Eastern Cultures : Healing Powers : The Western Cultures ' Greatest Asset

Cultural diversity in the health care setting is increasing each year. Knowing how to care for patients of different religious and spiritual faiths is essential to providing high-quality, patient-centered care. The author of this paper will research three lesser-known religions; Taoism, Sikhism and Shamanism. Through this paper, she will provide a brief background on each of the three religions and present information regarding spiritual perspectives on healing, critical components of healing and health care considerations associated with each religion.

The bio-medical model of ill health has been at the forefront of western medicine since the end of the eighteenth century and grew stronger with the progress in modern science. This model underpinned the medical training of doctors. Traditionally medicine had relied on folk remedies passed down from generations and ill health was surrounded in superstition and religious lore with sin and evil spirits as the culprit and root of ill health. The emergence of scientific thinking questioned the traditional religious view of the world and is linked to the progress in medical practice and the rise of the biomedical model. Social and historical events and circumstances were an important factor in its development as explanations about disease

A majority of Native American tribes have their own traditions about health and illness. These traditions are not based on todays modern sciences. Instead, they derive from the tribe’s beliefs on harmony. “Healing occurs when someone is restored to harmony and connected to universal powers.” (NLM) To what extent are native cultures entitled to ownership of native medical practices and curatives?  Should they be financially reimbursed or are they ethically entitled to refuse to share native knowledge?

Many traditional Native medicines and healing practices were discouraged with the advent of Western medicine, but now there is a movement to return to traditional ways (Zubek, 1994, p. 1924). Modern Western medicine treats the symptoms to cure a diseased state when the body is out of homeostasis. Native American healing traditions do this as well with herbs and plants suited to the purpose. These Native healing traditions also include sacred rituals, chants, and purification rites to help bring the spirit and mind of the afflicted back into balance. In effect, treating the whole person, not only the disease. A blending of these two healing practices could bring about better prognoses for today's patients. The purpose of this paper is

Espiritismo religion had spirits that was healing widespread across world regions. Their ritual forms appeared in local and popular regions as wells as a variety of organized churches. The aspect of the ritual such as identification of spirits and use of symbols and paraphernalia, vary with culture and type of religion, appears to be the basic components of ritual healing process shared in diverse forms. Indigenous healing practices carried out by spirits mediums are widespread in the contemporary world. Many such practices are basic to traditional tribal or popular local healing cults, while others are integral aspects of highly organized religious.

This paper provides a comprehensive look at the following faiths: Buddhism, Judaism, Baha’i, and Christianity. The reader will find that Buddhism is more of a philosophy than a religion that focuses on the mind as being the creator of illness and health. The reader will also find that Judaism, Baha’i, and Christianity are all religions that believe in one God, the creator of all. This paper lists various components that each of these faiths may use at one time or another to effect healing including prayer, meditation, chanting, the use of healers, etc. This paper also defines what is important to people

Native American traditional medicine and spiritual healing rituals go back for thousands of years, these traditions often focus on different variations of alternative medicine. This knowledge is passed on throughout generations, many of the tribes learn that by mixing natural plants such as herbs and roots they can make remedies with healing properties. It is believed that being healthy is when people reach a state of harmony not only spiritually, mentally but physically. To be able to overcome the forces that cause illness people must “operate in the context of relationship to four constructs —namely, spirituality (Creator, Mother Earth, Great Father); community (family, clan, tribe/nation); environment (daily life, nature, balance); and self (inner passions and peace, thoughts, and values)” (Portman & Garret, 2006, p.453). In this research paper I am going to show evidence of the tremendous influence that Native American medicine and spiritual healing have over modern medicine in the course of healing

The United States is home to five hundred and seventy-eight federally recognized indigenous tribes and twenty-one of those tribes reside in Arizona. In fact, Arizona State Tempe campus is located on the ancestral homelands of the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) people. Native American healing is a unique system that varies from tribe to tribe but most share similar characteristics of treatment. Native American healing goes back thousands of years before the European settlers migrated to North America. The indigenous people at the time were familiar with plants, herbs, smoke, prayers, and chants to treat illnesses. It is believed that the indigenous population may have known more about the plants and herbs than today which kept illness and disease away. Native Americans believe in being in harmony with oneself, mother earth, and father sky. Native American healing takes a holistic approach which focuses on the body, mind, emotion and spirit during treatment. According to National Institutes of Health/National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), “Native American (NA) traditional healing is identified as a whole medical system that encompasses a range of holistic treatments used by indigenous healers for a multitude of acute and chronic conditions or to promote health and wellbeing.”2 When the Europeans migrated to North America they brought new diseases such as smallpox which devastated the indigenous population. Millions of the indigenous

