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Notes on “Healing Logics” edited by Erica Brady
This book is a collection of essays that was put together after the Utah State University’s conference on folk medicine, which made it evident that existing models of investigation and research proved to be limiting in exploration of the health belief systems that exist in multitude in the US. The general conclusion of this conference (and the collection of essays) is that these health belief systems are built on the bases of very diverse sources of authority, such as community and ethnic tradition, spiritual beliefs, personal experience, and persecutions of the formal medicine. Through the essays we can observe the relationship between these systems of authority being competing, conflicting, and…
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Notes on the book by Amanda Porterfield “Healing in the History of Christianity”
In this book Amanda Porterfield describes the course of the history of the healing traditions within Christian religion. In other words, she studies the history of Christianity through the prism of healing within it, and it works just right due to the fact that, as we find out, healing has always been central to the Christian faith. We are taken through the history of Christian thought and approaches starting from Jesus and ending with modern Christianity, and we see how the ideas of healing had changed within it, as, for example, the move inspired by Calvin from firm belief in the miracles of healing related to saints to the idea…
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Freemasonry – a brief overview
While Freemasonry is probably the largest and most influential brotherhood in the world, it is the least understood among the public, which in turn serves as a perfect soil to grow numerous misconceptions and myths about it. In reality Freemasonry is a society of men concerned with moral and spiritual values, which are promoted by assignments and meetings, and taught by a series of rituals that are often allegorical to the initial stonemasons’ customs. In its classic form, Freemasonry is a male society, but there are women’s lodges now too. The term “freemason” once described a member of a building guild in the Middle Ages who was free to travel…
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Notes on the book by M.C.Brannigan “Cultural Faultlines in Healthcare: Reflections on Cultural Competency”
This book is meant to draw the readers’ attention to the problems of providing the sensitive care to the patients within American health care system. Brannigan describes the problems caused by the diversity of worldview and values among the patients and doctors that meet through the health care system. The differences in approaches and understandings are causing what he calls cultural faultlines, the divisive issues that cause misunderstandings and create obstacles for better care. This outstanding problem is further fuelled by the fact that the American society in general has grown a profound distrust of the healthcare. Having described the essential problem, the author proposes a solution. He believes that…
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Notes on the book “Modern and Global Ayurveda : Pluralism and Paradigms”
Modern and Global Ayurveda is a collection of papers presented at a 2004 conference convened by the Dharam Hinduja Institute of Indic Research at the University of Cambridge edited by Dagmar Wujastyk, an independent scholar in Indology at the University of Bonn and Frederick M. Smith, Professor of Sanskrit and Classical Indian Religions at the University of Iowa. This book briefly touches the history of Ayurveda and then explores in detail its development in the modern times, its coexistence with classical western medicine, the ideological differences between the “ancient” and modern ways of teaching and practice, its growth in the West and it’s new appearance back in India. In other…
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Candomblé – a very short overview
One of the African-derived religions in Brazil together with Umbanda, Xango, Batuque, Cantimbo, and Macumba, is Candomblé. It is most interesting for being a sort of a collection of various African religious traditions, especially those of Yoruba, Fon, and Banto ethnic groups. In addition, it draws on Catholic faith, having integrated its teachings into its own interpretation, for example, the deities of the pantheon (orixás) are associated with Catholic saints. This is a bright example of syncretism – a blending of religions that occurred due to the need of slaves to hide their beliefs under the cover of Catholicism. Brazil, colonized by the Portuguese, was one of the largest importers…
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Notes on the article by Joseph A. Adepoju “A Study of Health Beliefs and Practices of the Yoruba”
The study presented in the article describes in full the dualistic approach to treating illness. We see how the spiritual and physical treatments become complementary to each other within the Yoruba community. This approach is common not only for the immigrant community but also to the Yoruba living in Nigeria – there are always two sides seen in an illness – a physical and a spiritual, and both must be treated with equal importance. The holistic approach to healing in the Yoruba community is described in the quote below: “The practice of magic and medicine is comprehensive and holistic in nature and encompasses the healing of the body, mind and…
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Notes on “Five Element Accupuncture”
an article by Moss The article explains in detail how the Five Element acupuncture is used to treat various diseases and illnesses. While there is much said about the approach, the most important point here seems to be that the emphasis is always on the person as a whole, including his Mind, Body, and Spirit – these concepts are inseparable. The article describes the interdependence between the Five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, metal, and Water) which divide the human experience into 5 distinct groupings. The groups consist of organs, diseases, mental health issues, and spiritual issues, so that these Elements act as maps that reflect all levels of human function.…
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Notes on the article by David R. Hodge “Working with Hindu Clients in a Spiritually Sensitive Manner”
The article was written first of all for social workers who may encounter Hindu consumers. In order to facilitate a minimum cultural sensitivity Hodge makes an attempt to summarise Hindu cosmology. He explains such central to Hindu religion concepts as dharma, karma, moksha, and the non-self-centred view on life of the Hindu population. He then demonstrates how some traditional Hindu ways of life may be different from the western mentality and, thus, would be often met with prejudice and judgement. For example, the sacred dharma that prescribes different roles for women and men is referred to an “ideology” that serves to “camouflage injustice” while deceiving women into desiring a position…
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Notes on the article by Jaswinder Singh Sandhu “The Sikh Model of the Person, Suffering, and Healing: Implications for Counselors”
The article is aimed at educating western counsellors about the belief system of Sikh population. The author describes the problem of neglect of the culture-specific belief systems in general as potentially overlooking the important healing resources for that particular population. He stands for developing a more flexible approach in counseling that would view “foreign” religious beliefs as equally valid. The quote below proposes a good example of the core difference in the Eastern and Western views of the person and the world. “The Western model of psychiatric illness and mental health is premised on a mindbody dichotomy, rigid adherence to a classification system, and definite distinctions between psychology, religion, medicine,…