Medicine or Murder? – How We Lost the Art of Listening to the Body and Nature
- Jul 21, 2025
- 4 min read
Written by Joanne Louise Bray, Founder
Joanne Bray is the proud founder of Plantlife Joy. Her journey began with a deep love of nature and the belief that plants have the power to bring happiness, tranquility, and a touch of magic to our lives. Plantlife Joy specialises in plant knowledge, and our mission is to connect people back to the beauty of the natural world.
In a world where science and medicine are often treated as unquestionable authorities, many of us have placed our trust in systems that claim to heal. But what happens when we realize that true healing begins within? In this article, we explore the journey from blind trust to self-awareness, the deep connection between mind and body, and the wisdom that nature and our bodies offer. Join us as we dive into the betrayal of modern systems, the awakening to a holistic approach, and the power of listening to the signals our body sends.
The blind trust
There was a time when I trusted science and medicine without question. I took the pills, booked the procedures, showed up to the appointments, and even volunteered to be tested, believing that those in charge of healing had my best interests at heart.
However, with age and experience came knowledge, and with knowledge, a deeper kind of seeing. I began to understand that healing was never something to outsource. It’s an inside job, and it always has been.
Two personal experiences shaped this understanding:
One: My first viable pregnancy was unplanned. I had been craving Marmite, which I didn’t like. It was this craving that led me to a pregnancy test, revealing that I was pregnant. That was my body telling me that the baby I was carrying needed folic acid.
Two: In 2010, I visited the doctor several times because I sensed that something was wrong. Twice, I was sent away because I looked well, was exercising daily, and eating healthily. It wasn’t until I had a late period that I decided to take a test because my periods had always been as regular as clockwork. The test revealed a positive result; I was pregnant. It was unplanned, but that didn’t matter. I went back to the doctor, who pressed my abdomen. I had a pain in the lower right abdomen. I had to go to the hospital for an early scan, and, well, the rest is a very traumatic story that I wrote about in my first book, Jungle Loving. So, I won't divulge those facts here.
The betrayal
In the West, we’ve learned to place our bodies in the hands of systems designed not just to treat, but to profit. We’re told to trust those systems, pharmaceutical, political, institutional, even as history shows us how often that trust is betrayed.
The tobacco industry once told us cigarettes soothed the nerves, with doctors standing in white coats smiling for the adverts, and we believed them.
You’re probably thinking of a time when you trusted the system instead of that feeling deep inside your belly, called your intuition, the whispers of your body, or the message from nature.
The awakening
Western medicine works like this: if a man goes to the doctor with a bad foot, he will be given painkillers, probably sent away, and told to rest the foot.
Eastern medicine works in the way that if the same man visited the doctor, the doctor would tell him to remove the stone from his shoe. The West treats symptoms; the East seeks the root cause.
According to the healthiest countries in the world (Healthiest Countries 2025), nations like Singapore, Japan, and South Korea are at the top of the list. Why? Many factors contribute to the statistics. Lifestyle, balanced diet, and cultural mindfulness play a huge role. In the West, we are only just beginning to rediscover the truth.
Since the 1960s, practices like yoga and mindfulness, and alternative medicines like acupuncture from the East, have been making their way over to the West. Slowly but surely, we are now integrating more Eastern practices into our lives. There is a rise of integrative medicine in the West, which is a patient-centred approach combining Western treatments and Eastern complementary therapies.
The herbal approach is making a comeback too. It's almost as if (if you believe in reincarnation) the witches are back, and this time they aren’t being murdered for their knowledge. They are still being ridiculed, yes, but only by those indoctrinated by a system or those unaware of the wisdom that others have chosen to learn.
The body knows
The nocebo effect shows how negative expectations lead to physical sensations in the body, and the placebo effect shows that even belief alone can heal. Both say it all: belief alone alters biology. If the body and mind were disconnected, neither of these would be possible.
The body speaks in cravings, tensions, illness, and balance. Plants show us, by their lack of blooms or fruit and disfigured leaves, that there are issues with their environment or care. We are not that different from plants.
The division and hatred are causing illness, and it's unnecessary.
We are not here to destroy the planet or each other; we are here to heal:
To heal ourselves,
To heal the planet,
To heal each other.
Read more from Joanne Louise Bray
Joanne Louise Bray, Founder
Joanne Bray is a leader in plant life; she has been to the darkest depths of despair with her mental health. Nurturing plants and learning all about them led to her own healing journey. She discovered the immense joy, and mindfulness that nuturing plants provides, so she began to write about them within her membership site, create courses, paint parts of nature that she fell in love with, and write books in the hope of sharing her passion, and helping others to connect back to the beauty and wonder that nature supplies. Joanne is very passionate about eradicating the use of chemicals in gardening, and so she offers solutions using plants that either attract beneficial insects or deter pests.
