Letter from the editor.

What is medicine, really? The word is applied to high-tech equipment and stem cell treatments, as well as native healing. When I was sick for several years, I tried many forms of medicine to get better; the ones that worked for me were natural at their core and based in ancient Asian healing arts. Mark Fortney writes in his article on page 32, "Chinese medicine is a tradition that evolved from the earliest myths and philosophies of the Chinese people." The practices of the originators of Chinese medicine "were not standardized and were mostly ritual." These shamanic healers danced their way to healing guidance for their patients. The wisdom that formed Chinese medicine's foundation was revealed to them through their connection to the benevolence of nature. Directly or indirectly, these medicines provide the deep basis for many holistic and natural therapies today.

On the other hand, Dr. John Wilson, M.D. makes a sobering diagnosis of the tendencies of modern medicine: "State medical boards mandate uniformity in medical practice...." and "The economics of healthcare insurance regulations drive people toward covered services, largely drugs and surgery, and away from alternative therapies that may be more conservative and less risky." What happens when the heart is taken out of medicine, and rules and regulations (and money) govern how our healers treat us? Many modern diseases are created or aggravated by our modern disconnections from nature, our communities, and the benign intangible forces that watch over us with compassion. Will insurance companies and Codex Alimentarius agreements bring us closer to what we lack? Where is the technological fix for the ailments that truly affect us?

Dr. Wilson advocates for "a return to the roots of medicine: the foundation of a relationship between a doctor and a patient." He describes ideal physicians as ones "who are interested in finding the cause of symptoms, who do not use drugs as a first line approach, who are educated in the treatment of health problems in methods that avoid or minimize drug use, and who are self-empowered to make healthcare decisions independent of politically-based expedience to best serve their patients." Dr. Wright, Dr. Fortney and the other writers in this issue of New Life Journal give you the tools to make informed decisions and to find the right health care providers for you and your family. I'm sure that our ancestors in healing would be proud.

Erin Everett

Editor/Publisher

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