07:002012-05-28T13:08:29.684-07:00<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Memorial Day is a wonderful day for gratitude.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Having served briefly in the U.
S. Army many years ago, I had a view of men
and women who serve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are ordinary
people from all walks of cultural, family, educational and employment
backgrounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are people with dreams
and expectations similar to those of any of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Military training and experience are great equalizers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each participant learns to support the team
for survival and progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The missions
are intended for helping others and for the greater good.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The soldiers I have known were not heroic kinds of people or
the kind who would specially stand out as caring for others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some didn’t even fit easily with others
outside of military organization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, when the time came to go to bat for others, most reached beyond
ordinary response to duty even to the extent of putting their lives on the
line.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Christ Jesus was once asked what the greatest commandment is,
to which he answered first with the commandment given by Moses centuries
earlier: “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all
thy mind.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he added a second that he
said is like the first: “love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Matthew 22:36-40)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus was then asked “who is my
neighbor?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His response was the parable
of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37),
a man who cared for another man of a different ethnic background after others
had passed him by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Samaritan did
not just give a passing hand; he took special steps to see that the other man
was fully cared for.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Caring for others is divine and a method of illustrating our
love of God.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am not saying that wars and warlike behavior are
altruistic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is a different
discussion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, our soldiers show a
kind of caring that sets a high standard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Those who we honor on Memorial Day illustrate the depth of their caring.</div>gregoryghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17315721996621619261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392159438389224372.post-40414989365532153552011-10-26T11:54:00.000-07:002011-10-26T11:54:13.432-07:00Healthy Initiative of Value<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The <a href="http://www.iowahealthieststate.com/">Healthiest State Initiative</a>, announced here in </span><state><place><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Iowa</span></place></state><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> by Governor Branstadt, hopes to rank Iowans as the healthiest in </span><country-region><place><span style="font-size: 16pt;">America</span></place></country-region><span style="font-size: 16pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This initiative is moving ahead with the “Start <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somewhere” kick-off walk that was held October 7 at various locations around the state. Similar initiatives are in process around the country.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">To get oriented, I looked at the initiative <a href="http://www.iowahealthieststate.com/">website</a>, which states: “According to the 2010 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index<sup>®</sup>, </span><state><place><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Iowa</span></place></state><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> is #19 in the nation when it comes to being physically, emotionally and mentally healthy. … It’s not just physical health, though that’s part of it. The World Health Organization tells us that health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or illness.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The overall index for </span><country-region><place><span style="font-size: 16pt;">America</span></place></country-region><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> has fluctuated around 66 out of 100 for the past four years with my state, </span><state><place><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Iowa</span></place></state><span style="font-size: 16pt;">, slightly above average at around 67 and the healthiest state, </span><state><place><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Hawaii</span></place></state><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> at around 71.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems that a major change in approach is needed to raise the level of health.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">I have been wondering where the program is that actually addresses health in all phases of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Health reform discussions centered on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have focused on paying for the ever rising cost of insurance for sick care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although that is an important discussion, I’ve waited for the question to arise as to what health is and what it means to care for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doesn’t that question need better answers before trying to make a difference in health reform?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The definition of health used in the initiative transcends the condition of absence of disease or illness to include emotional and mental health as well as physical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, it is looking beyond the body to include qualities of happiness, contentment, mental sharpness and emotional stability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are spiritual and mental qualities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes sense to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can we be considered healthy if we are not feeling whole?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">It is interesting to think of health as linked to our spiritual nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I associate spirituality with fundamental intelligence, inspiration, and vitality that reach toward the divine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, spirituality is more than just another phase of health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a starting point for well being. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">By addressing spiritual needs, a health care approach can go all the way to the source of sustainable well being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By also addressing mental and emotional needs, this expansive approach is one that I can feel good about.