Ways of Knowing: Cultural Based Health & Healing

The Life Science Foundation and the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality & Healing are co-sponsoring a second invitation-only May 2008 Symposium for healthcare professionals and researchers.

Dane Silva

The decision to focus on cultural based healing was made for two reasons.  The first is that today’s healthcare professional is being asked to serve more diverse language and cultural based populations.  This advent requires greater skills in non-verbal communication and requires increased sensitivity to and/or knowledge of other cultures’ religious and healing traditions.

Secondly, participants of the 2007 Symposium enjoyed the contributions of two cultural based healers—Dane Silva, Hawaiian, and Dorene Day, Ojibway—and requested further exploration of cultural based healing. 

Dorene Day

Our purpose is to assist healthcare professionals in opening to a deeper understanding of how other traditions view health, well being, and spirituality; select and train healers; build in renewal for their healthcare professionals; and contextualize healing from the individual, family, community, nation, and global levels.  The purpose is not for one tradition to acquire the skill base of another tradition which would take years, but to contribute to the wholistic knowledge evolving in the healthcare professional community.

A goal of the Symposium is to create a matrix that reflects what healthcare practices and views are common to all cultures, what concepts are different, and where good bridging points exist. The Symposium organizers seek an appropriate balance among intellectual, experiential, and research activities.  Once again participants will be asked for feedback on the design and given suggested reading to do in advance of our gathering.

In addition, the Life Science Foundation and the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality and Healing wish to serve the needs of healthcare professionals for renewal and participation in a generative learning community.  Time for connection, self-reflection, and the enjoyment of nature will be provided.