Snake Oil

Yesterday's sunrise was beautiful.

I resist every kind of health, self-care testimonial because really, who knows why anyone gets well? It's conjecture as to why people get sick, too. We can connect certain illnesses with viruses or bacteria, but honestly there are zillions of these little guys in and around everyone. Why do some fall ill while others remain completely healthy? No one knows for certain, though many people have a theory or two. Or three.

We can connect wellness to treatments administered, at least sometimes, but the results of every kind of health care are impossible to predict. We keep trying which is a good thing.

Medicine - all medicine - is faith based. That's why people say things like, "I don't believe in Chinese medicine." That's like saying I don't believe in fishing. Of course to catch fish, you have to know how to fish. You have to be near a body of water in which there are fish, and after that a whole bunch of conditions must exist before the fish will bite. Also there is always an element of chaos (i.e. "The big one got away.") But - what does fishing have to do with faith? Fishing is a survival art whether you believe in it or not. So is medicine. (Thanks to Evan Rabinowitz for the analogy.)

Testimonials always kick my skeptical mind into gear - a good thing, I think. If there really was a medicine that always worked for everyone, no one would suffer, right? I'm glad that certain treatments work well for certain individuals. It's encouraging but it's never the whole story, not ever. Testimonials - for anything - are snake oil salesmenship, I tell you, preying on the human urge to believe. My two cents? When you are ill, try to briefly put aside your belief systems. Try the least invasive approach first - unless it is an emergency in which case you should call 911 immediately! Work your way through different approaches. Find a healer who cares about you, who is interested in what's happening, try what he or she suggests. Visualize. Then cross your fingers and hope for the best. It always comes back around to faith, every time.

All that said, my jaw is on the ground. I heard from one client today that a broken bone which previously would not heal has begun to knit itself together just since he's received Reiki from me. He is an athelete and a rational thinker. Reiki was his last hope. Now he is a true believer. !

Right after that, another client called. She had been suffering from abdominal pain and bleeding that led to the diagnosis of an ovarian cyst and uterine polyp. They did some ultrasounds and some other kind of scan - MRI? I can't keep track of all the scans - which lead to the diagnosis. She came to me for a couple of intense sessions of Reiki after she was diagnosed.

A few minutes ago, she called from the parking lot of the hospital following the latest set of scans to tell me the cyst and polyp are gone! She believes it was the Reiki that turned the tide. That's why she couldn't wait to call me.

Well.

Who knows why these two people are on the mend? Maybe it was the Reiki, maybe it was something or somethings else, or a combination of all of the above. I'm not going to lapse into a big ole spiel, no way. But wow. Wow.

May you be well! Shalom.