Holographic Medicine

It makes sense to me that in this limitless, interactive Universe, everything is connected to and, at some level, representative of everything else. This is consistent with a ‘holographic’ view of reality which understands that phenomena are occurring concurrently and are different expressions of the same Universal energy. When talking about the mind-body connection, we still (generally) tend to segregate mind and body. We know they are connected but we still tend to think in terms of one affecting the other in a linear cause and effect fashion. Stress causes illness – right?

The practise of modern medicine is based on the Newtonian version of reality, which views matter – including our bodies – in mechanistic terms. The Newtonian model is based on the premise that reality is made up of separate and independently existing parts. Separation of mind and body is still the dominant ideology in our culture and this is reflected in the practise of health care. An alternative view is that mind and body are occurring simultaneously, in a constant state of interaction, underlying which is the vast interwoven field of Life energy, or should I say – consciousness.

What we believe, particularly what has filtered into our collective belief systems, is our operational truth and will colour our perceptions of life in general and determine how we go about it. Most of our belief systems are not under scrutiny and we are usually completely unaware of what so controls us. Like a fish that does not notice the water it is immersed in, it is the same with our beliefs – unnoticed in the background of our subconscious minds.

Our beliefs run us and influence our very experience of life. In fact they create our experience of life. We are continually, and usually unwittingly, proving our beliefs. This is an individual and collective process. Our collective beliefs are very, very compelling. From a very young age we are conditioned to adopt the belief systems of the families and societies into which we have emerged. Probably no more persuasive are our beliefs about the whole area of health care. Our collective beliefs about health and illness, survival and death very much control how we conduct medical management. Our medical systems have strict guidelines and protocols based on these collective beliefs. Who would dare question them?

One of the medical system’s closely held beliefs, regarding symptoms and medical conditions, is that mind and body are separate and the body is dominant regarding issues of health. Yes I know we pay lip service to the idea that mind affects our health, but when it comes to the crunch we still don’t really believe it. The physicality of the human system still, by far, takes priority when addressing issues of health. We are comfortable dealing with the tangible and are suspicious of the incorporeal.

We might have a good intellectual understanding of the logic of the mind-body connection but can very quickly default to collective belief systems when it comes to our own personal health. The general, and even righteous, expectation is still to get some agent external to ourselves – some physical substance or procedure – to affect whatever symptom or condition is being experienced. This approach, though obviously appropriate at times, is the modus operandi of the health care system and is unquestionable by the majority.

So, getting back to the holographic view of reality as it can applied to health care… Mind and body are not, in fact cannot, be separate; but we humans have tried to make sense of it all by designating separate parts, in accordance with our Newtonian version of reality. The holographic view understands that a connected field of energy encompasses and pervades all phenomena. Regarding how our human system functions, I see no conflict with giving a biochemical explanation and a description of the impact of suppressed emotions on our health. It is just different levels of manifestation the same thing; and our understandings and perceptions will govern where we put our focus – and modern health care has very much put the focus on the tangible physical aspects.

Within the medical system we very much believe in the bio-medical model. That goes without saying. We continue to ‘prove’ the biochemical underpinnings of how our bodies function as we continue to prove all the realities that we have constructed and agreed upon. What if I suggested that biochemistry (and related health sciences) is how our minds understand how our bodies work - but not necessarily how our bodies actually work. We have paid homage to a mind construct.

I am much more suspicious of the scientific model than most of my medical colleagues. And this is a very dangerous admission in my field! I do not embrace the belief that there is a completely objective reality separate from the perceiving consciousness and its belief structures - scientific experiment or not.

I recently attended a medical meeting where the expert speaker cited certain research studies as proving that depression is due solely to a biochemical cause. End of discussion. The holographic perspective will help us understand that it is not a matter of either/or and linear cause and effect but that all levels of our human system are interacting with each other concurrently. Yes there are biochemical and physiological factors related to depression – and influences related to an individual’s emotional factors and life experience. At the same time – concurrently. Nature or nurture? How about both. We tend to put our focus on one or other area – as though they are separate – rather than viewing it all as an interactive whole.

We forget that we are complex bio-energy systems. Yes the physical needs to be appropriately addressed, but not at the expense of the other aspects of our being. Holistic health care attempts to cover the whole. At this juncture, chemical and physical solutions to health dilemmas are still what the majority of health care consumers understand and seek, as well as what most health care practitioners are comfortable to administer. Others might be more interested in what has affected their health from their individual life experience and what they hold in their own minds, as this is consistent with their understandings and how they want to approach their own health care. Health care consumers and practitioners alike should abide by systems that they resonate with. 

Maybe it is time to move from the either/or view and be open to a truly integrative approach to health care. Perhaps we could call it Holographic Health Care.

Dr Catherine Fyans is a holistic medical practitioner/conscious health facilitator and the author of The Wounding of Health Care: From Fragmentation to Integration