Healing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 2006, Volume 6, No. 1

 

We are part of a vast world.
 

              What is our place in this amazing cosmos?


     

 
CENTER OF MERGING GALAXY SYSTEM
ESO202-G23
 

A billion stars go spinning through the night,
blazing high above your head.
But in you is the presence that
will be, when all the stars are dead.
                                   - Rainer Maria Rilke

 

  

Photo Credits: ESO PR Photo 46e/98
  

 

This is a color composite image of the merging galaxy system ESO202-G23 made by combining an ISAAC H (1.65µm) exposure with (blue) and R (red) exposures made with the VLT Test Camera at Nasmyth focus. At least one of the two nuclei is obviously an Active Galaxy Nucleus (AGN) whose partially collimated ultraviolet radiation is exciting the surrounding gas to the North. Also visible is a blue star-forming complex to the South of the centre and a complicated pattern of gas emission due to the combination of arms resulting from the merger, as well as heavy dust extinction. Of additional interest is the arc of very red objects in the lower part of the image which are more distant galaxies.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
***STUDIES and PROGRESS NOTES***
 
** SPIRITUAL AWARENESS AND HEALING **

Prayer healing for people undergoing cardiac procedures
A multicenter, prospective study explored effects of intercessory prayer compared to music, imagery and touch (MIT) therapy to reduce preprocedural distress that might affect outcomes in 748 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention in nine USA centers. No significant effects of prayer were found on primary factors of in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events, 6-month readmission or death nor on secondary endpoints of 6-month major adverse cardiovascular events, 6 month death or readmission, or 6-month mortality. A double-layered prayer intervention was utilized, with prayers being sent by a second group to enhance the prayers sent by the primary group that prayed for the cardiac patients. Neither masked prayer nor MIT therapy significantly improved clinical outcome after elective catheterization or percutaneous coronary intervention.
   Krucoff, Mitchell W. Music, imagery, touch, and prayer as adjuncts to interventional cardiac care: the Monitoring and Actualisation of Noetic Trainings (MANTRA) II randomised study. The Lancet 2005, 366, 211-217.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673605669103/abstract


IJHC-WHR Observations:
It is unclear why this study demonstrated no effects of healing, when other studies for cardiac problems produced significant effects (see annotated review in Benor 2001, listed below). The double-tiered provision of prayer healing might have been a factor, as this would seem to indicate a doubt about the adequacy of the primary group sending effective prayer healing.


 ** 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 will receive free access to the IJHC for a month, including the current issue and all back issues.

Suggestion for this month:

Reading course for enhancing wholistic healing in medical care

Wholistic healing is sorely lacking in much of medical care, where the focus is primarily on treating symptoms and diseases rather than in helping the people who have these illnesses to have better lives. Medical students often complain of the dehumanizing effects of conventional medical education; physicians in practice often express dissatisfaction with their work; and patients regularly complain of the lack of interest and attention by the medical professions in addressing their concerns when they come for treatment.
   The American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA www.holisticmedicine.org) and the American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA www.ahna.org) promote attention to Body, Mind and Spirit in medical and nursing care. The AHMA has a medical student group, the American Medical Student Association (AMSA www.amsa.org) which promotes these values and approaches in medical schools. A subgroup of AMSA promotes humanistic values (www.amsa.org/humed/ ), particularly self-care for the student doctor.
   Much of the stress of medical and nursing school training is due to the incredible information load that students are required to absorb and retain. A considerable stress load for doctors and nurses derives from having to keep up with the professional literature.
   Subliminal Dynamics is an intuitive reading method that enables reading at 2 pages per second with up to 100 percent, permanent recall after practicing the recall. A person who is trained in this method can read and absorb a 500 page professional book in half an hour. Using this method would leave students and professionals with much more time to care for people.
For descriptions of the method see www.sybdyn.com, article by Richard and Donna Welch in the January 2006 issue of IJHC.
For courses offered see www.MartinaSteiger.com
   See below details of course in Philadelphia, January 2006.
 
** WHOLISTIC APPROACHES **   
Fruits and vegetables prove helpful to people with pancreatic cancer

“Pancreatic cancer is one of the most devastating and rapidly fatal cancers, yet little is known about the primary cause and prevention of this disease. We conducted a population-based case-control study to investigate the association between vegetables and fruits and pancreatic cancer. Between 1995 and 1999, 532 cases and 1,701 age- and sex-matched controls completed direct interviews using a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. No proxy interviews were conducted. We observed inverse associations between consumption of total and specific vegetables and fruits and the risk of pancreatic cancer. The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval for the highest versus the lowest quartile of total vegetable intake was 0.45 (0.32-0.62), trend P < 0.0001; and for total fruits and fruit juice was 0.72 (0.54-0.98), trend P = 0.06.”
   Items showing significant effects included onions, garlic, beans, carrots, dark leafy vegetables, corn, sweet potatoes and citrus fruit.
Chan JM; et al. Vegetable and fruit intake and pancreatic cancer in a population-based case-control study in the San Francisco bay area, Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005, 14(9), 2093-7
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, 94118-1944, USA.
http://www.medscape.com/medline/abstract/16172215?queryText=pancreatic%20cancer%20vegetable
IJHC-WHR Observations:
    For decades, Wholistic practitioners have been recommending fresh fruits and vegetables for people with cancer. It is helpful to have research evidence confirming their benefits.
 
