Health and Healing by Dr. Lisa Chun, D.O
The Hawaiian Islands hold a special place for people who come to visit or who experience the wonders through pictures or descriptions. There can be many reasons for this but maybe it has to do with the Spirit of Aloha which pervades these islands. "Aloha" according to Hank Wesselman's book, Wisdom Seeker, means Love, Compassion, and Kindness. It is also referenced to mean "to be in the presence of the Divine Breathe or Divinity." Here in Hawaii, the land and her people embody this spirit - helping to soothe the mind, body and spirit of those who come in contact with the islands.

Health is a state of mind, body, and spirit which has been described many ways: the absence of dis-ease; a dynamic state, responding to circumstances; the expression of a person inclusive of personality. It can be thought of as a presence of the state of Grace and Love - of balance, harmony, freedom, appreciation, acceptance and peace.

Healing is the process of maintaining, improving, or regaining health, the process by which we regain ourselves: our center, our balance.

Dis-ease comes in many different forms. The most recognized are physical and emotional/mental - a cold, an ulcer, depression. Dis-ease can also come as a result of over-competition, war, miscommunication and lack of understanding or tolerance. Internal spiritual unrest can occur. The doubts, fears, and worries over matters of personal, professional, environmental and human conditions can place people, and those with whom they come in contact, into a state of imbalance or disharmony. Because of the complexity and interrelatedness of the various aspects of a human being, there is usually more than one way to approach the situation.

Healing, then, as used in this article, is described as a Law of Life and also refers to a natural law, the law of Love. It is a lifelong process of maturation and growth within all aspects of our lives, which everyone undergoes. The impetus may come from a career or job change, the loss of a loved one, the need to help others, adolescence, or just the stress of overcommitting or over-stimulation. In a sense, the stress in a person who is dying of colon cancer is not necessarily different from the stress in a person who feels stuck in a job that is taking its toll on personal values and interactions. How each person deals with his or her own individual situation is important; it has consequences and affects all that person comes in contact with. The pendulum will always tend to swing towards a point of balance. How we respond becomes important. There are times when healing will occur when we simplify and slow down; there are times when interaction and help from others is necessary; and there are times when the individual alone is able to deal with the situation.

The manifestation of health and healing is as individual as each human being. If one's form of self- expression, love and healing manifests as dance or music or art, this is as valid for them as gardening, raising children, or cooking is for another. Someone's choice to use alternative or complimentary treatments versus conventional medicine, or a combination thereof, to treat a condition named by a medical diagnosis is neither right nor wrong. That is to say, any one path or choice is neither right nor wrong - the paths or journeys are individual. Opportunities present themselves during certain periods, and if the lesson is not learned we get a chance to do it again.

Because we individuals are who we are, there are many different healing modalities, each modality and person a piece of the puzzle-a piece of a whole. Every person has his or her own resonance and affinities with certain modalities or philosophies, and these may change over time. For example, the person who benefits first from a certain style of yoga at one point in life, may find it necessary, at a later time, to change styles or change activities. The person who needs high blood pressure medicine may find either that a change in dosage or medication is necessary, or that lifestyle changes have made it possible to stop medication altogether. Certain modalities are used as a preventative for problems and certain modalities are interventional - the lines blur with our ideas of what constitutes health and our expectations in that regard.

"Health", in the osteopathic community is understood to hold within itself recognition of a self-correcting mechanism - in part dealing only on the human level, and in part dealing with the universe at large. There is an understanding that an invisible web connects all, and that all play an important role. With this in mind, healing may be described as the process of coming into conscious recognition and manifestation of Lightness of Being - the process by which health manifests - and we become more comfortable with who we are. No one person or modality "heals" another - some may help in a given situation and time. The only thing that "heals" is Love Ð the love and knowledge of who we are, as individuals, as a society, as a part of the universe.

In a world of ever-increasing stimulation, unrest and a quickening of pace, the timing is perfect to work toward continued health and healing.

Dr. Lisa Chun from Kaua'i Osteopathic, Inc can be reached at 808-742-1200 or www.Health-From-Within.com

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