Meet Dr. Igor Cetojevic
An interview with Sloboda Boric
I met Dr. Igor Cetojevic on a flight from Belgrade to Cyprus. At first, he seemed austere. With his dark clothes and gray beard, I thought he might be a priest, but once we started to chat his contagious sense of well-being dispelled my first impressions.
He was from the former Yugoslavia and had been living in USA and Cyprus for the past 13 years. When I asked him what work he did his face broke into a big smile, his eyes shining. He replied, “I make people happy. Better to say. I help people find their own happiness.”
I asked him, “How do you do that?”
“By profession I am an MD. If someone is healthy it’s the first step to being happy.”
"So you are a doctor?"
“Yes, but health is not only physical health because we are not only meat and bone.”
"Are you a psychologist?"
“That’s part of my job. The body is also mental, physical, emotional and spiritual.”
Maybe my first impression was not so far off after all! He continued, “But don’t forget that the body is also part of our environment, which includes our social life. I am helping people to be more aware about themselves.”
Before I knew it the plane was landing and I still had many questions to ask. Dr. Igor consented to meeting me the next day to continue our conversation. The result is this interview, which I am happy to share.The next day we sat at Ibsen's Tea and Coffee House in Limassol. Over an excellent cappuccino I began:
Tell me Dr. Igor, who are you?
“I am a doctor who uses holistic medicine.”
What is Holistic Medicine and why did you decide to practice it rather than official medicine?
“Medicine is one; Holistic means “one, all together”. You cannot separate it. Official medicine is one part of Holistic Medicine. We cannot separate medicine into pieces. We can use different techniques, different approaches. That’s what I do. I see a human being from different perspectives – mind, body, spirit, environment and social life. By observing and evaluating these factors I can find the best way to help my patients.
“With a holistic perspective, we acknowledge that every human being is individual and unique. Holistic Medicine focuses on the patient not only on the disease. The disease is only a part of the bigger picture. It is one piece of the puzzle.”
The puzzle?
“I see health as a puzzle with many interconnected pieces.”
What are the pieces of this puzzle?
“Food, environment, habits, genetic predispositions, symptoms, awareness, relationships and so on. They are all interactive and influence each other.”
Did you learn all of this in medical school?
“I learned a lot in my medical studies but not enough. I was not happy to treat only symptoms, which is, most of the time, the direction of official medicine.”
Where did you study Holistic Medicine?
“After my university, I extended my knowledge to Traditional Chinese Medicine, which opened my eyes and helped me to see the bigger picture.”
What did Traditional Chinese Medicine teach you?
“It taught me about energy, about life force, about balance. I learned about the connection between organs, emotions and various bodily functions and how they support each other.”
Do you really believe all this?
“Time and positive results convinced me. If a system exists for over 4000 years without any major changes and is still working well today then there must be something to it. Only our ignorance can prevent us from seeing that the system works.
“Traditional Chinese Medicine is accepted by the World Health Organization and is the official medicine in China. It goes hand in hand with western medicine using the best from both methods.
“The development of medical technology has helped us to get a clearer picture of the inner working of the body through x-rays, ultra-sound, CAT scan, MRI, etc. It is excellent to use in acute cases such as accidents or surgery, etc. Traditional Chinese Medicine is more advanced when it comes to treating patients with chronic conditions, diseases or to prevent disease from occurring in the first place.”
How does it help to prevent disease?
First, through education. We need to teach children in primary school simple things that will protect them from suffering later in life. For example, the Chinese speak of the “Four White Deaths”.”
What are the “Four White Deaths”?
“White sugar, white salt, white flour and white fat. Over time, too much of any of these substances in our life creates a disturbance in the normal functioning of the body, blocking and poisoning it resulting in disease.”
What is the basic principle of Traditional Chinese Medicine?
“The main principle of Traditional Chinese Medicine is balance. Your health is a dynamic balance, not a static picture where everything is fine. We are changing every day, every second. We need to balance our growing needs, food, mental development and so on.