 
Improving health by walking on cobblestone mats
A randomized controlled study in Eugene, Oregon shows benefits of walking on a cobblestone mat compared with regular walking, for 60 minutes 3 x / week for 16 consecutive weeks in 108 adults age 60-92. There were improvements in physical function and blood pressure, balance (functional reach, static standing), physical performance (chair stands, 50-foot walk, Up and Go). Secondary endpoint measures were Short Form-12 physical and mental health scores and perceptions of health-related benefits from exercise. At the 16-week posttest, differences between the two exercise groups were found for balance measures (P=.01), chair stands (P<.001), 50-foot walk (P=.01), and blood pressure (P=.01) but not for the Up and Go test (P=.14). Although significant within-group changes were observed in both groups for the secondary outcome measures, there were no differences between intervention groups. Additional benefits of this walking program included improved health-related quality of life. This new physical activity may provide a therapeutic and health-enhancing exercise alternative for older adults.
    Source: Li F; Fisher KJ; Harmer P. Improving physical function and blood pressure in older adults through cobblestone mat walking: a randomized trial, J American Geriatric Society 2005, 53(8), 1305-12

IJHC-WHR Observations:
This simple exercise may be a generic reflexology treatment, with random stimulation of acupressure points on the feet.
   The laboratory quickly sold out 1,000 mats which it had made in China
 
 
Secondary trauma in family members from primary illness in a child
The authors point out the “need for interventions across the course of pediatric illness and injury that target patients, families, and/or healthcare teams…”
Kazak, Anne E. An integrative model of pediatric medical traumatic stress
Journal of Pediatric Psychology, doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsj054
http://jpepsy.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/jsj054v1

IJHC-WHR Observations:
Serious illnesses and their treatments are often traumatic to families and to caregivers dealing with the primary and secondary problems. See more about Compassion Fatigue in the IJHC editorial January, 2006.
 
 
 ** COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES **

Yoga is more effective than conventional exercise for low back pain
In a 12 week study, yoga was significantly more effective than aerobic, strengthening, and stretching exercise.
   Sherman, Karen J. et al. Back pain: a randomized, controlled trial, Annals of Internal Medicine 2005, 143, 849-856.

IJHC-WHR Observations:
It is helpful to have confirmation that yoga exercises are effective for back pain.


More CAM reviews at
http://www.naturalhealthvillage.com

http://www.mdlinx.com/FamilyMDLinx

http://www.chiro.org/alt_med_abstracts/#David_M_Eisenberg

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~camig/litsearch.html

AMSA website
http://www.amsa.org/humed/camresources/camnews.cfm
 
 
** ENVIRONMENT (HEALING OUR PLANET) **
Tsunami: Mangroves saved lives
Researchers say healthy mangrove forests absorbed the impact of the tidal waves and helped to save lives in the 2004 tsunami disaster.
    “The World Conservation Union (IUCN) compared the death toll from two villages in Sri Lanka that were hit by the devastating giant waves.
Two people died in the settlement with dense mangrove and scrub forest, while up to 6,000 people died in the village without similar vegetation.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4547032.stm

IJHC-WHR Observations:
The lessons of the tsunami are relevant to many other ecological situations. Nature has many ways of protecting the environment. Humans tend to focus on a narrow spectrum of issues when altering the environment – as in clearing forests through logging, leaving the land drastically altered.
   Consultations with intuitives, particularly with people in traditional societies who have unbroken cultural traditions of relationships with the land, the waters and the atmosphere could help to harmonize our relationships with the environment. Developing our own intuitive and spiritual awarenesses could serve likewise to bring us into closer relationships with nature.


* * TECHNOLOGY * *

Blogs offer taste of war in Iraq
Soldiers' blogs are opening up a new window on warfare
   The war in Vietnam is often referred to as the first war on television, and the wars in Afghanistan and now in Iraq will be known as the first wars to be blogged.
   A new generation of soldier bloggers in the US, known as milbloggers, are both fighting in the field and writing about their experiences.
   It is opening up a new window on modern warfare and is creating a new genre of war-time writing.
   However, some of these pioneering frontline bloggers fear that the golden age of milblogging has already passed as military officials begin to clamp down on the unfettered online writing.
   The first milblogs appeared in late 2002, according to Matt, the author of the popular BlackFive blog.
   Greyhawk, an active duty serviceman currently stationed in Germany and the anonymous writer behind the Mudville Gazette blog, coined the term milblog and started making contacts with other servicemen and women who blogged.
   Many blog to keep their families and friends appraised of their life in a war zone, others do it as an exercise of reflection, and others are just great writers looking for an outlet for their thoughts and feelings
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4555590.stm
See also: A Brief History of Milblogs (Mudville Gazette)
http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/003805.html

IJHC-WHR Observations:
Windows into warzones are opened by milblogs. These can provide a current, real picture of soldiers’ experiences at the front lines. Military and political censors are bound to be unhappy with this. Anyone contemplating a military career should be reading these.


