Microsoft word - lisa ball-natural medicine.doc

NATURAL MEDICINE
LISA BALL - ADJUDICATOR
I have based my presentation on an exploration of the words which describe what
natural medicine has come to mean to me and how my journey has developed over
the years. I began with a deep commitment to, and belief in, conventional medicine
where natural medicine played no part at al in my life, and moved to a place where
my automatic response to il health is to look to natural medicine for assistance.
The first word to start my exploration of this concept is the word that epitomises
where I began on my journey thirty years ago when I was a medical representative
for Beechams. I spent my days talking to doctors about the benefits of using
antibiotics and anti depressants and the key word that I remember of that period is
the word anti. I sold and spoke warmly and enthusiastical y about the bacteriocidal
effect of Amoxil - delighting in the knowledge that it was capable of kil ing bacteria
dead rather than simply suppressing their growth in the way that a bacteriostatic
drug would do. The key benefit to me was powerful action and the promise of
complete eradication of disease. I gave my support to the cause by regularly taking
3grams of Amoxil at the first sign of any il ness !
I continued in the same way for years until I became a mother and faced the
prospect of having to treat my children with drugs which stopped me in my tracks.
That turning point leads me to think of the second word which reflects the desire I
had to find another way to bring healing into my life and that of my family and that
word is gentleness. That is not to say I saw natural medicine simply as a gentle
alternative which might suggest I saw it as being ineffectual. That is far from the
truth …. I consider natural medicine to have great potency and efficacy and that
made me question why I see it that way when it is so often derided and criticised.
My feeling that natural medicine is powerful stems partly from the fact that it
stimulates and activates inner resources and unseen forces over which we have no
control and little knowledge. That is the aspect of natural healing that appeals to me
the most because it is the unknown within each of us that excites me more as a
healing power than the known.
I recognise that despite appearances the impact and effect of conventional medicine
is unpredictable and often little understood but it seems to me that practitioners of
natural medicine approach their patients from a different starting place where they
begin by accepting that health and wel being cannot be control ed and directed but
rather that it can be stimulated and encouraged. This approach allows the thought
process to meander as through a val ey and draw upon intuition and sensibility of the
subtleties and peculiarities that define our individuality rather than fol owing the linear
thought processes that tend to focus the mind on one track, one approach and one
outcome. The effect is that the picture of the patient is softer and less defined at first
and only comes into clearer focus gradual y as the depth of understanding grows.
The recognition of the power of the body to heal itself caused me to think of the next
word that defines my understanding of natural medicine and that is the word
Respect. This word made me think about the way in which natural medicine works
with the flow of energy in the body and also of the importance of recognising that
mind and spirit are equal partners with the body in their impact on health.
The approach of natural medicine is to integrate rather than separate so that there is
awareness of the whole person at the heart of the healing process.
NATURAL MEDICINE
LISA BALL - ADJUDICATOR
Conversely, one of the key problems in conventional medicine is that of separation of
mind, body and spirit which so often leaves patients feeling uninvolved with their
treatment and care.
The focus on the whole person caused me to think of the word Compassion and to
consider why it is important to have compassion in order to heal. Compassion is
connected with the concept of dis-ease and the need to restore peace to mind and
body. Compassion is needed both for oneself and for others (because healing
comes from right action towards self as much as it does from right action towards
others) and it is linked to the awareness of the need to forgive ourselves, to allow
what is to be what it is, to seek to understand and to accept …. rather than fight and
object.
I then thought about what healing is seeking to achieve and the word Harmony
came to mind. The central benefit of natural medicine is that it not only al ows but
also asks for my participation in the journey to health. It al ows me to be a partner
and a contributor in that journey rather than a passenger and a recipient.
Partnership in my healing process means that I am able to align my thinking and my
energy with the power of the practitioner; to take responsibility for my health and
well-being and to become one with the healing that is being given.
Final y, I thought of the word Balance which is the desired outcome in which the
natural rhythm of the body is restored and stimulated to renew itself. I love the
concept of renewal in the body and the idea that it is continual y shedding the old
and bringing in new energy and life.
As a patient I have experienced many different therapies including homeopathy,
acupuncture, Chinese medicine, massage, cranial osteopathy to name a few, but at
no time have I ever felt that I was harmed by the treatment I received or that I was
irrelevant in the healing process. Conversely, my experience of conventional
medicine has frequently left me feeling pol uted, toxic, sluggish and more damaged
from the side effects of medication than I was before the treatment began.
I recognise that there are times when we need to tackle disease in a radical,
aggressive way but for me that would be reserved for extreme situations where my
health was so seriously threatened that I would have to yield to intervention that
otherwise I would try to avoid.
My respect for the healing power of natural medicine is profound and stems from the
fact that I believe that my own healing resource can be stimulated rather than
replaced and that the healing process can help me to cleanse, renew, revitalise and
re-experience myself.
I began with the word ANTI which expressed my early attitude to medicine and
realise that my commitment to natural medicine has had an uplifting, inspiring and
beneficial effect on my life for which I am deeply grateful.
LISA BALL - Mob: 07734 333 795

Source: http://www.anh-europe.org/files/Lisa_Ball_Natural_medicine.pdf