BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality New Age Healing And Dis-ease

Greetings!

I've just finished my review of the Healing Cards deck by Caroline Myss and Peter Occhiogrosso, with illustrations by Janice Fried.

I'm interested in exploring dis-ease, suffering, and healing. What are your thoughts on the cause and purpose of dis-ease? Of healing? Are we are own healers, does it come from the Divine, or are we partners together in wellness? What does it mean to be well? To be healed?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and insights! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Hiya, Janet! How's my favorite Hostess with the Mostess feeling today????

Wow..you've picked a great topic. Healing and disease and where they come from. Can I preference my comments by saying that spiritual 'enlightenment' doesn't mean we have to chuck our good ol' common sense out the window? LOL <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Oy vez....sometimes I wonder if God sits up there, shaking It's head, and thinking "Uh, hello? You know that muscle between your ears that I gave you?? You want to trying USING it?" LOL <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> Sorry, but I just couldn't resist....so many of my friends on any number of different spiritual paths get 'funny' sometimes (and I don't mean the 'ha ha!' kinda funny!)

I think disease can manifest from any number of different causes. Yes, I think it is possible that we can sicken our bodies through unhealthy choices in diet, exercise, and lifestyle. I think we can create illnesses through unhealthy emotional/spiritual stuff like unforgiveness, bitterness, stress, and rage. I also believe we can be subjected to things in the environement that can make us ill. We can be born with a certain disposition towards a particular ailment. And lastly, I believe that at times we can be 'attacked' with illness from a dark place in the spirit realm.

It's unfortunate that so many of the 'experts' try to pin all illness as self inflicted somehow. (whether New Age or Christian or whatever) That can lead to alot of guilt and confusion. That and the idea that one is being "punished" or "taught a lesson" through horrible physical problems. Additionally, I've been around those that think EVERYTHING negative is the 'boogey' man out to get them, and quite honestly, it can be annoying. :angel: LOL I think the key words here could be 'balance' and 'prudence' and 'insight'.

Now, regarding healing, I think ultimately all LIFE comes from the Divine but it can come in different forms. Perhaps through a new piece of information regarding a dietary change. Maybe in response to the prayer offered by a friend. How about FINALLY letting go of something that happened 10 years ago, and offering forgiveness? And while I'm totally into holistic approaches, how about through a doctors' skilled treatment???

My feeling is that if we ask for wisdom and guidance, it will be given. And that every situation and every person should be looked at on an individual basis, instead of sort of piled up in a generalized "well, you're doing it to yourself so get over it" group.

These would strickly be my opinions, of course! <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Janey
LOL I don't know why I love this little queenie icon so much. Which I could add it to all my email!

Dang, these are deep questions! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Is this interest because of having IBS?(Or is that too personal? Sorry if it is. Sherlock is really on the loose today. ) I agree with a lot of what you said Janey. It's a mystery to me, honestly. I don't know what the purpose is or where it comes from.

I really like Myss' idea that disease is caused by emotional/spiritual issues, but it can be taken to extremes that aren't helpful too. It's a fine line between taking responsibility for a disease you could have prevented and choosing to take better care of yourself now, and getting bogged down in needless self-blame.

I think we probably have much more self-healing capacity than we believe we do, and I think it helps to have a strong connection to the divine, but I'm not going to shun the doctor or the hospital when I really need it. I don't think God shuns the medical establishment either. I had a very healing - on all levels, emotionally & spiritually, not just physically - experience as a patient in a hospital a few years ago. God was definitely there, as much as with a holistic healer. I think it's cool that we can have access to both.

I don't think being healed/well means being disease-free 100% of the time. Our bodies aren't static, they're not supposed to be, they're always changing, growing, dying. I think being healed is more about being in tune with your body and your spirit, loving yourself, taking care of yourself, being kind to yourself, working with what you've got, learning to go with the flow of your life and be at peace instead of fighting it. Does it make sense? You may have a disease but you can be healed and well. I have a couple conditions but I don't really see myself as diseased, I feel healthy.

Also I think we are not our diseases. I'm noticing with more exposure to the mental health field that sometimes labelling people as diseased is damaging as well as healing. It's so easy to look at someone and see the disease and not the real person. Or to fall into woundology and see yourself as your disease and forget you're much more than that. Maybe that doesn't have anything to do with your questions but it just popped up as I'm typing. :love: Heather

Thanks for your thoughts ladies. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Heather, I've always been a deep thinker. I've been especially interested in healing since my first husband died from leukemia. He was a great guy, very kind, worked out, ate healthfully, took supplements, was a charismatic minister (positive confession/faith stuff) dedicated to God and ministry, and so on and yet, he not only got sick, he suffered horribly.