* *  HUMAN ECOLOGY* *  

First people’s peace summit: International call for departments of peace in governments throughout the world.
“ It’s not a matter of simply getting another Department of Government. You’re speaking of an entire philosophical revolution.” Walter Cronkite, former CBS TV News Anchorman
   Following a two-day summit at the Houses of Parliament, the first People’s Peace Summit launched an international initiative for the creation of Departments of Peace in governments throughout the world. The Declaration was presented to a packed public meeting in the Grand Committee Room and hosted by John McDonnel MP.
   There is a rapidly growing international movement to establish Departments or Ministries of Peace everywhere. The idea is to support the emergence of a culture of peace, where non-violence would become one of the organising principles of society…
http://www.positivenews.org.uk/artman/publish/article_37.shtml

Senators Clinton, Lieberman and Bayh introduce Federal legislation to protect children from inappropriate video games
   This bill put teeth in the enforcement of video game ratings, helping parents protect their children from inappropriate content such as violent and sexually explicit video games. They were joined in making the announcement by April DeLaney, Director of the Washington Office for Common Sense Media; Norman Rosenberg, President and CEO of Parents Action for Children and Dr. Michael Rich, Director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital in Boston and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, in a show of support for the legislation.
   This bill would fine retailers who sell M-rated games to minors. The Family Entertainment Protection Act, prohibits any business from selling or renting a Mature, Adults-Only, or Ratings Pending game to a person who is younger than seventeen. On-site store managers would be subject to a fine of $1,000 or 100 hours of community service for the first offense; $5,000 or 500 hours of community service for each subsequent offense. The bill also requires an annual, independent analysis of game ratings and requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to conduct an investigation to determine whether hidden content like in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a pervasive problem and take appropriate action. In addition, the bill will help ensure that consumers have a mechanism to file complaints with the FTC and that the FTC will report these complaints to Congress. Finally, the bill authorizes the FTC to conduct an annual, random audit of retailers to monitor enforcement and report the findings to Congress.
Illinois, Michigan and California have all passed state laws to prohibit the sale of violent video games to minors. The Californian law that made it illegal to sell or rent violent or sexually explicit games to children has been blocked by a US federal judge.
IJHC-WHR Observations:
    Video games are like baby sitters for many children. This is especially tempting for parents of children with ADHD because video games are one of the few quiet activities which will hold their attention for longer periods of time. Overuse of games or TV can dull a child’s absorption capacity.
   Violence and sexual materials in videos and video games can be traumatizing to children. Parental guidance and supervision is highly advised. See the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) http://www.esrb.org/ for recommendations
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

NEW OPTION - Click here to DOWNLOAD A .pdf COPY OF THE ENTIRE NEWSLETTER
   - For yourself or to forward to friends and colleagues

* * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * *

NEW FORMAT

To view the entire WHR/IJHC Newsletter as one document (a longer download) click here

or click below to view selected separate sections (shorter downloads)

What's new on the WholisticHealingResearch.com site

What's new in the International Journal of Healing and Caring - On line

Studies and Progress Notes (This page)

Events

Classified ads

Books

Websites

Humor

NEW OPTION - Click here to DOWNLOAD A .pdf COPY OF THIS NEWSLETTER
   - For yourself or to forward to friends and colleagues

VIEW NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES
Last month's newsletter may be viewed at
http://www.wholistichealingresearch.com/Newsletters/Newsletters-05L.asp

To be removed from this list go to www.WholisticHealingResearch.com/#unsubscribe and enter your details to unsubscribe

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

PLEASE SUPPORT THE WHR AND IJHC NEWSLETTERS
AND THIS SITE!

WholisticHealingResearch.com and the Newsletters were created and are maintained and expanded as a labor of love and dedication to healing - without outside support.

Many have suggested charging for access to WHR and our Newsletters, but I don’t want to exclude those without means to pay. There are many visitors to WHR from parts of the world where credit cards and funds are not as readily available as they may be to you, and people urgently seeking information about healing who may not be in a space to pay for access to WHR.

Your donation of $5 (more will be gratefully accepted!) will go towards expanding the resources available on the site, to update sections of the site as new studies and progress in healing are published, and towards secretarial support so that Dr. Benor can devote more time to developing and expanding the content of the site.

                                         Amazon Honor System

You may also support this site by purchasing at Amazon.com through our link, in the left column, below, or bookmark this web address: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/103-8181535-3258232?mode=books&keyword=&tag=wholisticheal-20&Go.x=6&Go.y=11