The Marriage of Technology and Holistic Health

By Daria M. Brezinski Ph.D.

Can allopathic (traditional) medicine, holistic medicine and technology find a balance, a consiliance so that each modality is validated and valued without dismissing the other?

IMPORTANCE OF SUBTLE BODY ENERGIES UNMAPPED AND UNMEASURED BY TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

In my experience, the physical ailments and discomforts that are obvious and measurable are the lowest level of energies in the life experience. The ‘subtle’ energies of the body (spiritual, intuitive and emotional) are deeper, richer, more colorful and sensuous. When these energies are broken, scarred or out of balance (or even when they are not), the standard diagnostic and measurement devices and techniques are incapable of locating them unlike the overt body pains like a toothache or broken leg. In addition, subtle energies have a direct relationship to the outer environment so that when a subtle energy has been transformed so will the physical environment be altered in some way. In agreement with Echart Tole, what is thought, felt, imagined and focused upon can transform and create the environment in which we live, thrive and maneuver.

As a practitioner trained in the practices of Wilhelm Reich, Carl Jung and Gestalt therapies, the road to emotional health through these methodologies can be a long, arduous task (the same holds true for physical recovery).  The foundation for all physical ailments are deep rooted in the emotional, spiritual, mental scars of the past. Trained practitioners recognize that body language, voice patterning and verbal cues hint at the underlying factors debilitating the individual as well as the bodies’ masterful defense mechanisms that can subjugate painful scars throughout a lifetime. Finding techniques that speed up the process of transforming behavior for most individuals is invaluable.

Scientists are constantly discovering that the body is a delicate balance between body, mind, spirit and emotions. The longer investigation persists, the deeper the knowledge of the sensitivities emerges. There are so many intangible and tangible qualities  that it would take lifetimes to study every interaction and relationship. For decades, neurophysiologists studied unhealthy brains and now that the tide has changed, studying healthy chemical and electro-magnetic interactions through MRI’s and CT Scans in the act of dreaming or thinking to give a better understanding of learning or behavior. Yet, what are the effects of prescription or illegal drugs, diet, exercise or illness in the short term, long term and generational have on behavior over time and generations? If one were to use a mathematical formula, the variables would be too numerous to define. The interrelations of the mechanics associated with physiology like the ramification of eating (or consumption of any kind), exercise, and lifestyle may or may not be a predictor of behavior, health, digestion, elimination and mental status. The mechanics of science do not predict the intangibles that keep society and culture cohesive and healthy like integrity, honesty, courage, perseverance, loyalty, commitment much less the impact of the spiritual.  Even though the genetic coding of the body is mapped out and displays a propensity for a certain characteristic, disease or behavior, 100 percent prediction, accuracy and perfection is impossible when the intangibles like thoughts and thinking are elusive to standard measurement.

Western culture places high value on intellectual and physical prowess thus devaluing the emotional and spiritual realities of life. In addition, physical, mental, sexual, verbal, emotional and spiritual abuse is not only rampant but also socially acceptable as a means of discipline and/or punishment. Abuse in any form has a detrimental effect on the brain’s capacity to transmit information, stimuli, sensations, emotions, thoughts through the various chemical and electromagnetic impulses hampering, thwarting healthy thinking, feeling and acting. Extended periods of abuse, fear and anxiety result in the disconnection between mind, emotion and body. Multitudes of individuals (generation after generation) suffer with disconnected right and left hemispheres in the brain leading to inappropriate, deviant, antisocial, unhealthy, self-sabotaging behavior patterns (hence the Bernie Madoff’s). In addition, these individuals are lacking in discrimination, discernment and moral skills as well as boundary determiners. How can these connections be reinstated through traditional medicine?

This financial environment today epitomizes the correlation and importance between emotional functioning and daily life. Individuals who have lost jobs, lost homes or possessions, cannot feed families much less pay the electric bill as well as the impending fear of job loss become stymied and stifled by overwhelming depression and feelings of low esteem and self-worth.  Fear is the predominant motivating factor, which leads to contraction, overreaction and illogical behavior. The emotional issues in any situation override intellectual rational thinking (as murder, theft and suicide seem the only option for some). Anyone can relate to a situation where emotion overtakes reason- i.e. if a loved one, child, spouse, friend is in the hospital on the verge of death, this situation hardly allows one to freely focus and engage at work. The mind wonders, worries and is fixated on the status of the loved one.  There is no denying that emotions affect attitudes and habitudes!

