Tradition is the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, and information, from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice.
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clothing or objects, physical, mental, and/or spiritual HEALTH. The accom- panying image Figure II-1, salud, is a metaphor for HEALTH in countless ways. Here, it is whole and emerging from the shadows of early morning. Just as the sand sculpture is fragile, disappearing overnight, so, too, is HEALTH. It brings to mind the reality that HEALTH is finite, and each of us has the internal respon- sibility to maintain, protect, and restore our HEALTH; the reciprocal holds true for the external familial, environmental, and societal forces—they, too, must look after and safeguard our HEALTH. This book, in part, is a mirror that re- flects the countless ways by which people are able to maintain, protect, and/ or restore their HEALTH. Just as there is an interplay between a sand sculpture and the natural forces that can create and harm and destroy it, so, too, it is with HEALTH and the forces of the outside world.
ILLNESS is the imbalance of the person, both within one’s being—physical, mental, and spiritual—and in the outside world—natural, familial and communal, and metaphysical. HEALING is the restoration of this balance. The relationships of the person to the outside world are reciprocal.
When these terms, HEALTH, ILLNESS, and HEALING, are used in small capi- tals in this text, it is to connote that they are being used holistically. When they are written in the general text font—health, illness, and healing—they are to be understood in the common way.
Chapter 8 will present an overview of the issues related to the modern, sci- entific, high-technology health care delivery system in general and will discuss why an analytical understanding of the modern allopathic philosophy relevant in this arena is so vital in regard to the development of a holistic philosophy of HEALTH, HEALING, and CULTURALCARE.
2Small capital letters are used to differentiate traditional definitions of ILLNESs and HEALING from contemporary definitions.