Sunday, December 21, 2014

Creating Healing Miracles


The Mind, Body and Spirit is each persons sacred trinity. For us to effect healing miracles in our life we must strive to master the wholeness of self. Lewis Mehl-Madrona's book Coyote Healing: Miracles in Native Medicine shows us one path to healing.
Image by: Bryan Harry - NPS

Often we turn aspects of our being over to authority figures outside of self. This puts us in a disempowered state. We put physicians in charge of the physical body, priests or imams in charge of the spirit, and society/culture or governing elites in charge of the mind. When a crisis confronts us we find self in a state of shock because we have no internal resource or strength.

Life often bestows upon us healing crises. We are confronted by physical illness, loss of loved ones, moments where our work or work product is assaulted and insulted, trusted and treasured relationships dissolve, love seems decimated, or we feel abandoned by all that is Good.

It is difficult to believe these crises are meant for our good/evolution. But when you make Spiritual and Mental peace with the crises/challenges healing begins and unrealized opportunities are revealed. Your inner strength and conviction emerge and you are no longer mentally storm-tossed.

Under these conditions we must see the healing crisis for what it truly is opportunity---while
stagnation is death. Life is change, evolution, and growth---the process of reclaiming the wholeness of self—the initial sacred trinity Mind, Body, Spirit. Our own existence, Life, is a miracle. It is essential to remember only the body can heal the body. (I break my arm—the miracle of my body knits the bone back together.)

Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D., in his book Coyote Healing: Miracles in Native Medicine, helps us realize how we can create healing miracles in our life. He advocates that disharmony in Mind, Body, or spirit limits our potential for the healing we seek.

Mehl-Madrona's life story is that of a Native American-European hybrid (his word choice) searching for his ancestral roots. His story is that of seeking of mind, body, spirit, and community integration within a framework of Christianization, colonization, and assimilation. He rejected the traditional medical school thinking in which "life was a relentless progression toward death, disease, and decay. [And] the physician's job is to slow the rate of decline."

This approach was unacceptable and he has stated that by the weekend, he had found a Cherokee healer with whom to study. That was 1973 and he hasn't stopped his studying with [Native American] elders.

Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D is a board-certified family physician, psychiatrist, and geriatrician with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. He worked for over twenty-five years in emergency medicine in both rural and academic settings. Currently he is the Coordinator of Integrative Psychiatry and Systems Medicine for the University of Arizona’s Program in Integrative Medicine. When he entered Stanford University School of Medicine in California, in 1973, Lewis realized that his culture had much to offer mainstream society - through its understanding of the power of story and through its understanding of healing and transformation. (http://www.mehl-madrona.com)

Mehl-Madrona asks why should we be surprised when cancer patients die on the schedules predicted by our studies---how much do we program people to have the outcomes we expect by convincing them what to expect? I agree with Mehl-Madrona and wonder how much of the increasing cancer rate is due to subtle subconscious programming and a stressed mindset eroding our biochemical immune system.

Mehl-Madrona believes "It is difficult to locate the inner healing because it is a state of mind body Spirit rather then a thing, and is different for each of us in accordance with our beliefs, values, history, and culture."

Mehl-Madrona’s focus is to rekindle “The fire of hope in all aspects of our lives... we cannot wait any longer to eat the food of hope we…rather we must find our sustenance in the present moment.”

He views hope as essential “to the power of our inner healing which is responsible for so-called spontaneous remission [when] the inner healer is missing… people die of simple treatable illness is despite good medical care…. it is difficult to locate the inner healing because it is a state of mind body Spirit rather than a thing…it is different for each of us. We must find that multi dimensional self, Mind, Body and Spirit, and confront the embodiment of your illness.

Mehl-Madrona states “Native American healers expect miracles and prepare in all ways possible for them to occur.” In contrast when modern allopathic medicine sees miraculous recoveries, these recoveries are discarded from studies as anomalous cases. Miraculous recoveries are viewed as tainting the otherwise orderly results. Mehl-Madrona’s believes this small group of “miracle” patients has everything to teach us about healing and survival. 

The book Coyote Healing distills the common elements in miracle cures to help people start their own healing journey. Dr. Mehl-Madrona reviewed hundreds of cases where individuals experienced miracle cures. By examining the energies, attributes, and teachings implicit within Native American healing and how these relate to body-mind healing, he reveals that survivors found purpose and meaning in their life-threatening illness. Peaceful acceptance was key to their healing. Peaceful acceptance does not mean giving up. It means the miracle of finding faith, hope, and serenity, which empower life energy even when a cure seems impossible. 

Native American healers teach us that healing requires self-awareness in 1. The importance of relationship; 2. The importance of acceptance and surrender; 3. Focus on the present; 4. The importance of community; 5. Transcending blame; 6.The importance of the spiritual dimension; and the need for 7. Profound change. 

Book Chapters:
What is a miracle?
The miracle of peacefulness 
Finding the inner healer
The healing journey: Medicine Wheel 
The East: Discovering spirit
The south: Discovering emotion
The west: Discovering the body ate
The north: Discovering the mind and community 
The power of ceremony
Hearing stories and changing stories
(The reference to the cardinal directions are places on the Native American Medicine wheel for in depth examination see this website

Be sure to read the foreword and introduction. Larry Dossey M.D. writes the foreword. Dossey, a physician and medical reformer, investigates the compelling medical, scientific, and spiritual evidence for a universal consciousness. He is also known for presenting convincing evidence for a nonlocalized, holistic view of the mind and reality that accounts for the power of prayer and transcendental experiences.

Book Reviews
“We all delight in reading about medical miracles. Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madrona, a highly trained practitioner of integrative medicine and Native American healing, gives us inspiring stories along with insightful analyses of them so that we can apply their lessons to our own lives.” (ANDREW WEIL, M.D., author of 8 Weeks to Optimum Health)

“Lewis Mehl-Madrona has deconstructed the mechanisms of miracle cures and true healing in a way that is sensible, coherent, and shockingly enlightening. Your view of life and wellness will be forever transformed!” (Thom Hartmann, author of Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight)

“If ever there was a time to be open to miracles, the time is now. Coyote Healing provides a blueprint for celebrating the miracle of healing in all aspects of life.” (GARY SWARTZ, PH.D., author of Living Energy Universe)
                       

Lewis Mehl-Madrona can be contacted at the Coyote Institute -- East, P.O. Box 9309, S. Burlington, VT 05407, USA 

Mehl-Madrona, Lewis . Coyote Healing: Miracles in Native, (March 25, 2003) Bear and Company: ISBN-10: 1591430100
www.healing-arts.org/mehl-madrona

www.mehl-madrona.com

http://www.amazon.com/Coyote-Healing-Miracles-Native-Medicine/

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