Understanding the place for complimentary therapies

I was born into a world of science. Scientific proof was the basis of belief and to go against this or believe in something different was just pure idiocracy. It was only when, through science, I began to understand the complexity and interconnectedness of our minds and bodies that I realized that science had only skimmed the surface of something much grander. Recent scientific developments support the idea of an interconnected word through emerging fields such as interpersonal neurobiology and epigenetics that our minds are products of not only our brain but our body, relationships, environment and the experiences of our parents and ancestors. We now understand just how plastic and changeable our minds and bodies can be – through determination and perseverance we can make the impossible possible and can truly master ourselves to create whatever it is we dream of. This is the approach of many emerging therapeutic fields in psychology, psychiatry and physiotherapy. Researchers all over the world such as Dan Siegel, Wade Davis and Gabor Mate are beginning to look to other cultures to answer some of the bigger questions surrounding disease and disability.

It is only when we look from the perspective of ancient cultures that we can see their approach to healing isn’t so primitive after all. The idea of an interconnected world is deeply imbedded in most, if not all ancient perspectives. The belief here is that everything is connected energy, from the stars to the soil, a belief that is now becoming popularized in quantum physics.

This is a lot to understand all at once, thankfully guidelines or stepping stones to understanding have been left through temples and symbols to grasp the fundamentals. Probably the most common symbols you’ll see round the Andes is the rainbow flag and the Chakana which can both be easily misinterpreted.

You can consider yourself as being composed of three interconnected parts – a mind, body, spirit; three realities in polarity that are connected;

Due to the nature of an interconnected world, this is connected with interpersonal relationships, your environment (earth) the cosmos etc;

As with many cultures, the idea of two sides of reality is also apparent eg. Yin/yang, heaven/hell, light/dark. Without one, we cannot have the other and it is only with the existence of one that the other can exist. There is therefore a reflection of these two polarities;

We are believed to exist in the middle of these polarities – this is called the rainbow and is our experience of existence. This is the energy that we can perceive and that creates our visible world.

When talking about polarities (yin/yang, masculin/feminine etc.), A difference of perspectives here from the west to east is the idea that one polarity is good and one is bad. Indigenous cultures do not assign a label of good/bad so do not demonize one half of our reality as this will no doubt introduce judgement and shame. This may be a foreign idea for many people but can be understood with the story of a farmer;

The worst things that will happen to us can turn out to be the best things in hindsight and vice versa. The underlying idea is that it’s really our perspective of something that will introduce judgement and worry.

As we understand the symbols of one culture we can start to see parallels and similarity with many others. Everything seems to be connected and to understand this is the pathway to understanding yourself.