What's New on IJHC (June 2007)

Editorial Musings

THE WHAT AND THE HOW
Daniel J. Benor, MD

Research

A DREAM OF INITIATION
Betty Smith

Betty Smith presents a single case study of a Native American dream, with a variety of frameworks for understanding this spiritual connection.

“… I honor Ted Silverhand, the Tuscarora Seer who chose to share his boyhood experience of a dream with me, the dream vision where he was first introduced to his spirit guides and directed on his path in life. I am honored by his decision. My goal is to explore this dream in several contexts. My first approach will be to (a) view the dream through the lens of Jung’s theories on the collective unconscious and synchronicity, and, (b) determine how this event might be framed within the concepts of specific transpersonal theorists such as those of Grof, Tart, Wilber, Vaughan and Walsh.

“My second approach will be to place the dream in the greater context of historical shamanic practices as presented by Mircea Eliade, a Romanian scholar and expert on the history of religions, and Holger Kalweit, a German ethnologist and psychologist who studied shamanism throughout the world. Finally, I will address modern day sacred ways and the dream vision as practiced by tribal peoples described through the writings of Medicine Gizzlybear Lake, and through a brief discussion of cultural and historical information set forth in The Sacred, a comprehensive book on native traditions published by the Navajo Community College Press.

“This topic is relevant to the study of transpersonal psychology owing to the nature of the dream with its ascent into the transpersonal realms. Furthermore, I have found the earth-based traditions, which include concepts of the interconnectedness of all things, neglected in the mainstream of transpersonal psychology, which principally studies Eastern and Western traditions and technologies directed at accessing altered states of consciousness. This dream is an interesting example of an opening, a two-way door to the transpersonal realm. It is my hope that this essay may help to affirm the traditions surrounding aboriginal spirituality and the profound spiritual connection these medicine people have – not only to their spiritual guides but to the earth and all people who request their help.”
      (See more in IJHC May 2007)

Living with Life Challenges

LIFE BEGINS IN AUTUMN:
The metal phase of a woman’s life, seen through her five guardian elements
Lori Hillman, LicAc BSc (Hons) MBAcC

 
Variations on the Theme of Healing

WHEE ON THE MOVE IN PERU AND CANADA
Mary Jo Bulbrook, RN, CEMP/S/I, CHTP/I

THE INTEGRATED TREATMENT OF CANCER IN CHINESE HOSPITALS
Henry McGrath

The author is a practitioner of Chinese Herbal medicine and acupuncture in the UK, specialising in the management of cancer.  He spent two weeks in China, and observed the herbal treatment of around 70 patients with cancer.  Some of these patients received ‘conventional’ or ‘western’ treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, while some received only Chinese herbs. Chinese medicine offered great relief for a wide range of symptoms, including pain, nausea, lack of appetite, liver and kidney dysfunction, immune deficiency, emotional problems and insomnia.  Several doctors also claimed that herbal medicine helped prolong the life expectancy of some patients, although the author saw no evidence for this that would be accepted by western research standards.  The author believes that Chinese integrated approach has much to offer those in the West with cancer.
(See more in IJHC May 2007)

Wholistic Approaches

LOVE, LAUGHTER, HUMOR AND HEALING
Bernie Siegel, MD

THE POWER OF MANTRA
Dennis Gaumond

LIFE FORCE ENERGY: Connections with the universe
dezso klinger

“An inner intuitive vibration beckoned over the years, and I sensed that there is much more to our material world than mind can process.  As a child, it was a feeling that nudged and poked at my very core.  I even thought the adults had a secret, which would be told to me once I reached a certain age.  Funny, how this secret was never revealed or discussed.  My curiosity and thirst for knowledge has been a driving force ever since, leading me to set out on a quest without guidance or a mentor…

“As a child, I had demonstrated an artistic talent.  Drawing, sketching, and coloring just naturally flowed through me. I received my first camera when I was ten, and this utterly captured my imagination.  Photography since then has been an extension for me in observing the beauty in my everyday life….”
  (See more in IJHC May 2007)

Student and healee experiences of healing
 
PERSONAL GROWTH THROUGH THE BRAIN MANAGEMENT® COURSE
Inge Turner, Doctoral student at Holos University Graduate Seminary

Poetry, Art and Humor are Healing
 
THE EARTH IS US
Mary Ann Wallace, MD

WORDS & ONE-LINERS
Ric Masten

Wholistic News Reviews

Traditional, complementary, alternative, and psycho-social modalities of treatment
Larry Lachman, PsyD

Book Reviews