| EdgeWork Exploring the Psychology of Disease  Edgework provides a concise overview of the research on the mindbody, summarizing the essence of healing at the level of consciousness and guiding readers through the process with detailed exercises that make the concepts a personal reality. Read More….  Dr. Ronald Peters has 30 years of research and experience in holistic medicine. He has studied with enlightened spiritual teachers, leading to a detailed understanding of the formative power of the conscious and unconscious mind, which he summarized in his ground-breaking book, Edgework, Exploring the Psychology of Disease. He empowers people to restore the wisdom of the body using nutritional therapies and then helps them understand the governing influence of consciousness. In this manner, disease becomes a messenger offering greater levels of health both physically and psychologically. Since the publication of Edgework, several popular books have restated this paradigm shifting truth: consciousness creates reality. These include The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne, Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle, and Ask and It is Given, by Esther Hicks, to mention a few. Edgework applies this timeless truth to the world of medicine and healing. Since 2003, many patients have appreciated the life changing guidance that comes from the concepts and exercises in Edgework, thereby heeding the message of disease and creating greater health in their lives. From the Introduction to Edgework: The mind controls the body. We have heard about this paradigm-shifting notion time and time again in the last half of the twentieth century. Research in immunology has contributed to dozens of books telling us about improved immunity based on positive states of mind and, conversely, reduced immune function due to negative states of consciousness. Physicians and psychologists have told us about the hostile aspects of Type A behavior and the epidemic of heart disease that plagues our society. Many other researchers have spoken, a bit more cautiously, about features of the cancer prone personality. Anxiety and depression contribute to numerous other illnesses, and continue to afflict up to one quarter of the American population. Books have been written on the psychosomatic aspects of common diseases like asthma, hypertension, ulcerative colitis, peptic ulcers, and diabetes, just to mention a few. Yet none have stated the essence of the mind/body issue as succinctly as the great psychoanalyst Dr. Franz Alexander, when he wrote: "The fact that the mind rules the body is, in spite of its neglect by biology and medicine, the most fundamental fact which we know about the process of life..." But in spite of this outpouring of information on the mind/body relationship, little has changed in the doctor's office to reflect this new understanding. Doctors still devote most of their time trying to find out what is wrong with the body, and patients still try to get rid of their symptoms with the latest offerings from the drug industry. Many of us take vitamins and minerals, try to exercise and relax more, perhaps meditate occasionally, but really little has changed, and the problems in health care continue on. Indeed, paradigms shift slowly as they bear the weight of institutional, social and personal belief systems. Based on my twenty years of holistic family practice, I too have learned that the origins of most physical disease are within consciousness - the body is the messenger of the conflicts, sustained fears, suppressed emotional traumas, disturbed patterns of thinking, and other imbalances that lie within the conscious and unconscious mind. I have learned this by listening to thousands of patients tell the stories that preceded the onset of their illness. I have heard again and again of childhood patterns of neglect, smothering control, abandonment, and emotional, physical and sexual abuse. I have heard of the failed relationships, years of marital conflict, and the pain of loneliness. I have heard about decades of unfulfilling employment, foiled personal creativity and the quiet desperation of a slowly dying spirit. I have heard about relentless anxiety, depression, denied emotions, destructive beliefs, hopelessness, helplessness, "giving up", and an endless variety of recurrent stresses. Most importantly, I have seen patient after patient backtrack into consciousness and find the dis-ease within the mind that precipitated the dis-ease in the body. The answers may not come quickly as many issues are hidden in the shadow, or unconscious mind, but they do come and the results of such personal in-depth healing are transformational. I have seen cancer, multiple sclerosis, colitis, hepatitis, high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, and all types of chronic and often "incurable" diseases go into remission or quiescence. These are the reasons I have written Edgework. Edgework refers to the edge between what you know about yourself and what you do not know. Dis-ease of any kind is the body's way of getting your attention and inviting this self-exploration, thereby offering true healing. The path maybe scary, as change itself is scary for most of us. It is easy to understand what the noted English poet W. H. Auden meant when he wrote: "We would rather be ruined than changed; we would rather die in our dread than climb the cross of the moment and let our illusions die." |
Purpose The purpose of MindBody Medicine Center is to provide medical care which educates and empowers people to reverse disease using the using the fundamental healing principles of mindbody medicine. The Center represents the convergence of the best of traditional medical practice with the emerging science of integrative medicine, thereby providing a much needed alternative to the outdated medical model which focuses on treating disease with drugs and surgery. Mindbody medicine consists of:  The best treatment for disease is the promotion of health. In order to promote, or restore, the natural wisdom of the body you need to consider what the body is made of, which is vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids and biologic co-factors, and more. Just as you cannot repair a car with airplane parts, you cannot repair the body with drugs which are foreign to its natural design. Drugs can reduce symptoms but they seldom heal. Using proper diet and nutrients you can reverse common diseases. Other tools for health promotion include herbal remedies and medication as well as exercise and other lifestyle considerations, and, Consciousness is a governing influence on the body and this truth is often ignored in conventional medical practice. The mind and body are one and regaining health often depends on understanding how to reduce stress, express emotions responsibility and live life in a creative and fulfilling manner. We need to understand the message of disease using a variety of psychobiological therapies, such as counseling, education, improving brain chemistry (neurotransmitters), biofeedback, emotional release, cognitive therapies and more. Finally, there are many scientifically proven and effective therapies, including acupuncture and Chinese medicine, integrative massage therapy, and more which help to balance the body and mind, thus restoring health. The need for change in American medical care has never been greater. Consider the following facts:
Journal of American Medical Association 2004; 292: 1057 Chronic diseases are caused by poor diet, lack of exercise, chronic stress and other lifestyle factors such as cigarette smoking. Drugs do not cure chronic diseases, they only reduce symptoms. Doctors are trained to treat the acute late stages of diseases and they pay little attention to the lifestyle and mind style issues which coalesce over time to create chronic illness in the first place. The Center will provide a model of health care which responds to the chronic disease epidemic by shifting the focus of healthcare to health promotion and prevention. Patients receiving mindbody oriented health care, which includes proper diet, nutritional supplementation, exercise, stress management and detoxification, feel empowered as they begin to understand their illness. Most often they feel better within the first few weeks of treatment and they often resolve their medical problems and reduce their need for symptomatic medications. |
Your Mindbody Wisdom       Your mindbody is a symphony of biological intelligence of unfathomable complexity and wonder, all designed for you to live your life. Regardless of your personal health issues, it is important to regain confidence in the healing power that lives naturally within you. Join Our Mailing List |
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