Vol. 6
No. 5 |
September, 2002
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Meridian Institute News
RESEARCHING THE SPIRIT-MIND-BODY CONNECTION |
In this issue:
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7th Annual Cayce Health
Symposium
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The 7th annual Cayce Health Professionals Symposium was held at the A.R.E.
Conference Center September 13-15. The conference, co-sponsored by
the A.R.E. and Meridian Institute, featured a wide variety of lectures,
workshops, and experiences for participants.
The Friday night session began with a lecture by
Douglas Richards, Ph.D. titled "Paraspinal Temperature Variation and Health
Status." Dr. Richards' presentation focused on the relationship between
temperatures along either side of the spine (as measured by infrared thermography)
and health status as measured by the SF-36. Research suggests that
paraspinal temperature variations tend to correlate with poor health status
which is consistent with osteopathic and chiropractic theory.
The second presentation of the evening was given by Peter Schoeb, D.C.
on "Olive Oil in the Cayce Readings and Scientific Research." Dr.
Schoeb's explanation of the biochemistry of olive oil explored the overlap
between the Cayce perspective and the scientific literature which provides
solid support for the healing benefits of this remarkable oil.
The first Saturday morning session featured T. Lee
Bauman, M.D. who spoke on "Light in the Near-Death Experience." Dr. Bauman's
premise is that quantum physics and spirituality are two sides of the same
coin. Light is one of the major features of the near-death experience and
may be our closest preview of what may await us after this life. Light
has consciousness, exists outside of time, and can communicate - all attributes
typically associated with God. The similarity of the light experience
in the world's great religions testifies to the universal identification
of light with God.
The next presentation featured Eric Mein, M.D., who
explored various "Measures of Vitality" that can be used to better understand
health and longevity. This included a look at the role of the endocrine
glands, caloric restriction, and approach to life. Ideas for research
using these concepts and our assessment data were then proposed.
The third talk on Saturday morning was given by Suzann
Robins: "Good Health = Good Sex and Good Sex = Good Health." The talk focused
on the connection of the spirit, mind, and body as it relates to creative
energies. Suzann linked the kundalini energy with the chakra system
and sexual orgasm. The audience was encouraged to use imagination
to experience the energy flowing through the centers.
The final morning presentation featured Peter VanDaam
who explained and demonstrated Edgar Cayce's approach to exercise and fitness.
The importance of viewing exercise from a holistic lifestyle perspective
was emphasized. Proper attitude and consistency were cited as essential
components in any exercise program. The exercise session that followed
the lecture was invigorating.
Two afternoon breakout sessions provided diversity
for attendees. Carl Nelson, D.C. gave a workshop on manual therapy
techniques practiced by the early osteopathic physicians and recommended
by Edgar Cayce. Utilizing several massage tables in the massotherapy
classroom, Dr. Nelson's presentation provided hands-on training in specific
treatment techniques recommended by Edgar Cayce as practiced by the manual
therapists of that era.
Janice Long and the A.R.E. Health Services Professional
Team gave a workshop titled "Five Basic Cayce Remedies." Janice and her
team explained and demonstrated the use of abdominal castor oil packs,
turpentine packs over the kidneys, potato poultices for the eyes, the violet
ray appliance used over the eyes, and glycothymoline packs over the nose
and sinuses.
Sunday morning started off with David McMillin, M.A.
presenting two talks. The first, titled "A Review of Cayce-Based
Energy Medicine for Chronic Neurologic Disease," provided an overview of
the Cayce model of energy medicine for nervous system regeneration.
The second talk was on the "Causes and Treatment of Cancer." Based on an
extensive analysis of the hundreds of Cayce readings that address cancer,
this presentation emphasized the potential contribution of the Cayce material
with regard to prevention and treatment of cancer.
Roger Bloom's talk titled, "An Herbal Approach to
Cancer," focused on the Hoxey herbal formula and similar compounds
in the Cayce readings. As a bonus, Roger brought in several
plants in Hoxey's formula that he found growing wild in the Virginia Beach
area. The healing power of nature's plants was a primary theme of the talk.
David Redding, D.O. gave a case report on a pediatric patient seizure
disorder. Application of traditional osteopathy and recommendations from
the Cayce readings on epilepsy formed the basis for a treatment plan that
significantly decreased the number and severity of seizures (see the "Healing"
section below).
