| Vol. 4
No. 6 |
November, 2000
|
 |
Meridian Institute News
RESEARCHING THE SPIRIT-MIND-BODY CONNECTION |
| In this issue:
|
5th Annual Health
Professionals Symposium
|
The 5th annual Cayce Health Professionals Symposium was held at the A.R.E.
Conference Center September 15-17. The conference was co-sponsored
by the A.R.E. and Meridian Institute and featured presentations by Meridian
Institute personnel, Cayce-oriented clinicians, and researchers of the
Cayce health information.
The Friday night session began with a presentation
by Eric Mein, M.D. on The Cayce Herbal, a Meridian Institute research project.
Dr. Mein gave an overview of botanical medicine in the Cayce readings including
brief monographs on herbs that were recommended in at least 100 readings.
The talk also focused on some popular herbs that are not mentioned in the
readings.
The second talk of the evening featured Meredith
Puryear who reminded us of the importance of meditation, prayer and attunement
in the healing process. Recommendations for energy medicine addressed
the full spectrum from common acute ailments, such as minor burns and cuts,
to more serious conditions requiring laying on of hands and group prayer.
The Saturday session featured six presenters on
a diversity of topics. Bruce Baar spoke on nervous system regeneration
in neurological syndromes. The talk featured several case reports
of individuals diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS) who have experienced
reversal of symptoms.
Gladys McGarey, M.D. spoke on Edgar Cayce and the
modern holistic medicine movement. Dr. McGarey's recounting of the
founding of the American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA) clearly documented
the Cayce influence on the founding members of the AHMA.
Douglas Richards, Ph.D., Meridian Institute Research
Director, spoke on physiological correlates of manual therapy techniques
recommended by Edgar Cayce and utilized by the early osteopathic physicians.
Dr. Richards' presentation included graphs that portrayed effects on circulation,
heart rate variability, breathing, and galvanic skin response. The
primary manual therapy technique used to influence these basic physiological
parameters involves inhibition of the superior cervical ganglion, also
sometimes called the "third cervical release."
K. Paul Johnson's talk addressed the conceptual,
social and historical context of the Cayce readings with comparisons
to other approaches such as Theosophy and Christian Science. Johnson
concluded that the "difference in attitude toward the Cayce material goes
to the medical readings, which tend to focus attention on empirical evidence
rather than blind faith," a strategy that can be a model for similar approaches
to the nonmedical readings.
Carl Nelson, D.C. provided a lecture and demonstration
of manual therapy techniques practiced by the early osteopathic physicians
and recommended by Edgar Cayce. Specific techniques for physiological
regulation (coordination, drainage, stimulation and inhibition of nerve
centers) were described and performed to the delight of those present.
In the final session of Saturday's program, David
McMillin, M.A. explained the connection between problems in the gastrointestinal
tract and migraine. In addition to the mental/spiritual aspects
of healing, diet, spinal manipulation, colonic irrigation, and the radial
appliance form the core of the Cayce approach to healing migraine.
The Sunday morning session was launched with a comparison
of the traditional Chinese medicine and the Edgar Cayce methods of healing.
Suzan Zimmer, R.N., D.C. emphasized the importance of holism in both systems
of healing. Similarities in herbal medicine and energy medicine applications
were also discussed.
Osteopath Ralph Thieme gave a lecture and demonstration
that focused on the challenge of integrating historical osteopathy into
the current health care system. Dr. Thieme emphasized similarities
between traditional osteopathy and the Cayce philosophy which form the
basis for effective treatment. Attention to the uniqueness of each
person and being fully present in the moment were especially noted.
George Amberman, M.D. concluded the symposium by
discussing a holistic approach to working with "difficult patients."
Dr. Amberman's insightful and humorous talk emphasized the importance of
multidimensional healing when assisting individuals with chronic health
problems.
The Cayce Health Professionals Symposium for 2001
will be held at the A.R.E. Conference Center at Virginia Beach during the
weekend of September 14-16. This gathering of practitioners
and researchers will feature reports on Meridian Institute research projects,
hands-on training of therapeutic techniques prescribed by Edgar Cayce,
and strategies for implementing the Cayce approach in the modern health
care environment.
We are also seeking presentations from health professionals
knowledgeable in healing modalities recommended by Edgar Cayce. If
you are interested in presenting at the symposium, please write a brief
summary of your topic and submit it to us at our address on the last page
of this newsletter.
For those who were unable to attend the symposium,
audio tapes of most of the presentations are available from A.R.E. Member
Services (800-333-4499). Excerpts from the talks by Meridian Institute
personnel are on the Meridian Institute website. Papers by Paul Johnson
and David McMillin are also on the Meridian site.
SYSTEMIC ASPECTS OF PSORIASIS:
AN INTEGRATIVE MODEL BASED ON INTESTINAL ETIOLOGY
We are pleased to announce the publication of our
article titled: "Systemic Aspects of Psoriasis: An Integrative Model
Based on Intestinal Etiology." The article was published in the peer-reviewed
journal Integrative Medicine; Vol. 2, No. 2/3, 2000.
Psoriasis can best be understood from a multifactorial
approach that recognizes the systemic aspects of the disorder. Among the
various factors thought to be involved in the etiology and pathogenesis
of psoriasis, bowel pathology has assumed a noteworthy position in the
literature.