DIAGNOSIS: After blood, saliva and urine tests forewarned of a serious illness, I went about searching for a cure through non-invasive alternative modalities. Interestingly, I encountered many ‘practitioners’ in alternative healing utilizing less scientific method for diagnosis- muscle testing, the prime example. These ‘tests’ presumably uncovered not only the nature of the illness, but also recommended treatments such as supplements, herbs and other holistic strategies and techniques. The competence and accuracy of some fifty muscle testing individuals found only one to be accurate- an herbalist (her inquiry was more psychic in nature). As a scientist, I expanded my search for individuals who claim ‘alternative’ abilities in diagnosis- dowsing, psychic awareness, tarot cards, even the chiropractor muscle tested- with no major level of accuracy demonstrated in their conclusions, indeed a nebulous measuring tool. It is clear that this method of diagnosis strongly depends on the clarity, integrity and intent of the individual conducting the testing.

Although traditional blood, urine and saliva analysis are also conducted by individuals (who make substantial errors in judgment and interpretation much less mixing up lab results with other patients) and utilizing technology as the medium, the objective nature and indirect relationship between patient and tester lends itself to more accurate results in diagnosis.  The conclusion in this search is that the ‘diagnostic’ portion of determining illness is best left to scientific technology. Although there is a margin for error here as well in human mistakes, this method is universally trusted and the percentage of accuracy is much higher.

In addition to the traditional lab results that determine diagnosis, there are a host of new technologies that warrant serious consideration. There is a remarkable tool for viewing the activities in the blood LIVE to the patient! For this I went to a practioner trained with degrees in nutrition, biology and chemistry in Virginia Beach. This Live Blood Analysis technique enables the patient to observe the activity and health (or not) of corpuscles under a magnified computer lens. Trained in the sciences, she demonstrates on the screen and explains in detail how the diet affects the blood and overall physiology. Being credentialed in the sciences has enabled her to train traditional medical professionals, i.e. physicians, thus opening the door for merging old and new.

NAMING DI-EASE That being said the underlying question, “Is diagnosis of an illness necessary at all?” Is naming the illness (presumably for the sake of definition and replication of treatment i.e. scientific method) as important as determining the nature of the dis-ease pain or discomfort? In the various ‘out-of-the-box’ modalities I chose for healing, the diagnosis and prognosis were irrelevant. The psychic surgeons of the Philippines, hands on healers, Native American Shamans, Reiki masters, Chinese herbalists all treated the body energies rather than the symptoms and diagnosis. Is it important to know you have cancer, a heart condition or diabetes? Or is it more imperative to heal the higher energies of the body in spirit and the emotions without ‘naming’ the illness? Whatever your persuasion, there is always a direction if one has the appropriate inquiry. Learning to ask the right question is imperative in the healing process.

Recently, someone introduced me to several new technologies that warrant serious mention. From the comments above, the ability to diagnose body energies without the testing agent’s interference would be a remarkable achievement. So it is with LSA Pro (Limbic Stress Assessment). This electro-dermal screening measures nutritional, energetic and structural imbalances in the body using a biofeedback protocol based in quantum physics.  Utilizing galvanic skin response (technology like they use in lie-detector tests) the system “communicates” with the body’s energetic frequencies with relative accuracy. The technology is comprehensive and in-depth tool, with over 60,000 different scenarios available to the practitioner for testing.  Once your stressors are identified, the system establishes a program that best fits your body’s preferences and needs.  It is an invaluable tool with immediate results without the inconvenience and discomfort of blood, urine and saliva testing while being less expensive and without the need for ‘clear’ testing agent. Any individual, after proper training with the program, can self-test!

Another technology Thermography, also known as Digital Infrared Imaging, is an early detection methodology for cancerous activity. Although considered an adjunct screening to mammography as part of a woman’s regular breast health care, thermal imaging is far less detrimental to the body than x-ray and mammogram. Thermography uses infrared sensors to detect heat and increased vascularity (angiogenesis) in the breast. These sensors capture physiological changes and provide an image for computerized analysis. The consensus among health care experts is that no one procedure or method of imaging is solely adequate for breast cancer screening. Since it has been determined that 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer, we should use every non-invasive means possible to detect these tumors when there is the greatest chance for detection and survival.

