FOREWORD<br >CENTI RY ORTHOI)I)X Western medicine has made many<br >advances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease:<br >iotics， organ transplants， and ultrasound， to name<br >but a few. Yet this form of medicine， heavily reliant on powerful drugs，<br >intrusive investigative techniques， and surgery， has had a number of charges<br >leveled at it. One is that it treats symptoms without reference to the whole<br >person. Another is that it may create fresh illnesses in the patient. And yet<br >another is that it is imposed from without by clinicians with whom patients<br >may feel that they have no rapport， and for whom they may be just units on<br >a medical convevor belt.<br > It is for these reasons that an increasing number of people are exploring<br >alternative therapies. Acupuncture， aromatherapy， autosuggestion， Ayurveda，<br >Bach flower remedies， bioenergetics， color therapy， faith healing， herbalism，<br >homeopathy， hypnosis， meditation， naturopathy， polarity therapy， rebirthing，<br >reflexology， tai chi， transactional analysis， yoga - all these， and many others，<br >are described in this volume， together with a number of unusual diagnostic<br >techniques. While such therapies may not suffer from the same drawbacks<br >as conventional medicine， the claims made for many of them are open to<br >question. We do not recommend using any alternative therapy in place of<br >orthodox medical practices. Increasingly， however， doctors are coming to<br >view some of these therapies as effective complementary treatments， to be<br >used iU coujlmction with conventional medicine. Throughout this volume，<br >we have tried to present a balanced view， taking into account the pros and<br >cons of each technique.<br > What many cases in this book demonstrate is the remarkable self-healing<br >power of the human mind， body， and spirit. Conventional medicine is<br >increasingly recognizing the value of this idea and may yet undergo a<br >revolution as it borrows more and more techniques from the alternative<br >movement. The medical maxim of the 21st century mav well be<br >"heal thvself."<br >- The Editors<br >