Editorial January 26, 1987 Issue

A new therapy for whatever ails you?

William E. Moody

The life of modern man and woman must be a mess. At least that's the way it seems if much of the media advertising and hype is to be believed. And to fix the mess? Yes, there's a therapy touted for everything—from that "embarrassing" dandruff to the emotional angst attached to "getting ahead" in contemporary society. Newsweek magazine recently reported on one of the latest innovations: "Another new concept is 'aroma therapy,' which combines perfumed lotions and massage to soothe the body and presumably, the mind." Then Newsweek quotes a therapist, " 'The right fragrance can uplift your whole system.' "^{Newsweek, March 31, 1986, p. 38 .}

Uplifting one's whole system may certainly be desirable. Yet we might also want to consider the "whole package" we're buying into when we settle for any material therapy as the answer to our need. Isn't our need actually always for individual development or healing, and isn't this always a need for spiritual progress?

There's no question that living in today's world has plenty of challenges. Emotional troubles, tied closely to many physical diseases, are a serious concern. Perhaps one reason that stress, anxiety, despair, depression, seem to be on the rise in spite of all the available human therapies is that such methods of treatment are essentially doctoring effects and not correcting the fundamental cause. And to accept only an effect-oriented therapy would keep us bound to limitations. Our individual progress would remain tenuous at best.

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