Understanding Healing
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Healing has its origin from the word haelan,
the state of being hal, which is the
Scottish and North English form of whole.
This word hal has since been given
the literal sense of “being free from infirmity”, and acquired a meaning of “being
healthy and uninjured”. Hal is also
the root of “holy” which is defined as spiritually pure. Derivation from the
same medieval root brings to mind a long-standing association between the
concept of healing and the perception of wholeness and spirituality. However this
concept challenges biomedical thinking because modern Medicine has no model of
what it means to be “whole” as a person.
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At the physical level, healing involves medical attention to anatomical wounds
and allows the tissues to unite, regenerate and consolidate. The biological
process is often helped significantly by a reminder to restore oneself to a
healthy lifestyle, balanced diet, supplementary nutrients and changing one’s level
and type of physical activity.
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