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 Though provoking and imaginative! May 07, 2011
By Ann V. Graber
Rarely have I gained so much from reading such a slender volume as from reading "Foundations of Noetic Medicine" by Donivan Bessinger, MD, retired surgeon. From his medical background the author explores dimensions of consciousness noetically by synthesizing insights gained from modern physics, psychology, poetry and the philosophic milieu, which leads him to suggest the inclusion of spirituality into medical and allied health practices.
Assessing our current science-based practice of medicine, Dr. Bessinger finds modern medicine to be insensitive, if not hostile, to the soul aspect of life. What is the "soul"? He offers us Dr. Albert Schweitzer's mythopoetic description of the soul: "No one can give a definition of the soul. But we know what it feels like. The soul is the sense of something higher than ourselves, something that stirs in us thoughts, hopes, and aspirations which go out to the world as goodness, truth and beauty. The soul is a burning desire to breathe in this world of light and never to lose it - to remain children of light."
Dr. Bessinger sees the need to include the soul into the art and science of healing. Furthermore, he urges us not to see the physician, surgeon or other therapist as a "fixer" but as a "helper" who takes appropriate action. Thus, a complementarity between patient and helper is formed, and healing on many levels can ensue. Such mutual participation in the healing process, inclusive of the soul, along with harmonizing all knowledge and experience, would build the foundations for noetic medicine that could vastly expand the possibilities for the future of healing. It might even foster spiritual progress in humankind.
"Foundations of Noetic Medicine" extends an invitation to expand our understanding of reality, our existence in the Cosmos as sentient beings, as well as the nature of the therapeutic relationship, for the benefit of all concerned - patients and health care providers (aka "helpers"). Although concise (about 100 pages of text), this multi-disciplinary monograph makes reference to the Gedankengut of many notable thinkers. An extensive bibliography entices the reader toward further study on topics of special interest.
Again, I am amazed how the author, Donivan Bessinger, was able to distill a vast banquet of knowledge into one tasty hors d'oeuvre - perhaps to give us a foretaste of what is yet to come? In view of our ongoing national discussion about health care, I respectfully recommend this book to all open-minded and discerning readers.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Noetic medicine Sep 21, 2009
By Bruce K. Nagle
In this monograph Bessinger pursues his interest in synthesizing modern insights in physics and psychology to produce a new paradigm for healing in and, indeed, of 21st century medicine. His first chapter explains the concepts of physics over the past century that have altered our understanding of the Cosmos, and in the second chapter he expounds a conceptualization that might form the basis for a synthesis applicable to the practice of medicine. For the reader unfamiliar with scientific physics literature, the insights of modern physics can seem foreign indeed, pointing out how little the general public knows about or understands them; the explanations themselves require careful reading and thoughtful pondering, even though Bessinger is kind enough to spare the reader the relevant and difficult mathematics; few of us indeed have spent any time exploring this field in the depth needed to easily comprehend that which he is summarizing and using to lay the groundwork for his proposals, but he outlines the needed information and suggestions carefully and gently. The basis for his argument rests largely on the non-local nature of reality as demonstrated by Bell's Theorem, and he further discusses pulsed-nonlocality and, in a neologism that seems most apt, the nuocontinuum.
In his third chapter, "Healing Thought," Bessinger discusses the philosophic milieu in which these insights are relevant, focusing on clinical aspects of the physician-patient therapeutic relationship. And in the ultimate chapter, "Noetic Practice," he examines and speculates about the directions in which medical practice seems to be proceeding and might proceed.
As we find our national conversation currently focused on the financing of health care, it is well to be reminded that this is but one of the major issues facing the health of our people today. Not only do we as patients find ourselves too often experiencing less than optimal medical processes and outcomes, but we as physicians and other health care providers also suffer and are frustrated and disillusioned. All too often we restrict our vision unnecessarily and limit our own possibilities as healers, in part because of our own biases and a limited awareness of our own blinders, narrow understanding, and flawed paradigms. Bessinger invites us to take a broader look and include fundamental aspects of reality that we are ill-prepared and ill-trained to consider, and, if we listen to him carefully and respectfully, both we and our patients will benefit immeasurably.
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