|
|
|
Written by Thomas K. Szulc, M.D.
May, 2005
Since the dawn of time, mankind has always had a need for a medicine man, a doctor, who with dedication and compassion would take care of the sick and wounded.
As time passed, the great minds of both the ancient Eastern and Western civilizations created extensive and detailed knowledge bases for healing. These learned men used these bases
and incorporated them into a holistic approach to health and healing that resembled more of an art form than anything practiced in modern medicine today. The healing of a person
involved many different and innovative paths that the healer might take to achieve the goal of total health. These paths were often very creative and uniquely tailored to match the
needs of the individual seeking health. Hippocrates (460-377 BC), who is considered the father of modern medicine, often referred to the work of the healer as an art form.
Each of our great and ancient civilizations, through the curious observation and experimentation of its wise men, left behind volumes of revolutionary information on the
processes of healing. This collective medical knowledge was passed from generation to generation as a sacred trust, always to be used for the benefit of mankind. Hippocrates expressed
the role of the healer as a sacred guardian of the wisdom passed down by generations in his “Oath”:
|
“I swear by Apollo the physician, and Aesculapius, and Health,
and All-heal, and all the gods and goddesses, that, according
to my ability and judgment, I will keep this Oath and this
stipulation-to reckon him who though me this Art equally dear
to me as my parents, to share my substance with him, and relieve
his necessity if required; to look upon his offspring in the same
footing as my own brothers, and to teach them this art, if they shall
wish to learn it, without fee or stipulation; and that by precept,
lecture, and every other mode of instruction, I will impart a know-
edge of the Art to my own sons, and those of my teachers, and
to disciples bound by a stipulation and oath according to the
Law of Medicine, but to none others. I will follow that system
of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider
for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is dele-
teriuos and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to any one
if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; … With purity and
with holiness I will pass my life and practice my Art. I will not
cut persons laboring under the stone, but will leave this to be done
by men who are practitioners of this work. Into whatever houses I
enter, I will go into them for the benefit of the sick, and will abstain
from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption; and, further
from the seduction of females or males, of freeman and slaves.
Whatever, in connection with my professional practice or not, in
connection with it, I see or hear, in the life of men, which ought not
to be spoken of abroad, I will not divulge, as reckoning that all
such should be kept secret. While I continue to keep this Oath un-
violated, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and the practice of
the art, respected by all men, in all times! But should I trespass
and violate this Oath, may the reverse be my lot!” |
Along with a holistic, integrative approach to medicine, these ancient civilizations always had a great and profound admiration for nature and incorporated it into
the healing process. From the Ayurvedic (Indian) and traditional Chinese medicines of the Far East to the Hermetic philosophy of Hippocrates and Galen writings of ancient Greece,
the study of nature was critical. From the ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures to the European renaissance medicine men, there has always been a great admiration and respect
for nature. Across time, all the great doctors of these civilizations believed that a natural lifestyle in harmony with the principles of nature was the best way to maintain health.
The famous Swiss physician of the Renaissance, Theophrastus von Hohenheim (1493-1541), also known as Paracelsus and considered the father of natural medicine, always recommended natural
methods to stimulate the body to heal itself. His motto for medical science was:
“Natura sanat, medicus curant” or “Nature heals, the physician helps to cure” |
 There is also another critically important aspect that all these ancient philosophies of medicine share in common; they considered human beings to be energetic life forms
that possess“vital life energy”. They used the knowledge of this energy and its functioning throughout the body as a basis for many of their treatments. Many of the most famous ancient
methods of healing such as acupuncture and Indian Ayurvedic treatments are directly based on the idea of human energy systems. Throughout time this vital energy has been given different
names by different cultures. In India it was and is called “prana”. In China they refer to this energy as “qi” or “chi”. In Japan it is known as “ki”. On the Polynesian islands they
call it “mana”. In Greece it was called “pneuma”. Even the most “primitive” tribes existing today like the Ufaina Indians in the Colombian Amazon jungle believe in a vital force called
“fufaka”. According to the Ufaina, “fufaka” is a vital force from the Sun and is present in all living things. From the 17th Century to the 19th century, interest in the idea of a human
vital energy force was taking hold in modern western society. Franz Anton Mesmer, a famous 18th century German physician described it as an “animal magnetism”. Hans Driesch, a 19th century
German embryologist called it “entelechy”. Another 19th century German scientist by the name of Karl von Reichenbach referred to this energy as “odyle”. Wilhelm Reich, a well-known German
physician-scientist of the 19th century, famously coined the term “orgone” for this energy. Charles Littlefield referred to this energy as “vital magnetism” and George Starr White, a famous
doctor of chiropractic medicine called it “cosmos-electric energy”.