“In this process, it is very important not to go to extremes, which, if continued over time, will lead to imbalance and disease.
“A long time ago the Chinese saw that our physical existence goes beyond molecules and atoms. What is smaller than an atom? Life force is there.
How do you treat your patients? Are you practicing Chinese Medicine?
“It is part of my practice; one piece of the puzzle. During my travels, sharing knowledge and ideas with others practicing in the field of Holistic Medicine, about six years ago I was introduced to a revolutionary system of diagnosis and treatment using bio-feedback and bio-resonance. I use this advanced technological tool to help me to clearly see all the pieces of the puzzle in a relatively short time.”
How do you do that?
“I need to introduce you to your unconscious mind! Everything that is going on now during this interview is registering in your unconscious memory. For example, if dust falls on your shoulder your unconscious memorizes it. It is not strong information but it’s there. If the wind blows your nice curly hair, your unconscious registers it, too. But is I accidentally step on your foot you will register this information on a higher level and react to it.”
What does this have to do with health?
“Health is very dependent on these unconscious memories, unconscious information. From the moment we are conceived our unconscious starts memorizing everything that goes on in our universe, good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, toxic or beneficial. All this information goes into building who we are in essence.
“Modern life is full of environments toxins, pollution from cars and industry, pesticides and artificial additives in our food. All our life we memorize toxins on an unconscious level. Only recently are we getting the red warning light that something is wrong. The glass is almost full.
“Through Biofeedback Therapy I can detect factors that have been stored somewhere in the body, the first exposure before they show as physical symptoms; pathogens, toxins, viruses, allergens, emotional disturbance, mental toxicity and other things that are disturbing the normal function of the body.
“We are able to work on eliminating these stressors that cause disease before the glass is full; before a disease can take root in the physical body. This is preventative medicine.”
Can Biofeedback help when a body already suffers from a disease?
“Of course! The body is smart. It gives us symptoms as signals, as messengers that something is wrong. Don’t kill the messenger! Often official medicine makes this mistake. Rather than identifying and treating the cause of the disease, it treats only the symptoms. This can drive the disease deeper into the body causing more serious and damaging conditions. Biofeedback allows us to find the causes of the symptoms and disease and works on eliminating them.”
Do you find that it works?
“Yes, of course. Here is a good example. A woman came to me with her young son, two-and-a-half, three years old. He had severe eczema all over his body. They visited many doctors all over the world but not one had been able to help. During his check-up I was able to detect radiation that the child had been exposed to while he was still in his mother’s womb. During that time his parents travelled often by air and had to pass through many security x-ray machines, which was memorized as strong information on an unconscious level. This manifested later on as eczema – his body’s attempt to detoxify itself from its early exposure to radiation.”
How did you treat the child? Did the machine cure him?
“The machine does not cure. It is a tool to help evaluate the state of the patient’s body and to support it in it’s process of healing itself. With biofeedback, I could support and stimulate his body’s natural healing ability and to identify its optimal nutritional needs. After changing the boy’s diet and 6 or 7 treatments with bio-feedback the boy’s eczema disappeared and has not reoccurred.”
How does the bio-feedback system work?
“ Using very subtle frequencies at the patient’s unconscious level the system measures the stressors, prioritizes them and then reduces or neutralizes their negative influence.
“It also helps support the body’s natural process to detoxify itself. Toxins are not only pathogens or heavy metals. They can also be mental and emotional toxins, which are hidden. During therapy some patients release these toxins by talking or crying, which is very helpful for the healing process."
Biofeedback sounds like an effective healing system.
“It is helpful and supportive, but it is up to the patient to be aware of the changes that are necessary and to take responsibility for his or her actions. The healing process is co-operative. You cannot buy health, I can make suggestions but it is up to the patient to follow through and make the necessary changes that will reduce the stressors that cause disease and lead to a state of balance that will result in better and sustained health and happiness.