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Traditional Medicine Finds Connection with Naturopathic Healing

The traditional world of healing (naturopathic) is developing a healthy partnership with many areas of allopathic medicine (Western). One such area is the study of the role the human psyche plays in healing.

After being trained in complementary medicine, Drs. Reilly and Taylor have said, โ€œI now see the whole person and not a biochemical puzzle to be solvedโ€ (Reilly, p.1).

Ibn Sina (Avicenna), the Muslim philosopher and physician, made the same proclamation over a thousand years ago when he stated that the body of man is intricately related to the human soul.

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โ€œThe body and soul form one complete whole โ€“ one single beingโ€ (Nasr, p.252). These theories seem to ring true because, as we know, we cannot begin to know Allah (SWT) until we truly know ourselves.

Alternative medicine is often called โ€œenergy medicineโ€ because of the emphasis it places on the human psyche. Energy medicine involves the concept of โ€œvibrational healingโ€ and is practiced by many cultures all over the world. It contributes to the development of bio-electromagnetic resonance.

The clinical applications of energy medicine include psychobiological treatments, as well as therapy geared toward the prevention and management of acute and chronic illnesses, and can help lead to a fuller understanding of the interrelationships of the environment and nature on man (Korn, p.1).

Energy healing can involve spiritual healing or other mental healing exercises. Among the American population, 75% of studies show a positive association between spirituality and health including depression, substance abuse, and coping and recovery from illness and mortality (Anandarajah and Hight, p. 2).

Naturopathic Healing

Naturopathic forms of healing work with energy systems and use the body as a vehicle to eliminate and remove negative spiritual and physical toxins caused by emotional blockages, tension and general toxicity build-up.

โ€œThis area of psychological and spiritual intervention is essentially untapped,โ€ says Porter Storey, MD, Medical Director of Hospice at the Texas Medical Center.

โ€œIt can dramatically improve a lot of parameters in patients much more effectively than expansive medications and it has essentially no bad side-effectsโ€ (Foubister, p. 1).

This argument is supported to some extent by Dr. Zelda Di Blasi who says, โ€œIn a healthcare consultation, doctors can offer social support to patients, give them a safe space to open up, discuss their problems and reassure them with a diagnosis or a treatment, thereby relaxing them and lowering anxietyโ€ฆ All of these ingredients have been linked with immune function.โ€

Dr. Di Blasi is the author of a study in last monthโ€™s Lancet which found that, โ€œDoctors who showed empathy and acknowledged their patients fear and anxieties were more effective than those who kept patients at armโ€™s lengthโ€ (Rostler, p.1).

โ€œThe fear that we will turn medicine into nothing but a business is going to fuel ongoing interest in addressing the humanistic dimensions of care, of which forgiveness is one,โ€ says Stephen P. Bogdewic, Vice Chair of Family Medicine and Assistant Dean for Primary Care Education at Indiana University School of Medicine (Foubister, p. 3).

So at a time when we are losing the wealth that Allah (SWT) has blessed us with, more people are waking up to what has been revealed in the past.

Dr. Howard Frumkin, professor of occupational and environmental medicine at Emory Universityโ€™s Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, states, โ€œThe plantation of trees or any vegetation anywhere, is the first step towards empathy in the environment.

Their therapeutic qualities have been known for a long time to reduce stress. In addition, they clean the air of toxins and create visual and nasal qualities that have an impact on our sensibilities like balm to the soul.โ€

All forms of vibrational or energy healing seek to unify the conscious and the subconscious, and the lower self and the higher selves with Allah (SWT).

By bringing our bodies into balance physically, physio and socio-biologically, and psycho-spiritually, we realize who we truly are and we are better able to understand the Divine Will of Allah (SWT).

This article is from our archive, originally published on an earlier date, and highlighted now for its importance

References:

  • Anandarajah, Gowr & Hight, Ellen. โ€œSpirituality and Medicine Practice.โ€ American Academy of Family Physicians (2001).
  • Foubister, Vida. โ€œBroadening the Role of Forgiveness In Medicine. AMNews. (Aug. 2000).
  • Korn, Leslie. โ€ Energy Medicineโ€œ. Center for World Indigenous Studies (2001).
  • Lyman, Francesca. โ€ Natureโ€™s Medicineโ€œ.
  • Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Islamic Cosmological Doctrines. Britain: Thames & Hudson. 1978.
  • Reilly, David. โ€œEnhancing Human Healingโ€. British Medical Journal. (Jan 2001).
  • Rostler, Suzanne. โ€œEmpathy, Warmth Can Be Potent Medicine.โ€ Reuters Health.
About Hwaa Irfan
Late Hwaa Irfan, may her soul rest in peace, served as consultant, counselor and freelance writer. Her main focus was on traditional healing mechanisms as practiced in various communities, as opposed to Western healing mechanisms.