APPLIED RESEARCH
"The PRINCIPLE [of using electrotherapy with gold or silver] being that these change the vibratory forces as they add to or take from impulses within the system, . for WITH the proper manipulations to PRODUCE coordination WITH drainage in the system, as may be given through manipulation osteopathically, or neuropathically given to the system under various stages, may create for a body almost a new brain, will the patience, the suggestion, the activities in the system BE carried out according to the conditions as necessary to be met." Based on these concepts, Meridian Institute has developed a research protocol for Alzheimer's dementia that will be the primary focus for one of the applied research projects. Participants in the project will be provided with a wet cell battery and chemicals for a twelve-month period of application. The protocol includes written instructions, data collection forms, and a video describing all aspects of the project. Because Cayce's approach requires daily sessions with the battery, massage, and suggestive therapeutics, this applied research project will require considerable time, energy and flexibility on the part of caregivers. A second applied research project is designed for situations where less resources and flexibility is available. It involves the use of suggestive therapeutics, a form of natural hypnosis to be used to address behavioral, cognitive and/or emotional symptoms of dementia. In this project, an individualized hypnotic script will be created for each participant and will be delivered during the presleep period at bedtime or during massage. This project is based on numerous Cayce readings recommending suggestive therapeutics for behavioral, cognitive and emotional problems. Positive results from a woman working with a demented parent in a nursing home setting suggest that this technique has the potential for more widespread application (see the Healing section below for more on this inspiring story). Like the full research protocol, the suggestive therapeutics project includes written instructions, data collection forms, and a video explaining how to work with this technique. The scholarly and basic science research projects focus on the role of gold as therapeutic agent for nervous system healing. Gold chloride was the most commonly recommended medicine for the full spectrum of neurological conditions covered in the Cayce readings. A scholarly literature review of the medical literature is being conducted to understand the historic and modern uses of gold therapy. The literature review is nearing completion and an article is being written for submission to a peer-reviewed medical journal. Based on our present understanding of the gold literature, we have designed two basic science projects. One project will explore the concept of gold as an essential trace element as measured in cerebrospinal fluid. The second basic research project will investigate the potential of gold as a healing agent in the nervous system of a marine invertebrate (jellyfish) with a simple and relatively accessible nervous system. We anticipate that these five pilot studies will
be completed within a two-year time frame. If you are interested
in participating in either of the applied research programs, please contact
HRRC at (757) 496-6411.
In virtually every cell of every living organism, there exists a complete set of instructions (genome) for creating that organism and regulating its cellular structures and activities over its lifespan. With recent breakthroughs in deciphering the human genome [1,2], expectations of medical advances in the full spectrum of disease have been forecast. Beyond the prospect of understanding the genetic basis of specific diseases, there is a further potential for individualized medicine in which drugs can be tailored to the unique genetic code of each person. Whereas a particular drug might be toxic to one individual, a customized version based on genetic compatibility may be optimally effective for someone else. And yet heredity is only one factor in the equation of health and illness. In most illness, genetic predisposition in itself is not sufficient to produce pathology. Numerous retrospective studies of identical twins (hence identical genes) document that in most illnesses, one twin may develop a specific disease while the other sibling may remain free of the disorder. Thus, it is the entangled interplay between heredity and environment (internal and external) that results in the complex manifestations of health and illness. Furthermore, the conceptual and philosophical issues (free will vs. genetic determinism) surrounding human genome research are also daunting. Edgar Cayce often spoke of the role of heredity and environment with respect to the principle of cause and effect, both in this lifetime and others. Interestingly, Cayce's system includes the Hindu concept of karma. As Cayce put it, "Karma is cause oft of hereditary conditions so called. Then indeed does the soul inherit that it has builded in its experience with its fellow man in material relationships." [3] In another instance, when asked, "From which side of my family do I inherit most?" Cayce replied, "You have inherited most from yourself, not from family! The family is only a river through which it (the entity, soul) flows!" [4] Thus the transformational potential of illness is inherent in many Cayce readings where heredity is cited as a contributing factor of disease. Considering the current excitement surrounding the human genome project, the possible manifestation of karmic patterns via heredity calls into question a strictly materialistic/reductionistic interpretation of genetic data. The potential relationship between heredity, illness and spiritual development represents a typical example of how the Cayce philosophy integrates various disciplines into a unitary worldview. References: 1. Olivier M; et al. A high-resolution radiation hybrid map of
the human genome draft sequence. Science. 2001 Feb 16;291(5507):1298-1302.