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">I have studied the relationship between health and spirituality for years with useful outcomes such as no longer needing the eyeglasses I had worn for over 40 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, for the first time in my life, I have a driver’s license with no restriction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No expense, ready access, healthy results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, spiritual care has become my primary system of health care.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">It appears that the Healthiest State Initiative intends to look beyond whether individuals have access to medical insurance toward identifying a range of factors that contribute to well being and improving engagement with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The intent of this initiative sounds like a useful direction to me, especially since it includes not only the physical body, but also the spiritual qualities of well being.</span>gregoryghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17315721996621619261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392159438389224372.post-37769544172065579082011-09-10T11:31:00.000-07:002011-09-11T13:21:23.148-07:00STEPS OF UNITY BETWEEN THE WEST AND MIDDLE EAST IN THE 10 YEARS SINCE 9/11<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">On <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> Tuesday, <date day="11" month="9" year="2001">9/11/2001</date>, I was one of many stranded business travelers away from home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the morning progressed it became clear that airports were closed for an indefinite time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not knowing what might happen next, I yearned to be with my family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So did everyone else it seemed, and the uncertainty left travelers scrambling for alternatives to air transportation. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was grateful to find the last rental car available at any of the local rental services for my ten hour drive home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the drive, I prayed and reflected on what I was hearing on the radio.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I wondered what could be so troubling to those involved that they were willing to take their own lives and kill other humans in order to damage or destroy the buildings into which they crashed the planes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The buildings hit were prominent icons of American business, military and government, which indicated to me a deep anger at </span><country-region><place><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">America</span></place></country-region><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">.</span> </span>Radio reports began to identify the perpetrators as Middle Eastern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Listening, I realized that I had little meaningful knowledge about the Arab world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My general awareness of the language, customs and religious views of the region indicated a great difference from my middle class, white American experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wondered too what Arab region people really understood about my world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From my view the Arab and Western worlds seemed not only distant geographically, but largely unknown to each other.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">To me, the 9/11 attack served as a wake up call to genuinely understand the people of the Arab world and their needs and desires as well as the message of the perpetrators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to feel and understand our similarities in strong faith, love of family and common human values.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Once home, I found a copy of the Koran and studied portions of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spoke more deeply than my usual business talk with my Pakistani and Iranian colleagues about our families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I intentionally went to Middle Eastern restaurants to eat falafel, babba ganoush and tabbouleh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These were no longer just exotic foods, but meals representative of regions and people becoming more visible to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tiny steps, but helpful towards more understanding.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">As I look around today, ten years after the event, I see signs of more than a passing curiosity of American and Middle Eastern people trying to understand each other beyond conditions brought about by war or military force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the <country-region><place>USA</place></country-region> there are forums such as inter-religious discussions that bring ideas around Islam, Christianity, and Judaism together for discovery and mutual understanding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are a growing number of Middle Eastern restaurants, and for better or worse some of the foods are becoming part of the American fast food nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even controversial reports of banning the wearing of head scarves associated with the Islam faith signals that Americans are wrestling to find public solutions for previously hidden or invisible issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though there are still great gaps of unknowing to overcome, the progress is worth recognizing.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Looking at military activities in <country-region><place>Iraq</place></country-region> and <country-region><place>Afghanistan</place></country-region>, they now include humanitarian approaches that are changing the methods of military involvement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can also point to the Arab Spring as a movement out of oppression for some peoples toward a form of greater self-determination that they are working out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">To me, the enemy is not a person or a group of people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The enemy is ignorance, fear, hatred, jealousy, greed, apathy, or anything that suggests the absence of love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a Christian and practicing Christian Scientist, I think of the spirit of love and the expressions of real caring as examples of God in our midst.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These expressions transcend nationality or religious creeds though they may be practiced in a quite different way than I have experienced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Violent or aggressive actions show where the absence of love appears and where love can fill a space.</span></span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span class="citedwrappermarker-highlight-normal">Nothing can justify the violence of 9/11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, it has become clear that those who perpetrated the aggression are not representative of their region.