Thoughts about: skepdic

A well-meaning loved one pointed me to this site. I think her intention was that I would find it amusing. Instead? Kind of a bummer.

I, of course, went to things that I know a bit about and found them very poorly represented and denigrated. Reiki and acupuncture, in particular, betray both a lack of accurate information and a very white Western male, utterly non-spiritual concept of healing and definition of science. For example:

“Traditional Chinese medicine is not based on knowledge of modern physiology, biochemistry, nutrition, anatomy, or any of the known mechanisms of healing.”

Known to whom? It is clear that the writer means that unless it’s known to Western science, it is unworthy of consideration. In fact, Traditional Chinese Medicine has centuries, if not millennia, more of practice and validation than the relatively new sciences listed in the writer’s sentence. So, what he's really saying is that it has not been tested and proven in his context of preference to his satisfaction, so it must be crap.

I looked at additional healing systems that I’ve experienced personally and found them similarly represented. Initially, when confronted with alternative healing methods, I was extremely skeptical. I approached each one with the solid expectation that it would not work and was possibly even foolish or intended to bilk needy patients. Instead, in most cases, I’ve had profound experiences of release, relaxation, and/or healing. I’ve paid attention.

The fact that the methodology has not been measured by currently popular institutional means does not prove that they are insubstantial. It proves nothing. It may be that no one has created a test bed. It may be that Western science has not yet created tools that can measure the thing to be tested. It may be that a given thing is hooey. In any case, where no Western test beds exist, direct experience has value.

Oh, one last related thought regarding his commentary on various healing methodologies: a consistent theme seems to be that if the methodology incorporates any energetic, psychological, or spiritual aspect, it is immediately judged false. I find this point notable because the concept of separating healing arts from the strictly mechanical is a recent and, to my mind, unproven development. His blindness to his own weak logic is palpable.

In order to step beyond my own personal triggers, I looked up some other topics. One was “karma”. Though I am far from a Hindu scholar, I have read enough to know that he did not properly convey the law of karma within the larger spiritual context of Hinduism. Instead, he isolated a portion of it and extrapolated to its extreme. Along the way, he demeaned an entire religion that pre-dates Christianity. Christianity, by the way, is not a listing in this dictionary. Apparently it’s above skepticism.

Another I chose to read was "massage therapy" because this, at least, has received medical validation. It was amazing to me how little research the writer did prior to reaching his sarcastic conclusions. In addition, he stated the the AMTA does no provide access to research that validates claims regarding the physiological effects of massage. I decided to check, so I went to their website and clicked on the link at the top of the page that said, "About Massage Therapy" which took me to a page that includes a link to "Massage Research Citations, 2002".

So what do I take away from the dictionary?

The writer would like to convey that there is some singular objective measure by which various healing methodologies can be judged. Beyond that, his entries read as though written by someone who is afraid of things that exceed his understanding and, therefore, seeks to belittle them to take away their power. That's the best case I can make for him. Otherwise, I'd have to label him hateful, petty, ignorant, and negatively motivated. Though it's possible that his dictionary includes ideas with which I might agree, I doubt I'll ever find out, because I have no interest in returning to its pages.

Bleah. Think I'll go find something inspiring to read.


Copyright 2003 Seasmoke. All rights reserved.

Words that move me

Today just a quote that I love. It's from The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. I read it years, ago and it's a terrific book, but I have to say that it's actually his use of language that causes me to return to it again, and again. His descriptive passages stream over me, bathing my senses and creating a full pause in my often-racing mind.

To describe our growing up in the lowcountry of South Caroline, I would have to take you to the marsh on a spring day, flush the great blue heron from its silent occupation, scatter marsh hends as we sink to our knees i mud, open you an oyster witha pocketknife and feed it to you from the shell and say, "There. That taste. That's teh taste of my childhood." I would say, "Breathe deeply," and you would breathe and remember that smell for the rest of your life, the bold, fecund aroma of the tidal mash, exquisite and sensual, the smell of the South in heat, a smell like new milks, semen, and spilled wine, all perfumed with seawater. My soul grazes on it like a lamb on the beauty of indrawn tides.

:)