Astrology

To those people who think only the gullible believe in and use homeopathy, I think our own dear Queen is a life-long user of same.

And let us not forget that science, doctors and 'evidence based' stuff have a long history of being wrong.
To slavishly follow science is as unwise as slavishly following superstition.

I still remember how doctors used to advocate smoking for health.

I've always been a bit undecided about astrology. I don't consult my horoscope but have read about the traits of Aquarians and they are me to a T. No other sign's personality traits are.

Also, having police and health professionals in our circle, they say the Full Moon alters people's behaviours beyond doubt, more patients and fights etc)

We all know the moon affects tides, menstruation and human moods, so if the moon does, why not other planets?

I'm on the fence about the whole thing and because I don't really care, haven't gone into it. But nor would I dismiss it out of hand.

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It is possible to know which people you should let near you and which you should avoid, without recourse to astrology, particularly once you have experienced tens of years in the adult world and met and observed all sorts.

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I once went for reflexology when I had a painful back. The person didn't know me and I told her nothing but when she felt my feet she knew how much pain I was in and where the pain was. I can't say it cured it but it did ease it for a while.
It seems to me a useful diagnostic tool.
I am much more sceptical about chiropractic which cost me a lot of money but didn't have any effect. Yes, the guy put me in a certain position and I felt a 'crack' as he manipulated my back but the pain was still there and time was what put it right in the end.
I am more careful now with my back and do not carry ridiculously heavy things.

I think reflexology is more than "foot massage" as feetle says. On holiday in Egypt I went for a reflexology treatment in the hotel, simply because it was on offer and I was on holiday. As she was finishing off, the practitioner sort of dragged her thumb all along the sole of each foot, pressing quite hard and as I was leaving she said with a smile "You should be aware, that's a colon cleanser". The next morning I discovered what she meant (and I'm not talking about diarrhoea). Sorry if TMI, but the reflexology had a definite effect.

And in case you're wondering I'm not into colon cleansing generally, because that I definitely don't believe in.

That is very weird Ana

How uncanny, Anya, that's almost exactly the same experience I had during my first reiki treatment.

I'd suffered from a painful knee for several years, and after the treatment (during which I felt strange bubbling sensations in the knee) the pain was gone and has never come back.

My first post was to Grumppa

Ana you are doubtless wise because unless you've exierienced (as we have) it then it is hard to believe.

Actually that's not necessarily true. My first exierience of Reiki was a very painful left knee. I had been training for the Great North Run. I thought I would have to withdraw as I could barely walk, let alone run. A friend offered Reiki and I accepted, mainly not to hurt his feelings.

During the session the pain intensified quite considerably. That was the strange bit, something was clearly going on. But next morning the inflamation was gone, as was the pain. I ran the GRN a week later and have had no trouble with that knee ever since, though the right one can now be a bit dodgy!! That was in 2001 and it was that experience that changed me from a total sceptic to training in Reiki myself.

In this case grumppa the pain and inflammation were linked and this is the kind of 'case' that's ideal for Reiki. No one (sane) is suggesting it can cure cancers or other medical conditions.

But I'm not seeking to convert anyone, just relating my own experience. Before this I would have dismissed this 'laying on hands' and perhaps I somehow did cure myself. Pity I can't fix my other knee by wishful thinking or relaxation

In your opinion, grumppa.

I did think about posting my experience of both receiving and giving reiki treatments, but realised it would be a pointless exercise because some people have completely closed minds on the subject.

There is a fundamental difference between relief and cure. All sorts of homeopathic remedies and hands-on or hands nearly-on treatments can make sufferers feel better if they believe in them, but they won't actually make them better.

I even told the therapist that I didn't believe in it (I won a treatment), and honestly thought I was wasting both our times

I do not know, I do not care as long as it worked. It wasn't someone I expected to do reflexology, either. He was a sports physio for a professional team. He also used homeopathy on the team members.
He knew what worked as he had suffered from sciatica himself.

I was totally sceptical about Reiki but it stopped my longstanding tinnitus for about an hour, for the first time in 35 years the ringing sounds ceased. Yes, they came back but I intend to start having it regularly. I was amazed...and converted !

How did reflexology affect your sciatica? Someone looked at your foot, and translated that into a diagnosis, manipulated the foot and effected a cure? How would that have worked? And I have had both sciatica and the experience of reflexology - I know, and sympathise with, your discomfort. But massaging your foot won't reduce inflamation in the sciatic nerve, will it?

Yes, scepticism is fine, but blatant scoffing is just rude.

Really, feetle?
Reflexology cured my sciatica.
It also helped my husband to sleep when he was dying of cancer. In fact once he slept for so long that he slept through the hospice carers changing his pads and giving him a wash so he could go to sleep!
Of course, I do not care if you believe me or not, but your dismissal is quite hurtful.

Reflexology is a nonsense too - it's very nice to have one's feet mashed and manipulated, but the central idea that each part of the foot corresponds to a part of the body and is capable of indicating illness at that part, as well as being a means of treating the illness, is baloney... Other similar ideas are found in iridology, reading the iris of the eye and there is also a version treating the outer ear as a sort of homunculus and relating it to the rest if the body's parts. All tosh...

Yes quite Eloethan the words "evidence based" should be used when deciding whether NHS funds should be spent on them.
Of course conventional drugs can have a placebo effect Eloethan but remember only on symptoms like nausea or pain. Never any suggestion that the effect is anything other than palliative. Homeopathic "remedies" are just sugar pills. It was proved by mathematics about a century ago that there is unlikely to be a single molecule of the original herb or mineral in a dose. An enthusiast then came up with the bright suggestion that water has a "memory" of molecules that have passed nearby. Complete balderdash. If this is the case then then sea water will have a memory of every substance that has ever been in a river (cow poo, contraceptive hormones, heavy metals etc etc etc) - so why not just take a sip of that and it will cure all ills?

You are correct Eloethan when you say that some (in fact many) who practice Reiki do so for no payment.

Having said all that, I do think there are many charlatans around who promote all sorts of unproven treatments solely for the purpose of making money.

Conventional treatments have to at least have some scientific validation and unless homeopathic treatments can also be validated in the same way, I don't think they should be available under the NHS.

I wouldn't write off homeopathic treatments but, as someone else said, I prefer the term "complementary" since I see them as perhaps useful in some circumstances or as an addition to "conventional" medicine.

However, I have a degree of scepticism about over-reliance on both homeopathic and conventional drugs. I think many people are encouraged to be too passive in dealing with various health problems. I saw it with my Dad. He would have a whole line of different tablets to take each morning for all sorts of ailments, including depression, and I feel he was not encouraged to look at ways in which he could assist towards his own health and happiness - e.g. by watching his diet more carefully, keeping more active, etc.

Also, I believe I'm right in saying that research has shown that the "placebo effect" can be demonstrated in those that take conventional, as well as homeopathic, drugs.

I think treatments like Reiki, reflexology, head massage, do work for some people, perhaps partly because they induce a state of deep relaxation. Also the people who are attracted to doing these therapies usually have a genuine commitment to relieving suffering and a great belief that their treatments will be of benefit - a belief that may well be communicated to the client. I think any treatments (including "talking therapies") that focus intensively and compassionately on a person in distress can bring relief.

I have found that some people who practice Reiki do so for no payment or for voluntary contributions because their prime motivation is to help people.