In a world besieged by specialists, my goal
has been to address that little something that has disappeared from most
specialties—the patient! In today’s "managed health care"
environment, medicine has become big business. Patients are seen as profit
centers and their ailments are considered product lines.
Medical care should be given by men and women
who are ethically above reproach and dedicated to the patient—first,
last and foremost. Nowadays it is not unusual to find even the largest "health
care" organizations systematically lying, on patient records, about
the diagnosis, writing the name of a disease that insurance will pay more
for, even though the patient does not have that disease! (Newsweek, Aug
11, 1997) There are even groups of consultants who will, for a fee,
come in and teach your doctor’s medical group how to put a "spin"
on the medical records so as to "maximize return on investment."
If it is true that, "The poor physician
treats the symptom, the good physician treats the disease and the excellent
physician treats the patient," then I would have to say that the treatment
available from the multi-billion dollar health care business is very poor
indeed. I have always thought of my job as treating patients.
Supporting the healing process means helping
people become more whole, more vital, more creative, more well. It means
bringing about positive changes in body, mind, emotion and spirit —
to help heal not only parts of a person but the whole person,
and not only the person, but their family and environment as well.
The central focus of my work is the mind.
The mind is the doorway through which all intentional healing must pass.
Even if the best thing you can do for your particular illness is to exercise
regularly or to drink wheat grass juice, you will fail if you cannot convince
your mind to cooperate by guiding your thoughts and images along the right
pathways so these behaviors actually happen. Similarly, when you wish to
empower your immune system, relieve a headache or go to sleep by using mental
imagery, your mind is the gatekeeper.
The vast majority of illnesses are the result
of choices we make (such as food, chemicals and exercise), how we deal with
stress (giving rise to all the "stress-related illnesses) and the degree
to which we have discovered the Self and placed it in charge of all other
levels. The fascinating thing that I have found in my 30 years of work in
the field is that a tremendous amount of behavior of the cells in the body
can be influenced through the mind.
This is usually accomplished through the
use of two powerful tools:
1. Deep relaxation. By entering this
healing state, we can drain away stress and open the deeper mind to receive
new images, and to open to higher levels of wisdom and spirit.
2. The healing image. By learning
to use information from all levels, (mind, body, emotions and spirit) a
series of images (or visualizations) is created. These images specifically
counteract the disease or imbalance.
All the things we have discussed so far will
make more sense as you keep reading this column, and ask questions. Now
it’s your turn. What questions do you have about mind/body medicine,
deep healing or guided imagery? Ask me, and I’ll answer right here,
next month.
mail your question to: drmiller@sedona-goodtimes.com |