Folk Healing

1. Folk Healing • Objectives: • Identify the differences between religion and spirituality • Discuss the effects religion has upon health and illness. • Discus the various participants and rituals related to healing

2. Spirituality • Born out of each persons individual life experience. • It is a part on the internal dialogue and effort of finding purpose and meaning in life. • Belief related to earthly existence. • Sense of purpose. • Personal philosophy. • Includes concept of well being. • Common to include relation to a concept of god.

3. Religion • Organized system of beliefs concerning the purpose of the universe, and the role of human existence, it attempts to address the “mysteries” of life and death, good and evil, pain and suffering.

4. There are experiential and ideological expectations of members • Behavioral, ritualistic, • There are intellectual dimensions • Consequential dimensions • Not a single religion fails to address the issues of wellness and illness, birth and death

5. Health • Subjective - proceeding from or taking place within a person's mind. • I feel wonderful, I am happy. • Objective - based on observable phenomena; Presented factually: • I cannot walk.

6. Illness • Disease of the body or mind, A pathological condition of a part, an organ, or a system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms • Subjective - I feel sick • Objective - I can not walk

7. Interventions • Bio medical – western model • Natural • Folk healing – includes and oral or memory tradition • Magico religious – includes a ritual or spiritual component • Activity may or may not be directed toward attaining previous level of health

8. Spiritual Healing • Rituals • Symbols • Belief

9. Ancient perspective Sources of Illness • Spells. • Evil spirits - changeling, Dybbuk. • Unresolved feelings- jealousy, revenge. • Other people. • Witches.

10. Evil Spirits • Had power over health • Limited by length of time, geography, line of sight • Related to observed events • 3rd,7th, 40 days after birth • Could be influenced • Rites, rituals, gifts, sacrifices

11. Interventions = Appeasement • Offerings • Prayers • Sacrifice • Fruits of labor • Amulets • Food • Incense • Children

12. Still Practiced Today (Celebrations) • Birthday • Circumcision • Baptism • Amulets/charms/jewelry • Clothing • Penance • Tithing • Prayer

13. Celebration • Secular, Religious • http://www.holidayfestival.com/ • Bahá'í • Buddhism coming later • Chinese Calendar • Christianity • Hinduism • Islam • Jainism • Japanese Calendar • Judaism • Sikh • Voudun • Zoroastrianism, Noruz and the Jalaali calendar, also the Shahanshahi Calendar of India • Wicca or Paganism

14. Cycles • Full moon; spirit world • Seasons; birth, death • Famous events; • Characteristics of a person – Martin Luther King • Survival – Veterans day • Transformation - Easter

15. Some Religious Myths • Heaven is available after physical death • Diseases a punishment for sins, I cause my own illness • I must forgive in order to heal • Control of the body is the only acceptable prayer • Being highly evolved means no longer having negative emotions • Holy, enlightened people don not get sick • Silence is holy • Idleness is evil

16. Baptism: protection, celebration • If a child lived > 6 weeks chances are s/he would survive. • Water had magical powers. • Amniotic fluid. • Steam, mist, rain, ice, snow.

17. Circumcision – 2 Types • Mark of membership, transition • Survival @ 8th day • Mothers milk in • Puberty • Success = fit

18. Religions Effects on Healing • Violating the “rule” resulted in punishment • Early humans blamed evil spirits • Were dependant upon nature • Used rituals to appease evil spirits • Some rituals are still in use to day • Closely linked to culture • Religions Impacted ones perception of health

19. Taboo • A ban or an inhibition resulting from social custom. • Behavior that was considered “not done”. • An evil spirit would punish an offender with illness or bad luck. • Often have biochemical basis. • Don’t eat pork, trichinosis. • Incest

20. Superstition • A belief, practice,ritual or right irrationally maintained by ignorance of the laws of nature or science, supported by faith magic or chance. • The belief helps to explain misfortune, diffuse responsibility and can either decrease or increase fear.