SPIRITUAL HEALING: Although the healing journey introduced many valid spiritual disciplines- meditation, ancient religious practices, yoga, martial arts, etc- it was the ancient healing art (now modernized with electricity) of acupuncture that propelled the healing process by leaps and bounds. Over the past 28 years, I was blessed to find a myriad of female acupuncturists who were highly trained, skilled, sensitive and adept in their arts. The oriental healing modalities and knowledge she acquired enabled me to embrace new heights in mental clarity, physical health and spiritual well being.  Spiritual energies are subtler when healed not like the mending of a broken arm, which is tangible and visible to the eye. Acupuncture, metaphorically, is analogous to having a bucket filled with water with about an inch of sand on the bottom (the sand symbolic for the emotional, spiritual scars lying hidden under the surface of the unconscious). After each treatment, the ladle (needle) stirs the water and lifts some of the sand out of the bucket as the rest returns to the lie on the bottom. On the physiological level, the body is given a glimmer of the balance, peace and tranquility it lacks. Again and again, the sand is lifted from its hiding place deep in the unconscious and the body are reintroduced to balance until it can finally, on its own, maintain the balance itself. Metaphors aside, in the real-time life environment, acupuncture ‘sets up’ a series of events and circumstances or tests that enable the healee to self-transform the emotional scars and pain into well-being.

On the healing journey, many spiritual teachers crossed my path- religious, non-religious, psychics, Guru’s- some of whom are held in high regard around the world. It is not a given that a Spiritual Teacher is necessarily a healthy human being whom one should unconditionally trust, love, emulate and follow. Having been trained a psychologist, it became overtly noticeable that many of these individuals had deep emotional issues that permeated their character and behavior towards their disciples and future disciples. Although charisma, spirituality and knowledge are their major assets, a severe liability is their emotional health. The use of manipulation and control to fill personal emotional deficits upon the weak, vulnerable, ill and disillusioned can become the true intent behind the teaching (hence the proliferation of pedophile priests). A multitude of spiritual teachers themselves are children of alcoholics, drug addicts or Post Traumatic Stressed parents. Preying on the much-abused world, and individuals coming from absent father homes, anyone might confuse the spiritual teacher with the predatorial psychotic.  It is imperative to acquire discrimination and discernment skills with regards to ANY relationship pursued at ANY level- romantic, spiritual, emotional, psychological or otherwise. Seek out those individuals, professionals or teachers who allow the healee to self-discover, self-regulate, self-heal, self-motivate, self-sustain in the healing process at any level and there is found a human being less motivated by personal needs and gratification.

EMOTIONAL HEALING: Several years ago, a psychologist, arrived in town with a new technology called EMDR. This rapid eye movement therapy was developed to assist Vietnam Vets with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. In fact, many adults and children suffer from this affliction having survived abuse and often, warring parents. For me, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), after one session, surfaced a long-standing memory that was causing my serious illness. The protocols for EMDR include psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, interpersonal, experimental and body centered therapies. After a few sessions of re-remembering, my illness was gone. Never as a traditionally trained therapist would I have ever believed that a strobe paneled light that encouraged the eyes to maneuver left and right would be able to retrain the hardwiring in the brain much less physiology.

The lifelong healing process is much like tuning a fine Stradivarius violin. With this in mind, there is always some small issue to be uncovered in the unconscious that keeps us from manifesting who we really are. In addition is EVOX, a Voice Patterning or Remapping program that shifts emotional behavioral patterns both transgenerational and perceptional (also being utilized on returning soldiers with PTSD). The circadian rhythm allows you to continue to shift long after the session ends while learning to redirect responses to lifelong triggers. As stated earlier, voice rendering is imperative in the training for psychologists. Evox transforms the voice pattern instantly during the session as well as neurophysiologically repatterning the brain. After 30 years of therapy, Evox uncovered personal hidden knowledge that went undetected by any other means.  The shifts and progress made with Evox is permanent, all without having to relive the experience over and over again.

The future will no doubt hold many more new technologies that speed diagnosis and treatment – some beneficial, some not. We must be vigilant, open-minded and accepting that the speed of the universe is accelerating both in the stratosphere as well as here on earth. Keeping up with these new developments in health, diagnosis, treatment and well-being, both the successes and failures, is worthwhile. The marriage of technology and science with holism and alternative methods is the wave of the future.

Daria M Brezinski, Ph.D. is an advocate to assure that the vulnerable, ill and voiceless are heard and treated humanely by assisting individuals in navigatating the medical, educational, legal and financial systems; whether it is mediating the elderly and their families or developing financial, legal or health teams for clients or determining the best educational model for a child.