Science Meets Religion??

Wade says: "This is personal perspective or introspective post.

"...The key assumption here is that science and religion are ultimately 100% compatible, and that the two perspectives on our one existence can illuminate each other, and should. ...

"My own take is that, largely, science has been looking down the microscope trying to find the meaning of life, and religion has been looking out the window and upwards, with the same question. As humans we're in that awkward place in between the two worlds, where issues such as justice and purpose and meaning operate at a level where the scientific method's tools are very weak: tightly-coupled, large-scale, heavy feedback hierarchical contexts where removing something from context to study it in isolation destroys the something you wanted to study, like removing a deep-sea fish from the depths of the ocean.

"The blogosphere, and its behaviors and potentials, are way closer to this type of active coupled-context space than we've ever been before. We have very poor intution about what pheneomena can occur when you take this many active components and wire them all toghether.

"We do know one thing, though - it is possible to take ten trillion active units ("cells") and have them actually function as one "being" in the case of our own bodies. There are clearly solutions beyond "let the biggest cell win!".

"The relationship of health to connectedness to this world of other human beings is increasingly seen as worthy of scientific study, but the tools are primitive at best."

To read the rest of his essay: link

Everything you always wanted to know...

...and could never remember after you asked!

It's the Medilexicon, and it is free reference for medical terms, abbreviations, treatments, companies, brand/generic names and medical news. There are also descriptions of various illnesses, conditions, and injuries, too.

This is a commercial site (was Pharmalexicon) and will have some advertising and a definite slant towards allopathic and pharmaceutical medicine, but the information is still useful because unlike the Merck Manual, it is in English for non-medical folks.

Old Web/New Web Tools for Health Support

How can using the Internet to improve health and well being? Why blogs?

First, the Read Only Web is here to stay and has proven itself by increasing access to information. Unlike walk-in libraries, the 'Net isn't limited by funding for materials, space for storage and retrieval systems, or hours of operation. Or geography: a person in Zambia can access a medical records site in Canada, even though there are several times zones difference. Keeping a library open, let alone up to date, is increasingly difficult; and many public and private institutions are moving from print to electronic media.

One excellent example of an online reference is the mental health site TroubledWith. Soothing page design and easy to use menus and lists of problems make help a click away, even for novices. The printable essays provide concise information that is medically current and also tied to religious thinking (primarily Christian source quotes).

Another good example is the US National Women's Health Center site. Well done, extensive and searchable.

But, neither of these sites allow for interaction and feedback among the readers. Information is only shared one way.

Enter weblogging, or blogging. For the individual, journaling in this fashion is more than just keeping a diary. It allows for finding others who have similar interests or problems (as in a cohort of diabetic women). It provides a forum for sharing information on what has worked and what has not, as well as vital personalized details of specific efforts (as a blog for breast cancer recovery that talks about drug interactions and side effects and what works to counteract them).

Further, a blog allows and invites feedback, resulting in not only emotional and informational support, but also a feeling of community which might be lacking in the blogger's immediate family or neighborhood. Sometimes, one just has something to say and it can be difficult to find anyone at home or work who wants to listen, let alone have a conversation.

A large percentage of blogs fall into the personal catagory, but companies and businesses are beginning to provide customer support in the form of blogs, too. Two examples of the personal type: Lief's blog of his year of service on Saint Kitts in the Caribbean, and Nancy's Garden Spot.

Companies use blogs to track work group progress on a particular project. Schools use blogs for teachers (class notes and homework assignments), students (science projects and thesis papers), parents (significant dates, rules and holiday or snow schedules) and staff (in house training, holiday schedules, and other employee/employer communications).

My husband, a student at Johns Hopkins Bloomfield School of Public Health, set up a blog for his study group to track progress on a group project (which just happens to be on the use of blogging in tracking public health issues). He is, however, finding it challenging to convince the other members of this particular study group that using the blog is easy; so there are obvious still some roadblocks...

In terms of health behaviors, changing habits or treating chronic diseases requires considerable group support, and if finding that support often hampered by distance, work schedules, difficulty in finding sympathetic others, or whatever -- the 'Net can provide an outlet and a cohort.

Listserves have been around for a while, and some lists have become extraordinarily supportive. The Breast Cancer Listserve, for instance. Various other special interest groups' lists can become much more personal than originally intended (Stampin' Up Friends), though most remain on topic and ban personal conversations.

Chat rooms have also been utilized for support, but have the disadvantage of time lag and high cost of online time for many people. Also, you have to be able not only to type very fast, but also to sort through all the conversational threads to figure out what's happening, since multiple conversations will be going on at once. It is sort of like walking into a crowded party and hearing everyone at once, without being able to see anyone's face or to whom they are speaking.

Web logs -- and blogging as using one is called -- are up close and personal, and allow for less time sensitive interaction. They are growing in popularity and use (and, yes, misuse as well) at an incredible rate. There are presently about 30 million blogs out there! And the number of them which are not in English and not in first world countries is higher than one might expect, and growing.

I think the use of blogging tools is a step towards the future, towards one human family connectedness, maybe even decision making at a grassroots and worldwide, one person/one voice level.

Pathways to Peace...

Here is a beautiful slide show of virtues, quotes and Nature to inspire hope and action. Produced for the Pathways to Peace Project (there is a link to their website after the slideshow). It takes a while to download, but the designer provides entertainment while you wait...much appreciated.

Thanks to Reggie in Canada for alerting us, and Kathy in New Zealand for passing it along.

The Story of Polio told in Comic Book Form

This graphic novelette stars an anthropomorphic polio virus telling its story in a group therapy session.

A great way to teach people about viral epidemics. Link

Note: they are looking for a graphic artist to ink the project for print publication...

The Purpose of This Blog...

is to utilize the interactive potential of the Web to enhance consultation, collaboration and support for improving individual and community health as envisioned in the Bahá'í teachings. It is a daily adjunct to the monthly Healing Through Unity eNewsletter.

Healing through Unity eNewsletter and Blog are published for the purpose of sharing thoughts, comments and experiences on how the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith are being applied to physical and spiritual health. Other than the quoted Holy Writings, the material in these publications represent the thoughts and opinions and experiences of the writers and have no authority. None of the material published is intended to be a substitute for the advice of a physician.

As editor, I believe that we humans are a tribe, with each member's experiences and insights vital to the health and growth of all. In the past, tribe was defined very narrowly, by geography or by family, for instance.

Today, Bahá'u'lláh, prophet-founder of the Bahá'í Faith, tells us that the entire planet constitutes our borders, and all of humanity our tribe.

Thanks to the Internet, we have a tool which can for the first time allow direct interaction with the far-flung members of our tribe, and with this connection, the hundredfold enrichment of our lives. We can build our own supportive nuclear "family" even if our birth family might be short of like-minded folks.

Bahá'u'lláh asserts that every atom of creation is there to educate humanity in this plane of existence, and no one person can encompass all that information. Accordingly, He supplied a pattern for a social order designed to enhance individual perception and provide a nurturing environment for learning and growth. For the first time in human history, this pattern is not limited by boundaries such as language, nationality, caste, or technology.

Blogging is part of that world tribal support. More than just a personal journal, Web2 blogs, because they allow a two-(or more)way conversation, are pointing a new direction of interconnectedness that can carry humanity to what is no less than the vision of a true, grassroots democracy.

Even as the printing press presaged access for everyman to all the knowledge of that day long before the average person had learned to read, so the Web2 -- one person, one voice -- makes the technology avialable to facilitate one world...

...as soon as people are ready to become a globally connected, aware and concerned human family dedicated to solving the major and minor issues of this day and age, and to building God's Kingdom on Earth.