The following excerpts come from a healing story submitted to Meridian Institute from a woman who was a participant in one of our residential research programs. "Dad was 79 when the "official" Alzheimer's diagnosis came. Mother was 72. Prior to this determination we had been seeing more and more symptoms of dementia -- forgetfulness, confused thinking, vagueness, lowered frustration tolerance, disorientation as to his surroundings and events, to time, to his loved ones and others, and to his not being able to distinguish between fantasy and reality.. "Looking back it's remarkable to me that throughout the course of this progressive disease, Dad, in his essence and in his character, never disappeared. His humor, his wit, his honesty and integrity could not be erased in spite of the inevitable changes occurring. So even though he frequently did not know who he was or where he was, Dad was still essentially Dad. Besides, even if he didn't know, we knew who he was and we never forgot. Then too, I wonder at times whether this kind of continuity could in some way be a result of using ongoing suggestive techniques with him. "Dad was still Dad when the time came for nursing home care. None of us wanted this to be a solution for him, but the reality of our limitations and the increasing demands of his home care made it a necessity.. It was at the nursing home that I began using bedtime suggestive techniques. Dad may not have remembered who I was, his daughter. But he became accustomed to hearing the familiar, gentleness of voice with its soothing messages of love and care; and became used to feeling the reassurance of physically being touched and massaged on his back and arms. He visibly would relax into a grounded, calm place -- tension easing from his taut body, strain receding from his face, and breathing becoming regular and rhythmic. "These positive suggestions were given to him nightly at bedtime, preferably as he was falling asleep. Although, it was not always possible to catch him at that moment, consistent repetition over time seemed to stabilize his daytime behavior, allowing for his being more responsive and cooperative to redirection when he was distressed or unreasonable. For, as the disease progressed he was becoming more challenged to understand what was happening in his environment, around him and in him. For example, he would do inappropriate things like entering other resident's rooms without invitation and sitting beside them on their beds. While he did nothing harmful, it was a disturbing intrusion for the residents. "Sometimes he would become perseverative and frustrated when he'd be unable to do something like open a locked door that needed to stay locked. Staff noted how Dad more readily responded to their walking him through such moments when suggestion was being utilized. Suggestion seemed to be playing a vital and sustaining role with Dad in his daily life. And coincidentally, an added benefit was given to me, the suggestion-giver. The suggestive process also calmed me, helping me cope better with this disease afflicting my dad. "The content of these simple verbal suggestions began with helping to locate him in time and space, i.e. telling who he was by reminding him of his name and how Mom, my brother, and I loved him and how God loved him and was strengthening him to manage his illness and that God's angels were probably standing nearby to protect him and keep him company. "Orienting continued by describing him as a good person who provided well for his family as husband, father, son; and who took very good care of all his friends, customers, employees, and others. More locating occurred by naming his nursing home and specifying why he was living there, calling his illness by name and giving a short statement about the illness as one that makes for confusion and forgetfulness. And reassurance was given that he was doing a great job at handling it and underscoring specific ways he was doing that. Options were given to encourage his capacities to know and feel he was loved, to experience relaxation and have freedom from fear in body, mind and soul, and to support the idea that he could choose to be helpful and cooperative with others." For the complete transcript of this story, go to: http://www.meridianinstitute.com/articl12.html Meridian Institute's Electronic Library contains Chapter 3 from Principles and Techniques of Nerve Regeneration which discusses suggestive therapeutics as applied to Edgar Cayce's approach to treating dementia. |
Thanks to a generous donation, Meridian Institute has undertaken a series
of research projects on Alzheimer's dementia. The Alzheimer's
research program is made possible by a gift from a member of the Association
for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.). Working in cooperation with
the Health and Rejuvenation Research Center (HRRC - a division of the A.R.E.),
Meridian Institute will conduct five pilot studies involving scholarly,
basic, and applied research on hypotheses developed from the readings of
Edgar Cayce.