21. Some Examples The power of suggestion Don’t spill the milk

22. You Don’t Count People • Count the representative- house, glasses, coats • Origin • Counting is connected to the numbering of the dead during the plague and during the holocaust

23. Knock on Wood • Symbolic of the crucifixion • Pagan drawing out the magic • Lightening • Tree has life • Frowned upon by Christians

24. Evil Eye • Personal power can be projected by gazing • The most common and oldest • “spoken” • “You have a beautiful child” • Can be prevented, or can be cured

25. Rituals • Established formal pattern of behavior • All elements have meaning • Ritual is invented, any sequence of actions can be ritualized and used to symbolize anything • Traditional or religious rituals are defined by time and culture

26. Healing Rituals • Many survived to modern day with elements unchanged • Necessary to remove or free taboo state

27. Folk Methods of Maintaining or Returning Health • Based on verbal traditions, apprenticeships, belief system • Trial and error • Rituals • Religions practice • Herbs • Protective objects

28. Symbols • http://www.symbols.com/. • Something that represents something else: an object representing an abstraction. • Alphabet, numbers, pictures. • Designs have the ability to transform the viewer with religious significance and power. • Sun the greatest power, or the highest divinity.

29. Religious Symbols, Visual Communication • Most commonly used symbols are relatively simple, they are often combined to tell more. • For example, a Water Dreaming painting might show a U shaped symbol for a man, sitting next to a circle or concentric circles representing a waterhole, and spiral lines showing running water. The painter is telling the story of the power of the waterman to invoke rain.

30. Aboriginal Symbols

31. Totems • Important to Shamans • Power animal • Given at birth • Meaning can shift across cultures

32. Hexagram – The Seal OF Solomon • Freemasons • Mathematicians, architects, brick layers (foundation of the community) • Working the Craft • Rituals of initiation • Embedded in CHRISTIAN scripture • Tri angles = trinity • Happy we meet, happy have we been, happy we part

33. Effective Objects • Jewelry - bangles, bells • Amulets -milagros • Icons – pictures,Statues • Smoke – rises to god • Candles- scent, color, light vs. Dark • Clothing- layering, type, color

34. Examples • Clothing • Head coverings • Prayer shall/Tallis • Cassock/caftan • Shoes/ no shoes/binding

35. Pilgrimage Hajj - Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca Atonement healing, spiritual = physical)

36. Church order of worship Catholic Mass – ritual to change water into blood of Christ

37. Marriage Ceremony Church? Court House? Sayings, traditions

38. Numerous Studies Report That Healing Is a Power That All of Us Have, Miracles Are Rare but Occur Dr.S: Siegel, Spiegel, Ornish, Chopra.

39. Neurotheology-Spiritual Healing The Healing Power of Religion

40. Religious people live longer • All the great religions include the techniques for a healthy life style into their rituals and practices. • Healthy life style • Social support • Participation in rituals

41. Religious People Have Healthy lifestyles • Decreased alcohol consumption • Decreased tobacco use • Discourage sexual promiscuity • Decreased incidence of Depression • Increased recovery time

42. The Strawbridge Study, Alameda Ca. • 5286 people age 28-65 from 1965-1994 • People who attended weekly had a 34% reduced mortality • Blacks more religious than whites, women than men • Health life style accounted for only 30 % of the difference

43. Social support, religion and surgery • 232 open heart surgeries, age 55> • Deep Religion and support no deaths • Some religion 5% • No religion no support 14 times as likely to die • Single males highest risk category

44. Religion and Coping, The Pargament’s study • RCI developed by Koenig, Duke University • 586 people admitted for care • Results: 78% used Religious coping techniques • Better emotional outcomes than those with non religious avoidance based techniques

45. Religion as therapy • 87 patients with depression • ½ recovered within a year • The higher the Intrinsic religiosity the faster the recovery • For every 10 pts of religiosity a 70% increase in recovery

46. Faith and the Immune System • 106 men with AIDS • Religious coping, faith in God, religious practice. • Religious coping decreased depression • Religious activity increased immune response • Not theology specific

47. Science Religion and Your Blood Pressure • Duke University and The NIH 1986 • 3963 people • Church attendance, 8% decrease in High Blood Pressure • Church, prayer or bible reading, 40% decrease • Gouldbourt Study • 10,059 Israeli men over 40 1963-86 • Orthodox Jewish men 20% reduced risk of heart disease

48. Conclusion; See Handout If your are in church your risk factors are decreased Group support effects behavior

49. Buddhist ceremony

50. Creating the Mandala Mandela is Sanskrit for circle, community, connection