My morning news scan began by reading an article in The Christian Science Monitor about the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and “8 peaceful protests that bolstered civil rights.”  As someone who was little more than three years old when Dr. King was assassinated, these were not events I remembered personally but nevertheless appreciate being reminded of.   

Dr. King’s legacy runs broad and deep.  But for me the most important lesson I continue to learn from his example is that even the most aggressive and persistent forms of tyranny can and will be defeated.

Of course, tyranny has many faces – racial prejudice, discrimination, segregation, economic injustice, and so on – all of which require constant vigilance in order to keep them in check.  But there’s another kind of tyranny that, although perhaps less obvious than the rest, deserves equal vigilance and against which increasing numbers are taking a stand.

More and more these days we read about people who are discovering that their health is not restricted to the dictates of drug-based medicine.  Instead they’re realizing that consciousness plays a key – even essential – role in the process.

One of the most intriguing of these individuals is Dr. Lissa Rankin.  This physician cum mind-body expert from the North Bay recently gave a TED talk that began with this provocative question: “What if I told you that caring for your body was the least important part of your health?”  Either you’d say she’s nuts… or that maybe she’s onto something.

If you listen to her entire talk, you’ll learn that Dr. Rankin is not suggesting that anyone adopt an unhealthy lifestyle or even one that gives up all use of drugs – only one that acknowledges that there’s a direct correlation between consciousness and health.

Of course, there are many others who have joined in the crusade to find better, more reliable approaches to health care.  But perhaps the most important ones are people like you and me – regular folks who are discovering that things like gratitude and compassion, patience and forgiveness can have a significant and lasting impact on our health.