Thanksgiving Gratitude
My wife Jen and I are off to Israel to teach for a week (see flyer below). For the first time, we won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving with our children. Although we would much prefer to be with our children, family, and friends on this and every other holiday, we recognize that this is a unique […]
Celebrating St. Francis of Assisi
Today, October 4th is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. As a former Franciscan monk, I have always felt a special affinity for St. Francis. On this day, I take time to reflect on his life and his words of wisdom and compassion. In The Canticle of Exhortation to St. Clare, St. Francis […]
Healing vs. Curing: Contrasting Fundamental Aims in Medicine
Conventional modern medicine has long separated itself from traditional healing systems such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, and the Eclectic tradition. However, the inadequacies of conventional medicine and the growing interest of people in the wisdom of these ancient healing traditions has created a unique opportunity to rewrite medicine as we currently know it. I […]
How Do We Define A Human Being?
To the Western way of thinking, theology and medicine have little in common. Although some progress has been made in the past several decades in recognizing the interrelationship of the mind, body, and spirit, there is still the tendency to define a human being merely in terms of concrete, physiological attributes. In Eastern Christian ideology, […]
Finding God In Nature
Saint John of the Cross, a Carmelite priest and a great mystic, taught the monks a humble exercise; to sit and contemplate where they could view the open sky, hills, trees, fields, and growing plants, and to call upon the beauty of these things to praise God. This simple meditation on Nature reminds us of […]
The Hope of Spring
Spring brings the awakening of the earth from the long rest of winter, evidenced by the blossoming of trees and flowers and the tender green of emerging plants. A natural time of renewal and hope, spring is also the season of Easter, which is my favorite holiday. Often referred to as ‘Pascha’ in the Eastern […]
Living With The Unknown
I often recommend an inspirational essay to my patients entitled “In The Gray Zone,” written by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. A nationally recognized physician and educator, Dr. Remen is a pioneer in the field of mind/body medicine, and has cared for people with cancer for more than 30 years. What makes her work truly inspiring […]
Herbal Medicine: How Do We Know It Works?
I often lecture in hospitals or to groups schooled in conventional medical thinking. Although they are intrigued by herbal medicine, one of the first questions they ask is, “How do you know that herbs really work?” This is a valid question. It’s not enough to say, “Well, this herbal remedy worked for my grandparents, so […]
The Spirit of True Healing
We live in a progressively fragmented world, and this fragmentation affects every aspect of our lives. Even natural medicine is not immune to the tendency to view cancer and other serious illnesses with a narrow focus, addressing only one type of treatment or concentrating on only one aspect of health (for example, diet, exercise, or […]