ocean Archives - H e a l t h T h o u g h t s

Moving beyond drugs to find health

September 18, 2014 By christianscienceminnesota 5 Comments

As summer slips away again, I’m reminded of how walking along the seashore listening to the continuous sound of crashing surf can clear our head and allow fresh perspectives.

In the local Walgreens parking lot, I had a beach-like moment and found an answer. A CVS store had opened up on the other end of the same block and I puzzled over how these stores were both thriving while selling identical merchandise.

As I stood listening to waves of traffic, the answer hit me: drugs. They are drug stores. There’s an insatiable demand for prescription and non-prescription medication. People’s search for health is relentless. Everyone needs to be healthy.

But are drugs the only way?

Reports say a lot of us don’t think so. In addition to mega-dollars spent on drug-based health care, Americans also spend almost $34 billion each year out of their own pockets on alternative treatments. Even 3 out of 4 U.S. health care workers use some form of complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) to stay healthy.

Prayer is no longer listed as part of CAM but the statistics still show an increasing percentage of people pray about their health.

I’m part of those statistics….Continue Reading

Are withdrawal symptoms or even recuperation absolutely unavoidable?

December 11, 2013 By christianscienceminnesota Leave a Comment

My mom smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for almost 30 years. Then one day she quit – cold turkey – and never had a single symptom of withdrawal. No cravings, no anxiety, irritability or depression. No weight gain, headaches, insomnia – nothing.

After struggling to breathe all weekend with a cold, she decided on Monday, “That’s it. I’m quitting now.” When amazed people would ask how she did it, she’d always respond, “I just decided.”

Her story is uncommon but not unique. My dad’s more common smoking saga involved a struggle with cravings that lasted several years before he could kick the habit.

So, what was the difference? Why was she able to quit quickly, without withdrawal, while he wasn’t? Could it have been that her decision – that firm, mental resolve – actually affected her physical responses?

And why is this such an important health question?Continue Reading

Our path to health – there must be something more than drugs

September 11, 2012 By christianscienceminnesota Leave a Comment

Before we let go of summer, here’s a beach memory.

When I was a kid, my family rented a house on Fire Island, NY for seven summers in a row. I remember long, slow walks on the beach with the constant sound of crashing waves in my ears. Like a lot of people, I found those walks would help me get a clearer perspective on my life.

What is it about walking along the seashore and hearing that continuous sound that clears our head? I think it has to do with a sense that the waves will never stop. There’s something inevitable, almost eternal about that sound.

We know the ocean won’t change. Short of maybe a nuclear explosion, there’s nothing on earth that could keep those waves from coming. Hearing that steady rhythm gives us a sense of something we can always depend on. And that feeling calms us and helps simplify all the temporary, changeable things we’re dealing with; we end up with peace and direction.

The other day here in Edina, I was standing in the Walgreens parking lot. The steady sound of cars on York Avenue wasn’t as nice as the ocean waves, but for a minute it seemed to give me a similar clarity. I looked half a block north and saw the new CVS. I thought, “How can two almost identical stores survive right next to each other? And the Super Target is right across the street selling all the same stuff!”

The answer hit me in a flash – drugs.