Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: spirituality

  • Was Moses an alchemist?

    S.E.S. MedinaBenbrook, Texas, United States “And he took the (golden) calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.” -Exodus 32:20. In the event depicted above, Moses had just returned with the Ten…

  • Spirituality in medicine

    Gautam SenKolkata, India Imagine a hospitalized patient in the advanced stages of a difficult disease. He wonders whether he will survive and, if he does, in what state he will spend the remainder of his life. Alone in bed, he sometimes finds himself struggling with the meaning of life. He feels isolated, helpless, and lonely.…

  • Carl Gustav Jung

    Anne JacobsonOak Park, Illinois, United States In the autumn of 1913, Carl Gustav Jung was traveling alone by train through the rust and amber forest of the Swiss countryside. The thirty-eight-year-old psychiatrist had been lately troubled by strange dreams and a rising sense of tension, but the snow-capped peaks of his beloved Alps soothed him…

  • The big question

    Monica MaaloufChicago, Illinois, USA “Doctor, why are we here?” I had just finished answering her questions about her insulin dosing and was crouched down, examining her foot rash, when I looked up at Mrs. Syed, feebly trying to mask my annoyance. “Well, these are just the rooms where my evening clinic is on Tuesdays,” I…

  • Haunted by a living spirit

    Bernardo NgSan Diego, California, United States Witchcraft has been present in the Mexican culture for centuries, both in and out of the context of disease, with witches practicing either white or black magic. The most nationally recognized site for witchcraft is the city of Catemaco, Veracruz, on the Gulf of Mexico. The white magic witches,…

  • Prayers from Africa

    Marcia Whitney-SchenckChicago, Illinois, United States Rev. David Ambola from Mbingo, Cameroon, has remarked that Africans are incurably religious. Indeed, for many in Africa, religion permeates every aspect of their lives, from Christian messages on the rear windows of taxis to hand-crafted signs in hospital waiting rooms. Hand surgeon Dr. Robert Schenck and his wife, photographer…