The Spirit and Science of Holistic Health

Book excerpt: We propose that the major health crises in the United States are not about heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, or obesity. Instead they are about violence, prejudice, social isolation, and runaway materialism. Unfortunately, traditional health promotion continues to "attack" our problems by declaring war on disease, obsessing about epidemiologically based risk factors and frightening people about what they eat, how much they weigh, and what they like to do or not do. These approaches rarely help and often create an atmosphere of anxiety and confusion. This book is an invitation to health professionals to rethink our current understanding of health, illness, and the process of healing. It covers topics that are rarely addressed in health promotion including the history of the human species, the Scientific Revolution, quantum physics, and the latest mind/body/spirit research. While it may seem as if this information is only marginally related to health, we believe it provides a critical foundation for the truly holistic approach to health promotion we describe in detail in this book. It is time to re-create our profession and set a daring new course to improve the quality of the human experience.