At Future Medicine Now we are continually reminded that our concept of good health does not match that of the general public. Here are what we feel are essential to good health:
- Happiness. Genuine happiness for no particular reason, is my foremost measure of health. I'm not talking about Pollyanna states, oblivion, or denial of inner pain and despair. And I don't mean mania. I'm talking about fulfilling, vitalizing happiness that wells up from within, moment by moment, regardless of outer conditions.
- Balance in all things: sleep and activity; work and play; sweet and bitter. All things.
- Relaxation. Truly relaxed surrender and lack of concern. Give it up!
Control is the ultimate illusion.
These elements are primary. They are where good health begins, not where it ends. Good health doesn't bring us these things. These things bring us good health.
Good health, like reality itself, is a ‘now’ kind of affair. We create and re–create throughout the day, making choices which either enhance our health or add another brick to the wall which separates us from that goal. The effects of some of our choices are noticeable immediately. Others don't show up for decades. Each one has an effect which tilts the scale to one side or the other.
There are those who tout good health as your birthright. What they don't tell you is that, while it may be a ‘birthright,’ no one is going to hand it to you on a platter. Each individual creates their state of health, just as they create everything else in their lives. And though you may have been blessed to be born with glowing health, you will need to make a concerted effort for the rest of your life to retain it.
Culturally, our definition of good health perfectly reflects the perspective of medicine in the west. The focus of western medicine, since the centuries of plague in Europe has been to keep people from dying. They're still at it, same focus. It's been their raison d’être from the beginning, and has remained unchanged in unwaivering tunnel vision.
And although technological medicine makes a stunning effort, its objective can only fail, because everyone is going to die. It costs ungodly amounts of money to attempt, but that's what we do in this country. So it's only natural for us to assume that if we're not in the hospital or if we're not ‘sick’ — if we're still alive — then we must be healthy.
We dutifully take our drugs to keep us from dying from abuses our bodies experience from the polluted environment we live in and the stress of living in the madness we've created. But the abuse comes mostly in the form of our own choices in our daily lives. And the drugs, of course… which suppress numerous body systems, inevitably resulting in reduced quality of life. But who cares about quality of life? We're intent on avoiding death.
And yes, we do have these annoying pains and headaches, we need Viagra to convince us that we still have an interest in sex, we're tired all the time, we wake unrefreshed from a poor night’s sleep, our gut's not working too well, and we're gaining weight. But we're not dead yet. Surely this is good health!
By the way, you are familiar with the side effects of your drugs, aren’t you? You know, the common ones, like…
- Fatigue:
Most drugs
Statins
Antidepressants
Ativan (benzodiazepine)
- Weight gain:
Celexa (citalopram)
Seroquel (dibenzothiazepine derivative)
Xanax (alprazolam)
- Bloating, gas, intestinal dsybiosis:
Antibiotics
Aspirin & other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
- Headache, migraine:
Advil
Seroquel (dibenzothiazepine derivative)
Celexa (citalopram)
Oxycontin (oxycodone)
Levothyroxine
- Dizziness:
Ambien (zolpidem tartrate)
Neurontin (gabapentin)
Tagamet (histamine receptor antagonists)
Oxycontin (oxycodone)
- Sexual dysfunction:
Celexa (citalopram)
Lexapro (SSRI)
Cipralex (escitalopram)
Prozac (fluoxetine)
Paxil (paroxetine)
Zoloft (sertraline)
Xanax (alprazolam)
- Confusion and poor memory:
Tagamet (histamine receptor antagonists)
Detrol (tolterodine tartrate)
Neurontin (gabapentin)
Xanax (alprazolam)
- Muscular or joint pain:
Lipitor (Atorvastatin)
Zocor (Simvastatin)
Any cholesterol-lowering drug
- Insomnia:
Celexa (citalopram)
Lexapro (SSRI)
Cipralex (escitalopram)
Prozac (fluoxetine)
Paxil (paroxetine)
Zoloft (sertraline)
Ambien (zolpidem tartrate)
Oxycontin (oxycodone)
Levothyroxine
- Stomach or intestinal ulcers:
Aspirin & other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
- Poor clotting, excessive bleeding & bruising:
Coumadin (warfarin)
Aspirin
- Constipation:
Seroquel (dibenzothiazepine derivative)
Oxycontin (oxycodone)
Neurontin (gabapentin)
- Dementia:
Ditropan (oxybutynin chloride)
Elavil (amitriptyline hydrochloride)
Benadryl (diphenhydramine)
- Addiction:
Ativan (lorazepam)
Oxycontin (oxycodone)
Valium (diazepam)
- Liver toxicity:
Most pharmaceutical drugs
- Kidney damage:
The rest of them
- Suicidal thoughts:
Celexa (citalopram)
Lexapro (SSRI)
Cipralex (escitalopram)
Prozac (fluoxetine)
Paxil (paroxetine)
Zoloft (sertraline)Oh yes, and uh… death (antidepressants, Vioxx, Celebrex, flu vaccines).
The focus of Oriental Medicine for over two thousand years has been to keep people — especially emperors, warlords, their wives and families — as radiantly healthy as possible. That has always been its mandate. It has always fulfilled this mission remarkably well, and it does so now better than ever before.
Seeking its wisdom and living its principles brings vitality and fertility, calmness and clarity, resilience and balance.
Do you see the difference? Can you see how these two ways of practicing medicine are diametrically opposed? And how each inherently creates its own definition of good health?
One is looking up, reveling in quality of life. The other, the dominant worldview in our culture, is looking down, enduring a toxic existence in hopes of avoiding a grim death. Even if it were capable of saving us from dying, that path represents an appalling choice from the vantage point of Oriental medicine.
The eastern path celebrates vibrant health while we're living. And, oddly enough, people living this paradigm seem to live longer — and die happier.
There is a spiritual principle called "viewing from the end" and it is self-fulfilling. By their very viewpoints — the direction they are viewing — these medical paradigms have sealed their fate. Likewise, we seal our fate with our own choice. Which do we want? Life or death? Those are the choices available. By definition.
By changing one's angle of vision, the entire universe changes. And that aptly describes the difference between the worldview of western, conventional medicine and that of Oriental Medicine. They occupy entirely different universes.
Will we choose a medicine focused on obtaining, at enormous cost (both financial and spiritual), something which cannot be had, doomed to failure? Or would we prefer a medicine which celebrates the now, experiencing cumulative success, moment after moment?
Go to the second discussion,
‘The Quest for Good Health’.
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