Critical Thinking and Enlightenment 1

Enlightenment means "to see the light" which implies one has experienced some deeper understanding, knowledge or wisdom.

Logic and critical thinking are essential to enlightenment because without these tools, one could easily mistake that of illusion with reality. There is nothing wrong with using the imagination as long as you remember that it is fantasy and no reality.

I'm astounded at how many people are so easily convinced to believe some of the ridiculous health product and "spiritual" claims.

It's understandable that when it comes to trying to relieve pain, people can become so desperate for relief that they are willing to try anything. Is that such a bad thing? I don't see harm in people using holistic medicine in combination with "western" medicine. I do think though that one needs to approach holistic medicine with an even more critical eye than Western Medicine.

I heard something interesting on a podcast the other day from an Internal Medicine doctor on the subject. He said that most medicines that do work have some element of danger or undesirable side effects. That doesn't mean that Western Medicine is bad, it just means you need to be careful in how you take it and be aware of dosage, interactions and side effects.

Holistic medicine - some things work and some things are purely snake oil. The biggest clue that ought to set off flashing warning bells is any product that claims to be a "cure all".

Next, pay attention to the ingredients of a product. I recall not so long ago there was a lot of hype about oxygenated products (water) being better for you. If you just read the advertisement, it sounded reasonable but if you take a closer look - you'd see that you were spending a lot of money for water with a bit of salt added. Not to mention, logic tells us that the best delivery system for oxygen into the body is through the lungs not the stomach.

I recall another product that was essentially a foot bath and the claims were that this foot bath literally pulled the toxins out of your body through your feet. One girl I know claimed enthusiastically "Big clumps of stuff come out. You can see it floating in the water." Logic and a basic understanding of physiology tells me that if clumps of stuff are coming out of your skin - call 911 because you are in big trouble. Toxins are actually processed through the liver (that's it's job) and kidneys. They are excreted from the body ... not through our feet but through our poop and pee. The foot bath is bunk but at least you have clean feet.

From what I've read on acupuncture, it only works for a short while and then it stops working. The acupuncture that is discussed in most studies is not the ancient kind of acupuncture, it's the kind that involves small amounts of electricity. The reason it only works for a short time has to do with habituation - once you get use to it, your system is no longer "shocked" into releasing endorphins.

Energy healing - the long distance version makes me howl. Like I said about "the secret" -- if our thoughts alone could affect others people would be dropping dead or spontaneously combusting all over the place. Traffic jams would be interesting.

Our thoughts do affect the direction we go in. Our thoughts do affect our mood, our physiology and our chosen destiny.

More in my next post.

Please feel free to discuss, agree, disagree ...

M.