Integrative medicine: recognizing our innate capacity to heal

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Katie Brown

Thanks to Steve Salt, Christian Science Committee on Publication for Ohio, for today’s blog.

iStock photo

iStock photo

“What’s up doc?”

Seems the buzz around the medical water cooler these days is integrative medicine.

Think of you and your integrative medicine physician working “as partners to engage body, mind and spirit in attaining and maintaining optimal health.”  This is how physicians at University of Cincinnati Health describe integrative medicine on their website, an approach to health care that patients are requesting and health professionals are seeing as beneficial.

“Complementary” and “alternative” medicine (CAM) has been part of the health lexicon for a generation or more.   The terms have been used to describe those therapies considered outside the traditional scope of medicine or at least beyond the doctor’s comfort zone.  That is changing. Continue reading →

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Honoring Jean Stapleton

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Katie Brown
@Glowimages gww78342101.

Stock Photos Close-up of an information board Manhattan, New York City, New York State, USA © Glow Images

The lights will be dimmed in Broadway theaters tonight at 8:00 p.m. for one minute to honor American character actress Jean Stapleton, who died May 31 in New York City at age 90. I remember watching her play Edith Bunker, Archie’s naive wife, in the television comedy “All in the Family“.

She was born Jeanne Murray to Joseph E. Murray, a billboard advertising salesman, and Marie Stapleton Murray, a singer. She was a Christian Scientist, a member of the Church of Christ, Scientist.

After graduating from Wadleigh High School in New York City in 1939, she attended Hunter College. She worked as a secretary until she began her acting career in 1941 as a New England stock player at the Greenwood Playhouse, Peaks Island Maine. Her fame may have been on television, but her first love was the theater. Continue reading →

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Prayer…a solution for splitting headaches

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Katie Brown

 

Stock Photos Cougar Rubbing Its Head © Glow Images.

Stock Photos Cougar Rubbing Its Head © Glow Images.

Ever heard someone say, “I have a splitting headache”? Inevitably compassionate individuals come forth with solutions to help.

During National Headache Awareness Week this week the list of solutions given are a good diet, reasonable amount of sleep, reducing stress, keeping a diary, seeing your healthcare provider, being a partner in your healthcare, and being educated to the latest migraine and headache news and treatment. Granted all of these are important stepping stones to fewer, shorter, and more tolerable headaches; however, an essential solution to be added to the list is prayer.

Prayer as illustrated by people of the Bible and The Lord’s Prayer as taught by Jesus should be added. Especially because headaches interfere with your life in all sorts of ways,  such as athletic competitions and school trips. Continue reading →

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Spirituality…a path to good mental health

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Katie Brown

 

Stock Photos Close-up of a beautiful young woman in despair © Glow Images. Model used for illustrative purposes only.

Stock Photos Close-up of a beautiful young woman in despair © Glow Images. Model used for illustrative purposes only.

Pathways to Wellness is the theme of National Mental Health Month celebrated each May for more than 60 years. Among the many paths to wellness and emotional stability is spirituality that gives you a sense of purpose and meaning. Is it possible that spirituality and the compassionate love that comes from it can contribute to the healing of mental illness?

Scientific evidence indicates that individuals are healthier and possess greater healing capabilities:

  • who regularly participate in spiritual worship services or related activities
  • who feel strongly that spirituality or the presence of a higher being or power are sources of strength and comfort to them Continue reading →
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Prayer for Oklahoma

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Katie Brown

Stock Photos Tree with tangled roots and dappled sunshine © Glow Images.

Stock Photos Tree with tangled roots and dappled sunshine © Glow Images.

The musical Oklahoma  with the song “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” filled with the strength and joy of its resilient people and the natural beauty of the land comes to my thought in the wake of the tornado that devastated Moore, Oklahoma this week.  It helps me to envision what is already beginning to happen… courageous people springing back from a natural disaster… seeing the sun shining.

First responders and neighbors rushed to the scene to rescue people from the rubble. President Barack Obama told the Oklahoma people, “You will not travel that path (to recovery) alone. Your county will travel it with you, fueled by our faith in the Almighty and our faith in one another.”

I pray with all my heart that those grieving for loved ones, who died in the tornado, and everyone affected will find comfort in God’s love and each others’ love. The Bible tells us, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God (II Corinthians 1:3,4).” Continue reading →

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Recipe for well-being and longevity

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Katie Brown

Stock Photos Man Hiking On A Mountain Path © Glow Images. Model is used for illustrative purposes only.

Stock Photos Man Hiking On A Mountain Path © Glow Images. Model is used for illustrative purposes only.

Being a baby boomer I naturally rebel from being labeled an aging senior facing declining years. The fact is I have good friends up to 20 years older than I am, who are still going strong. Since this is Older Americans Month, I’d like to give you a brief scenario of a couple of them to dispel the myth that aging leads to a downward spiral in health and happiness.

