Total Health: Body, Mind and Soul, Essay Example

Introduction

Mind, body and soul are based on the existence of the principle of dualism that the physical world is a poor reflection of the true spiritual world. Plato’s goal was to elevate the conscious world into a more mystical and spiritual presence. There is the idea that we cannot fully know anything beyond our own psyche. Dualism is associated with a belief in God or Theism “wherefore the fate of a person does not have a meaningless existence that would end in extinction.” (Kazlev1998). Metaphysical Dualism is Moral Dualism and stands by the principle that there are two principles the spirit and the matter. It is based on old Medieval Persian belief systems that are obsessed with the belief of the Light or Jesus and the existence of Satan. There is a danger though for extreme totalitarian to take over hence even denying that the soul exists separate from the body. The purpose of this thesis is to explain how these principles play a role in the description and function of the complete body, mind and soul with relation to the professional practise of metaphysics.

The importance of a belief in the non-physical existence in healing is attributed to substance dualism where the immortal souls have an independent realm of existence apart from the physical world. The significance of this is that the existence cannot be materially attributed but it does exist. Property dualism suggests that there is an importance when such exists because mental properties emerge through organized consciousness of matter. The mental and the physical existence seem to have very distinct differences between properties. Mental properties are laid out very subjectively whereas physical properties to not have that ability to attract such subjectivity.

There is one issue that needs to be explained which brings rise to the fact that if consciousness exists quite independently from the physical world of reality or the brain how are physical memories created using the consciousness. Dualism for the most part fails to state how the conscious and the physical work together. A very simple explanation of how something immaterial affects something material is if a person receives a burn on their finger and as a result feels pain. Therefore this explanation would give rise to a philosophical explanation rather than a scientific explanation. As suggested through information provided and research, I strongly believe that the physical and the consciousness can work together effectively in a most abundant physical sense to guide the mind, body and soul into healing itself.

“Our thoughts inspire action and our bodies and soul transform the thoughts into reality.” Research shows that the human body cannot implement thoughts into reality without the help of the body and soul simultaneously. (Jade, 2008). Soul, mind and body working together have extreme forces to heal with such extreme forces that there is no need for Western medication. Energy is as large as the universe itself and flows through energy circles in the physical world influencing the mental world and the soul. “ The Ren and Du meridians create vertical energy flows promoting the healing process of internal organs.” (Sha 2006).  It is through these energy forces that the mind, body and soul work together to make mystical healing a very powerful alternative to modern Western medicine.

“Jesus did his healings in the context of Isaiah 53:5 accroding to Matthew 8:17. This healing was based on an atonement between God and human beings brought about through life, death and the resurrection of his only Son Jesus Christ.” The atonement principle was based on humans making amends for their personal sins. Such amends is extremely relevant to internal healing of the spiritual soul. (Spiritual Healing of the Body).

Mystic healing as an alternative to orthodox medicine has proved to be more gentler than traditional means of Western healing methods. After World War II the use of tradional medicine for safe surgery, medical science and the treating of infections were put ahead of mystical uses and alternative medical practises were put on the back burner. The New England Journal of Medicine has posted results of telephone conversations with randomly selected adults that postured to having used alternative methods of traditional medicine at the rate of 1:3 in the past year. “In 1990 there were 425 million visits to unconventional therapists which exceeded the 388 million visits to primary-care physicians.” (Angell, 1997). Harding feels that alternative medicine is forced nature and throwing out years of practical scientific evidence is incongruent to the process of healing. Further “science is the only means we have to sort out the truth from perceived reality.” (Angell 1997).  Good scientists will attest the tradition of alternative medication.

Changes in energy flow in life are necessary for the harmonization and maintenance of psycho physiological functioning of a human being. Homeopathy, mind/body medicine, light therapy and magnetic field therapy all work together to use these methods for promoting mystical healing. This principle is unique to the direct contact between the patient and the healing agent used to produce such results.

Review of Literature

“The Art of Spiritual Healing is the touch of God in Man’s Soul” (Goldsmith, 1959). Until the turn of the century the prerogative to healing was based on medicine and doctors but now the Church is turning to spiritual healing of the mind, body and soul. Physical healing is not the prominent healing needed but only a small facet of healing needed. Spiritual healing is a mental healing far greater than one can experience within the realms of himself alone. It encompasses a full healing of the inner self and produces an inner glow that shines through giving youth, vitality and further is considered a gift from God. Joel Goldsmith’s teachings contribute to the spiritual awakening of humanity and the transparencies of the light that God has to offer to those who choose to surrender (2004).