There are still many people on both sides of the spectrum that are skeptical about treatment methods that differ from what they are used to. The validity of an herbal healer in the western world is more likely to be questioned than that of a medical doctor; while in the east, families may have been seeing a healer for decades and are more likely to question the validity of a doctor practicing western

”To seek to ease pain is natural” (Silverburg, 16). Since the beginning of time mankind has struggle with disease, wound, and death; thus men try to find relief in those pain kindle the flame towards medication. Countless civilization tries their hand at medication, China and Greece both sought to find way in ending disease and sickness, however most people at the time believed disease and pain are cause by gods or other mythological being and superstition. This concept of thinking remained unchanged until 460 B.C.E in Athens Greece when Hippocrates came in and introduces the notion of modern medicine and treatment. Hippocrates broke many groundbreaking achievement in regarding medicine such as the brain controlling thoughts and emotion but what he was remember for is taking out the superstition aspect in medicine and treatment by many people and taking a scientific and logical approach (Downey, 2).

In both Buddhism and Christianity, there are critical component of healing such as prayers, meditation, belief and yoga. In holistic medical care, the medical personnel must take care of all aspect of the patient which includes the body, the emotions and the spiritual. The doctors and nurses should ensure that that they offer all necessary support that is

Chapter 7: Traditional Healing/ Shamanism In everyday life, humans have lost their knowledge of traditional healing as well as their traditions or more predominantly they rejected it in favour of believing that there is only One God, Capitalism, Individualism, and globalisation (Bernard 2001). This can be witnessed in Avatar from a few of Parker Selfridge quotes: "You know what? You throw a stick in the air around here, it's gonna land on some sacred... fern, for Chr*st's s*k*." - Parker to Dr Augustine while she is explaining the biology of the forests, and its importance to the Omaticaya clan. " No!

Now, though religion it seems has only influenced its own healings, it has and has been affected by human anatomy and medicine. Before the innovation of some medicine and the study of biology, most religions, including Christianity and Greeks, thought that prayer to their God would heal their illness. Similar to this, on an Explorable site, much of the knowledge of the body was fictional. Andreas Vesalius was the first to dissect and note the organs and the purpose. Soon, body sciences were introduced to religion, religious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, which noticed a great change in many. In time, religion began to factor itself into medical history. IMany methods, such as circumcision and restrictive diets, took form in some religions.

Anybody regardless had or will have discussion about western or an optional remedy. Numerous individuals do have receptive outlook however not every one of them. As we probably am aware at this point the optional one can be that much ahead the western with regards on easing torment. However, combination of these two is possibly the best answer for treating any kinds of wellbeing issues.

Looking back at the 1800’s, the life expectancy of the average adult has nearly doubled in the last two hundred years. At birth, the life expectancy in the 19th century was a meager forty years. Today, the average human is expected to live even to or beyond eighty years old. While factors such as sanitation, eating habits and general health knowledge have all drastically changed, our longer lives can usually be contributed to one thing: the development of medicine. From the breakthrough discovery of germs and viruses to the development to new antibiotics and vaccines, a once lethal disease such as measles has been reduced a 99% since 1963. However, in countries like China, traditional practices, otherwise known as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), that are over two thousand years old are still widely used today. Herbal remedies known as zhong yao (中药) are made and sold around the southern Asian continent, and the practice of acupuncture is also done all over the world. Tai chi, a form of martial art developed both for self defense and the improvement of health is a popular recreational activity for many in all demographics. On the other hand, western medicine has made great improvements over its ancient methods. Surgical procedures such as amputation, anesthesia and transplantation have all branched off discoveries European scientists have strived to make during the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. Deviating from natural ways of healing, the west is focused