The concept of health

(This post is reprinted from my original blog on Myspace.com)

I am currently reading 'Imagery Healing: Shamanism and Modern Medicine' by Jeanne Achterberg. It was written in 1985, but it is really one of the only erudite works that I have read that speaks about the psychological origins of healing through a historical and philosophical lens. Most other works, if not classical philosophical 'treatises', are often advertisements for their services in our current society, and so it is difficult to know who to trust. This book is full of gems, but I would like to share one passage which deals with defining health in a society that took my breath away."The function of any society's health system is ultimately tied to the philosophical convictions that the members hold regrading the purpose of life itself. For the shamanic cultures, that purpose is spiritual development. Health is being in harmony with the world view. Health is an intuitive perception of the universe and all its inhabitants as being of one fabric. Health is maintaining communication with the animals and plants and minerals and stars. It is knowing death and life and seeing no difference. It is blending and melding, seeking solitude and seeking companionship to understand one's many selves" (p. 19).To note, Dr. Achterberg is a practicing Buddhist, and many of her concepts of health parallel the Buddhist notion of spiritual development more so than specific shamanic philosophy. That being said, I still think that a definition of health like the one above, which emphasizes spiritual development, may serve as a guide to those searching for a meaningful philosophy from which to build their lives. I'll continue the passage to its end..."Unlike the 'modern' notions, in shamanic society health is not the absence of feeling; no more so is the absence of pain. Health is seeking out all the experiences of Creation and turning them over and over, feeling their texture and multiple meanings. Health is expanding beyond one's singular state of consciousness to experience the ripples and waves of the universe" (p. 19-20).Now here is my question - where in our society is such an aspect of health promoted, if it is? It can arise in the most unusual of places...