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the attack alerted me to the great gap in mutual understanding between the general populations of the West and the </span><place><span class="citedwrappermarker-highlight-normal">Middle East</span></place><span class="citedwrappermarker-highlight-normal">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A gap that can be bridged through the transforming spirit of genuine brotherly love.</span></div>gregoryghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17315721996621619261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392159438389224372.post-4128873986170003012011-08-01T10:29:00.000-07:002011-08-01T10:29:25.772-07:00Safety in Prayer<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">This spring, the <place>Missouri River</place> on <state><place>Iowa</place></state>’s west boundary rose to flood levels and even now, more than a month later, the water is still so high that people in low areas remain evacuated to campsites and elsewhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Similar floods or high wind situations are all too common in <state><place>Iowa</place></state>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">In the face of news of such occurrences I have often felt helpless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should I travel to the region and help?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should I send money?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What can I do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At times in my feeling of helplessness, I have done nothing and turned my attention away.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Yet, I have found that there is something that I can do that lifts me out of a sense of helplessness and allows action that meets a need. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">I pray.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Prayer may take me to sandbag or to open my dry house to those who have lost homes or to contribute in another way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, for me it does something much more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It ties my understanding to a power beyond me or the pending circumstances and above the flooding water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It says to me, “You don’t have to be subject to anything except God, divine Love.”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The thoughts in my prayer might go something like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The only thing really going on is God, because God is the only real power. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">God is all good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is impossible for a perfect, eternal, infinite God to be a source of destruction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Destructive movement of water, air or ground is not the outcome of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">There is more to discern here. I can ask for the capacity to see the evidence of God.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">My understanding that God is the one creator and is all powerful means that all that is real is within God’s control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Real power is with God and not with the water or wind.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">My prayer can embrace the statement in Jeremiah 23 that God fills heaven and earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No place is left for disaster.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">If I look up, spiritward, I can at least find some comforting thoughts about the <state><place>Iowa</place></state> floods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was plenty warning that flooding may occur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Preventive measures were taken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People and their animal friends were moved out of harms way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Help was present for those affected in the form of shelter and nourishment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was and still is actually a vibrant flurry of helpful activity that points to the Godlike quality of caring for our brothers and sisters.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Sure, I have seen firsthand the kind of destruction that can occur with abnormal weather, hurricanes, floods and tornados.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, I do not attribute the destruction to God and I do not believe that these abnormal conditions are the end of the matter.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Any form of destruction must be the appearance of the absence of God, the result of fear that a power other than God, good, is in control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, if God is true and is all powerful, omnipotent, then my prayer can announce God to my consciousness.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">You may ask what results such prayer has brought about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, it frees my thought about the situation to realize that God, or good, is present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am no longer responding in fear, but with a better sense of wisdom, knowing that as an individual human I can do little and that as a representative of God, my God-given dominion can make a positive difference in bringing the presence of God into the picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can completely change the circumstance as illustrated by Christ Jesus as he stilled the storm in Matthew 8:24-27 and elseshere in the Bible.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Several years ago while I was at work about <metricconverter productid="30 miles">30 miles</metricconverter> from home, a number of funnel clouds were sighted in our area and a sudden pressure change across the area brought down trees, power lines and some buildings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before I left work, I took time to pray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Electricity was out including to traffic lights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Phone service was not available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Roads including interstate highways were so blocked that policemen in two locations told me that I would not be able to get through to my home for hours and perhaps not until the next day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, I was able to calmly find a quite unusual route with helpful guidance along the way to find my home safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two trees in our yard were down, but neither had touched the house, my family was safe and neighbors were already beginning to help clear the area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although much damage of trees and other houses resulted, no one in the area perished.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">What was the effect of prayer?