Dyer states that there is a spiritual solution to every problem (2003) and further St. Francis states that when a person experiences injury or harm they have been disconnected from God. St. Francis chose not to heal himself because he wanted the world to know it was not he that did the healing but God. When healing occurs it is like bringing the body as one with the consciousness of God. God wants you to believe in miracles and let go of your conscience ability to make things happen and let him make things happen.

A medical doctor McGarey relates to his mother “if you think that you are the one that does the healing you should be scared as a doctor.” (Dyer 2003).  A doctor is a healing force through which God allows people to be healed through a physician’s skilled hands and skilled minds. If you live your way with that plane of thought your body and mind will become instruments of God and you will be able to bring a consciousness to the ill people around you. The presence of love and spiritual energy will lie upon the sick person through the presence of God. “Healing occurs when we approach our own healing power through faith of unconditional love for our self and others. It is said that a perfect love will cast out all fears and bring a strength that is higher than life itself.” (Dyer 2003). When you facilitate the energy of spirituality and the healing process you have the power to heal. This can be accomplished by focusing your energy on the ‘energy itself’ rather than the actual illness or disease. Often the Prayer “St. Francis of Assisi” is used to bring spiritual healing to a person. (Dyer 2003).

If we create peace and harmony in our lives it then becomes reality for us and everyone that is affected by our lives. Though people may have influence on our lives, no one can take control over our thoughts. “What we believe about our life becomes true for us”. (Kelly, 1990). If we react to outer experiences they are just reactions to our inner thoughts. Something in your thought pattern attracts people towards you hence it can be a positive or a negative attraction. “When we create peace and harmony in our lives it becomes a reality in our lives.” (Kelly1990).  In contrast if we feed ourselves negative thoughts we will act out with negative actions in our lives and our spiritual lives will be hampered as such. If we allow others to influence our thoughts we lose control over our spiritual being and our lives. We will in fact lose our peace and harmony in our life and our life will become out of control and we will have a lack of harmony within our self. It will show in our life through our mannerisms and our lack of faith and lack of peace.

Often people state that they are confused about the existence of God or whether God is working in their life. We realize that the world is full of powers of mystery that is unexplainable. A simple thing like a curling iron not coming on may prompt us to say, “Oh God, help me please!”.  Then we realized that God did not help us with our curling iron and we thought that God does not help us when we need him most. Though at times when we may have a child that is very ill and the child has not much hope without the prayers of God and others and we lift it up to the Lord with all faith in God because there is no other thing we can control and suddenly the child is healed. This is the work of God through our prayers and others prayers. Works as such help to reveal that God is a powerful force of reality in our lives. Agnes Sanford states that God has the power to work through us and he is omnipotent (1947). God further does not break his own laws when he helps us he rather enforces his rule through inevitable presences such as the sunrise and through his miracles he creates for people and further through the presence of His Kingdom. If we adapt our thinking to the Laws of Love and Faith our life will prosper towards a more meaningful commonplace in which we can live with the natural flow of spiritual guidance and fullness. Sanford states that “he has seen pneumonia destroyed in less than fifteen minutes by the miracle of day and night and the presence of sunrise and nightfall.” (Sanford 1947).  These cosmic forces beyond the realm of man are unlimited miracles that are within the hands of spiritual forces that are readily available through faith and power of belief of a higher being.

When a scientist looks to understand science he looks to the simplest form of something hence when we look to understand mysticism we look to its simplest form which is understanding consciousness. The methodological principle to understand something is going to its simplest form and building your way upwards.  “Mystical experiences represent the simplest form of human consciousness.” (Shear 1999). When one reaches the level of consciousness that he is aware of it illuminates through his thoughts, feelings and actions. This is known as ‘purusha’ or ‘sheer content less presence’ that is often non-intentional. (Larson, 1979, p. 77). The ‘self’ emerges as it is not engaged in taking objects because the self becomes aware of its presence. This is through obliterating consciencessness from objects or things. Pure Consciousness suggests that the object is not one of culture but rather one of definite experience. Researchers suggest that if we can understand how to tie perceptions and thoughts together then we will be able to understand consciousness “ipso facto”. Consciousness appears even without awareness of its existence.