Around the time that Paracelsus was making his breakthroughs in natural medicine (early 1800’s) with his invention of modern homeopathy, new discoveries in more physical areas of
medicine were changing the thinking of many physicians. Medical science was becoming more interested in strictly the physical aspects of the body and notions of a “vital human energy” force
were loosing scientific popularity. In 1796, Dr. Edward Jenners’ research on smallpox vaccination initiated the era of vaccination. In 1833, the German biologists Matthias Schleiden and
Theodor Schwann introduced the concept of cellular structural biology. In 1858 Rudolf Virchow, working off the ideas of Schleiden and Schwann, wrote his famous book Cellular Pathology which
explained that all diseases originate from cellular dysfunction in the organs and tissues of the body. These discoveries served as the basis of today’s physical allopathic medicine.
In the early 20th century, new discoveries in synthetic pharmaceutics gave rise to our modern way of treating disease. In 1910, the landmark discoveries of Paul Erlich and Sahachiro
Hata of the drug arsphenamine gave birth to chemotherapy. In 1928, Alexander Fleming’s research on the mold Penicillinum notatum introduced the drug known today as penicillin and the era of
antibiotics began. With all these discoveries, medical researches began to consider treatments as truly scientific only if they were measurable, objective and could produce repeatable results.
Anything outside this paradigm was not considered true science. Scientists did not want to recognize that what could not be measured today was only a limitation of their scientific instruments.
On a temple found in ancient Egypt, there are hieroglyphs that read “Nothing is inert, everything is vibration, everything vibrates”. These ancient people believed intuitively that life was really
about dynamic, “magical” energy patterns. They knew this despite not having the instruments to prove it. It wasn’t until the 20th century that empirical science started to reexamine the idea of “energy”.
It was at this time that Quantum physics was beginning to show us that matter, as we knew it, was actually condensed energy and that energy interactions better defined certain aspects of our physical world.
The collective work of Max Planck’s Quantum mechanics, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and the work of many generations of physicists including Heisenberg, Weizsacker and Burkhard Heim confirmed
that matter and energy are inseparable and that they can not exist independent of each other. Matter is a manifestation of energy and all vital processes in living organisms are influenced and controlled
by electromagnetic forces. Italian physicist Prof. Carlo Rubbia, awarded the Nobel Prize in 1984, stressed that matter represents only a minute part of the Universe and that phenomena relating to energetic
interactions and resonance, which ultimately control matter, are far more important. Resonance between oscillating particles is an elemental principle in the Universe. Man is in some respects an open system
and is constantly being exposed to electromagnetic vibrations from his environment. These vibrations contain a multitude of information regarding cosmic radiation, sunlight, sound, water, soil, natural waves
like Schumann waves and also man-made electromagnetic waves including radio waves, microwaves etc. Organisms are also constantly emitting and absorbing energy, in the form of heat, from their environment.
Extensive research into the realm of bio-energetics by the German bio-physician Fritz A. Popp, of the University of Kaiserslautern, revealed that all cells in living organisms communicate with each other
by using an ability to store and emit particles similar to light, which he referred to as biophotons. In 1923 the brilliant Russian scientist Alexander Gurwitch, was the first to recognize the existence of an
electromagnetic biological field which organizes all vital processes in living organisms. He also proved that cell multiplication could only be possible with absorption of energy, equivalent to UV photons, by a cell.
In 1974 Fritz A. Popp finally proved the existence of biophotons and developed his watershed Biophoton Theory. His theory has been validated by the discoveries of several eminent scientists including; Herbert Froelich
of England and the1977 Nobel prize winning laureate Ilya Prigogine.
In 1929 a Russian engineer-scientist by the name of Georges Lakhovsky published a revolutionary book called The Secret of Life. He hypothesized that all living cells pose characteristics of electronic circuits
including inductance, resistance and capacitance. According to him, all living cells radiate oscillations of very high frequencies and also collect and respond to oscillations from outside sources. In 1936, Gustav Stromberg,
Professor of biology at the Carnegie Institute affirmed that human beings emit electromagnetic waves and Prof. Harold Saxton Burr of Yale University published his book Blueprint for Immortality; The Electric Patterns of Life,
a book on the electromagnetic nature of organisms. Many other researchers in the 2nd half of last century including Prof.H.Frohlich of Liverpool, England, Dr. A.Abraham of Vrije University, Prof. Lund, Dr. Pilla, Prof. M.Kaku
and Dr.D.Gabor (all Professors at prestigious universities in Europe and Canada) declared that live cells emit detectable electromagnetic fields.