The Cayce Health Symposium for 2003 will be held
at the A.R.E. Conference Center at Virginia Beach during the weekend of
September 12-14. We are 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 this year's
symposium, you can obtain some of the content and flavor of this year's
event on our website. The symposium proceedings contain links to
papers, articles, and books along with some pictures of people and presentations.
Here is the web address:
www.meridianinstitute.com/sympos/2002/symp02.html
POSSIBLE MIGRAINE-ASTHMA LINK
Certain illnesses tend to exhibit an association
(co-occurrence or comorbidity) which is baffling to medical science. Edgar
Cayce's complex systems approach usually explained such associations
in terms of aberrant nerve impulses from the spinal or visceral plexus.
For example, his explanation of the pathophysiology of migraine and asthma
is that the idiopathic form of both illnesses are essentially vasomotor
disturbances that can be triggered by a variety of factors such food sensitivities,
stress, etc.
Following up on previous research indicating a possible
link between asthma and severe headache, researchers at St. George's Hospital
Medical School in London utilized a matched case-control design to study
the records of 5,110, 619 patients in the General Practice Research Database.
The study focused on patients with one or more diagnoses of migraine
plus treatment for migraine. Each case was matched by general practice,
sex, and age, with one control who had never been given a diagnosis of
migraine. Case and control groups were compared for prevalence of asthma,
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, respiratory symptoms treated with
inhalers or hay fever. The large case-control study provided evidence for
an association between migraine and asthma. The researchers noted that
if the association is real, its elucidation may help the understanding
of disease mechanisms shared by migraine and asthma.
Reference
Davey G, et al. Association between migraine and
asthma: matched case-control study. Br J Gen Pract 2002 Sep;52(482):723-7.
PEDIATRIC SEIZURE DISORDER
The term epilepsy refers not to a single disease,
but to a group of symptoms with numerous causes. The common factor in all
forms of epilepsy is an excessive electrical excitability of the brain
called seizures. In most cases of epilepsy the cause of the brain seizures
is unknown.
The traditional osteopathic model of epilepsy is
that brain seizures are often produced by nerve reflex patterns from the
peripheral nervous system, especially the spinal nerve plexus. The digestive
tract and its enteric nervous system is another potential source of aberrant
nerve reflexes that can trigger epileptic seizures.
The concept of peripheral nervous system reflexes
as primary causative factors in epilepsy was endorsed by Edgar Cayce. In
many cases involving epileptic seizures, Cayce made referrals to osteopathic
physicians for spinal manipulation. Abdominal castor oil packs, massage,
diet, and a mild herbal sedative (passion flower fusion) were also typical
treatment recommendations made by Cayce.
One of the presentations at our recent Cayce Health
Professionals Symposium featured David Redding, D.O., a family practice
osteopathic physician who reported on a case of pediatric seizure disorder.
Here is a brief summary of his case report:
"This is the story of an eleven-year-old male named
Johnny. He developed seizures approximately five months ago. The parents
are not sure of the initiating event but felt that it might be related
to a camp counselor giving him a "good bye bear hug." Seizures started
shortly after that. Significant history includes a fall at the age of ten
months with head trauma and also a minor car accident last November.
"He was seen by a pediatrician and a neurologist.
Medications were recommended but the parents were concerned about the side
effects and decided to look into alternative approaches. A variety of alternative
treatments which included acupuncture and cranio-sacral therapy were tried
with no or minimal benefits.
"At about the same time I was treating the father
for his whiplash injuries and he asked me about his son. I was very clear
with him that I wasn't an expert in pediatrics or the treatment of seizures.
However, I had just been reading about treatments for seizures from the
Cayce material and offered a trial of three sessions to see if this approach
might be helpful.
"A month later, I saw his son and started using manipulation
as described in the Cayce material (treating both the visceral component
and the many spinal and rib lesions present), modified his diet to encourage
daily bowel movements, started castor oil packs and spinal massage by his
parents, and although I neglected to prescribe passion flower fusion herbal
sedative, the mother ( upon looking into the Cayce material) added it.
After two treatments the seizures had diminished from a maximum of 30 daily
down to approximately 0-5. Also, the intensity and duration of the remaining
seizures decreased. The child is still undergoing treatments. The
results have been remarkable so far and the hope is for complete remission
as we continue the Cayce approach."
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