The unitive mystical state was explained with relation to consciousness by German idealist Malwilda von Meysenberg. “He was alone at the seashore and felt that he had transcended into a state of consciousness of unity. There was a unity of the heavens and the earth into one vast circling harmony.” (Shear 1999). There are no definitive boundaries that exist between consciousness and a specific object. This suggests that Nirvana can be a permanent change in a person’s mental make-up. There are several implications of our understanding of consciousness. Strikingly parallel to the physical field of energy is a quantum vacuum field of which to reside the basis of all matter. These are imminent and transcendent to any particular expression. Unity holds with it the idea that consciousness may be connected to any physical nature in the universe permeating all levels of being. It should further be noted that not everyone who practises meditation will experience mysticism. “Mystical experiences point towards an awareness and the functional processes of sensation, process and thought.” (Shear1999).  One must tap into these given senses.

Ken Keyes (1975) developed a way of reprogramming your mind to rid the negative thoughts that may have influenced you throughout your life into adulthood and filter in changing negative addictions to the here an now based on having control over them and making them a ‘preference’ rather than an addiction. We all have choices over how we want our life to become and do not have to run victim to influences from our past. This can be accomplished through a series of learning our inner self and teaching our self to love our self through the grace of God. We do not have to be prisoner to our past or past influences. Just as one might say we are genetically dependent to become an alcoholic because our parents’ were alcoholics are dependent to be abusers because our parents’ were abusers. That does not mean we have to continue the viscous cycle into our adult life. Through intervention and faith we can make choices and live happy and healthy lives.

Shaki Gawain (1979) focuses on self-help books that enforce spiritual growth through visualization techniques. She suggests taking fifteen minutes in the morning and evening to meditate with hopes of focusing on positive things in your life in order to create positive, conscious power in your life. Negative powers in your life can last a long time and may be difficult to break so don’t give up so easy.

Louise Hay (1988) suggest that behind every disease is a negative thought force and that force can be overcome with a positive spirituality force. The force of a positive spiritual sense can overcome just about any negative situation in your life.

Extraordinarily Joel Goldsmith (1962) interjected to his students not to pray for certain things to God but to pray only for the consciousness of God for God would take care of things as they would best be suited. He focuses on the effective way to pray. Further he teaches “the secret of harmonious living is the development of spiritual consciousness. In that consciousness, fear and anxiety disappear, and life becomes meaningful with fulfilment as its keynote.” (Practising the Presence).

I agree with the philosophy of Agnes Sanford (1949) that the power of love can heal all because I honestly feel that this was probably one of the strongest bases of spirituality that commenced in the earlier years. Believing that power is coming through the force of the light and love that God offers is the first step towards becoming one with the body, soul and mind. Agne’s word possesses the core that is needed to achieve the unity of healing.

Methodology

The Western viewpoint denies the very existence of spiritual and metaphysical thought because it is simply easier to flow with the known existence of Western medication and traditional modes of thinking and believing. Reducing the existence of physical terms is very essential to the continued obscured reality of rejecting minds. Platonist thinking has been discarded by Muslim intellectuals in order to batter traditional Islamic thoughts and traditions. Scientific investigations are simply a lot easier to prove than the existence of metaphysical and spiritual thoughts. The entire ancient world was founded on the basis of sacred text of the Quran, the Bible and the Vedas. “All great modes of thinking have developed on the basis of metaphysics and spirituality.” There is a concept of joining scientific principalities with those of spirituality to gain a full sense of wholeness; the art of bringing together all noumena and phenomena.” (The Horizon of Hope:  Spiritual or Metaphysical Thought). “The only way to fully comprehend and value life and existence is to experience existence through the prism of spirit and metaphysical thinking. Neglect of this way means forcing reason to comment on things beyond its reach and imprisoning intellectual effort within the confines of sense-impressions. But when we heed the sound of our conscience or inner world, we perceive that the mind is never content and satisfied with mere sense-impressions.” (The Horizon of Hope:  Spiritual or Metaphysical Thought).

If you are feeling like there is a struggle in your life chances are that there is friction between your conscious desires and your subconscious beliefs. In order to achieve a balance you must first believe there is something revolutionary beyond the physical in life. All matter in the world is made of a sea in infinite possibilities and the non-physical is engaging in the study of nature in its basic form. When you decide to undertake the spiritual or metaphysical aspect of life you find yourself asking questions such as “Is there a God or What is one’s free will and is it connected to the basic mind-body relation?” Epistemology is connected to the study of metaphysical because it peers into what knowledge do we know about anything at all and how can that knowledge be justified? Further studies on ethics and logic play an important role in metaphysics because it peers into what is good and bad and how do we decide if a piece of information is based on good or bad reasoning? Studies in philosophy have bee essential to the understanding of the metaphysical such as the philosophical teachings of Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Hume and Marx. Philosophy deals with the understanding of principles and how others have understood the principles in history.

