Unfortunately, Toronto is about 10 hours away by car and I can't really afford flying. I believe Orilla would make the journey even longer.

I've been to neurologists who have agreed the spots on the brain are probably the reason for the numbness. I'm not so sure. I think the spots and the numbness may not be related. They were a coincidence that provided an explanation to the neurologists, who lacked any other evidence of possible causes. (This was what THEY said.) In any case, it hasn't gotten any wors and occasionally is a bit better. It does interfere with playing instruments a bit. (When you can't feel the holes on a pennywhistle or buttons on an accorion, it's a probalem.)

I once worked with a doctor who told me about an herbal headache preventative. While this doesn't fall into the realm of 'spirituality' it DOES involve trying something whose effectiveness (at that time) didn't have sufficient proof (only one study). It could have been labeled 'snake oil' by some. Why a doctor would recommend it, and I would try it:

1. Other patients of his had tried it, and it had worked.
2. There was information on its constituents which showed it wasn't harmful.
3. It didn't cost very much, so it wasn't financially harmful.

It worked, and I'm still taking it.

Since that time, its effectiveness has been proven and the reasons it works have been determined. The point is that, once upon a tine, people claimed it worked, there was no reason to believe it wasn't possible, and it did no harm. I don't count threatening someone's beliefs as 'harm'. Samuel Johnson's quote in Wolfgang's post might also be interpreted as "All wonder is the effect of finding something new." Same meaning/less cynicism.

With spiritual beliefs, I don't believe a person chooses these. They're conclusions based on what an individual thinks and feels. There's no way to prove one set of beliefs is right and another wrong, or we'd all believe the same things. When it comes to joining a group, religious or otherwise, one must look at whether they're likely to do more good than harm for the person doing the believing.