Mind Body Spirit. Empathy and Social Justice.

Introducing Anica Madeo

Traditional indigenous views of health melding with Western medicine. You might see a shaman,and pick up some meds from your doctor on your way to the church

My Opa Henri van Leeuwen, born on Leap Year in 1888 and a survivor of the Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp, told me that he survived the camp because of his spiritual strength. He weighed less than 90 pounds when he landed in Algeria after being traded as a prisoner of war. We had this conversation when I was 16 and worried about the draft and what I was going to do if my lottery number was low. My Uncle Leon introduced me to metaphysical health, the notion of mind-body-spirit healing. He told me that spiritual, mental, and physical health were intertwined and spiritual health comes first, bolstering the others. My son, Mike’s spiritual health awed me as he grappled with his pending physical demise from metastatic cancer. Today, we hear my ‘sort of daughter’ Anica describe her travels to Latin America and her experience, as she says, with people who might see a shaman, go pick up some medications from their doctor, while heading to the church to say a prayer.

Health Hats: Hi, Anica.

Anica Madeo: How are you, Danny?