Studies have shown that certain types of food delivered to juvenile delinquents have played a role in their behavioural patterns. Food is the life force and water is the speech of fire for the body. Religious scripture is a food for the mind and soul. The amount of trust we put in an individual can be a limiting factor to our spiritual growth further taking us away from the infinite power of faith that awaits us. Faith has the power to change your life in miraculous ways you may have never seen. “Sir Edmund Hillary became the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest but only after falling several times.” (Faith and Belief).

It is very easy to have faith when situations in your life are going very well but having faith through difficult times takes a strong commitment to your spiritual bond with God. This is what defines true faith and spiritualism.

Studies of spiritualism show that truth, righteousness, love, peace and non-violence are all factors related to spiritual traditions. Human values are learned throughout life and unveiled through spiritual essence, cross-cultural expressions and a person’s individual experiences which reflect our motivations for our behaviours. I can remember a time when I was a child of the timid age of thirteen and my younger first cousin lay dying in the local Children’s Hospital with fatal Cystic Fibrosis Disease. I did what I had been taught all of my young age which was to go to church and pray for him. I remember riding my bicycle approximately five miles to get to the nearest Catholic Church to be alone with God to pray for young Jonah to survive through his latest tainted episode. The doctor’s said he was not going to make it home from this trip to the hospital and I did not want to believe this and I was a strong believer in God so I went to god with faith in mind to ask God for his help. Upon arriving at the church I parked my bicycle on the side of the church and entered alone with complete solace and knelt in the pew and began to pray. I was all alone in the huge church and not a pin could you hear drop. Suddenly upon me I felt the strangest feeling that God was present in the church but instead of praying for God to save Jonah and keep him with us for a bit longer I decided to pray to God to do what he thought was best for Jonah and if that was for Jonah to go to Heaven and end his pain then that shall be his will and not mine and I would certainly accept that. As I left the church I was very sad but as a thirteen year old I felt this inner peace that God had heard my prayers and would take care of Jonah, age 9. Needless to say, cousin Jonah died two short days later. I was so sad. I began to feel angry at God after Jonah’s death because I wanted him back with us but then I realized that this was a selfish request because Jonah was in Heaven with God and was no longer suffering to breathe, no longer having to take treatments to breathe and no longer having to wonder if tomorrow would be his last breath. At the young age of thirteen I had experienced my first true selfless experience with God and the spiritual world. Throughout life I have experienced many of the same feelings as that same day and have often doubted the presence of God many times but I have in fact seen God work miracles in my life. One thing I do know for sure is that God does give me the necessities in life and may not always give me what I want but will always give me what I need. This is the power of faith that has worked in my life thus far.

Another touching story I have seen through the miracle of spiritualism not necessarily the presence of religion but the faith of a supernatural is a situation with the law when a neighbourhood friend of my mother’s son was accused of raping a younger girl. He and the girl were dating in high school; he age 17 and she age 14. This relationship was present for about 2 years until the parent’s of the girl found out and though the child might be pregnant for the young man. The father of the daughter got especially upset when they found out the young man was of black colour and their daughter was of white colour. The small town they reside in is a very small Southern prejudiced backwards small-thinking town. The young man had already graduated and gone on to commence his college career. His parents’ were upstanding people of the small community but the girls parents had tight connections with the law in the town and pressured the situation with pressing charges against the young man for statutory rape.  Without giving full legal details, the father of the young man is a bus driver in the town and was about to quit his job for embarrassment and stress due to the nature of the charge against his son but instead he held strong through faith and prayer from the community. His son was looking at a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison which would ruin his life. Evidence came out that the mother of the young girl knew the two children were having sex and actually did not try to stop the relationship. This weakened the prosecutions case and showed that perhaps the charges were brought through a racial and vindictive nature by the young woman’s parents. The charges are still pending but through the grace of God which is working through the attorneys’ the trial has been getting postponed over and over again which is certainly in faavor of the young man. The whole town is supporting the young man and his family in hopes that he will be found not guilty or receive a small probation. Of course, the two children will not be able to see each other again but by the grace of God he is able to carry on his life thus far.

