Where Did Western Medicine Fail?

The science of healing has gone a long way and with the advance of modern science and industrialization, we can say that we have made astounding breakthroughs in the field of medicine. We have made amazing discoveries about microscopic organisms and viruses.

We have made immunizations, antidotes, and vaccinations to the world's worst killer diseases such as cholera, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and even leprosy. We have actually even discovered our very genetic make-up. Western medicine has come to its zenith that all kinds of healing arts however ancient and effective are all classified as alternative medicine. We cannot deny the fact that indeed modern medicine has increased the lifespan of the whole population of those living in highly developed countries.

But not all of western medicine can be considered good. Yes we were able to develop vaccinations and immunizations but we have in effect helped the virus develop into new and difficult strains. In fact, many diseases existing today are an indirect result of modern medicine. Another backlash is that we have been fixated with the short term solutions to illness provided by modern medicine and have forgotten to analyze the other aspects of disease. An example of this is the common headache. Every time we have a headache, we usually drink a pain reliever. But we never really analyzed the psychological and emotional dimensions of having a headache. We never even thought that an honest-to-goodness reflection and meditation could have the same effect as paracetamol. Here lies the problem, we have stressed too much on the physical body and have totally forgotten the role of the heart, the mind, and the spirit to the question of health or disease.

In fact, the sickness of modern man is so prevalent and so obvious that modern medicine has yet to put a name to-spiritual emptiness, loneliness, lack of gusto, depression, low morale, stress. These are so prevalent in modern societies so that modern medicine relegates these to the realm of psychology. For example, in the East, there is the concept of the seven energy centers of man which are called chakras. Modern medicine has no name for this and so therefore has no tool to understanding these most important concepts. Profound meditation is sometimes reclassified by modern medicine as simply relaxation and stress management when there is infinitely more to it than what meets the eye. The concept of energy healing which is so prevalent in the East has no western counterpart. For example, the concept of Chi which is central to the age-old practice of acupuncture escapes western investigations. In China, they can operate a major surgery using only acupuncture needles to ease the pain. Yet Western Medicine has neither word nor definition for this type of phenomenon.

Western medicine has in fact forgotten to factor in an important aspect of health-emotion. Negative emotions have no physicality in themselves until they manifest in actual disease. For example prolonged rage can create heart problems but Western medicine can only diagnose the heart problems but not the prolonged rage which is actually the root of the problem.

In Japan, the ancient healing art of Reiki considers all these as movements and dynamics of energy. Healing is therefore wholesome, all-sided, and grounded in the various aspects of self and living.