Fifth World Medicine (Book I): A Spiritual-Physical Journey to the Next World

What begins as a hunger for authentic medicine in a young medical student evolves into a quest for an entirely new world, a Fifth World, where the line between what is material and spiritual has been dissolved. In Fifth World Medicine, you will explore the lands, myths, and prophecies of the Hopi People, chase after coyotes in the deserts of Arizona, enter a sweat lodge with a shamanic healer in the far North Country of Canada, embrace the power of silence and the medicine of enlightenment, go on a vision quest in the depths of the Grand Canyon, and find your roots in the sacred temple of the human body and the soil of Mother Earth.

Fifth World Medicine dares to challenge Westerners and anyone who dwells in the Fourth World, a techno-industrial world where dualistic thinking and linear, scientific methodologies assert their hegemony—leading to disease in Mother Earth and her inhabitants. Fifth World Medicine provides an exit path for those who hunger for something more than the Fourth World. Fifth World Medicine satisfies humanity’s deep, collective hunger for lasting health as it integrates one’s spirit, mind, body, and Earth. If you feel this hunger, follow the wolf on this journey to the Fifth World—a journey guaranteed to test your worldview and entire understanding of what is true.

Fifth World Medicine (Book II): The Science of Healing People and Their Planet

In a vast world of mainstream and alternative health approaches, how do we practice the best medicine for Earth and her inhabitants? Does the scientific method, developed in the 17th century, provide relevant and effective knowledge for us in the 21st century? Do so-called objective, scientific experiments really lead to us to the full truth about health and life? Perhaps there’s another science, a higher order science, that integrates spirit, mind, body, Earth, and all of Nature in a more authentic and truthful way. Given the challenges Mother Earth faces now, it’s high time for a superior science that provides healing wisdom for humans as well as our sacred planet as we transition to the Fifth World.

In Fifth World Medicine: The Science of Healing People and Their Planet, Dr. John Hughes beckons us to explore how we know what we know about a friend, a pet, a tree, or any being in Nature. Dr. Hughes advocates for a return to Aristotle’s ultimate, contemplative science in place of the draconian 17th century science that still governs much of modern medicine today. Dr. Hughes argues that by practicing contemplative science and medicine in place of the archaic scientific method, we shall discover greater truths about ourselves and our Mother Earth. Through this contemplative science, we also find an intimacy with Nature and the Creator, the kind of intimacy that characterizes that of traditional Indigenous peoples as well as the medicine and culture of the Fifth World.

Book Reviews

“This visionary nonfiction title is part two of a clarion call for a physio-spiritual transition from a Fourth World to a Fifth World consciousness. Dr. John Hughes—a practicing osteopathic, integrative physician and descendant of the Cherokee tradition—challenges humanity to move from the linear and dualistic mindset of Western science based solely on the five senses—a rational discipline accepting only scientific fact and methodologies as a basis for structuring society—to the more intuitive, spiritually-inclusive, integrated, and nature-based Fifth World philosophy.”

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The book explores in simple but articulate prose the many sources he explored to enhance the reader’s understanding of the Fifth World philosophy, a path in which quantum science meets spirituality. Beginning with a renewed look at the contemplative practices of Aristotle, segueing into an examination of the Asian mystics such as Buddha, and then moving on to indigenous beliefs and practices (particularly those of the North American Hopi tribe), the narrative explores how these differ from the seventeenth century, Enlightenment beliefs that still dominate twenty-first-century life.

Hughes asks many valid questions about the belief systems that keep much of humanity anchored in a Fourth World belief system that currently has obvious limits in providing well-being and happiness to the greatest numbers of people possible. He outlines the many reasons that Western philosophical structure has predominated in many of the world’s societal systems, specifically via Christianity’s vital role in the ongoing acceptance of limited (and limiting) Fourth World science since the seventeenth century. However, he explains that Western medicine has not been entirely divorced from a more integrated viewpoint due to the efforts of modern psychology to recognize the “practices that enhance spiritual consciousness and bring positive benefits in the physical world.” Hughes suggests that a union of the best practices of Fourth World medicine, such as advanced drugs and surgery, can be blended with the contemplative practices of Fifth World medicine that unify body, mind, and spirit.

This convincing analysis will likely spur both seasoned medical professionals and the casual reader to envision the positive possibilities of moving on from more archaic Fourth World thought patterns into much-needed Fifth World remedies. While some of the principles discussed in the text can be challenging to grasp, Hughes helpfully breaks these down into understandable, bite-sized components by citing the work of many historical figures and cultures that have discovered and defined how the planet and all phenomena in it are interconnected and a part of nature. This serves well as a consciousness-expanding viewpoint that helps shift the current, divisive scientific paradigm to a more inclusive, unifying one.

Hughes asks important questions about the status of one’s personal health and the health of the planet and offers concrete answers and solutions to the medical and ecological crises facing the world today. Many of these answers may already be at humanity’s fingertips, not only through the revelations of quantum science but in indigenous wisdom traditions that exist around the globe and that were once pushed aside by conventional Western science and religion. The author sees that a new orientation embracing the “cosmic order of the universe… leads to the good of all Nature.” Inspiring and uplifting, Hughes’ narrative makes it clear that humankind’s twenty-first-century mandate is to heal the Earth and itself by connecting deeply with the inherent wonder of the natural world.

About the Author

Dr. John Hughes practices traditional osteopathic and integrative medicine in Colorado. Dr. Hughes graduated from the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine and received training in family practice at the University of Arizona. His current clinic, Aspen Integrative Medicine, provides the latest innovations in modern and natural medicine, including regenerative injection therapy for sports injuries as well as a patented protocol for traumatic brain injury through his company TBI Therapy.
Dr. Hughes descends from the Wolf Clan of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. Dr. Hughes honors the wolf and his Cherokee ancestors through his intuitive medical practice and way of life. Fifth World Medicine is his first book. Dr. Hughes currently lives near Aspen, Colorado with his wife, dog and cat. He regularly enjoys trail running and skiing in the wilderness near his home.

Events

Upcoming Events

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Past Events

7/12/23 – Book II discussion at Basalt Library

6/11/23 – Book II discussion at Explore Booksellers

4/29/23 – Fifth World Medicine Workshop at True Nature

2/2/23 – Book I discussion at Basalt Library