This post, authored by Michael Dawson, was previously published in Findhorn Today – Papers prepared for New Synthesis Think Tank Conference October 1987 New York City.

People who are drawn to the Findhorn Foundation are expected to give up their past modes of behaviour, to change and transform. When change is seen as an opportunity for growth as opposed to a problem to be resisted, the person thrives and good health is to be expected. If change is seen as threatening disease can occur. Thus the person’s attitude to the challenges in life is of first importance. Other factors such as having a healthy diet, exercising, relaxing and receiving social support, although important, become secondary considerations.

CAUSES OF HEALTH.

Observation of healthy and creative people reveals certain common characteristics.

  • They perceive problems as opportunities.
  • They have high values, spiritual goals and a sense of oneness.
  • They feel in charge of their lives, are involved in making changes that effect them and create their own reality consciously.
  • They have no expectations yet trust the world to give abundantly to them according to their needs.
  • They take the responsibility to be the change they want to see happen instead of trying to change everyone else. In this way they can drop judgement and receive and accept people just the way they are.
  • Although perceived as people who give of themselves to others they know how to provide
    others with the opportunity to give to them.

Kenneth R Pelletier, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California gave the opening address at the British Holistic Medical Association conference in October 1986. He presented research from the U.S.A. that showed 10% of patients need western medicine e.g. surgery, 10% of patients suffer from western medicine e.g. side effects of drugs prescribed and 80% of patients recover by themselves. He went on to cite studies made of companies that change from providing secure and stable environments for their employees to those of a competitive nature where jobs can no longer be guaranteed. The effect on employees was that about 6% died, 20% became ill and about 6% thrived on these changes. Research on the attitudes on the group that thrived indicated that these people took life as a challenge, turned problems into opportunities for growth, became involved in making changes and wanted to be in control of their lives. It was often found that top executives had high value systems and spiritual goals.

CAUSES OF DISEASE.

It follows from the above observations that it is our mental states that determine our state of health and that in the final analysis all illness is mental illness. The body then can be looked upon as a vehicle that is acted upon by our emotional, mental and spiritual bodies. It has no choice but to manifest whatever it is subjected to, being automatic in response. Persistent negative mental states must eventually manifest as disease in the physical body. Criticism, anger and resentment are major causes of disease. Disease is not caused by bacteria, viruses, microbes or any other physical agent. They are continuously present in the body and can have no effect where conflict is absent and a positive and truthful approach to life is maintained. They are only retained in the body and cause disease when they find a negative attitude to attach themselves to. A negative attitude is one based on fear and is the state we are in when we are not giving unconditional love.

Thus we can only be in one of two states, love or fear. Love promotes health and fear produces disease. For the body to remain healthy it must be used for the purpose for which it was created. Once we stop identifying with our bodies and recognise them as tools of loving communication for our higher nature, health will naturally result. Thus disease is the result of inhibiting our soul or spiritual life. When we recognise that nothing external to ourselves can make us ill or sad and that we do these things unto ourselves, we can decide to choose again what we want to experience.

When an illness has a sufficiently strong hold over the mind, it may be too difficult for the person to change their minds and accept healing for themselves. Under these circumstances a compromise approach to the mind and body is needed where something from outside is temporarily given healing belief. This can come from orthodox or complementary medicine. However, unless the psychological cause of the disease is discovered and eliminated the illness or some other ailment will return again within a few months or years.

I have used the term complementary medicine instead of alternative medicine for I feel that all branches of healing need to co-operate and complement each other. When I work with a client who has a physical complaint I suggest they also see their doctor, especially if their problem is new and has come on suddenly. It is gratifying to observe that doctors are increasingly referring their patients to practitoners of complementary medicine.

ELIMINATING THE DISEASE.

The holistic health specialist works on the following assumptions. The individual exists on many levels including the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual and all need to be taken into account. Although this paper has stressed that the cause of illness is found in our mental states it must not be forgotten that the above levels of being are interrelated and affect each other. Thus a healthy diet accompanied by exercise and relaxation will directly benefit the working of the mind as will aligning ourselves to our spiritual purposes. The client can only be helped to heal themselves. That is to recognise the inherent self-healing and self- repair systems that are crucial in the prevention and cure of disease. Each person is unique and one approach to healing must not be applied to everyone. The clent needs to take responsibility for their own healing and become actively involved in designing their own programme.

ONE TECHNIQUE FOR FINDING AND ELIMINATING THE CAUSE OF DISEASE

I have often used the following technique when working with people who have physical and/or psychological problems.