Spiritualism does not always necessitate a positive outcome as detailed in one of my stories. The belief that we will accomplish something one day or things will work out for the best according to God’s well or a higher powers will is the basis of spiritualism-Let Go and let God!

Findings

Dr. Deepak Chopra has been infinite at bringing the understanding of spirituality from the East to Western Culture. In his 1989 book Quantum Healing he tells us that our bodies are fields if information, intelligence and energy involving the healing of consciences of healing the mind, body and soul. Even with this revolution spiritualism is still in its infancy stage because people are more open to traditional medicinal ways. Spiritual healing is accomplished through a force other than that of a physical nature. It is often inferred that laughter can make one well. Lester Robinson from Pennsylvania stated ‘they told me I was not going to live but God overruled them.’  The key factor is to see what is in store for yourself and others in your life.

Deepak’s seminar on the quantum mechanical body and mind spoke of a conference in Boston defining the mind-body connection whist the practical implications were not so important but rather how we perceive things. Our sensory experiences tests what is actually real; hence if we can see it is real. The crisis of perception is what we create our material universe to be. For example an initial sensory experience may make us believe that is the limit of the universe. In India they tie a baby elephant to a tiny flimsy rope. When the elephant grows up you can tie the elephant to a tree and it will snap the rope. But if you tie the elephant to the tree with the flimsy rope it will stay because it has made a commitment to stay, a premature cognitive commitment in it’s body and mind to structure it’s reality.

At Harvard Medical a group of kittens were presented with vertical stripes and one with horizontal stripes in different rooms. As they grew up they could only see what they grew up with. There were no nervous system brain connections to see other stimuli other than what they were exposed to, the sensory perception. Our initial sensory experience and interpretation structures the nervous system. It is accomplished through reinforcement over the years. Seeing is believing is not true rather believing is seeing is true! Our nervous systems are programmed to take in bits of perceptions rather than the whole system.

In order for a person to experience healing through spiritualism they must be in an ideal healing condition; one that promotes a peaceful ambiance and free of negativism. The person must feel the innate ability to relax and consume him/herself in the freedom to be one with nature. Nature is a sign of peace of mind and one of true healing.  That is why when a person goes to a counsellor for therapy the therapist creates an environment that is safe which creates a freedom and security for the person being counselled.

Deepak Chopra recommends ridding your body of emotional toxins to experience a true sensation of spirituality. You must first realize that you are responsible for changing your own life then feel the feelings. Realize what the emotions are then share it with a loved one. Further release the emotions with a loved one and then give yourself a treat for doing so by going out and celebrating the release of the negative energy.

There are secrets of spiritual healing that can free you says Doctor Gibson. Many world class healers illustrate on a mental and spiritual level that self-healing can take place in healthy ways instead of using psychiatric medications. A child had been depressed and a psychiatrist asked the question if the mother had had abortions before giving birth to the child. This child’s spiritual sense was still alive and had experienced these abortions and was angry with the mother. The psychiatrist recommended speaking to the child about the previous abortions. The mother spoke to the psychiatrist days later and stated the child had experienced a new perspective and was not angry anymore. This was a between-life stage of allopathic to spiritual. Now the mother has a better relationship with the child through the essence of apology and spiritual healing. There was no need for traditional Western medication that most doctors would have prescribed.

The mind, body and spirit can be healed in ways that have never been spoken about in public before. Psychiatrist Mitchell Gibson states that illness comes through the body and we should look for spiritual causes rather than effects. We should look to the forces that come together to create disease.

“In Hinduism no human relationship is closer than that of the mother and child. It best mirrors our relationship with God. India itself is looked upon as the Mother. The Hindu religion itself is regarded as a mother and its teachings are her milk.” (Fawley 2009). In contras, followers of the Catholic religion believe the Father at the top of the list to worship.  Hindu’s live by the principle that “However, man is blinded by his ignorance and his concern with the externalities of the world. He is caught, enthralled, bound by karma.” (The Goal of Life and the Spiritual Path).

