Holistic Living in a Modern World

For years we have been conditioned to trust our doctors implicitly, even if at times our instinct tells us otherwise. With malpractice law suits at an all time high and health care insurance coverage at an all time low in the west, more and more people are beginning to take control of their own health and well being. The more they learn, the more they are beginning to doubt what they have been taught all their lives in favor of considering alternatives to traditional western medicine.

If you are reading this, chances are you have at least a passing interest in learning more about alternatives to modern health care. The Center for Healing Arts was founded to be a one-stop repository for people like you and me who want to increase their experiential knowledge of holistic health care methods in a non-threatening environment. Holistic medicine is enjoying a tremendous surge in followers around the world who are seeking a return to a time when mind, body and spirit worked in perfect harmony and Center subscribers are finding the answers they seek with a new full-length DVD every two months on a variety of holistic methods.

The Crisis of Modern Health Care

In the United States, health care coverage has become a luxury that many cannot afford. According to a 2007 estimate, there are over 301 million people in the U.S., and the birth rate is nearly double that of the death rate. Of that number, an estimated 47 million Americans are left without any health care insurance coverage at all. Though a smaller percentage of the population is not covered by choice, the majority of those people do not have adequate health care insurance because they simply cannot afford the ever-increasing premiums. This crisis of inaccessibility has caused many to rethink their approach to health care entirely and increasing numbers of people are finding other ways to take care of themselves and their families.

Looking to the past for answers

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

The words penned by poet and philosopher George Santayana in 1905 could not be more applicable to the current state of health care in the world today. Modern science and technology have made tremendous strides in medicine and health care but these modern approaches and practices have left centuries of wisdom to fall by the wayside. What important knowledge are they ignoring in favor of expensive research and development? How is their cure-based “modern” approach preferable to the approaches that were rooted in the overall well being of mind, body and spirit?

An healing arts community called The Center for Healing Arts may well have found the answer to these and other burning questions. By seeking the wisdom of revered experts in various fields of holistic study, they have created a DVD film series that can help subscribers to answer these questions by taking a look back to see some of the contributions given to us by cultures of the past and how these healing methods are alive and shaping the future.

The Native Americans embraced their environment by domesticating, breeding and ultimately cultivating a tremendous array of plants that are widely in use around the world today. Few people are aware that we owe a much larger agricultural debt to these early people including such everyday crops as pinto and lima beans, tomatoes, peanuts, avocados, squash and even tobacco. In all, over fifty percent of the domesticated crops being cultivated today originated with the indigenous peoples of the Americas. How wise is it to dismiss the herbal healing methods of such an accomplished agricultural society?

Many other cultures have made similar contributions in other areas. The ancient practice of Ayurveda in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka for instance, was among the first to incorporate surgical procedures with other health care methods as well as formulating sulfur-based drugs many years ago. Centuries before anti-anxiety medications were first conceived, people embraced meditation, yoga and other similar techniques for stress relief and overall health. The traditional development of the healing arts is based on results, if people were not made better the healing arts tradition would not survive.

The idea of regaining and maintaining health of the whole being appeals to a society that is tired of treating symptoms (when they can afford it) and being overmedicated and from what I’ve seen, The Center for Healing Arts may be exactly what they need!

Divne Pointer is a novelist and freelance writer with a special interest in holistic health and a fan of http://thecenterforhealingarts.com The Center for Healing Arts' films on healing