***STUDIES
and PROGRESS NOTES***
**
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS AND HEALING **
Survey of Physicians' Views on Miracles
A national survey of 1,087 physicians was conducted by HCD Research
and the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social
Studies in December 2004 to determine physicians' views of faith,
prayer, and miracles. Click on a question number to view the
survey results:
http://www.jtsa.edu/research/finkelstein/surveys/physicians.shtml
**
FUTURE RESEARCH IN SPIRITUAL AWARENESS AND HEALING **
The IJHC/WHR
Newsletter will feature monthly suggestions for future research
in healing.
READERS ARE INVITED TO SUBMIT SUGGESTIONS
FOR TOPICS TO STUDY
If your topic is chosen, you ill receive free access to the IJHC for a month,
including the current issue and all back issues.
Suggestion for this month:
DNA
is being linked to psychic abilities, self-healing and
spiritual healing
A Russian book (translated into German)
summarizes Russian research showing that DNA can be programmed
by words and various electromagnetic frequencies (especially in the range
of audible sound).DNA sequences have patterns that precisely
match the syntax of spoken languages. This may explain the
presence of what until now has been termed "junk DNA." This
also may provide another mechanism for storing memories.
DNA may also provide "wormholes," which are quantum
connections to distant locations, thereby explaining psychic
phenomena such as telepathy and distant healing.
The full article can be
viewed - in English - on the Kontext website
http://www.fosar-bludorf.com/index_eng.htm
All information is from the book "Vernetzte Intelligenz" von Grazyna
Fosar und Franz Bludorf, ISBN 3930243237, summarized and commented by Baerbel.
The book is unfortunately only available in German so far. You can reach the
authors here:
Kontext - Forum for Border Science
http://www.fosar-bludorf.com
IJHC/WHR Observations:
These
findings, if verified, are revolutionary. While they appear to be so far out
on the leading edge as to raise many questions, they are in line with the theories
of quantum physics. Replication of this research are eagerly awaited.
See the following reference for a thorough, though technical, discussion on
this subject. (This will be reviewed in the next IJHC)
Satinover, Jeffrey. The Quantum Brain: The Search for Freedom and the Next
Generation of Man,
New York: John Wiley & Sons 2001.
See extensive
lists and discussions of healing research design at http://www.wholistichealingresearch.com/Research/RschTop.asp
Daniel Benor, MD, is available for consultation on setting up studies for evaluations
and treatments of health challenges.
**
WHOLISTIC APPROACHES **
Did
animals have quake warning?
Do wild animals have a sixth sense?
Wildlife officials in Sri Lanka have reported that, despite the loss of human
life in the Asian disaster, there have been no recorded animal deaths.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4136485.stm
IJHC/WHR Observations:
Animals have greater access to their intuition than most people. In traditional
societies they also often have clearer access to their intuition than in industrial
societies. Some of the native tribes in the path of the tsunami also knew to
go to higher ground for safety before the wave arrived.
See discussions of intuition:
Intuitive assessments: an overview
http://wholisticHealingResearch.com/Articles/IntuitAssessOverv.asp
Daniel J. Benor, MD, Intuition (editorial), International J of Healing and
Caring 2001, 2(2), 1-11.
http://www.ijhc.org/FreeJournal/Homepage-2-2.asp (brief
summary and ordering link
Boys 'cured' with gene therapy
"Four UK children born with a condition robbing them of their natural
defenses against infection have had successful gene therapy treatment, doctors
say.
Gene therapy adds to the body, via a leukaemia virus, a fully functioning version
of the mutated gene that causes severe combined immunodeficiencyÉ
Without treatment, children with
SCID are forced to live in protective "bubbles" to shield them from
potentially fatal infections.
