Health Beyond Civilization

We live immersed in an invisible environment of ideas, concepts, and beliefs that limit and shape the way we think, feel, and act about ourselves and each other. Though unseen, they shape and guide and limit us on the deepest level. But because they reach so deep, we think they describe reality itself, and we don’t question our assumptions about things.

Medicine is not excluded from this. It would be nice if it were above the fray, pure of culture, absolute and simple. But the truth is that it’s deeply rooted in culture, that it both reflects and expresses who we see ourselves to be. We can see it in our everyday language: “There’s a bug going around.” “She’s getting on my nerves.” “I can’t wrap my brain around it.” “He’s all raging hormones.” “It must be in his DNA.” “She’s trying to watch her carbs.”

Or we talk about our bodies as machines: “Men are hard-wired to have multiple sexual partners.” “She’s got a few screws loose.”

Or we talk about disease in terms of war. The skin is the “first line of defense.” Then there are various white blood cells that “attack” and “destroy” invaders.

What do these examples tell us?

They tell us we are a biology first and a psychology second (if at all).

They tell us that we are at war, and that our foes are tiny things we can’t see.

Or, they tell us that the tiny things we can’t see that make up our body can go out of whack and there’s not much we can do about it.

They tell us that our bodies are machines and can be understood only by highly trained experts using expensive technology and prescribing strong drugs or invasive surgeries.

They tell us that there is no whole, only parts. And all of those parts can and will break down, with no greater purpose or meaning to them at all.

Now, make no mistake: Every system of metaphors has its strengths and its weaknesses. The conventional Western medical system has had, and continues to have, dramatic success and has saved many lives. If I or a loved one were terminally ill and I determined that these approaches yielded the best way to save our lives, I wouldn’t hesitate to use them.

But that system has reached the point of diminishing returns, which happens to any system that has become too complex for its own good. It has begun to fail a lot of people; and the more people fall through the cracks, the more important alternatives are.

So one of the first steps before we can move forward into a vision of health beyond civilization — a vision of health that relies on natural forces, on low technology, on relationship and ecology — is to illuminate the limits of the current medical paradigm which is based in the values of a civilization that relies on high technology, on domination of nature, on separation and reduction of whole into parts.

Thus, the philosophies of various forms of “alternative” medicine are often more suitable, not just because they are gentler, not even just because they work, but because their philosophy is more aligned with the values of post-industrial or post-civilized society.

The Oriental medical model I use is based on a different set of assumptions:

Mind and body are intimately connected.

Part and whole are related.

Identification and treatment of the root is essential.

These lead to a different set of tools, and a different set of sensibilities. Instead of powerful machines to see microscopic particles, the physician feels the pulse or looks at the tongue to sense the state of the internal organs. Instead of powerful drugs created through millions of dollars of research, herbs that grow naturally are used. Instead of heroic surgical interventions, the energy of the patient is altered through massage, needles, and other techniques.

These are the general principles of many of our pre-industrial traditional medical systems, from shamanism to naturopathy. Additionally, the further “back” you go in history or degree of civilization, the more elements appear in their medicine that blur mind and body, and that deal with the so-called supernatural. I’m talking about things like spirits, demons, and qi (chi, ki, vital energy).

Such concepts may be deal-breakers for the contemporary person who aspires to rewild, who envisions a relatively simple return to the natural world without any fluffy New Age stuff to muddy it up. But the wisdom of many of our ancestors include entrance into altered states of consciousness, communication with spirits and gods, prayer and meditation, manipulation of invisible energies, astrological analysis, and divination techniques.

The boundary between simple health care and the broader connection with life is more fluid than you might imagine.

I’m not mandating that anyone accept anything here on faith. Everything must be tested against your own experience and critical thinking; keep what’s useful, discard what’s not. But, health beyond civilization will involve many metaphors, myths, and beliefs beyond what is considered conventional, normal, or “real” in ordinary civilized life, precisely because they have been part of the human experience beyond the lifetime of our modern civilization, and therefore they are things that should be considered with more than a passing fancy.

Moreover, these are not random superstitions but some of them, at least, are repeatable experiences that fit into a philosophy and a cosmology that are consistent, accurately describe reality, and that lead to results.

So: This blog is not unbiased. I’ll present perspectives that may appear broad, unusual, superstitious. I’ll discuss things from a biomedical perspective as well as “alternatives,” to the best of my knowledge. I’ll talk about qi. I might even talk about spirit possession.

The bottom line is, how can we each learn to be healthy in the best way possible, according to values that best correspond to our total human experience? Inevitably, no intellectual model will suffice; all will fall short. So we’ll always need to be able to step outside our safe and comfortable house, to look beyond the horizon, to be open to new and surprising experiences.

In the end, keep what works, discard what doesn’t. But remain open.