Meridian Institute News   RESEARCHING THE SPIRIT-MIND-BODY CONNECTION

    The Friday night session began with a lecture by Douglas Richards, Ph.D. titled "Paraspinal Temperature Variation and Health Status."  Dr. Richards' presentation focused on the relationship between temperatures along either side of the spine (as measured by infrared thermography) and health status as measured by the SF-36.  Research suggests that paraspinal temperature variations tend to correlate with poor health status which  is consistent with osteopathic and chiropractic theory.
The second presentation of the evening was given by Peter Schoeb, D.C. on "Olive Oil in the Cayce Readings and Scientific Research."  Dr. Schoeb's explanation of the biochemistry of olive oil explored the overlap between the Cayce perspective and the scientific literature which provides solid support for the healing benefits of this remarkable oil.

    The first Saturday morning session featured T. Lee Bauman, M.D. who spoke on "Light in the Near-Death Experience." Dr. Bauman's premise is that quantum physics and spirituality are two sides of the same coin. Light is one of the major features of the near-death experience and may be our closest preview of what may await us after this life. Light has consciousness, exists outside of time, and can communicate - all attributes typically associated with God.  The similarity of the light experience in the world's great religions testifies to the universal identification of light with God.

    The next presentation featured Eric Mein, M.D., who explored various "Measures of Vitality" that can be used to better understand health and longevity. This included a look at the role of the endocrine glands, caloric restriction, and approach to life.  Ideas for research using these concepts and our assessment data were then proposed.

    The third talk on Saturday morning was given by Suzann Robins: "Good Health = Good Sex and Good Sex = Good Health." The talk focused on the connection of the spirit, mind, and body as it relates to creative energies.  Suzann linked the kundalini energy with the chakra system and sexual orgasm.  The audience was encouraged to use imagination to experience the energy flowing through the centers.

    The final morning presentation featured Peter VanDaam who explained and demonstrated Edgar Cayce's approach to exercise and fitness.  The importance of viewing exercise from a holistic lifestyle perspective was emphasized. Proper attitude and consistency were cited as essential components in any exercise program.  The exercise session that followed the lecture was invigorating.

    Two afternoon breakout sessions provided diversity for attendees.  Carl Nelson, D.C. gave a workshop on manual therapy techniques practiced by the early osteopathic physicians and recommended by Edgar Cayce.  Utilizing several massage tables in the massotherapy classroom, Dr. Nelson's presentation provided hands-on training in specific treatment techniques recommended by Edgar Cayce as practiced by the manual therapists of that era.

    Janice Long and the A.R.E. Health Services Professional Team gave a workshop titled "Five Basic Cayce Remedies." Janice and her team explained and demonstrated the use of abdominal castor oil packs, turpentine packs over the kidneys, potato poultices for the eyes, the violet ray appliance used over the eyes, and glycothymoline packs over the nose and sinuses.

    Sunday morning started off with David McMillin, M.A. presenting two talks.  The first, titled "A Review of Cayce-Based Energy Medicine for Chronic Neurologic Disease," provided an overview of the Cayce model of energy medicine for nervous system regeneration.   The second talk was on the "Causes and Treatment of Cancer." Based on an extensive analysis of the hundreds of Cayce readings that address cancer, this presentation emphasized the potential contribution of the Cayce material with regard to prevention and treatment of cancer.

    Roger Bloom's talk titled, "An Herbal Approach to Cancer," focused on the Hoxey herbal formula  and similar compounds in the Cayce readings.  As a  bonus, Roger brought in several plants in Hoxey's formula that he found growing wild in the Virginia Beach area. The healing power of nature's plants was a primary theme of the talk.
David Redding, D.O. gave a case report on a pediatric patient seizure disorder. Application of traditional osteopathy and recommendations from the Cayce readings on epilepsy formed the basis for a treatment plan that significantly decreased the number and severity of seizures (see the "Healing" section below).