The majority of patients can be treated with a bone marrow or stem cell transplant
from a donorÉ
But it can be difficult to find a suitable donor who is a close enough match
and the child may be too sick to have this treatment, which involves chemotherapy. "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4101411.stm
C-reactive protein associated with
emotions
Greater anger and severity of depressive
symptoms, separately and in combination with hostility, were significantly
associated with elevations in CRP in apparently healthy men and women.
These associations were independent of potential confounding factors.
Edward C. Suarez, PhD. C-reactive protein is associated with psychological
risk factors of cardiovascular disease in apparently healthy adults suare001@mc.duke.edu
IJHC/WHR Observations:
C-reactive protein is an indicator of acute illness
**
COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES **
CAM
use remains steady between 1997 and 2002
One in three U.S. adults (72 million) used at least one form
of CAM at both points of survey. However, there were changes in
the choice of CAM therapies used.
"The largest change was a 50 percent jump in the use of herbal supplements,
growing over the five years from 12.1 percent of adults reporting usage in 1997
to 18.6 percent -- or 38 million adults -- in 2002. The practice of yoga increased
40 percent over the same period, growing from 3.7 percent in 1997 to 5.1 percent
- over 10 million adults - in 2002.
Use of CAM therapies such as acupuncture, biofeedback, energy healing, and
hypnosis remained essentially unchanged between 1997 and 2002, while the use
of homeopathy, high-dose vitamins, chiropractic, and massage therapy declined
slightlyÉ
The ways in which several CAM therapies are used also appear to have changed.
For example, only 5 percent of people who used herbs saw a practitioner of
herbal medicine in 2002, compared to 15 percent in 1997. ÔSuch changes are
important considering that other research has shown that 60 to 70 percent of
patients who use CAM therapies do not disclose it to their physician,' says
lead author Dr. Tindle. ÔThis is especially critical as more becomes known
about the adverse effects associated with individual dietary supplements as
well as their interactions with prescription drugs.' "
January/February issue of the medical journal Alternative Therapies in Health
and Medicine.
Summary from http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-01/hms-ca010605.php
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) biofeedback can help you relax and can reduce
cardiovascular risks
Your HRV (the beat-to-beat
change in heart rate) reflects your autonomic nervous system activity. HRV
has been studied extensively and can be helpful in dealing with heart arrhythmias.
It can also help you identify how your emotional states influence your tension
levels and can help you build your mind-body connectedness.
http://www.holisticprimarycare.net/app/2_7.jsp;jsessionid=D0D6AB64B387C919780AA29F5824F4D5
IJHC/WHR Observations
Biofeedback is a vastly
under-utilized self-healing method. This is one of the clearest summarizing
articles I've seen on HRV.
Magnetic bracelets reduce pain from osteoarthritis of the hip and
knee
194 men and women
aged 45-80 years with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee were studied.
Mean difference between magnet and placebo groups were significant
(1.3 points, 95% confidence interval 0.05 to 2.55).
Tim Harlow, Colin Greaves, Adrian White, Liz Brown, Anna Hart,
Edzard Ernst, Randomised controlled trial of magnetic bracelets for
relieving pain in osteoarthritis of the hip and knee, British Medical
J, 2004, 329, 1450-1454
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/329/7480/1450?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=magnet+bracelet&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1103418923289_9020&stored_search=&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=1
More CAM reviews at
http://www.naturalhealthvillage.com
http://www.mdlinx.com/FamilyMDLinx
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~camig/litsearch.html
AMSA website
http://www.amsa.org/humed/camresources/camnews.cfm
**
ENVIRONMENT (HEALING OUR PLANET) **
Compassion
for farm animals
The Animal Compassion Foundation will provide education and
research services to assist and inspire ranchers and meat producers
around the world to achieve a higher standard of farm animal quality
of life. "By creating the Foundation, Whole Foods Market is
pioneering an entirely new way for people to relate to farm animals
- with the animals' welfare becoming the most important
goal."
