Western medicine has made astonishing advances in the past two centuries. Thefundamental physical mechanisms of the body are known and, perhaps, understood. Childbirth, once the primary cause of death in women and children, has beenrendered almost routine. The processes of infection and disease transmission havebeen discovered and controlled.



Physicians routinely make astonishing repairs to broken bones, brains, and hearts. A remarkable success has been achieved in countering the acute problems of most peoples' health. But as these acute illnesses and injuries become less prevalent and life-threatening, more chronic problems are emerging: cancer, heart disease, diabetes, mental and spiritual illnesses. It is against these types of challenges that alternative medicine can be used most effectively.

When Einstein introduced his theory of relativity in 1905, our way of viewing the universe changed dramatically. Einstein said that all matter is energy, energy and matter are interchangeable, and all matter is connected at the subatomic level. No single entity could be affected without all connecting parts being affected. In this view, the

universe is not a giant clock, but a living web.

The human body is animated by an integrated energy called the life force. The life force sustains the physical body but is

also a spiritual entity that is linked to a higher being or infinite source of energy.

When the life force flows freely throughout the body, a person experiences optimal health and vitality. When the life force is blocked or weakened, organs, tissues, and cells are deprived of the energy they need to function at their full potential, and illness or disease results. As the costs of conventional medicine grow and people continue to suffer from chronic illnesses and degenerative diseases, alternative medicine

is a more and more appropriate system for the maintenance of this life.

In understanding and comparing conventional and alternative medicine, it is helpful to study the assumptions that are basic to their theories, practices, and research.

These include assumptions about the origin of disease, the meaning of health, the healing process, and the nature of healthy living.

I hope you enjoyed my article about some paradigms surrounding modern and alternative medicine. To summarize, we should learn more about alternative medicine, but use it along with modern medicine, for the maximum benefit.