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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in medicine

Posted by on in Studies Blogs

Last week, my wife and I were blessed by a visitation of the Goddess in physical form. 

Ravyn had been ill for a long time. In addition to intractable body pain which may or may not be caused by auto immune illnesses or spinal compressions, she had undergone questionable dental work which left her mouth throbbing from an incompletely-removed root fragment. This had persisted for over a year, until she changed her insurance and was referred to a compassionate and competent female dentist in a different practice. 

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Ted Czukor
    Ted Czukor says #
    Thank you, all.
  • Francesca De Grandis
    Francesca De Grandis says #
    This is an utterly beautiful piece. And it is totally from the heart. Bless you.
  • Bruno
    Bruno says #
    Awesome! Indeed God/ess must be present, if we allow them to manifest. Also recalled me of healing power of Apollo.
  • Debra
    Debra says #
    Really enjoyed this. Excellent suggestions to the medical field.

A story by NPR looks at how profit impacts cesarean births.  The study shed some light on how money impacts our lives from the very first breath we take.

As reported, researchers hypothesized that doctors may opt for a more lucrative C-section if the mother doesn't know any better, and to find out they compared birth mothers who were also doctors to those who weren't, and looked at how many in each category delivered their children naturally.  Doctors, the researchers reasoned, would resist a surgical procedure that wasn't medically necessary more often than anyone with average knowledge.

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  • Greybeard
    Greybeard says #
    Doctors market their services like used car salesmen. They always try to SELL you as much "treatment" as you will buy. My fathe
  • Ted Czukor
    Ted Czukor says #
    Reading the link to the NPR article, I got the impression that there were too many variables for the study to reach any definite c
  • Terence P Ward
    Terence P Ward says #
    I agree that the causes were not entirely clear -- my take was that money is likely a factor, but not necessarily a conscious fact
  • Ted Czukor
    Ted Czukor says #
    Yes, I agree. Point well taken.
  • Jamie
    Jamie says #
    I wish I could say that I was surprised... Thanks for sharing this with us.

Posted by on in Studies Blogs

If you're old enough, you may remember a television cartoon series from the 1950's called "Crusader Rabbit." He was, as I recall, sort of a Don Quixote-type character - tending to tilt at windmills which most folks would judge imaginary or not worth the effort. Whether that memory is correct or not, it's the way I often feel. Very few people ever seem to share my sense of injustice at the little subtleties in our culture.  

My wife and I receive healthcare in Arizona from the Banner Health organization. Banner is one of the largest healthcare conglomerates in the U.S., managing hospitals and medical practices all over the country. Yet, when we are admitted into the hospital for a procedure and are asked on the intake form to indicate whether we have a religion of choice, only certain ones are on their computer list and they do not include Pagan, Neopagan or Heathen. Most surprisingly, in light of recent acknowledgment by the Armed Forces and the Prison system, the Banner list doesn't even have Wiccan! (We are not Wiccan, strictly speaking, but it's close enough for Jazz. We'd take it.)

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  • Greybeard
    Greybeard says #
    There are so many reasons to complain about the medical monopoly that this is hardly the biggest problem. I was first struck w
  • Ted Czukor
    Ted Czukor says #
    I appreciate your frustration with the medical monopoly, Greybeard, as well as your points about dietary restrictions (and yes, I


This post was inspired by reading about the second Pagan Health Survey, and I encourage all readers to go participate!

For me, being Wiccan means that I value the feminine and the metaphysical, two things that have been derided, often on the same terms. The history of healing is an interesting case study in how responding to both does not mean reversing that derision and eliminating what has been valued in the meantime (the masculine and the scientific) but restoring the value of what has been missed, finding balance and ideally integrating them both. This does not depend on me seeing myself as the literal or spiritual descendent of the medieval wise-woman or accused witch; it is an argument about current understanding of the best ways to re-enchant the world. Thus I think that the argument advanced in Ehrenreich and English's pamphlet Witches, Midwives, and Nurses about not throwing out science in order to destabilize patriarchy is equally valid when we look at it from a spiritual perspective.

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