I'm more than a little irked by people who approach ill people as if they had something to do with their illness and are more eager to place blame than lift burdens. Almost always, these are people who have never been sick with anything serious, which I find interesting.

I know that healing occurs and that miracles happen, but I can't help but feel that a lot of it is a big [censored] shoot, and that we're not as in control of our destiny as we'd like to think--or be. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Hello ladies,

Very interesting subject and one that is dear to my heart. I agree with much of what has already been said and am probably not adding anything new to the discussion. But for what it's worth, here's my two cents' worth.

I am a strong proponent of a holistic approach to both illness and wellness. I believe with all my heart that there is a very definite mind-body connection and that while there is much about getting ill and getting well that is innate (our natural born, genetically-predispositioned *code*, so to speak), I also have come to learn and understand that there is at least as much that we ARE in control of. The key, I believe, is to learn to ask the right questions.

a) What is within our control? (environment, diet, [some] relationships, and to a certain degree, lifestyle, and attitude

b) What is not within our control? (genetics, a wider medical knowledge and expertise, certain environmental factors, the behaviour of others, to name a few)

I am not a religious person at all or a believer (and I hope I am not offending anyone by admitting this here), therefore, for me, faith in a *higher being* does not factor in at all, but I do believe that each one of us has a right and a responsibility to be our own best advocate when it comes to our own well-being. We humans are multi-faceted beings and my own personal belief is that there should never be one black-and-white approach to anything. The more we know, the more we can learn, the more control we will have over decisions we make. It is also essential to learn how to seek advice and help when our own ability to *know* reaches its limit. It's important to find a health practitioner (or more than one) who believes in this, as well, and who is open to new options, perhaps even those outside his or her own area of expertise and who is willing to learn, as well.

I believe in the power of connectedness with others; love, family and friendship (and faith, for some) can often be more healing and powerful than any medical intervention. We are a work in progress; it is essential to our health and well-being in ways that are not even possible to understand, that we continue to be open to all possibilities. The more I live, the more I read, the more I learn from people around me, the more I continue to grow as a person and hopefully, in the process, I will be able to make the right decisions for myself in order to live a long and healthy life. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes and bad choices along the way. We know that. I think that as long as we can recognize that and just move forward, we will be able to pick ourselves up each time we fall and keep going. Or reach out a hand for someone else to help us up.

I have been lucky in my life. I am relatively healthy (but aging...and all that that entails! <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> ), I have a circle of warm, wonderful, close and long-term friends :love: , and a good family (which isn't without its, well, you know, *issues* <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> but still, bottom line is, I know they would always be there for me, and vice-versa). I teach disabled children, which has opened my eyes to a part of life I never knew about before and has given me a perspective on life and the illness/wellness topic that I feel blessed and privileged to be part of. It has put me in daily contact with people of great courage and strength and I have learned to respect, admire and be inspired by those virtues in ways I never imagined.

Thanks, Janet, for opening up this conversation. (Hope I haven't rambled on too long!)

Shelley

Yeah, it's a big [censored] shoot in a lot of ways, isn't it?

Shelley, you most certainly didn't ramble! What a beautiful post. I totally understand what you're saying and concur. It's ironic that you mention about what is in our control and what isn't, because a book I've recently bought from Amazon is:


What You Can Change and What You Can't :...pt Who You Are)

I was actually buying another book of Seligman's, and that title caught my eye. So I bought them both! I'll be reviewing them for the Self Development Channel, but it's good to remind ourselves that we can certainly control how we play our cards. Agonizing about what we're dealt, though, can be very depleting and disempowering in the long run.

Ah, I'm rambling. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I really appreciate the contributions to the thread thus far. Right now I'm watching a newly released DVD of Caroline Myss. It's a double conference: Why People Don't Heal And How They Can and The Three Levels Of Power. I have 3 Levels on audio already (not sure if it's the same content yet) but it's fascinating to watching the Why People... program. Very interesting how we leak energy in our interactions and how that can lead to illness... I'll be reviewing the DVD shortly for the New Age Channel. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />