Cause & Effect - The Missing Link

While Americans have more access to health care practices than ever before, Traditional Western Medicine when compared to 13 countries the United States ranks an average of 12th (second from the bottom) for 16 available health indicators. The ranking of the U.S. on several indicators was:

• 13th (last) for low-birth-weight percentages
• 13th for neonatal mortality and infant mortality overall 14
• 11th for post neonatal mortality
• 13th for years of potential life lost (excluding external causes)
• 11th for life expectancy at 1 year for females, 12th for males
• 10th for life expectancy at 15 years for females, 12th for males
• 10th for life expectancy at 40 years for females, 9th for males
• 7th for life expectancy at 65 years for females, 7th for males
• 3rd for life expectancy at 80 years for females, 3rd for males
• 10th for age-adjusted mortality

The poor performance of the U.S. was recently confirmed by a World Health Organization study, which used different data and ranked the United States as 15th among 25 industrialized countries.

Lack of technology is certainly not a contributing factor to the U.S.'s low ranking.

• Among 29 countries, the United States is second only to Japan in the availability of magnetic resonance imaging units and computed tomography scanners per million population.

• Japan ranks highest on health, whereas the U.S. ranks among the lowest.

• It is possible that the high use of technology in Japan is limited to diagnostic technology not matched by high rates of treatment, whereas in the U.S., high use of diagnostic technology may be linked to more treatment.

What has gone wrong? In this author’s opinion, society’s indoctrination of immediate gratification is the culprit. Hundreds of times a day, the mass media brainwashes us to expect and demand more, and to want it faster, easier and cheaper, through a non-stop onslaught of advertisements and infomercials.

For example, there are a plethora of diet plans to lose weight with no effort on every magazine cover and dozens of web sites. One electronics store adopted a commercial jungle that repeatedly screams, “I want more.” Indeed, personal responsibility is rarely promoted, if not discouraged outright. Such as: the inception of ‘No fault’ car insurance claims.

The problem with adopting immediate gratification as the mode of living life is that one forgets an age-old principle—cause and effect. Cause and effect applies to all aspects of our lives, whether we are aware of it or not. Here is how it works: If we want a big effect, we need to apply big causes. If we apply minimal causes, we get minimal effects. Have you noticed that effortless weight loss approaches typically achieve short-term or miniscule results? Even gastric by-pass surgery—the most radical of all weight loss plans—doesn’t guarantee the person will keep excess weight off.

Holistic, Metaphysical or Traditional Chinese Medicine adheres to ancient cause and effect to create a healing effect for diseases and mental health.

The effects in our lives are a direct reflection of the causes you put in place. Thomas Edison, Alexander Bell, Bill Gates and Tiger Woods never took the quick-and-easy approach to their success. They applied massive causes and got massive efforts.

Health follows this same principle. If our efforts are minimal, we will get minimal benefits. For example, to truly eliminate lifestyle-related high cholesterol, a consistent healthy diet and exercise plan are big causes that will achieve big, long-term effects. Taking pills are little causes and achieve only minor, short-term effects. Stop taking the pills and your cholesterol jumps right back where it was—an example of the cause and effect principle at work.

How does this apply to me? You might ask. Ask yourself the following questions.

• What effect would I like to see in my life that currently is missing? Maybe you would like more energy or better finances.

• What causes must I put in place to achieve that effect? If you don’t know the causes, talk with someone who has achieved the effect you desire. Ask him/her what causes she/her put in place. If you consistently apply those causes in your life, you can achieve the effect you desire.