Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, October 22, 1993                   TAG: 9310260147
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Melanie S. Hatter
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SHOW LOOKS AT HOW WE HEAL OURSELVES

But beginning Tuesday, Seymour will take us on a journey around the world to explore how people heal themselves through alternative methods of medicine.

"The Heart of Healing: Remarkable Stories of How We Heal Ourselves," premieres on TBS in two-hour episodes on three consecutive nights, Tuesday through Thursday, at 8:05 p.m.

"Heart" demonstrates that millions of people around the world use an assortment of psychological, spiritual and alternative techniques to battle illnesses. It features numerous real stories of people overcoming often debilitating diseases.

For example, Chris Kelly was born 12 years ago in Miami and was told he would never walk because of a birth defect that left him with cerebral palsy. But through the use of biofeedback (charting and controlling brain waves and muscle reponses with computerized machines), Kelly can walk with the help of a cane.

Cancer remains one of the world's major killers, but many members of the Shanghai Cancer Recovery Club in China say creative visualization, intensive psychotherapy, spiritual belief and group support brought their diseases under control.

Not surprisingly, AIDS is discussed in several segments of the series. "Heart" takes us to Uganda, where one in three people tests HIV-positive. The impoverished government cannot afford conventional medical care and has mandated a spiritual and psychological approach to the problem. Research shows that the Ugandan patients are doing as well with support groups, creative visualization, religious faith and a positive attitude as other patients receiving expensive chemotherapy.

In California, Michael Saldivar has survived AIDS for more than five years with a T-cell count of 10, dramatically lower than the normal 500 to 1,500 count. Saldivar combines psychological, spiritual, social and nutritional methods of treatment.

"Heart" demonstrates that the medical status quo is being challenged on many fronts. In January, the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that Americans are increasingly turning to unconventional medical therapies, such as acupuncture, relaxation, guided imagery and herbal medicine. The National Institute of Health recently established an Office of Alternative Medicine.

The documentary opens the door to a world of healing that often confounds conventional medicine. It heightens the question of whether the mind and the body can work together to heal.

Co-creator and producer David Kennard, who produced "Cosmos" with Carl Sagan, said he wants viewers to be moved to question their own health and happiness.

"They may be skeptical, or challenge some of what they see, or even object to some of it, but I hope they'll be astonished on a truly significant level," he said.

A companion book, "The Heart of Healing" (Turner Publishing Inc., $25.95) is being released in conjunction with the series. The book, written by the Institute of Noetic Sciences and William Poole documents personal stories of mind over medicine.