Reiki is derived from God’s wisdom and life force energy. Reiki treats the whole body including the mind, spirit and emotions leaving behind a sense of relaxation and security. There is no dogma attached to the practice hence anyone can be successful at the therapy. Dr. Mikao Usui, founder of Reiki firmly believes that in order to reap the full benefits of the therapy a client must take full responsibility for the healing and take an active part in the healing process. The principle behind Reiki is aligning yourself with a Higher Self or true harmony. The practitioner simply places his/her hands on the client so that the energy will flow from the practitioner to the one in need of healing. The idea is to cover all parts of the body evenly and slowly to distribute the energy.

“Therapeutic Touch (TT) practitioners, (a.k.a. healers) believe that a Universal Life Force Energy flows freely in, through, and out of the body when a person is healthy. But illness, pain, injury etc can interrupt or unbalance this life force. Skilled practitioners believe that they can detect these fluctuations by passing their hands above the patient’s body. The energy imbalances can be equalized, and a contribution made to the patient’s healing. There are about 40,000 practitioners in the world. As of 1988, TT was taught in 80 colleges and universities in the U.S. and in 65 foreign countries.” (Therapeutic Touch:  Healing or Hoax?).  The theory is used in the form of gently gliding the hands over the body ‘without actually touching the body’. The practitioner will then decide where the energy flow is ‘blocked’ and use such techniques of acupressure and aromatherapy. “Tapping essentially calls for using the forefinger and index finger to lightly tap on specific points on the face, upper chest, and hand in order to facilitate release from negative emotional or physical factors that are causing difficulty for the patient.” (What is Therapeutic Touch Therapy?).  This method is used to facilitate energy through therapeutic touch.

Medical practitioners have been experimenting with Chi Gong for the past twenty-five years with efforts to approve acupuncture as a legitimate form of therapy. Americans are consonantly trying to figure out how and why something works but the Chinese are quite happy with the idea that something actually works! The principle of Chi Gong is to determine where the energy flow has become despondent and to fix the situation to return the body back to it’s normal function. This practise is acupuncture without the use of needles. Infared, magnetic, acoustical and electrical forms of energy are used to promote the natural healthy flow of energy in a person’s body. This practise is used to regain strength, improve appetite, free irregular defecation amongst other ailments known to man. Further practises have been done to return a patient to normal liver function with a 45% success rate.

Discussion

Studies suggest that the discussion of spirituality in medicine is a sticky topic for doctors because the subject is not incorporated into their studies in medical forms and the basis of spirituality cannot be scientifically defined as in medicine. Spirituality is about taking hold of a damaged spirit and reclaiming it and making it whole again. Often psychiatrists use spirituality programs as recommendations whilst prescribing medications to patient’s for full recovery. Further it’s about realizing you only have control over yourself and not others. You only have control over your own thinking and behaviour as a result of that thinking.

Life is a continuous journey of paradoxes that we cannot escape hence the way we view life and its trajectories and handle the situations determines the amount of stress and happiness we will have in our life. Having a strong sense of spirituality in our life will ease the burden and pain in our life when difficult times arise.

When applied properly in your life metaphysics will work from a cause and effect premise. Your health, mental functioning, business affairs, friendships and other affairs will simply improve. Applying metaphysics with the use of prayer and mediation in your life on a regular basis will compliment your life in more ways you can imagine. “That the finding of spiritual truth begins with intuitive recognition of the intellectual reality of spiritual truths, but is only an individ­ualized reality when mystically accepted and experienced as the first priority of one’s life.” (The Centre for Awakening Spiritual Growth).

Sardello speaks of confronting fear with all your might in order to free your soul from fear. It is through actually facing our fears that we rid our soul of the fears that taunt us. One must have an imagination to see the world in a different view one that is free from fear. This freedom is accomplished through participating in freeing the soul rather than running away from the fear itself. In order to achieve a true nirvana or sense of harmony in your life there must not be any taunting fears that restrict freedom and happiness.

Ernest Holmes (1961) speaks about the science of mental healing in his book The Science of the Mind.  Perhaps his philosophy provides one of the most detailed and strongest arguments for the metaphysical practises. “Both medical doctors and spiritualists come to the agreement that there is a constant flow of ideas in our minds and that ours are for the asking.” (Holmes, 1926). People put too much emphasis on the material source of an idea rather than thinking outside the box of their own interpretation beyond the obvious interpretation. God is the source that we have come to believe is responsible for creating everything, causing everything and an idea becoming true through him. A great example of the expression of God is through the source of electricity. Electricity is an invisible source yet it is projected to make light, energy and other mediums, yet it still remains invisible. This contributes to the power of self-consciousness and living as seen through electricity and the use of mathematics to create forms of medium with electricity. “Man must make use of the conscious forces within him to and give force to the evolutionary forces around him.” (Holmes 1961).

