Spirituality and Health
Shemuel B. Israel, DC
This article was published in the North Lawndale Community News, December 16-31, 2003
Seventy-two percent of Americans say they would welcome a conversation with their physician about spirituality, according to a Nov. 10,2003 article in Newsweek magazine.
Because doctors are uniquely positioned to make the connection between health and the spiritual dimension, more than half the nation’s medical schools are now offering courses that help doctors offer more spiritual care to their patients.
“We don’t want to turn the medical profession into clergy,” cautions Kenneth Pargament, a Bowling Green State University psychology professor in Ohio. “Spiritual struggles are red flags,” says Pargament, “but to treat these struggles as divorced from the patient’s medical problems is shortsighted.”
Dr. Mark Su of Tufts University in Boston, Mass, found that 94 percent of the American public believes in a God or a “higher power,” and most claim that religion is “fairly” or “very” important in their lives. But Su’s study does not include those religions that do not profess a Supreme Being. Su reviewed the literature on religion and health, restricting the review to studies pertaining to the Judeo-Christian religions, “due to the large number of studies available within this sect compared to other religions, as well as the relevant pertinence that it has among the majority of US citizens.”
Defining religion in terms of a single type of religion produces two problems: (1) It discounts and insults the people in the world whose religions do not fit the Judeo-Christian model and, (2) those that adhere to or grew up with the Judeo-Christian model presume that all religions are the same. Then they assume that, “anyone who doesn’t agree with their religion is not religious, or is an atheist,” according to Speaker Allen in a chapter in his book, “On the Precipice of Epiphany” entitled “Babelism 3: The Religion Question.”
Despite the difficulties of scientifically measuring the effects of faith and spirituality, one of the clearest benefits of religion is its effect on life expectancy. There is persuasive evidence that people who attend a church, synagogue, temple, or mosque live longer than people who do not.
“How do you separate the health benefits of going to church or synagogue from the fact that people who attend religious services tend to smoke less and be less depressed than those who don’t,” writes Claudia Kalb in a Nov. 4 Newsweek article, “Faith & Healing.” Strong social bonds among congregation members may help boost immune system function,Coffer protection against heart disease, and improve overall health. Critics, however, worry that faith can interfere with a patient’s recovery from an illness. They’ve observed that some religious adherents continue to engage in risky behaviors while believing that recovery from their illness is in God’s hands. On the other hand, some people believe that their illness or disease is a punishment for their failure to attend or participate in religious services and events. Still, others express anger or suffer depression believing that their prayers failed them when a child or other loved one does not recover from disease!
Some confuse spirituality with religion and faith. They often create the mental illusion that “spiritual activities” like prayer, rituals, and singing hymns are separate from the daily events in their lives. They have one attitude when focusing on these “spiritual activities” and an entirely different attitude when focusing on the daily events and relationships in their lives. A religion is a structured worldview that is based upon some aspect of spirituality. According to Speaker Allen, “It is a worldview that serves as the unifying perspective through which we reconnect to Truth.” Religion and other belief systems focus on traditions, customs, and rules as well as the “spiritual activities” associated with them. When traditions, customs, rules, and “spiritual activities” run counter to the way our bodies function, they may cause harm. This may be one reason why some critics think that the health-and-faith link is unwise.
True spirituality is subversive. It neither respects traditions, customs, or rules, nor does it spare reputable institutions. This is because true spirituality is intrinsic. This means that spirituality focuses on exploring and expressing one’s inner qualities and values. Every event, every relationship, and every aspect of life is a spiritual endeavor. In the Old Testament, there is a verse that says, “You shall love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength,” As infinite facets of the Creator, we are advised to live ourselves fully by properly balancing three levels of our being.
That is, you have the choice to live the intrinsic (spiritual) values like being true to yourself, being-honest, having integrity, and having self-respect while valuing the same in other people with all your heart and with all your soul. You have the choice to live the systemic (religious) values by developing and using your cognitive capacity for seeking the truth objectively with all thy mind, even if the quest for truth is unpleasant and-distasteful; even if knowing and affirming the truth costs you a great deal in terms of personal, material or social gain or profit. You have the choice to live the extrinsic (institutional) values by appreciating and taking care of your healthy body, by acquiring adequate material resources, and by building supportive physical and social environments with all thy strength.
In 1998, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported the result of a national study on “Why Patients Use Alternative Medicine.” It found that, “interest in spirituality and personal growth psychology” were among the variables that predicted alternative health-care use. The original intention and design of chiropractic was to unblock the flow of subdued (sub) light (luxation) or intelligence so that spirit (energy or life force) could flow unimpeded. It was a restatement of the idea that the soul or spirit of man is the real man, that the mind is an instrument of the spirit, and that the body is a printout of the mind. It was and continues to be a unique biological and “spiritual approach to health and wellness.
The early systems of salvation rested upon a knowledge of self and an understanding of self (man know thyself). The ability to know who and what one is, plus the willingness to change one’s limiting beliefs when new facts are brought to light, and the action of being who and what one is, led to salvation. Salvation is lifting yourself to a higher level of meaning and expanding yourself to the understanding of your infinite value. The Egyptian neteru (translated “gods”) were not believed by the people to be actual personal beings in the same way the Judeo-Christian-Islamic “Gods” are.
They were metaphors for the powers for which they were associated. These powers were natural forces or faculties of human beings. The Egyptian system of salvation encouraged initiates to awaken the “God” powers within themselves. Every aspirant seeking spiritual and psychological rebirth were encouraged to pursue, master, and fully integrate (consume) the various powers and attributes. By this method, salvation is the act of raising yourself to godhood. Jesus’ task and message was the same. He encouraged those who were awake (whose eyes and ears were open) to move into the Kingdom of Heaven – the Kingdom of Inner Value.
Since the body reflects the mind, the inner realm must be addressed, as that is where many problems lie, while the outer effect, whether it is illness or injury, is more accurately described as a symptom. So, can religion improve health? Any religion that leads individuals toward the path of self-discovery and self-responsibility will see an improvement in the health of its adherents. The real question is, “Does a particular worldview offer directives for leading a healthy lifestyle and for leading its adherent toward well-being?” And, does the adherent of a particular religion conduct his or life in terms of that worldview?