-John Mackey, Whole Foods Market CEO, chairman and co-founder www.animalcompassionfoundation.org
Nations Ranked As Protectors of the
Environment
By Felicity Barringe The New
York Times Monday 24
January 2005
"WASHINGTON - Countries from Northern and Central Europe and South America
dominated the top spots in the 2005 index of environmental sustainability, which
ranks nations on their success at such tasks as maintaining or improving air
and water quality, maximizing biodiversity and cooperating with other countries
on environmental
problems.
Finland, Norway and
Uruguay held the top three spots in the ranking, prepared by researchers at Yale
and Columbia Universities. The United States ranked 45th of the 146 countries
studied, behind such countries as Japan, Botswana and the tiny Himalayan kingdom
of Bhutan, and most of Western Europe.
The lowest-ranking
country was North Korea. Among those near the bottom were Haiti, Taiwan, Iraq
and Kuwait.
The index is the second
produced in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, which meets in Davos,
Switzerland, this week. The first complete index, in 2002, produced outrage and
soul-searching in lower-ranking countries like Belgium and South Korea, said
Daniel C. Esty, the director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy
and an author of the report.
The report is based
on 75 measures, including the rate at which children die from respiratory diseases,
fertility rates, water quality, overfishing, emission of heat-trapping gases
and the export of sodium dioxide, a crucial component of
acid rainÉ."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/012605X.shtml
IJHC/WHR Observations
It is shameful that the US places so low on this list. This means that the US
is polluting more than one third of the other countries in the world.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP IMPROVE THIS?
**TECHNOLOGY **
Brain chip reads mind by tapping straight into neurons
Controlling
objects with thought is becoming a reality.
A pill-sized brain chip has allowed a quadriplegic man to check e-mail and
play computer games using his thoughts. The device can tap into a hundred neurons
at a time, and is the most sophisticated such implant tested in humans so far.
Many paralysed people control computers with their eyes or tongue. But muscle
function limits these techniques, and they require a lot of training. For over
a decade researchers have been trying to find a way to tap directly into thoughts.
In June 2004, surgeons implanted a device containing 100 electrodes into the
motor cortex of a 24-year-old quadriplegic. The device, called the BrainGate,
was developed by the company Cyberkinetics, based in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Each electrode taps into a neuron in the patient's brain.
http://www.cyberkineticsinc.com/braingate.htm
From: http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041011/full/041011-9.html
IJHC/WHR Observations
This is truly revolutionary - opening up what heretofore was only
a science fiction dream of human mind to computer interfacing.
German Textile Research Institute develops intelligent clothing
Researchers at the Textile Research Institute Thuringia-Vogtland
(TITV/Greiz) have developed a special belt incorporating intelligent textiles
that can monitor breathing and send out a signal if any irregularities occur.
By using sensors, which are integrated into romper suits, babies can be
supervised at all times in order to avoid sudden cot death
Will exhibit at: TCL15 - Atlanta, GA, USA
http://www.ictcl.com/agenda
Technology preserves
Italy's art and gives visitors better views
Deterioration of Da Vinci's 500
years old Last Supper is severely limiting visitors to the Church of Santa
Maria Delle Grazie, despite the best technical efforts to preserve the fresco
walls, eliminate corrosive pollutants in the air, etc
ÒVisitors can now explore the Scrovegni Chapel with 3-D softwareÉ Controlled
with a key pad and mouse, the software allows visitors to navigate wherever they
want to in the chapel, and zoom in to get a closer look than they can on the
real thing.
You can jump up into the rafters to get a bird's-eye view, and you can also
see how the chapel might have looked to Giotto when he first planned its layout
700 years agoÉÓ
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/4154219.stm
See also: Technology
for preserving Aboriginal art
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2557951.stm
IJHC/WHR Observations:
Check what percent of donations is used for administrative costs by the
organization you choose, and what percent actually gets to the people who need
it. The Red Cross actually comes out very poorly by this measure.
** HUMAN ECOLOGY**
Tsunami
help
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-12-27-help-orgs_x.htm
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