Healing and Science – is there a debate?

Healing and Science – is there a debate?

The answer to this question is, as often is the case, both “yes” and “no.”

Yes, there is still a debate

On one side, there are Healers who make outlandish claims about healing cancer or diabetes, in some miraculous manner, through a mysterious power. Some people have had negative experiences with doctors or hospitals and have demonised both of them. There are also charlatans who trick people for financial gain, or fame.

On the other side, there are doctors and other health professionals who discount anything they don’t understand as false. Some don’t look at the facts, but only at the people on the other side of the debate, and throw it all out together.

For both of these parties, the debate is usually very high in emotion, and low in substance and fact.

No, for many, the debate is over

For a while now though, a growing group of people on both sides have been able to follow the data, and identify some positive results. These people see that there are two things that have been established:

·     We know that Healing works.

·     We don’t know why or how.

We know it works

People who combine Healing with standard medical care recover more quickly form injury and illness, and report lower pain levels during the period of recovery. Terminal patients report a greater degree of physical and emotional comfort during palliative care.

The NHS has responded to this by approving placements and funding from SBSHT for Healers to play supplementary roles in NHS institutions and care facilities. Healers are now part of the team in many NHS facilities. Coverage and availability are still better in some areas than others, but it is a step in the right direction.

Just as with medical treatment, sometimes the results are stunning and quick, sometimes they are slower, and seem less effective. The statistics are clear though, the cooperation of standard medical care and Healing, helps patients to be healthier, more comfortable, and have quicker recovery periods.

We don’t know Why

Still, there are people who will struggle with the fact that we don’t know why Healing works. This struggle in unnecessary though, if one considers a few of the other things that we don’t understand, but still use on a regular basis. For example, even scientists who specialise in such areas do not know how gravity works. We can see what it does, but we don’t know why… yet! Likewise, Newtonian physics and Einstein’s relativity theory are mutually exclusive, and yet the one gets us into space and the other makes GPS work.

So what do we do?

There are lots of things we don’t yet understand, but it makes no more sense to throw out Healing, than it does to throw out your GPS or mobile phone. Scientists continue to study all of these areas, and maybe one day we’ll have answers – but in the meantime, we know that this practice makes the healthy less susceptible to illness, the ill more comfortable, aids in recovery where possible, and reduces anxiety in the dying.

So what should we do? Try it. Receive the benefits. We’ll figure out how it happens later on.

Sources and Further Reading

http://www.cancertherapies.org.uk/informationfornhstaff

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/complementary-and-alternative-medicine/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-55405/Why-alternative-treatment-NHS.html

https://www.bmj.com/content/331/7521/856

https://www.england.nhs.uk/blog/kirstie-stott-2/

To Risk the Unexplained

To Risk the Unexplained

If I were to explain why I love my wife, and give specific attributes that attract me to her, something very interesting can occur. Those same attributes appear in others, and yet without the same reaction of love and affection that they elicit in me in the case of my wife. On paper, there are others like her, but in my experience, she is unique. I can’t explain it.

This is not rare to the human condition. There may well be some complex set of factors at work that make it this way, but that doesn’t matter; what matters is our experience.

If you are struggling with something in your life – a health problem, stress, an injury – I bet it doesn’t matter so much to you why you are struggling, as how you can get some relief from it. If you are searching for the cause, it is mainly because you hope to find relief through identifying the source of the pain. The source itself is less important. Likewise, if something gives you relief, and isn’t harmful, you might not care much how it works, so long as it does.

Healing can be like that.

If you read through the bios on this site, you’ll hear about people whose experiences as receivers of healing were so impactful to their lives that they eventually became healers themselves, devoting years of practice and commitment to sharing the benefits they themselves experienced.

Those Healers are not alone. This is a testimonial from one young person who spent some time at the Sylvan Centre during a difficult time of life.

I’m sixteen now and free of all of the problems to be mentioned, but throughout my childhood I struggled in the process of making friends, and argued constantly with my parents, perhaps as a result of the troubles I was having at school. This led to me feeling constantly anxious.

I found the centre to be a haven, secluded from the outside world and truly calming, alleviating the struggles – temporarily or permanently.

Without sounding clichéd, it is a different experience for each person who comes with different issues and reasons, but the constant is the undeniable benefit that a visit has. The healing is like a massage (a free massage), allowing one to disconnect, relax, and feel better about their problems. While I may not have seen the advantages as a stubborn child, I can see them clearly now, so I would recommend the centre to anyone, again regardless of their reasons or problems.

Finally, please also do not feel ashamed to ask for help, as I was – the ‘healers’ are non-judgemental and keep any conversations confidential, as well as the fact that there is never a reason to feel ashamed; each and every one of us experiences difficult times during our lives which are nothing to feel embarrassment about. To summarise – this is a truly beneficial service, which I would recommend to anyone, regardless of age, gender, race, or reason.            

Anonymous Patient

Regardless of your age, and regardless of your problem, healing can help you to deal with it, in many cases can help to heal it, and can do so in an accepting, non-threatening way. There is no fee for the services (a donation is requested if you are able), and the whole purpose of the centre is to improve the lives of those who come for healing. Risk a little of your time and effort in coming to us, and you may find a source of healing and comfort that you would never have thought existed.