Your health in your hands talks

A friend alerted me to a fascinating series of talks hosted by Rathfarnham Church of Ireland parish only in time for me to attend the final talk which had a holisto-related topic. The Parish must really be congratulated for spicing up lent with this quality offering. The main speakers were Teri Garvey, chairwoman of the expert group which recently reported to the Department of Health on the Regulation of Complementary Medicine in Ireland and Mark Patrick Hederman, a monk at Glenstal Abbey, Limerick, who spoke about how we can resurrect body, mind and spirit day by day throughout Lent as a preparation for eternal life.

Teri Garvey sang the praises of integrated medicine, giving along the way a whistle-stop tour of the more weighty complementary practices, some of which she has benefitted from in her personal battle with illness. Garvey rattled off references to the more challenging authors in the field such as Larry Dossey. She was a little less respectful to "lay" ideas about "positive thinking", while not mentioning Louise Hay by name, clearly dissing her to those in the know. Illness, it must be acknowledged, is caused by genetics, environment, and "we don't know what".

Mark Patrick Hederman's talk was of a more spiritual nature. While he mused over the prospect of us resurrecting ourselves daily, and recounted a meeting of significance with Iris Murdoch, I pondered over what Teri Garvey's (or rather her group's) report on the regulation of complementary medicine might contain. It is on its way to the minister, I believe, and it has been a long time coming. Rumours are afoot that there is also a minority report being worked on by other members of that group. That could add interest to a process that up to now seems to have shied away from critical issues. Also in attendance was someone who no doubt will get to report on the outcome; Sylvia Thompson of the Irish Times. (I've long since forgiven her for her lapse on the omega3 story...yes... she was looking that sweet! )