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anxiety and fear vanished for me through prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also gave me the conviction that a safe route home was available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It gave me strength to dive right in to the clean up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was very grateful to find family, neighbors and others safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cannot say what else resulted from my prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I can say that I have been through two major floods in our city, tornadoes and hurricanes and have found not only safety, but improved circumstances following whatever damage had occurred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am grateful to God for being God.</div>gregoryghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17315721996621619261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392159438389224372.post-63898467535245179302011-06-20T10:16:00.000-07:002011-06-20T11:52:46.111-07:00Value Spiritual Health Care<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">On June <metricconverter productid="8 a">8 a</metricconverter> three-judge panel of the 11<sup>th</sup> Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on whether to reverse a Florida judge’s overruling of the new health reform law designated the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other challenges to the law are also moving through courts.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">One of the great benefits of the PPACA is that it has generated useful and bountiful discussion about the many facets of what it means to care for health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It causes me to question: what is health care and what would make it available to everyone?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it exclusively medical care? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, does ensuring that everyone has medical insurance solve the health care problem? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is more to it, as we are finding out.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The court challenges seem to acknowledge that individuals make different decisions about health care and have a right to that choice under the constitution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Supporting that view, the Centers for Disease Control released in <metricconverter productid="2004 a">2004 a</metricconverter> <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad343.pdf">comprehensive study</a> concluding that a majority of the people in the <country-region><place>USA</place></country-region> apply complementary and alternative (<place>CAM</place>) health care methods for part or all of their care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although the methods disclosed include natural products, meditation, chiropractic care, yoga and others, the most prevalent by far is prayer. The study shows 43 percent of those living in the <country-region><place>USA</place></country-region> apply prayer for their own health.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">These results suggest to me that many Americans have reason to believe that a spiritual source helps in time of need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am among those who apply prayer for health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, prayer is my primary form, and virtually my only form, of health care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have repeatedly found help through prayer for healing of physical ills as well as with other daily problems in financial matters and relationships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christian Science is my foundation for this help.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The wonderful thing about spiritual healing for me is that it supports my search to understand and trust what I find to be the real source of well being as it is bringing about physical healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">For example, one night as my wife and I were traveling with our four year old daughter in a remote area of a distant state, our daughter began to suffer from a food allergy to the extent that her features were severely distorted and she could not breathe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no time to attempt to find medical care as she needed help immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We stopped and prayed in the understanding of God’s truly caring presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we prayed, she resumed regular breathing within a few minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was able to sleep well that night and was eager to attend her ice skating class the next morning as planned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The experience confirmed the Bible statement that “God is a very present help in trouble.” (Psalms 46)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This healing and many others through prayer alone have confirmed my understanding that health is a quality of God that is found in God’s likeness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The God I am speaking of is all powerful, all good, ever present, divine Love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">This healing was readily available even though we were in a remote location.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were no medical expenses and no place for medical insurance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was no burden on others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It allowed me and my family to feel closer to our source of help.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">In the Christian Science system of healing when personal care is needed there are professional Christian Science nurses and nursing facilities, which are fully non-medical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are carefully trained and experienced in bandaging a wound or helping a patient move about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The patient pays for these services, as anyone might pay for similar services in a nursing home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are also Christian Science practitioners, professionals with a proven record of spiritual healing who help others through prayer-based care when requested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In each case, the healing element is purely spiritual, relying only on what the Bible refers to as “Lord God omnipotent.” (Revelation 19)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">When our health is at stake, we all want to know that care is available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Health care professionals of all forms should be honored and valued for the care they provide.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">From my experiences, I wish to honor God as the help I need for health, and not just as a complement or alternative to another form, but as the real, dependable, and available origin of that help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spiritual care as I know it is always available, inexpensive, responsive to individual needs, and not a burden on others.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The PPACA seems a useful vehicle towards understanding each others’ needs and desires for health care, regardless of how the law may develop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through continuing discussions towards progress with health care reform, I am hopeful that our laws acknowledge spiritual health care as the serious and effective form of care it has proven to be for those who apply it by choice and with healing results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If 43 percent of Americans apply prayer for health care, it is something to pay attention to.