Just as the discoveries of laws are laid on by accident so are the revelations of spirituality of the mind. No one has ever literally seen the science of a mind or spirituality yet we believe that they exist. As we process our thoughts they become part of our memory and this happens over and over again subjectively. As miracles happen in our life and we see the presence of God and spirituality creating these things we reference them as miracles or unexplained phenomena in our life.  Just as suggestions planted in the subconscious mind become part of the memory for tangible things in our life, the same can happen for intangible beliefs. Research shows that certain types of thoughts produce certain types of results or behaviours in our lives such as positive reinforcements or healing of the sick. God is a Universal Medium through which all of our thoughts and ideas pass. With that in mind things happen for a reason but keep in mind God gives us a choice in life to make good and bad decisions. The concept is that man comes from God and there is a conscious mind that controls the sub-conscious and the body. There is a common knowing through the Unity of knowing “The Father Dwelleth in Me.”. (Holmes 1961). The Soul is another medium through which the Spirit operates to achieve harmony. The subjective mind does not purport illusions but often yields images to protect the psyche. It is through true union with the self of spirituality that one if free to see his true conscious.

The idea that our mental can be healed through positive thinking is surrounded by the idea that our mind is one of an Infinite Mind that reacts to our personal thoughts. Despite living in a world of Law and Order faith has healed contrary to the principles of Law. Hence we assume that God is not of human form. Why do some people’s prayers get answered and not others? The answer is simply because some have reached their full capacity of belief in their mental attitude where as the others that prayed simply have not believed in full. Prayer induces a certain mentality and a certain Law of the Universe. As man’s mental health is healed so will his physical body be healed?  “The Complete Nature of God is reflected in man, and he uses the same law that God uses; for there is but One Law, as there is but One Spirit. Both God and man use the same Creative Medium or the Universal Subjectivity. It is the law of all thought and all action. Things come from One Source through One Common Law and One Common Creative Medium. We think of our lives as One with the Whole on all three planes of expression. We are one with the Conscious Mind, one with the Creative Law, and in our bodies we are one with all matter.” (Holmes 1961).

“One of the most illuminating things that mysticism has revealed, is that evil is not an ultimate reality. Evil is simply and experience of the soul on its journey toward Reality; it is not an entity but an experience necessary to self-unfoldment; it is not a thing of itself but simply a misuse of power. It will disappear when we stop looking at, or believing in, it.” (Holmes, 1961). Further if you turn your life to God all of your burdens will disappear. Mystics have sensed a deeper meaning of true Reality than the average person. “They have all agreed that the soul is on the pathway of experience, that is, of self-discovery; that it is on its way back to its Father’s House; and that every soul will ultimately reach its Heavenly Home. They have taught the Divinity to Man.” (Holmes 1961). It would be safe to say one should listen to his Inner Voice for guidance under what a mystic believes.

Reality is part of an all-comprehending mind realizing that the relative is part of a whole experience of the inner self. It is important not to deny the relative because it is not absolute hence “time, space, outline, form, change, movement, action and reaction, manifestation and creation, all are relative; but all are real.” (Holmes 1961).

With respect to evil it is real and will dissipate in the same proportion that we choose to let it go in our lives. We must rid evil from our lives by ceasing to talk about it and from doing it in our lives. We will be punished for our sins so as long as we start doing good we will not be punished. Man must choose what fruit he wishes to eat from the Garden of Eden or what life he wishes to live. We will be saved by the Grace of God to the extent that we believe that God can save us. Through the use of visualizing we can make things happen in our life. The power of thought is very moving.

Holmes further suggests it is through the use of meditations that the body, mind and soul can be healed. This is one of my favourites which depict cleansing of the body so that energy can flow through the body to heal itself.

Summary and Conclusions

Kevin Wilbur summarizes the seven major points of perennial philosophy as being the existence of a spirit, the spirit lives within us, we are living in a world of sin or one of a duality state, there is a way out or a path to liberation, we must follow this path to liberation if we want to experience a re-birth, there is an end to the suffering and finally “issues in social action of mercy and compassion on behalf of all sentient beings.” (Roger 2007).

