What happens when we die? What is "spirit"? What is our purpose on Earth? What is the true meaning and significance of healing?


These and similar questions were in the air everywhere in and around the MacLaurin Building on the campus of the University of Victoria from May 29-31, 2009. That's when the SpiritHeals conference, subtitled "An exploration of spirituality in health and healing", took place. A wide range of health care practitioners, representatives of diverse spiritual traditions, and a cross-section of citizens from all walks of life came together for dialogue, learning and endless discussion about these important issues.


Conventional medicine is beginning to accept the fact that non-material aspects of healing are important. Conferences on spirituality and the art of healing are springing up all over North America, driven by steady pressure from the general public to broaden therapeutic horizons.


This conference, more than many, featured a variegated collage of many perspectives -- everything from the very conventional to the very challenging. Anchored by three outstanding keynote speakers, and enriched by a plethora of artistic and creative activity, the conference was very well received by approximately 300 enthusiastic participants.


Psychiatrist Raymond Moody, best-selling author of "Life after Life" and integrative psychologist Joan Borysenko, and former astronaut and founder of the Noetic Institute Edgar Mitchell graced the podium with elegant and informative presentations. Workshops and panel discussions explored every aspect of spirituality and healing, from the most general to the most personal. Subjects ranged from integrative veterinary medicine through African drumming to town planning with spiritual goals in mind.


But one aspect of this conference, once again organized by conference planners Geoff Gosson and Nicole Moen -- now formally working together as the "Animate Community" -- was the duo's trademark attention to detail, and the open and all-embracing atmosphere it generated. From early morning spiritual exercises, through music and artwork thoughtfully embedded in all aspects of the program, to carefully selected food choices reflecting long-term sustainability, this energetic and creative pair showed clearly why the events they organize are so highly regarded -- and so well attended.


Two panels give some indication of the scope of this conference. The first, entitled "The Deep Dive: What is the nature of spirituality, faith and belief?", featured representatives of formal spiritual traditions side by side with individuals whose spirituality underpinned their professional or other work. Chaired by Anglican minister Christopher Page, the panel included a Buddhist minister, a traditional First Nations healer, astronaut Edgar Mitchell [describing his powerfully transcendent experience while returning from a walk on the moon], veterinarian Alan Schoen and psychiatrist UBC Jane Garland. Each panel member spoke both from both a personal and a professional or formal perspective, and the discussion ranged from riotously funny to deeply serious.


The second panel entitled "Healing Stories" was chaired by keynote speaker Raymond Moody, and consisted entirely of women panelists. Each shared personal stories about their own paths towards healing, allowing audience members to see how complex the experience of healing can be, and showing how everyone, without exception, is engaged in this process.


And there was more. Graham Dickson, head of the Center for Health Leadership and Research at Royal Roads University, inserted, at several points during the conference, inspiring comments and suggestions about leadership and spirituality. He also announced the creation of a forum for on-line dialogue on leadership following the conference.


And then of course, there were the workshops themselves, the heart of the conference. Over 25 speakers and facilitators, carefully selected from a large field of applicants, led participants through a vast range of subjects that united spiritual values and the healing arts. And who were these people? They included psychologists, spiritual practitioners, nurses, physicians, academics, complementary practitioners, musicians, educators, a veterinarian and urban design planners.


And even before the conference began, and after it was over, they were pre- and post-conference workshops as well. All three keynote speakers, as well as over half a dozen other presenters, offered conference participants a potpourri of topics to choose from.


Let me close by describing one workshop that struck a unique note for participants, and yet represented a general principle that ran through the SpiritHeals conference. This was "Horses and Healing at Spirit Gate Farm". Co-presented by educators Michelle Atterby and Oriane Lee Johnston, it was introduced in the program thus: "Horses naturally resonate with humans when we are in touch with our inner feelings and state. Entering the horses' "field" of awareness can help us become present, and attentive to what lies in our hearts."


Using the obviously non-verbal connection between humans and animals, this workshop helped participants move beyond mere words into a direct, real-time interaction with the living world around them. Interestingly, there is a program at Stanford University which involves training medical students to be more in touch with their true inner state through working with horses; it has proven very helpful in encouraging students to "get real".


I had both the pleasure and the inspiring responsibility of being part of the team organizing this conference, and of giving a workshop on "Scientific evidence for the persistence of consciousness after physical death". I can attest, from my own direct experience, that the SpiritHeals event provided a venue where such a topic was truly welcome. For me as a practicing physician, that was a most heartening experience.


I am delighted to have been part of this singular and thought-provoking event.


Warren Bell, MD, is a physician practicing in the heart of the Okanagan Valley. A HANS member, he's also past president of the Association of Complementary and Integrative Physicians of BC.