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div>gregoryghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17315721996621619261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392159438389224372.post-12673132633604231762011-04-22T12:42:00.000-07:002011-04-22T12:42:21.274-07:00Religious practices in the law<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">On <date day="1" month="4" year="2011">April 1, 2011</date>, a revision to the Iowa Administrative Code by the State Board of Education removed an accommodation that had exempted high school students participating in interscholastic sports from a physical examination if the exam is in conflict with religious tenets or practices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the article in the Des Moines Register correctly states, this revision was not opposed by representatives of the Christian Science Church. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the case even though Christian Scientists were likely among the sponsors initiating the accommodation when it first went into law several decades ago.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The decision not to oppose the revision can be seen as an update in policy as is reasonable to keep stride with changes in societal norms and laws, but not a change in Christian Science.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">As a Christian Scientist, I wish to be able to practice the spiritual health care I have found effective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me and others I know, that means more attention to spiritual understanding and less attention to the body. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I may also wish to play on sports teams with others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although it would not be my desire to have a physical exam for my own purposes, the results of the exam would indicate to teammates and athletic officials that I satisfy a measure of health set for participation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Acceptance of the physical exam reduces the occasion to question my health status or fear it.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">To me the practice of Christian Science is about discovering one’s fundamental, spiritual nature and demonstrating its effect in our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It never means to place personal activities ahead of care for our neighbor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love for God and our neighbor is a foundation of the Science.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The religious accommodation, in my view, was for the public as much as for those practicing spiritual health care in Christian Science.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It allowed the public to know that there are some who are practicing spiritual health care in their midst.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also illustrates the diversity of health care approaches throughout the national population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It says that state laws do accommodate responsible spiritual practices.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The Church does not tell a member whether to have a physical exam or not to have one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That choice is always up to the individual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The teachings of Christian Science provide the practical, spiritual rules that enable any individual to discover their spiritual nature in the likeness of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With these teachings as a foundation, the individual is equipped to make choices about life and how to live it.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Does it help our neighbor to reject an exam that would show the school and students that the participant is in good health?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this case, it seems more caring today of the school and others to allow the exam that is required of teammates, and to continue to hold onto the good spiritual ideas.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div>gregoryghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17315721996621619261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392159438389224372.post-2571719315227245142010-12-04T16:43:00.000-08:002010-12-04T16:43:42.294-08:00Love is the power<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">During a discussion with a man I just met last weekend I brought up my favorite topic, Christian Science.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of his first questions was, “What is the distinction between Christian Science and Scientology, given that they both promote healing by means other than medicine?”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">I thanked him for recognizing that Christian Science is not Scientology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said that I do not know much about Scientology except that it is not Bible-based.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I told him that Christian Science is based on the teachings and example of Christ Jesus and the prophets as found in the Bible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is Science, the study of which takes the learner toward a deep understanding of God and God’s relationship with each individual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the Bible in I John reveals, “God is love.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using that definition of God, He feels much closer and more powerful and the relationship feels like something more present to me than an abstraction. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Although our discussion was short, my thoughts continued.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought, “What if love were all there is?”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">In fact, that conclusion is exactly what I find to be true as I study Christian Science.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That God is All and that God is Love is revealed in the Bible and can be stated intellectually.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What brings it home for me is demonstrating the presence of divine Love in healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Let me give an example.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My daughter Jen, who had recently graduated from the university, worked and saved to fund a dream trip to trek through <place>Patagonia</place>, an area at the southern tip of <place>South America</place> filled with pristine beauty of glaciers, mountains, fiords and trails to allow them to be seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After several weeks alone on the trails, she stopped at a mountain hostel for a little friendship and a shower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a phone call home she mentioned that a heavy rash had appeared all over her body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wanted to stay on schedule by leaving the next morning, but it would be impractical to carry the backpack with a rash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We both knew that the power of divine Love does not allow an ungodly condition to stop the progress of joy and our conversation brought that truth to consciousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love enables rather than disables.