Wilbur created neo-perennial philosophy by combining Aldous Huxley’s philosophies with cosmic evolution philosophies. He believed similar to Sri Aurobindo that reality is non-dual and develops over time. Some of his philosophies were seriously criticized but later he brought other philosophies to light to support his original thoughts and findings. He supports his findings with philosophy, mathematics and spirituality. His mentality is that we have access to the universe through our own conscience mind and the purpose of our life is to become one with a Universal Consciousness or one with God. This can be accomplished through the practise of mediation through which the body expresses itself most abundantly and expressively. God expresses himself to us at our subconscious level. Further God is responsible for how we materialize our thoughts. Going back to the traditional teachings of Jesus we are taught to express ourselves by the manner in which Jesus lived. Seeking a spiritual self with God at any level will unite us with our fellow human beings.

Let’s briefly explore the ramifications and influence of the mystical and spiritual world on facts of marriage and divorce and the level of recovery this metaphysical presence can have on those going through such stressful time in their life. With any stressful situation in life metaphysical can aid in relieving stressful toxins from the body and bringing peace and harmony to the self. However, I will examine the direct connection with divorce proceedings and the aftermath relating to the benefits of practising mysticism during these difficult times.

Divorce is one of the highest rated situations in a person’s life. It can bring unwanted stress related illness to a person’s life. Paying attention to your emotional needs and trying to relax is one of the most beneficial things you can do for yourself during this stressful time. Another thing to consider is taking up some physical activity and joining some self-help groups to keep your mind occupied. During this period your mind and spirituality is prone to be at its weakest point. There will be all sorts of feelings running through your entire body that you may not be accustomed to feeling but there is help that can minimize the effects on your mind, body and soul-metaphysical spiritualism.

Rumination can cause health effects and mental problems. Having a strong sense of spiritualism can help to change the way you think about your anger, hurt and other strong feelings associated with divorce. Often it is during time of great distress that we have an ‘awakening’ to renew our spirituality. Further we begin to explore our inner self and our weaknesses and strengths and decide it is time to build a new life. In order to heal from divorce a person must go through the steps of “acceptance, surrender, divine guidance, responsibility, choice, forgiveness, and creation.” (Ford 2009).  Pain can act as a pre-determinate to self-discovery. In order to get closer to God we should take responsibility for our feelings, feel them then let them go. This notion will allow us to feel softer inside and get closer to God during this trying time. “The overarching theme here is transformation — finding the alchemy of meaning and wholeness in the midst of loss, disappointment, and frustration.” (Ford 2009).

The whole image of divorce is against the vows of marriages so we wonder how we can think in a Godly manner when referring to divorce. This is when you should look at the reason why the divorce is taking place and if it is for a good reason remind yourself of that and if it is not for a good reason then remind yourself that it is not your fault and you will get through this rough time with the grace of God because God has something more special in store for you in the long haul. Though you may not see God’s purpose at present it will surely surface one day soon because God does not want you to be unhappy-take one day at a time or even one minute at a time if you have to as in 12 step programs. Twelve step programs are not religious based but spiritual based.

“With the experience of spiritual healing there is a fundamental transformation of the mind and personality that is healed.” (Minjiras, 2001). There must be a surrender of the ego and active participation through the art of participation to heal the soul. The hope is to lift the consciousness to a level with God where spiritual energy is allowed to flow freely through the body and back to that of God. It is not simply good enough to think good thoughts but one must actively maintain a state of awareness during the entire healing session for the consciousness and flow of energy to be transferred. “A person’s mind will be open to a new way of perceiving reality.” (Minjiras 2001). This feeling of peacefulness is often referred to as a feeling of love. The reason church’s are used for healing is because they present an atmosphere that is relaxing and free of any unpleasant sensory stimuli. “As demonstrated in the placebo-effect the confidence in treatment can certainly influence the acceptance of theoretical explanations for medical science wonders.” (Minjiras 2001). Further the unexplained healings by Jesus are great examples of the consciousness and the healing. Jesus has laid his hand upon the blind and they were able to see and further healed lepers. This demonstrates a clear linkage between the “outward healing of the body and the internal language and experience of the consciousness.” (Minjiras 2001). The implied meaning of the Bible is often difficult to interpret in a physical sense but if we look deeper into the philosophical meaning behind the verses of the Bible we will see that there are insights to consciousness transformation transpiring during those times. Anything in this world that possesses an external meaning is capable of having an internal explanation. The most important factor to remember with this thesis is that consciousness and healing are interconnected thorough a force that is unexplainable to man.

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