All of the above mentioned scientific research is the basis for recent developments in the area labeled Modern Energetic Medicine. Extensive research done by German complementary medicine institutes has
produced many interesting bioresonance therapy methods including Voll, Vega system, Mora, Biocom and many other similar methods. Additionally in the USA, kinesiology testing by Goodhard, Williams and Klinghardt,
the O-ring method by Y.Omura and computerized techniques such as QXCI have been successfully introduced into current energy medicine practices. Despite the advances in these fields, all these methods can only
holistically evaluate and treat “Yang” energy disorders on symptomatic bases of illness. To date the only fully comprehensive method for evaluating and organizing the human bodies total energy fields is the ACMOS method.
ACMOS is an acronym for the ANALYSIS of the COMPATIBILITY of MATTER on the ORGANISM and its SYNERGY and is a subject for another essay.
It is clear that modern medicine has come full circle. We have come from the days of natural, holistic approaches to healing (found in ancient Greece, Rome and the Far East) to our more modern, physical,
mechanistic and pharmaceutical based methods of healing. Now with the discoveries of quantum physics and the idea of energy as being a vital aspect of our world, we are moving back to a more holistic, natural approach
that incorporates the idea of the human being as an integrated energy system. The alternative medicine of today that was the regular medical practice of the past is making a comeback. Thanks to the innovative work of
some of the worlds most gifted and talented scientists, we have returned to a more integrated, holistic approach to medicine and the healing process.
Bibliography of Sources
-Bohm, David. Quantum Theory. Dover Publications; (June 1, 1989).
-Buranelli, Vincent. The wizard from Vienna: Franz Anton Mesmer. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan; (1975).
-Chang, Jiin-Ju; Fisch, Joachim; Popp, Fritz-Albert. Biophotons. Kluwer Academic Publishers; (July 1, 1998).
-Davies, Gill, Cule, John. The Timetables of Medicine : An Illustrated Chronology of the History of Medicine from Prehistory to Present Times. Black Dog & Leventhal Pub; (September 4, 2000).
-Driesch, Hans, Besterman , Theodore. Psychical Research: The Science of the Super Normal. Kessinger Publishing; (June 1, 2003).
-Einstein, Albert. Principle of Relativity (Dover Books on Physics). Dover Publications; (June 1, 1924).
-Friedman, Meyer, M.D., Friedland, Gerald W., MD. Medicine's 10 Greatest Discoveries (Yale Nota Bene). Yale University Press; (August 1, 2000).
-Frost, Robert; Goodheart, George. Applied Kinesiology: A Training Manual and Reference Book of Basic Principles and Practices. North Atlantic Books; 1st edition (March 21, 2002).
-Hahnemann, Samuel, O'Reilly, Wenda Brewster. Organon of the Medical Art. Reprint Birdcage Books; (May 10, 2001).
-Hawkins, David R. Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior. Hay House; (April 2002).
-Heim, Burkhard. Elementarstrukturen der Materie. Resch; (1980).
-Heisenberg, W. Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory. Dover Publications; (June 1, 1930).
-Hippocrates, Wesley D. Smith. Hippocrates (Loeb Classical Library). Harvard University Press; (December 1, 1994).
-Lakhovsky, Georges and Clement, Mark. The Secret of Life. Originally published in1939, reprint Kessinger Publishing; (March 1, 2003).
-Paracelsus, C. Lilian Temkin, George Rosen, Gregory Zilboorg, Henry E. Sigerist. Four Treatises of Theophrastus Von Hohenheim Called Paracelsus. Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (November 1, 1996)
-Prigogine, Ilya. The End of Certainty. Free Press; 1st Free Press ed edition (August 17, 1997).
-Planck, Max. Treatise on Thermodynamics. Dover Publications; Reprint edition (June 1, 1990).
-Popp, Fritz. Schlechte Jahrgonge: Erzohlungen. O. Moller; (1990).
-Popp, Fritz. Integrative Biophysics: Biophotonics. Kluwer Academic Publishers; (February 2003).
-Porter, Roy (Editor). The Cambridge Illustrated History of Medicine. Cambridge University Press; New Ed edition (July 30, 2001).
-Rubbia, Carlo. Il dilemma nucleare. Sperling e Kupfer; 6a ed edition (1987).
-Saxton Burr, Harold. Blueprint for Immortality; The Electric Patterns of Life. C. W. Daniel Company, Ltd.; (January 1, 1972).
-Virchow, Rudolf Ludwig Karl. Cellular pathology as based upon physiological and pathological histology. Dover Publications; (1971).
|
