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;void(0)) Physicians have long recognized the potency of placebos (valueless pills). The word “placebo” means “I shall please” in Latin. When patients are given placebos and told that they are powerful pain relievers the results are often miraculous. Placebos have been known to relieve organic as well as psychogenic pains. Perhaps the most effective “placebo” of all may be a sympathetic support system. Patients often feel helpless and hopeless. The amount of pain they experience is increased by these emotional states. With today’s hectic pace, it is rare that one is able to obtain the support needed in a busy hospital or even at home in our two paycheck households. Over the years many studies have been done on the effects of support systems on our health. Contemporary medical, psychological, and sociological literature overflows with studies that point to the life-prolonging, even life-saving qualities of interpersonal support: - Dr. Dean Ornish, a California coronary specialist developed a program with support groups that showed positive results for patients with histories of heart disease: chest pains diminished or went away entirely, severe blockages in coronary arteries reversed, and patients became more energetic. In the program the patients lived together for a week then met every week for four hours. - Another study was done in Michigan where two sociologists found that there is a link between poor relationships and poor health. They found that people with the poorest social attachments in their study had significantly higher death rates – 100 percent to 300 percent for men, 50 percent to 150 percent for women. - A team of Stanford Medical School psychiatrists, led by Dr. David Spiegel, found that metastic breast cancer patients who joined support groups lived nearly twice as long as those receiving only medical care. In the book “The Healing Brain: Breakthrough Discoveries about How the Brain Keeps Us Healthy” the authors, Robert Ornstein and David Sobel conclude that: “Somehow interaction with the larger social world of others draws our attention outside ourselves, enlarges our focus, enhances our ability to cope, and seems to make the brain reactions more stable and the person less vulnerable to disease.” Despite the clear benefits of community, many people are hesitant to pursue it. Some people prefer to remain isolated even though they crave a stronger support network. Many fear that they may have to surrender too many of their personal desires to the group’s demands. Fears of groups may also arise from the illusion that humans are separate by nature. Much of this may come from the philosophy of the European Era of Enlightenment when the Rights of Man was being developed in retaliation to the old aristocratic systems that stifled individual freedoms. Science has shown us through research, what the old religious scholars of the past have been telling us for centuries: everything is connected to everything else. In sociology the term, “alienation” refers to a state of mind in which the individual feels emotionally detached, isolated or estranged from others. This state of mind can lead to the point where we become alienated from ourselves. Witness the situations where a person has become so obese that he cannot even get out of bed or walk through the door of his own house. We become so detached or numb to our own feelings that we do not see ourselves becoming out of touch with reality. We look in the mirror or try on our clothes and somehow, develop rationalizations to accept what we see as normal. The same applies to the severely addicted drug abuser or alcoholic. They do not see the repeated dysfunctions in their lives as a problem even though all around them see it. Absolute individualism is an illusion. We are all connected to one another in an ever more complex web whose strands encircle the globe. The great breakthroughs in technology and communication over the past decades have enhanced the means by which this connectedness is appreciated. We no longer need the confinement of living in the type of closed ended communities that once proliferated. Today, thanks to technology we can create a custom community to meet our needs in whatever area of our life we desire: our neighborhood; our group of friends; or our international computer network. The Aton Project can help you learn new skills to deepen your current relationships or build new ones. We are here to help you clarify your personal dreams of community and learn how to make them come true. We look forward to hearing from you. Answer to the Ackee Query: When Anderson Jackson bumped into Mr. Calloway, causing him to spill his Champagne, that was the only contact that Calloway had with anyone during the period of time in question. Calloway did not have a handkerchief to clean up the spill so he must have used a napkin to clean it up (remember, Ms. Laura Wayne was holding one in her hand during Ackee’s questioning of her). The poison had to be administered by Jackson on to Calloway’s napkin. Barnes’ investigation bore out Ackee’s conclusions. Jackson was convicted of murdering his partner to gain full control of their lucrative law practice. Oh yeah, don't forget your autographed copy of “The Ackee Chronicles”. Tony VanSluytman - the Author Now let’s explore the solution to last month’s Ackee Quandaries. More of you had the answer than I had anticipated. Thank you for the overwhelming response.  QUESTION: Who murdered Peter Calloway, and how? ANSWER:If the poison was not administered by food, drink, or inhalation it must have been administered by touch, through the victim’s skin pores. The only thing that Calloway touched shortly before his demise that he hadn’t touched earlier, and that no one else had touched was the inside of the napkin served with his hor d’oeuvres. (Notice that Ms. Wayne was still holding a napkin.) Therefore this had been doctored with poison. The critical event was Calloway being bumped and spilling his champagne. Since he was not carrying a handkerchief he must have opened his napkin to wipe up the spill. Investigators found that Jackson was not in on the crime. Further investigation brought out the fact that Mr. Calloway, a gourmet cook in his own right had been in the process of writing his own cookbook.. Ms. Wayne’s publisher was thinking about setting up a major marketing campaign for his book while giving Ms. Wayne’s most recent book (like her last two) little to no attention. Ms. Wayne was convicted of murdering Mr. Calloway after feeling threatened by his book’s success. Newsletter Directory The Aton Project - Home Page Tony VanSluytman info Tony VanSluytman - the Author | Return Home | The BOOK DOCTOR | The BANYON NETWORK | The Banyon Buzz Newsletters | The Aton Project Newsletters | Contact Us | |
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