The Integrative Medicine article reviewed the psoriasis/bowel
connection with regard to abnormal bowel structure and physiology in psoriasis
patients. Clinical implications of bowel involvement in psoriasis were
discussed within the framework of an integrative medicine model that emphasizes
natural therapeutics for addressing the systemic aspects of the illness.
Dr. John Pagano's work with the Cayce recommendations of diet and herbal
teas was also discussed.
Address requests for reprints of this article to
Meridian Institute. An on-line version of the text is available on
the Meridian website.
http://www.meridianinstitute.com/ceu/ceu11pso.html
AIRWAY ACIDIFICATION IN ACUTE ASTHMA
We have previously reported on the importance of
acid-alkaline balance and its relation to diet (Vol. 3, No. 1, January,
1999) and the positive results in a pilot study on asthma that emphasized
the role of alkaline-producing diet (Vol. 2, No. 2, March, 1998).
Commonly referred to as "pH" (potential for hydrogen), the acid/alkaline
continuum ranges from 0 - 14 with 7 as neutral. The lower end of
the scale (below 7) is acid and above 7 is alkaline. Generally speaking,
the Cayce readings maintain that a balanced pH with a slight alkaline tendency
would be beneficial for most individuals.
A major study linking hyperacidity to acute asthma
was recently reported by researchers at the University of Virginia.
An article, titled "Endogenous Airway Acidification: Implications for Asthma
Pathophysiology," was published in volume 161 of the American Journal of
Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (pp 694-699), earlier this year.
Hunt et al. demonstrated that the pH of deaerated exhaled airway vapor
condensate is over two log orders lower in patients with acute asthma (5.23
+/- 0.21, n = 22) than in control subjects (7.65 +/- 0.20, n = 19).
They speculated that airway pH may be an important determinant of expired
nitric oxide concentration and airway inflammation, and suggest that regulation
of airway pH has a previously unsuspected role in asthma pathophysiology.
They also noted that, "... therapies directed at normalizing airway pH
early in the course of an acute exacerbation of asthma will help to prevent
the cascade of events that leads to airflow obstruction."
Although the researchers did not consider the possible
effects of diet on respiratory pH, it is worth noting that the lung serves
as a buffering system for maintaining blood pH at a slightly alkaline state.
Perhaps an excessively acidic diet could influence respiratory pH as the
body attempts to use this system to maintain proper blood pH.
RAGWEED TINCTURE
Carl Nelson, D.C. relates the following anecdotes
on the use of ragweed tincture.
"Some years ago I was working with a man who had
some of the worst allergic reactions I've ever seen. Patrick was
constantly sneezing and coughing and snuffling and blowing his nose.
This wasn't seasonal but year-round, and as you can imagine he was just
constantly miserable. He'd tried all the over the counter remedies,
none of which had made appreciable difference. I suggested two things,
ragweed tincture, which had been recommended many times in the readings
for allergies, and bee pollen, one teaspoon of each daily. I told
him to try a bottle and if no difference was noticeable by the end of taking
it, to stop.
"It made an immediate difference in all his symptoms,
although not a total cure, so I suggested he continue. By the end
of the second bottle he had turned into a ragweed fanatic. He contracted
with the manufacturer, the Heritage Store, to begin buying cases of the
stuff and started to hand out bottles to his friends. He told me
of one child of eighteen months whose similar symptoms had cleared up within
a week of taking a quarter teaspoon daily.
"I followed Patrick's progress as he continued to
take the tincture and the pollen over the next two years, and almost each
month brought a story about some new resolution of symptoms and other seemingly
unrelated issues. His work as an auto mechanic required constant
strenuous activity which had aggravated a lower back weakness and caused
considerable pain. Now the lower back pain was beginning to disappear.
Next, he lost a lifelong sugar craving. Next, his energy returned
so that he was able to work all day long without having to lie down periodically
to recoup his vigor. Finally, the hypersensitivity to particular
odors left and he was able to enjoy the scent of his wife's perfume instead
of being repelled by it. And he continued to remind me that all he
was doing differently was taking the ragweed and pollen.
"During that time a man came in to the office as
a one time visit while his other chiropractor was out of town. He
was clogged, sinusy, and miserable and said that he had been that way for
thirty years since moving to this country from Germany. He even made
a point of showing me a brown paper sack containing all the various over
the counter medications he had come to rely on. I suggested getting
the ragweed, trying it for a month, and contacting me at the end of that
time to see what else might need to be done. Six months later his
wife called and told us that her husband was like a different person, had
thrown the other medicines away, and was essentially symptom free.
"Just the other day a patient told me that her allergies
had flared and she remembered that she had a bottle of the stuff, took
one teaspoon and returned to normal soon after.
"These may be extreme examples of the efficacy of
ragweed, but I've seen it help many folks with various allergies, not just
ragweed allergies. Cayce claimed that it helped clear a congested
liver, implying that that was at the heart of many allergic reactions.
While nothing is a panacea, ragweed should at least be tried to find if
it might be of benefit to those who suffer these complaints. It's
not the best tasting stuff but people have told me that when they put a
teaspoon in a glass of water or juice, it is much more palatable."
|
