Pins and Needles: Scientist, Artist, or Priest?
John Catanzaro
Acupuncture Series: Click | View Series
Scientist, Artist, or Priest?
Acupuncture is our first topic of discussion in our A-Z series in breaking down the individual practices/modalities in alternative medicine and alternative healing practices. However, before we begin, it is essential to explain how practitioners may approach their healing philosophy. It is important to know particulars and specifics of certain practices, but it is most important to know where a practitioner is coming from. I propose that a practitioner of a healing practice can philosophically approach healing as a scientist, an artist, and/or a priest.
The Scientist
The scientist practitioner will be practicing on a proof-based philosophy using the scientific method to substantiate why a specific healing practice would work and move toward proving the hypothesis. Documenting, tracking, and moving toward reproducibility are the scientist's objectives. This approach is based upon a rational process of scientific logic.
Blending the Scientist With Other Roles
A practitioner that hones a scientific approach without blending the artistic or priestly aspects of the healing practice is generally safe and will not become a threat to Christian belief, providing there is an excellent recommendation and reputation of expertise and professionalism. Safety should always be assessed in the decisions of the scientist practitioner. Respect for the boundaries of Christian faith by the scientist practitioner is essential. The scientist practitioner can also practice as an artist as well. The combination of scientist and artist is generally safe as long as there aren't any priestly practices that are pagan and anti-God.
The Artist
The artist practitioner may or may not practice as a scientist or a priest and generally personalizes healing, offering the intuitive aspects of healing, which can be offered apart from religious priestly activity. An artist practitioner doesn't operate from a proof-based point of view but mainly from a nurturing and intuitive framework. As with the scientist practitioner, a high degree of professionalism, excellent reputation, safety, and a respect for the boundaries of Christian faith are essential in the artist practitioner.
Empiricism and the Artist
An artist uses an empirical process that may have no evidence as to how or why a practice works and may not be able to reproduce the same results in another individual. Empiricism, according to Merriam-Webster, simply means "a former school of medical practice founded on experience without the aid of science or theory."
The Priest
The priest practitioner focuses upon the religious rite and ritual of a particular cultural healing system with all its hand-me-downs and folklore given through the centuries by the wisdom of the ancients. For instance, the Veda (Hindu Bible) is the source of all wisdom to the Ayuervedic priest, as is the Buddha-Dharma (Buddhist Bible) to Buddhist priest.
To be continued.