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although I did not hear again from her for over a week, I later learned that she had left on schedule with no remaining trouble from a rash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">I have experienced and witnessed too many such healings to believe that this healing was just a coincidence or just biologically natural.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me and for Jen, it is confirmation of the presence of divine Love reaching the human experience wherever we are.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">And, the recognition of divine Love as the one healing and saving power is what distinguishes Christian Science from other methods of healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the Bible declares in Romans 13, verse 1, “there is no power but of God.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love knowing that this point can be experienced by in daily life.</div>gregoryghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17315721996621619261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392159438389224372.post-50218779665985576412010-11-01T14:05:00.000-07:002011-05-19T10:21:58.691-07:00Spiritual perspective makes a difference<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Today is a rainy, late October day in </span><state><place><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Iowa</span></place></state><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> with unusually strong winds blowing down many of the remaining red and golden leaves from the trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lead news stories of the day are reports of airport closings and warnings of potential tornadoes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trepidation has caused canceling of some activities and has kept a few from venturing out to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I contrast the atmosphere of apprehension associated with today’s blustery conditions with my happy experience in similar weather while growing up on a farm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We lived in a house built out of two sturdy log cabins that were connected together and furnished with conveniences of electricity and plumbing of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A feature I remember fondly was the tin roof over the porch just outside of the bedroom that my brother and I shared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sound of wind and rain on that roof was comforting to me, the louder the better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt that I was in a safe place no matter what was going on outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That feeling of comfort stayed with me even when I went outside to do my chores, relishing the bursts of wind that I could lean against.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">These contrasting takes on similar blustery conditions - - one of trepidation and the other of comfort - - remind me that perspective makes a huge difference to one’s experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two individuals in similar circumstances may perceive the situation very differently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each is valid according to the observer’s perspective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Yet one's perspective will lead to actions that result in a </span>stressful or peaceful outcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">This brings me to the reason for this blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This blog is an extension of my work answering questions and sharing information about Christian Science in the state of </span><state><place><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Iowa</span></place></state><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> with members of the media, legislators and others interested in Christian Science. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The blog gives me the opportunity to share my deep love for this Science that has been my foundation for a healthy and fulfilling life.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Christian Science teachings bring forward a Christ-based, purely spiritual view and understanding of reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This view is radically different than one that starts with the material or physical view that we generally have in front of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These different perspectives, spiritual contrasted with material, produce different outcomes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Christian Science, starting with a spiritual perspective, </span>applies a spiritually scientific method to problems and situations of all kinds, including physical ills, with healing as its proof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, Christian Science is best understood through healing experiences in a similar way that one understands how to drive a car by driving. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Through the Christian Science system of healing I have regained good eyesight after 40 years of wearing glasses, overcome a paralyzing and painful condition on one side of my body, and experienced a restored hand following a work related injury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Putting into daily practice what I am learning through study allows me to remain conscious of God’s always present power and protection, even under threatening conditions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These healing experiences have showed me in a very real way that my relation to God is close and allowed me to feel that I can trust His power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this is what is meant by healing in Christian Science, which is seeing good results from trusting a spiritual rather than a material perspective.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">In discussions with others, I have heard it said that Christian Science treatment based on prayer is equivalent to doing little or nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> On the contrary, t</span>he healings I have experienced have shown me that the perspective from a spiritual understanding of God brings about physical healing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">So what does spiritual power have to do with a rainy, windy day?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perspective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I might feel tossed and controlled by conditions of the weather and other physical conditions of health or illness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, a foundation of trust in the very present power of God allows me to feel confident that divine good controls the outcome, even in the midst of material bluster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prayer can bring this view into focus.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Watch this blog for more on the healing perspective of Christian Science and its practical approach to living.</span></div>gregoryghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17315721996621619261noreply@blogger.com0