Research shows three major ingredients in the recipe for well-being and longevity are:

  1. Altruism
  2. Attitude
  3. Gratitude

My friends have all three in their lives, and they feel like the quote from American poet Robert Browning, “Grow old along with me. The best is yet to be.” They are moving forward in years with expectations and gratitude for more good to come. Particularly noticeable are their qualities of wisdom, grace, patience, and confidence. Continue reading →

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Prayer for teen drivers

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Katie Brown

Stock Photos Teenage Girl Sitting In Car, Holding Car Keys And Smiling At The Camera © Glow Images. Model used for illustrative purposes.

Stock Photos Teenage Girl Sitting In Car, Holding Car Keys And Smiling At The Camera © Glow Images. Model is used for illustrative purposes only.

The headlines of our newspapers can alert us to what our prayers should be focused on that day. One morning’s headline, “Teen traffic deaths on the rise”, alerted me to pray for teens to be safe in driving and for the grieving families and friends of teens, who have died in vehicle accidents on our Indiana highways and nationwide.

Indiana ranks one, up 13%, with a 19% increase nationwide in teen traffic deaths. The article stated that a report of preliminary data gathered by the Governors Highway Safety Association compared fatal car crashes involving sixteen and seventeen year old teens from the first six months of 2011 against the first six months of 2012.

Teen traffic death causes could be attributed to use of cell phones, little driving experience, more driving due to a better economy, increase in dangerous drivers on the road, and added vehicles on the road. Whatever the cause, it is heart rending when a young person with their life ahead of them dies in a fatal crash. Continue reading →

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Honoring Mother’s Day

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Katie Brown

Stock Photos Mother and Son Riding Bikes © Glow Images. Models used for illustrative purposes only.

Stock Photos Mother and Son Riding Bikes © Glow Images. Models used for illustrative purposes only.

As we honor mothers throughout the United States, where Mother’s Day has been celebrated annually for over 100 years, let’s honor our Mother-God.

Because I attended the Christian Science Sunday School as a very young child, I was taught and have always thought of God as both Mother and Father. This was made clear by Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science, when God was considered by most people to be exclusively Father. To think of God as Mother is to bring into one’s life Her precious nurturing, tender mercies and unconditional love that are apparent in all good mothers.

Mrs. Eddy wrote, “a mother’s love touches the heart of God …” (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 253), and “Man and woman as coexistent and eternal with God forever reflect, in glorified quality, the infinite Father-Mother God” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p.516)  She defined Mother, “God; divine and eternal Principle; Life, Truth, and Love.” (Science and Health, p. 592) Continue reading →

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Oval Office Jelly Beans…tribute to former Indiana Governor Otis Bowen

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Katie Brown

Stock Photos Bowl of Coloured Jellybeans © Glow Images

Stock Photos Bowl of Coloured Jellybeans © Glow Images


Thanks to Dave Horn, former Indiana Committee on Publication, Raleigh, North Carolina, for today’s blog.

News of the passing of former Indiana Governor Otis Bowen at age 95 wakened sweet memories, and recalled some words by Mary Baker Eddy, founder of The Christian Science Monitor, that could have described the “Doc.”

Bowen began his career on an internship from Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana, in 1942. From 1943 to 1946 he served in the Medical Corps of the United States Army, rising from the rank of 1st lieutenant to captain. On his return from World War II, he set up medical practice in his home town of Bremen, Indiana, where he treatedboth “English” and Amish residents and delivered a generation of babies. Bremen’s Bowen Babies grew into solid citizens and many remained friends for life.

Doc began his pubic service career as Marshall County Coroner. He served as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 1956 to 1958 and again from 1960 to 1972. He was speaker from 1967 to 1972. He was elected Governor in 1972 and re-elected for a second term in 1976, making him the first Governor to serve for eight consecutive years in Indiana since 1851. He taught at Indiana University until appointed by President Reagan as Secretary of Health and Human Services and confirmed by the US Senate on a vote of 93 to 2, making him the first medical doctor to serve in this position. He served in
Reagan’s cabinet until 1989, when he retired and came home to Bremen. That’s when we first met. Continue reading →

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National Day of Prayer…prayer that covers all human needs

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Katie Brown

@Glowimages 02A14R5Y.

Stock Photos © Glow Images

Katie S. Brown lives in Fort Wayne and writes regularly about spirituality and health. She is also a Christian Science practitioner and teacher and the media and legislative liaison for Christian Science in Indiana.

The United States Congress designated the first Thursday in May as the National Day of Prayer when all Americans are asked to turn to God in prayer for our country. This year’s theme, “Pray for America,” is based on the Bible, Matthew 12:21, “In His name will the nations put their hope.” I also like The Living Bible translation of the verse, “And his name shall be the hope Of all the world.”

On this day let us pray for our country and the world to feel the love of God to find solutions for peace and goodwill among all people. President Barack Obama in the Presidential Proclamation for The National Day of Prayer 2013 begins, “Americans have long turned to prayer both in times of joy and times of sorrow.”

Let us pray for those affected by the explosion in West Texas, the Newtown, Connecticut shootings and the Boston Marathon bombings as well as for those who are suffering from lack of any kind…lack of health, employment, home, and companionship. Let us recognize the good that we have in our lives and be grateful to our Father-Mother God for our blessings. Each day, I among many, say the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus gave us. Continue reading →

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