The major focus of this philosophy is identifying external agents of disease and developing the weapons to be used against them. For example, the discovery of antibiotics enabled us to overcome many infectious diseases. This convinced many people that technological intervention was worth it, no matter what the cost. Although allopathic medicine (Western techniques) appears to be successful in dealing with trauma and sophisticated surgery like organ transplants, it has shown minimal success with the autoimmune diseases, chronic pain, chronic dysfunctions.

Therefore, as a nation, we have become mere infants in the conquering of our own health. Population continues its expansive growth; viruses and bacteria flourish; toxins accumulate; and the demand for allopathic health care and dispensing of expensive chemical drigs are increasing the stress on our medical resources.

The events of history, which led to our current medical system, have been written about in many books (see bibliography). The period between 1920 and the 1960s is considered to be the "lost decades of herbal healing." Medical schools ignored herbs, while pharmaceutical drugs replaced herbal formulas in our country's drug stores. In 1820, two-thirds of the treatments in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia involved botanicals. In 1880, the figure was almost three-quarters. However, although a fourth of our modern medicines are still derived from plants, almost everyone has been conditioned to expect a "silver bullet" chemical as a cure.

If you take a look at current medicines, you will find that many of them begin with the prefix "anti," which means "in opposition to" or "counteracting". These medicines have proven to be life-saving in many acute, short-term situations, but the question is, when it comes to long-term chronic illnesses and diseases, shouldn't we use, instead, something more natural and safer for the body?

Therefore, modern medicine can play a very large part in diagnosis and treatment. Before a person is treated for an ailment, modern technology needs to be utilized, so that the professional knows exactly what he/she is dealing with. For example, instead of just suggesting feverfew for chronic headaches, a legitimate holistic medical professional should expect the patient to undergo diagnostic treatments (i.e., MRI, CT scans, x-rays, and more) to rule out serious causes (brain tumors, weak vessels, etc.) before developing an individualized treatment plan.

We need both past and present knowledge to make the best decisions. Imagine a physician's office that includes individual rooms for treatment/diagnostic purposes, massage, botanical teaching, acupuncture, counseling, exercise, biofeedback, etc. PATIENTS NEED TO BE TAUGHT THE TECHNIQUES FOR STAYING WELL, NOT ILL!

Fortunately, a healing revolution is occurring in our country. Our current health care system is being challenged by alternative health care disciplines, which rely on more balanced, less invasive ways to maintain health. It is clear that some of the nation's larger institutions are incorporating alternatives into the medical industry. Alternative medical practitioners (who were scarce 20 years ago) are beginning to create schools and professional associations. Out of the 125 medical schools in this country, 34 are offering courses in alternative medicine--such as yoga, meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis, therapeutic touch, and chiropractic care. These schools include Harvard, Yale, Wayne State, and Johns Hopkins.