Friday, 14 December 2007

The Best Laid Plans

Greetings from Future Medicine Now!

Given the temptation of excessive dietary "indiscretions" during the holiday season, I had planned to focus this newsletter on the poorly understood, yet immensely important subject of insulin and the far reaching implications of overstimulating it. But a news item from the Washington Post grabbed me by the collar and said, "This is something your clients might appreciate knowing about, Larry."

I know that many readers are aware of the potential for a pandemic of the H5N1 virus ("bird flu") or another pathogen, equally devastating to world population. Some individuals have even made preparations for surviving such an inevitability when it arrives — which, of course, will happen when we least expect it. So the headline, "Virus Starts Like a Cold But Can Turn Into a Killer" got my attention.

The article reports that over 1000 Americans in four states have become infected with what appears to be a new strain of adenovirus (ironically pronounced "add-no-virus"). Many of these individuals have been hospitalized, requiring intensive care in order to survive. At least 10 have died. Ordinarily, adenovirus infections result in no more than a common cold, but some officials are viewing this particular virus as a mutation, far more virulent than its cousins. Quoting from the Post:

  • The new adenovirus is a variant of a strain known as adenovirus 14. First identified in Holland in 1955, it has caused sporadic outbreaks in Europe and Asia. No outbreaks, however, had ever been documented in the Western Hemisphere.

  • But then Gilbert (Dr. David N. Gilbert in Portland, Oregon) started seeing patients like Joseph Spencer, 18, a high school varsity swimmer who was suddenly racked by fever, chills and vomiting.

  • "At first I thought it was just the flu," Spencer said. "But then it was the worst feeling I ever had. I felt so miserable. I really felt like I was dying."

  • Spencer's mother took him to the emergency room, where he was placed in intensive care, sedated and put on a respirator. "Even then, we told the family we didn't think he was going to survive," Gilbert said.

  • The teen spent 18 days in the hospital and was able to return home. But after weeks of bed rest and physical therapy, he remains short of breath and weak, and he is having memory problems.

Of the 30 patients in Oregon, actually identified as having the virus, seven have died. While that mortality rate doesn't approach the ratio of bird flu infections to deaths in Indonesia (114:92), it is quite high, and, like bird flu, it is proving lethal in normally healthy, young adults in their prime.

 

In this newsletter, I'd like to share two perspectives in relation to this news:

  • Why we should not be surprised by such events, and...
  • How to deal with any virus or "wind invasion."

 

The Basics of Why

The classical oriental viewpoint of our condition is essentially represented in the following way:

  • The universe is composed of a continual ebb and flow of yin and yang, opposing, yet complementary forces, expanding and contracting, shifting and changing into each other, continually seeking balance. This principle is unwavering, and balance will be had, regardless of the "cost."

  • Our world is currently out of balance (in case you haven't noticed the headlines). One of the more obvious manifestations of this imbalance is that there are far more of us on the planet than it can support. That trend is expanding, rather than reversing.

  • The "universe" will seek to correct this, or any other imbalance, until a more harmonious interplay manifests.

  • This process will repeat itself.

 

"Complementary" Views

In attempting to understand why viruses sometimes mutate into voracious and relentless killers, scientists explore the most minute mechanisms which may offer them insights, or even reveal a "cure." Oriental medicine employs a much broader and more comprehensive viewpoint for understanding and addressing the same phenomena.

Observations which attempt to bridge the gap between the two include Rupert Sheldrake's morphic field theory and the "100th monkey" phenomenon. Needless to say, science is highly skeptical. Pure science can never comprehend consciousness, and pure consciousness comprehends everything. If oriental medicine is already serving your health care needs, this conversation may be a moot point. If you're a skeptic, then that is the reality you must live until it's exhausted. Take it as far as you can.

As long as our world is out of balance, events which naturally correct the imbalances should come as no surprise — in fact, they should be expected. These are increasingly challenging times. The gift of living in such a time is the opportunity for accelerated unfoldment. Regardless of the nature of our tendencies — head, heart, or consciousness itself — each of us would be well advised to take our beliefs as far as they can take us.

 

Yet Another Shift in Plans

As this newsletter unfolds, I see it expanding endlessly in every direction I look. Even in condensed version, it's a huge undertaking. So I am choosing to offer it in parts. The second installment — oriental medicine's concepts, recognition, and management of a viral infection — will be arriving soon in your mailbox. Hopefully, next week.

Until it does, this might be a beneficial time to contemplate our choices in life. Are they supporting a level of health which would provide the resilience to withstand the onslaught of a killer virus — or any other threat we are likely to encounter in this lifetime? In our later years? Or next week?

Do our choices even give us the quality of life we truly desire?

Much Love,
Dr. Larry Horton