What Is Holistic Health? by Lonny J. Brown, Ph.D. -

Throughout history, cultures have adopted a variety of explanations and philosophies in the continuing quest for health. Illness has been attributed in turn to evil spirits, divine retribution, and bugs. Our contemporary model (allopathy) is built largely on the contagion theory of disease and the suppression of symptoms, and therefore promotes medicines and counter measures that fight harmful agents and their effects. This "opposite" model of therapy is logical, but narrow. It precludes other mechanisms, such as the "like cures like" principle used in homeopathy. Here, minute quantities of the very agent that causes the symptom also causes the immune system to handle it.

The holistic approach takes the broadest possible view of illness and disease, identifying multiple causes (both internal and external), and offering multi-dimensional "healing," as opposed to specific "cures." It is as concerned with one's propensity towards disease as it is with its transmission. Why does one person get colds or infections more easily than another, or at different times? Can we render ourselves more hardy and disease-resistant before medical intervention is necessary, and more resilient when illness does occur?

The holistic view says yes. For 80% of our modern health complaints - the lifestyle, stress, and behavioral disorders - natural, holistic self-care methods are a viable alternative to drug-dependence, side effects, and expensive, hi-tech intervention. The fundamental premise is that your body knows how to be well, given the proper support.

Taking into account one's body, mind, emotions, and spiritual life, holistic health combines the best of modern scientific diagnosis and monitoring techniques with both ancient and innovative health promotion methods. These include natural diet and herbal remedies, nutritional supplements, exercise, relaxation, psycho-spiritual counseling, meditation, breathing exercises, and other self-regulatory practices. It addresses not only symptoms, but the entire person, and his or her current life predicament, including family, job, and religious life. It emphasizes prevention, health maintenance, high-level wellness and longevity. It views the client as an active participant in the healing process, rather than simply a passive recipient of "health care." At once personal, ecological, and transcultural, holism has become the new health paradigm for the 21st century.

* ALLOPATHIC *	* HOLISTIC *
Focuses on Measurements	Focuses on Experience
SYMPTOMS	CAUSES & PATTERNS
Disease as Entity	Disease as Process
PAIN AVOIDING	PAIN READING
General Classified Diagnosis	Specific Individual Needs
Technical Tools	Integrated Therapies
Remedial / Combative / Reactive	Preventive / Corrective / Pro-Active
Crisis Oriented: Occasional Intervention	Lifestyle Oriented: Sustained Maintenance
Radical. Defensive.	Natural. Ecological.
Medicine As Counter-Agent	Medicine As Co-Agent
Side Effects. Chemicals, Surgery, Radiation, Replacement	Low-Risk. Conservative. Organic. Purification, Manipulation, Correction< /td>
Emphasis: "CURE"	Emphasis: "HEALING"
Speed, Comfort, Convenience	Restoration. Regeneration. Transformation
Practitioner as Authority PACIFYING	Practitioner as Educator ACTIVATING
Patient as Passive Recipient	Patient as Source of Healing
Mechanical / Analytical / Bio-Physical	Systemic / Multi-Dimensional / Body-Mind-Spirit
Best For: Infectious Diseases, Trauma, Structural Damage, Organ Failure, Acute Conditions.	Best For: Degenerative, Chronic Stress & Lifestyle Disorders, Toxemia, Glandular Weakness, Systemic Imbalances, Immunity.

Metaphysically, our subtle energy can be differentiated into 7 layers. Each layer is different in frequency and the denseness of pre-particles from which the energy layers are composed of. They are like key notes on a piano keyboard, many musical octaves line up from the lowest frequency which represents the physical body to the highest ones which represent our spirit. Each energy layer is interconnected by Chakras which are also reception units for external vital force or so called "cosmic energy" too. Layer by layer, the comic energy or "Qi (Chi)" get into our subtle body and the most inner layer connects to the physical body via the "meridian", so called "Jing luo" in the art of acupuncture. Researches proved that the meridians go deep into the cellular nuclei of each organ.

Etheric body is the first layer. It is just close to our skin and is the layer where acupuncture points situated. Training qigong, yoga, Reiki or even crystal therapy are healing arts which affect this layer of energy.

Astral body is the second layer. It may be called as Emotional body. Various stages of emotion affect this layer and get deep to injure any specific organ. It is this subtle body which cause the "Out of Body" or "Near Dead" Phenomenon, at which state one may feel like oneself is out of the physical body until he is rescued from the near dead state when he turn to be himself again. Practicing Qigong by expressing bad emotion out is to purify this layer of energy.

Mental body is the third layer. This layer keep information of rational and morality which one was being raised up since his childhood. Its vibration may cause changes of visceral organ function via autonomic nervous system, hormonal system and immunity system. Treating psycho-physiologic disorder, auto-immune diseases or even cancer should deal with this layer of vibration.

Causal body is the fourth layer. It is a layer which keeps the pass experience in the form of some vibration. As it is called in Buddhism as "Karma". Subconscious training or hypo-therapy is dealing with this layer of vibration.

There are 3 higher layers of energy which vibrates at very high frequency. One may reach these levels via the deep state of meditation so called as "Chana" or doing Vibhasana in the Buddhist way. At such level one may getting to know the "Universal Wisdom".