    The Cayce Health Symposium for 2003 will be held at the A.R.E. Conference Center at Virginia Beach during the weekend of September 12-14.  We are seeking presentations from health professionals knowledgeable in healing modalities recommended by Edgar Cayce.  If you are interested in presenting at the symposium, please write a brief summary of your topic and submit it to us at our address on the last page of this newsletter.

    For those who were unable to attend this year's  symposium, you can obtain some of the content and flavor of this year's event on our website.  The symposium proceedings contain links to papers, articles, and books along with some pictures of people and presentations.  Here is the web address:
 

    Certain illnesses tend to exhibit an association (co-occurrence or comorbidity) which is baffling to medical science. Edgar Cayce's complex systems approach usually  explained such associations in terms of aberrant nerve impulses from the spinal or visceral plexus.  For example, his explanation of the pathophysiology of migraine and asthma is that the idiopathic form of both illnesses are essentially vasomotor disturbances that can be triggered by a variety of factors such food sensitivities, stress, etc.

    Following up on previous research indicating a possible link between asthma and severe headache, researchers at St. George's Hospital Medical School in London utilized a matched case-control design to study the records of 5,110, 619 patients in the General Practice Research Database. The study focused on  patients with one or more diagnoses of migraine plus treatment for migraine. Each case was matched by general practice, sex, and age, with one control who had never been given a diagnosis of migraine. Case and control groups were compared for prevalence of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, respiratory symptoms treated with inhalers or hay fever. The large case-control study provided evidence for an association between migraine and asthma. The researchers noted that if the association is real, its elucidation may help the understanding of disease mechanisms shared by migraine and asthma.

Reference

    Davey G, et al. Association between migraine and asthma: matched case-control study.  Br J Gen Pract 2002 Sep;52(482):723-7.

    The traditional osteopathic model of epilepsy is that brain seizures are often produced by nerve reflex patterns from the peripheral nervous system, especially the spinal nerve plexus. The digestive tract and its enteric nervous system is another potential source of aberrant nerve reflexes that can trigger epileptic seizures.

    The concept of peripheral nervous system reflexes as primary causative factors in epilepsy was endorsed by Edgar Cayce. In many cases involving epileptic seizures, Cayce made referrals to osteopathic physicians for spinal manipulation. Abdominal castor oil packs, massage, diet, and a mild herbal sedative (passion flower fusion) were also typical treatment recommendations made by Cayce.

    One of the presentations at our recent Cayce Health Professionals Symposium featured David Redding, D.O., a family practice osteopathic physician who reported on a case of pediatric seizure disorder. Here is a brief summary of his case report:

    "This is the story of an eleven-year-old male named Johnny. He developed seizures approximately five months ago. The parents are not sure of the initiating event but felt that it might be related to a camp counselor giving him a "good bye bear hug." Seizures started shortly after that. Significant history includes a fall at the age of ten months with head trauma and also a minor car accident last November.

    "He was seen by a pediatrician and a neurologist. Medications were recommended but the parents were concerned about the side effects and decided to look into alternative approaches. A variety of alternative treatments which included acupuncture and cranio-sacral therapy were tried with no or minimal benefits.

    "At about the same time I was treating the father for his whiplash injuries and he asked me about his son. I was very clear with him that I wasn't an expert in pediatrics or the treatment of seizures. However, I had just been reading about treatments for seizures from the Cayce material and offered a trial of three sessions to see if this approach might be helpful.

    "A month later, I saw his son and started using manipulation as described in the Cayce material (treating both the visceral component and the many spinal and rib lesions present), modified his diet to encourage daily bowel movements, started castor oil packs and spinal massage by his parents, and although I neglected to prescribe passion flower fusion herbal sedative, the mother ( upon looking into the Cayce material) added it. After two treatments the seizures had diminished from a maximum of 30 daily down to approximately 0-5. Also, the intensity and duration of the remaining seizures decreased. The child is still undergoing treatments.  The results have been remarkable so far and the hope is for complete remission as we continue the Cayce approach."