Welcome to the Body, Mind, Spirit issue of Convergent Points!

When we talk about the spirit in the context of health, it’s usually part of a holistic philosophy that also includes the body and mind. Physical health is fairly well understood; mental health is less so, although people feel, recognize, and respond to it. But what does it mean to have a healthy spirit? With a vast range of spiritual practices worldwide, coming to a shared understanding of spiritual well-being goes beyond any single tradition and is a singular challenge to scientific inquiry. 

What we understand of the spirit comes through the body and its associated mind. In “Acupuncture Following Recovery From Guillain-Barré Syndrome, A Case Report,” Ning relates how this rare autoimmune condition can rob the body of nervous system function. It may be easy to imagine how that might feel, along with relief as the body heals.

Aspects of mind—communication, emotional awareness, and self-control—are captured in Peacock’s “Acupuncture To Reduce Self-Injury Behavior In Pediatric Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Case Report.” This case describes the spirits of several organ systems in TCM and how they figured in diagnoses and treatment.

Finally, this issue of Convergent Points addresses the spirit through collaboration in an exceptionally intense medical environment, namely, “Combined Acupuncture And Spiritual Care Treatments In An Acute Pain Service: Two Case Reports” by Garlough and Wahl. These cases reveal what is important to the patients and their caregivers and show outcomes that reflect improvement in a patient’s spirit that is understandable across medical perspectives. 

With these three offerings, we hope you are inspired to think about what the health of the body, mind, and spirit means to you and those around you.

Kathleen Lumiere, Editor