CosmicWise

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Alternative Medicine

Question: When alternative medicines (ie. homeopathy, reflexology, acupunture, etc..) are compared to the modern Western medicine we often find they aren't nearly as dependable in effectiveness and/or consistency? Though they may work for some people sometimes, they don't always work for everyone all the time. Does this mean that allopathic medicine is the better choice? Perhaps eating well & exercising regularly is the solution to all our health problems.

Response: I believe that all forms of alternative medicine work...but not every alternative method will work for everyone in exactly the same way, all the time. We seem to think that alternative, in this instance, is a mere matter of choice. And yet, alternative medicine is much more than just an option. The alternatives (and they are many) offer many possible paths that could very well address the imbalance that has given rise to a particular person's health concern. Unlike Western medicine, which addresses imbalances through either, suppression of symptoms or the excising of an offending body part, alternative medicinesall seek to address the problem right at the root.

The fact is that we are not machines made of separate parts but rather, holistic organisms that function as wholes. Therefore, the correct medicine for any given person will depend highly on discovering how each part of the whole is relating, or rather, is not relating to the whole. All in all, a persons health can really only be regained once there is an understanding of what precisely has thrown the system out of balance; it's not enough to eliminate symptoms. The symptom is, after all, merely the body's alarm system ringing as a warning that something is not right. Western medicine's response to the ringing is often about turning the alarm off without ever understanding what caused it to ring in the first place.

Ultimately, the alternative medicine which is appropriate for us at a given time, must find congruence with the underlying disturbance that has caused our alarm to ring. And so, though eating well & exercising is can be wonderfully healthy in terms of habit forming, these things alone will not always necessarily be the solution to what ails us. For instance, sometimes exercise can exacerbate our suffering if our ill-health stems from workaholism, and the best medicine for us at a particular time in our lives might in fact be about learning to sit still (meditation) and not overdoing it.

Demitra M.N.