When the body says no

Only an intellectual Luddite would deny the enormous benefits that have accrued to humankind from the scrupulous application of scientific methods. But not all essential information can be confirmed in the laboratory or by modern statistical analysis. Not all aspects of illness can be reduced to facts verified by double-blind studies and by the strictest scientific techniques. “Medicine tells us as much about the meaningful performance of healing, suffering, and dying as chemical analysis tells us about the aesthetic value of pottery,” Ivan Ilyich wrote in Limits to Medicine. We confine ourselves to a narrow realm indeed if we exclude from accepted knowledge the contributions of human experience and insight. — Gabor Maté from When the Body Says No

I’m actually listening to the book the above quote was taken from. I find audio files to be a very wonderful way of ingesting information these days. I can practice a sort of contemplation while listening to works such as these and what happens is a body meditation. My body hears what it needs and thus a somatic experience of healing happens even as I listen. I do this with podcasts and lectures of all kinds by human beings who understand something about the nature of reality that I, too, am coming to understand. It’s a wonderful practice. One of many ways I find healing in my life.

Most of my audio files I get for no cost because there is so much available online. Youtube and soundcloud and iTunes all have a lot of no cost material, for example. If there is someone you’re interested in learning from, search all those sources as well as people’s individual websites.

Here is the audio book When the Body Says No

See also the work of Bessel van de Kolk…for a lists of posts on Beyond Meds go here: The Body Keeps the Score

More Gabor Maté on Beyond Meds: