The University of the Virgin Islands Community Engagement and Lifelong Learning Center will present a two-part lecture on the origins of ancient Egyptian medicine March 27 and 28.
“Egyptian medicine in and of itself is extremely profound,” said lecturer Andrew Edwards. “Part of the profundity of it is the extreme age of it and the vast sophistication of medical practice in ancient times.”
Edwards brings a unique perspective to the topic. In addition to being a physiologist providing rehab at the Virgin Islands Cardiac Center, he is also one of a small group people on St. Croix who practice the ancient Egyptian faith.
The lecture will explore a wide range of topics, including Egyptian concepts of disease and their early experimentations with brain surgery. Psychiatric care, veterinarian medicine, and the development of medicines from herbs will also be discussed.
Edwards explained that the Egyptian concepts of health and medicine were intertwined with their philosophies concerning the world and the cosmos. As such, understanding Egyptian medicine gives one a broader understanding of their entire culture, he said.
“People get perplexed by ancient Egypt—how did they build the pyramids, how did they do this, how did they do that? Well, they had a medical system that allowed human beings to reach the highest level of health possible,” he said.
Edwards says that those attending the lecture will learn many tips from the ancient Egyptians that they can use to improve their own health.
“If they take away two or three or even five percent of what they’re going to get from the lecture, it will profoundly change the way that they see themselves,” he said. “They can be healthy human beings if they want to.”
Edwards explained that diet is the key. Ancient Egyptians understood that what people consumed had a big impact on their health. For instance, they understood that diets high in fat led to vascular disease.
He also said that meditation was a key to a healthy lifestyle. Due to our high stress lifestyles, Edwards argued that meditation is even more important now than it was when the practice was common in ancient times.
“Human beings are not designed to keep going on and on and on and to be inundated with constant information,” he said. “The mind can do it, because the mind is strong so the mind can handle it, but it is not designed for that.”
“There needs to be rest. There needs to be relaxation,” he continued. “If that rest and relaxation becomes situated enough, then there can be time for inner reflection and inner understanding of the nature of the soul.”
Both lectures are from 6-9:30 p.m. They will be held in the Melvin Evans Center at the St. Croix campus and will be delivered via video conference to the St. Thomas campus.
There is a registration fee of $25. Call 693-1100 or visit http://cell.uvi.edu for more details.