Meeting the Client

It is important to quickly establish a rapport with the client and create an atmosphere of trust, respect and support. Briefly ascertain the physical and/or psychological problem whilst being aware that this might only be the ‘presenting problem’ and not the real and underlying issue.

Preparation

Explain the procedure to the client. This approach to healing is based on the fact that in a relaxed state the client can be facilitated by the healer to contact his intuitive faculty that knows exactly the psychological cause of the problem and what he needs to change in his life to bring about healing. This change will involve a change of mind. A release of emotions during the healing session that is not accompanied by an insight into the cause will not produce a lasting cure. The client needs to fully understand why the problem occurred in the first place, to take full responsibility for it and to create the compassion and forgiveness necessary for complete healing. Ask the client to lay down and make sure s/he is warm and comfortable. This aids relaxation and helps quieten the rational, analytical mind. The client needs to be centred in their feelings and not in their minds.

Relaxation

To the accompaniment of gentle music guide the client through a relaxation sequence that covers the whole body. Use laying on of hands (spiritual healing) to channel healing energy into the client. This will facilitate deeper relaxation and a raise in consciousness, making contact with their intuitive nature easier to obtain. Face and especially scalp massage have strong relaxation effects.

Asking for Help

When the client is relaxed suggest that she asks to receive healing and that she be shown what she needs to know and change in her life to bring about a lasting healing. For some people the healing occurs at this point for they get immediate insights. Allow a period of silence to follow and then check what they are experiencing. Give them the option of staying in the silence longer as a deep inner process may have started, that only requires the healers silent support.

Generally speaking the client will give one of 3 replies.

  1. She feels relaxed with nothing much happening.
  2. She feels resistance to the process and is thinking “This will not work for me.”
  3. Some relevant issue has come into her awareness that needs facilitating by the healer.

Healing Methods

In the example of the client who is relaxed but unconnected with the problem get him to connect in his imagination with the area of the body that needs healing. The healer may be drawn to placing his hands over this area of the body. Get the client to decribe the area of pain in terms of its size, shape, colour, depth, texture etc. Ask what feelings are associated with it. The client needs to love and accept this part of himself and let it speak its needs. Often a symbol is given and the client, once accepting it, can change it and bring about self-healing. Anything the client resists will persist. Anything that is accepted can change.

Breathing can be used to advantage in some treatments. Negative feelings or physical pains can be breathed up and then breathed out as a blessing. This is a example of transmutation where a lower form of energy is changed by an application of will to a higher form of energy. You can suggest to the client that he visualise someone in front of him who will receive the blessing-perhaps someone who is connected with the clients problem that needs his forgiveness.

Some clients will need taking back in time to re-experience the cause of the problem, understand it and let it go. Forgiveness is letting go the past. With this approach the client is kept with his feelings, following the images that come up going from present clues to the past trauma. Use is made of open ended questions to help lead the client from image to image. The healer needs to trust the process, using what is given by the client’s unconscious with no pressure to find a solution. The psyche knows the way. The body knows how to heal itself.

If the client exhibits strong resistance to being healed then the healer must work with the resistance. Get the client to visualise it. Is it located somewhere in the body? What does it look and feel like? Get the client to dialogue with it and appreciate it for trying to serve him. The client can experiment with the symbol of resistance given. See if he can willingly remove a part of the resistance.

It can be very helpful when clients are stuck or experiencing fear for them to be encouraged to ask for help. In this way they can attract to themselves spiritual entities that can powerfully assist the healing process by giving healing, assistance and facilitating insights. Clients can also be taken through guided imagery to meet a wise being that knows the solution to the disease. The two can be left together for a period of time to converse with each other.

A Case History.

A woman client was suffering from painful knees. In a relaxed state she explored the cause and intuitively recognised she was refusing her next steps in life. It is no coincidence that the pain was
located in the area of the body that moves her forward. She decided during the session to take these steps and start a new career. When my hands were placed on the soles of her feet a strong healing force came into her body producing in her a large amount of spontaneous body movement. After the session the pain had gone in both knees. I believe that her change of mind allowed the healing energy to come into her.

This short paper cannot adequately cover all the powerful techniques that are now available for healing the cause of diseases. For further reading I would recommend Spiritual Healing-Miracle or Mirage by Alan Young, and Self Imagery – Creating Your Own Good Health by E.E. Miller, M.D.

Michael Dawson