Posted on Mon, Apr. 20, 2009

UM medical school hosts alternative healing forum

BY FRED TASKER
ftasker@MiamiHerald.com

The University of Miami School of Medicine is a cutting-edge institution researching such science-driven areas as spinal cord repair, stem cell therapy and robotic surgery, right?

So why did it hold a symposium Friday on the healing properties of Tibetan tuning forks, body-hugging ''plasma energy fields'' and soul-soothing pats on the head from a ``certified oneness blessing giver?''

''This is kind of to see what's out there,'' said Janet Konefal, director of UM's Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine. ``Who knows if a blessing works? But there is research that shows people who believe do better at fighting illness.''

Medical school dean Pascal Goldschmidt backs her up: ``If you go to China, there's an enormous body of traditional medicine that very rarely has the level of evidence we would require in the United States. We should have a little bit of an open mind about this.''

Presentations included ideas as well-accepted as treating stress with music therapy to those as far out as healing arthritis with the vibrations of an Aborigine didgeridoo: 

Spirituality II: When Stanley Waxman gives you his ''oneness blessing,'' which he learned from monks at the Oneness University in Fiji, he will do a ''guided meditation'' with you about what you're seeking -- less anxiety, greater creativity, more self-confidence. Then he will touch you on both sides of your head, just above the ears.

You've been blessed.

''Some people see angels flying,'' he said. ``At the very least it makes you calmer.''

Waxman is no saffron-robed mystic. He's a former trial lawyer who first got into the leadership development movement called Neurolinguistic Psychology, working as a life coach to help CEOs with self-confidence, lawyers preparing to speak before juries.

``But something was missing -- spirituality. If someone is facing a serious crisis, has cancer or something, he needs spirituality.''

So he took a course at the Fiji Oneness University and got certification as a Blessing Giver. According to the university website, onenessuniversity.org, the Oneness Blessing is a ``nondenominational experience that transfers physical energy, allowing each of us to deepen our relationship with those we love, with strangers and with our creator.''

Miami Beach psychologist Sammi Siegel, after receiving a blessing from Waxman, said: ``I found myself forgiving my brother for dropping me on my head when I was 5.''