As we talked through the half-time state of play of his soccer match, my grandson expressed an openness to some helpful ideas I shared with him. He went back on and scored a goal immediately, and soon after I saw him patting a team-mate on the back following a similar success.Continue Reading
Could the power of the mind be a cure-all?
“Mind governs the body, not partially but wholly,” wrote thought-leader, Mary Baker Eddy, over 100 years ago.
In ensuing years of painstaking research, discovery, testing and analysis the bio-sciences, too, have come to generally support the idea that there is a distinct connection between thought and body.
Jo Marchant’s latest book Cure attempts to come to grips with this idea – explaining the increasing evidence that our thoughts, emotions and beliefs affect our bodiesContinue Reading
The essential ingredients for youth mental health

The years between 15-25 are frequently a time of questioning and great discovery, but like many others I found them difficult. I had to deal with chronic disease, failure in my chosen career, a persistent lack of self-worth along with indecision about an alternative career path, and loneliness.
Although never diagnosed, a psychologist would probably have called me depressed.Continue Reading
Experiencing Health via the Connection
Why don’t you hear more about the revolutionary healthcare options and treatments that take into account the mind-body-spirit connection from your local doctor or hospital?
Here’s one explanation. In Dr Craig Hassed’s keynote address at the 20th Annual International Integrative Medicine Conference in Sydney last week he referred to Thomas Kuhn’s philosophy of the Structure of Scientific Revolutions.Continue Reading
Working with the Whole Person: Interview with Petrea King

Read this cover story article where it was published in the February 2014 issue of Holistic Bliss Magazine….
Put simply, the standard prescribed way of treating disease needs to be reviewed and reworked.
This was the message that Petrea King and many of the health practitioners conveyed at the AIMA 19th Integrative Medicine Conference held at the Gold Coast late last year.
Following her workshop, King agreed to talk with me about her work and what she sees as the future of healthcare in Australia. Qualified naturopath, herbalist, clinical hypnotherapist, yoga and meditation teacher, author, founder and CEO of the Quest for Life Foundation, she has been instrumental in healing individuals and communities after tragedies such as the Queensland floods and is regularly sought after as a counsellor and commentator on integrative therapies on ABC Radio.
“… the whole relatively new science of epigenetics shows us that we have to move from treating diseases to treating people”Continue Reading
Understanding miracles may impel healthcare innovation
Wasn’t it great to hear about Kath Evans’ recovery from lung cancer on Australian Story this week on the ABC? The fact that she attributes her extraordinary healing to intervention by the then Blessed Mary MacKillop impels me to question, with an open mind, the conventional wisdom on health and healing. We heard how doctors diagnosed the terminal illness, giving her weeks to live. We also heard that many oncologists examined the X-rays and listened to details from her doctors, her family and of course Kath herself following her healing.
Based on my understanding of the report, from the time that she and her family and friends started to pray to the now Saint Mary MacKillop, there was continuous improvement and finally the verdict from her doctor …. there is no evidence of cancer at all. Her experience seems to confirm both the power of thought and the impact of love on our health.Continue Reading