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"Integral Medicine: An AQAL Based Approach" & "Diagnostics in Integral Medicine"

Last post 06-17-2007, 7:17 AM by charlesb. 4 replies.
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  •  03-08-2007, 11:06 AM 20271

    "Integral Medicine: An AQAL Based Approach" & "Diagnostics in Integral Medicine"

    By Lawrence E. George
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  •  06-10-2007, 3:25 PM 24369 in reply to 20271

    Re: "Integral Medicine: An AQAL Based Approach" & "Diagnostics in Integral Medicine"

    Even if I'm not a practitionner (MD), I found those two articles really interestings and helpful to achieve a better treatment including a greater satisfaction of the patient. 

    I have some interrogations even if they're not at the core of the acticles.  I direct those to mister George hopefully.

    In the first paper, you said "First I was empowered to trust my intuition with my patients"

    In the second, you linked the beige level of development with instinct.  In the dictionnary, the difference is not really big between both.  What the difference do you make between intuition and instinct? One being at the lower level in your article and the other, even if you don't associate it at a level is quite obviously at an higher level in your mind.  Does it make sense than the awareness that you talk is the difference?

    Secondly, I was astonished that you put "demented patients" at beige levels as if the people suffering of an episode of illness was at the same center of gravity.  Don't you think a person at a yellow vs red center of gravity will have different comportments in the episode of illness too?

    And could it be possible to have this same awareness from the patient? The actual current in mental disease is to have the participation of the patient in his own recovering. 

    Martine Castonguay

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  •  06-16-2007, 7:22 PM 24605 in reply to 24369

    Re: "Integral Medicine: An AQAL Based Approach" & "Diagnostics in Integral Medicine"

    Hi Martine,

    Thank you for your questions. Below are Dr. George's responses, which I've posted on his behalf:

    1. What is the difference between intuition and instinct?

    Instinct, or the innate and fixed pattern of behavior to a particular stimulus, is associated with a very low level of development—Beige in Spiral Dynamics terminology, or Infrared on Wilber’s level of consciousness scale.  In a sense, instinct is intuition (the ability to understand something without the need for conscious reasoning) at the earliest stage of development.  At this low level of development one does not have to think before acting, but unlike intuition at higher levels of consciousness, one is not even capable of thinking about what type of response is appropriate for a given stimulus or situation.  The behavior is reflexive and automatic.  This type of response is a stage appropriate behavior characteristic of infants and, as it turns out, patients with dementia.  It is important to understand here that we are referring to late stage irreversible dementia, not a temporary state of dementia, delirium or some other reversible decrease in cognition.  Notice the differentiation of stage and state—stage referring to a stable level of consciousness and state referring to a temporary situation. In Alzheimer’s Dementia, one can actually regress to an instinctual level of existence.

    Intuition, on the other hand, is probably best thought of as a state of consciousness, which is accessible at virtually every level of development.  You ask if awareness is the difference between intuition and instinct.  I believe, in one sense, yes, because awareness increases at each successive level of development and the higher the level of development, the more sophisticated our interpretation of our intuitions becomes.

    2.  Don’t you think a person at yellow vs red center of gravity will have different comportments in the episode of illness?

    I do believe that a person’s level of development or center of gravity will affect the manifestation of disease.  For example, the stage of development will influence attitudes and interpretation of illness and since mind and body are two mutually dependent perspectives (quadrants) of the same being, one will surely affect the other.  An individual centered at red might respond to an illness such as cancer with anger, thereby inducing deleterious autonomic nervous system and immune system changes, making the cancer worse.  The individual at Yellow (Teal in Wilber’s system) with the same cancer might view the illness as fitting into larger contexts in life and be able to take action in these various contexts to greatly improve the prognosis.


    3.  Could it be possible to have this same awareness from the patient?

    Absolutely!  As in the example above, the higher the level of consciousness (awareness), the more perspectives one can appreciate and integrate into treatment plans, attitudes, and behaviors.  And this awareness goes both directions in the doctor-patient relationship.
    Best,

    Matt Rentschler
    Managing Editor
    AQAL: Journal of Integral Theory and Practice
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  •  06-17-2007, 4:18 AM 24609 in reply to 24605

    Re: "Integral Medicine: An AQAL Based Approach" & "Diagnostics in Integral Medicine"

    Thanks a lot, Matt Rentschler, doing the intermediary. :)  And thanks to Dr George for his precise answers.

    I red the Annie Gauthier's article a couple of times on homeless persons with mental disease and after those articles as if they could give me an answer at some interrogations about the paper of Annie.  As if I wasn't ready again to explore the territory with her.

    Working in the day to day to not "staging" too early the persons with dementia, I'm particularly attentive to that. My question about yellow or red centered person in illness was related to dementia. 

    But the article of Lawrence George gave me to think at the use of his method in my work.  I had the idea to ask him more precisely his type of questions to know the level of development of his patients. For a long time, I imagine the advantages for the housing:  a better orientation of persons in specialized home, a better cohesion (in french we say "pairage") between  the people in the home, even with employees of the home.  But, what are the contrary effects?  That is not a natural mix but an oriented mix.  It could be a "tag" on people. And, thinking to that I never acted to know better their level of development. Mr George made it privately, for his own practice.  Is it possible to do it in a larger way without adverse effects?  What could you tell me to reduce my doubts about that?

     

     

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  •  06-17-2007, 7:17 AM 24610 in reply to 24369

    Re: "Integral Medicine: An AQAL Based Approach" & "Diagnostics in Integral Medicine"

    Hi Martine,

    Here is a more personal view of the possible differences between instinct and intuition.

    Charles

    http://multiplex.integralinstitute.org/Public/cs/forums/post/21776.aspx

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