Articles

In the beginning Ancient Healing was composed primarily of Medicine Men, Shaman, Witch Doctors and the like, many of which have no technical term for their position. There are however many commonalities of their existences.

 

As a general rule they were always very revered and sometimes held in awe and superstition by the members of the community. The Healers also tended to be the priests as well as the healers. There was no separation of classes, such as doctors, educators or priests. Whatever the title bestowed, one individual tended to be all of the previously mentioned.

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In cases where the personage was benevolent and loving, much of the art of the community originated from this one. Most of the healing techniques were derived from or centered on objects in nature, i.e., animals, crystals, or objects connected with the seasons or weather. As a result they worked primarily with ritual and prayer with little true understanding of the absolute nature of what they did. In many cases they worked by trial and error, retaining what worked and what did not. They could be called the earliest spiritual investigators. Without this looking into realms beyond the sensed and seen ones, mankind would still be living in the forests, caves and trees.

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Some Healers realized the power of control this gave them and used to their own ends. Others were very benevolent and used their power to enrich the lives of the entire community.

Most of the practices were kept secret to preserve this power and as a result most of the "common" people were reduced to living lives of relative ignorance of the teachings of spiritual ideas that accompanied some of these systems.

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Many of the Healers were also Seers and Oracles for guidance to the leaders of the communities.

As civilizations became more educated and aware as a whole, so did the Healers, in order to keep ahead of the masses. One of the benefits to this increased knowledge was an increase in the understanding of the powers that were being utilized. As medicine evolved, so did the theology associated with it. The most significant evolution was the Medicine man became to understand and teach the people of "good" as well as "bad" spirits. This began to raise the level of understanding of the masses and bring about much less fear of the spirit realm as well as the Medicine Man. It began to usher in a time of a love and communion with the unseen side. Also realized was a sense of control of ones destiny, allowing the further development of a sense of individuality.

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As can be seen Healers have had a great effect on humanity far beyond attempting to create better personal health.

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Some of the earliest records of healers occur at very formative times in history and one can wonder at the impact on current times by this.

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One of the earliest recorded Healers was what is called a Priest-Physician by the name of Rama. He was a initiate of the wisdom school of the Druids. At that time, men were not usually exposed to the occult knowledge. Women ran all the wisdom schools at the time that had risen from virtual slavery to prominence by the organization of the Druids. As is the way of the time, information and knowledge were kept secret as a means to secure standing.

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Rama was self-taught in the art of healing, mostly by Spirit Intuition and a natural talent for discernment of the unseen and unknown.

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At this time an outbreak of the Black Plague was devastating the race of the Hermans(Celtics). It was believed by the public and promoted by the Druids as a punishment sent by the gods for improper behavior and irreverence to the gods.

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Rama did not believe this and had a talent for making remedies from herbs and other plants. One day while walking in the forest, he fell asleep under a tree and had a dream of a spirit called Asclepius come to him and tell Rama how to prepare a concoction with mistletoe and a gold pruning knife. Rama awoke and prepared this mixture and began to give it to his patients, who began to recover. As a result the people empowered Rama to take over the Schools of Knowledge of the Druids, who had instituted human sacrifices as a way of relieving the plague.

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In the next decade Rama proceeded to conquer most of Northern Europe as well as parts of Asia, manly by offering new and wonderful healing remedies and leaving in place the local civilian government. Also accredited to him are the Aryan calendar and the first writings of the Zodiac signs.

The next notable Healers were a Greek family of physicians by the name of Asclepius. This was in 1200B.C. Curiously enough this is the same name of the Spirit that appeared to Rama 5300 years before! Also in common was the symbol used by both, which survives today, the Caduceus, the symbol of the medical staff of the US army. The healing clan of Asclepius spanned some 200 years of the Greek civilization and was woven into their mythology, traces of which are still in existence today.

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Both Rama and the clan of Asclepius were what were called Priest-Physicians. These individuals were highly educated as well as very spiritual.

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They made no distinction between science, philosophy and religion. Each were supported by the other as an equally balanced expression. They tended to be religious as well as political leaders, shaping the world they lived in, and those about them.

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No history of healing can be complete without some mention of Hippocrates. Many versions abound and many interpretations also flourish. Some say he separated magic and superstition from medicine. In this there is much truth, but to say he separated prayer and spirit healing from this is to be mistaken. Only in the last hundred years have we managed to uncover new facts not known in 3-4,000 BC.   What was given to us by Hippocrates was manly the knowledge of physical science as something not magical or mysterious. He taught common sense and observation to be key elements many times for healing. His bedside techniques are still mimicked today by or own Allopathic Doctors. True service to the sick and dying became a staple and guiding force his practice also. Many say that the Hippocratic oath is derived from his original oath of practice towards his patients. Others say not, but upon close inspection the two are extremely similar. Certainly many of the techniques of diagnosis came from this humble man who lived to a ripe age of 90 and the world was made a better place for his existence. This era was around 460-500 BC.

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The next noted Healer is the first one to exhibit healing exclusively by the power of God, without herbs or ceremony or being based on a belief  system.  This person is Jesus Christ.  Jesus healed at a distance, by contact and by a persons'  belief, or self healing.  No ceremony was necessary or any outer apparatus or assistance.  Jesus Christ is the first recorded case of an individual exclusively performing Spiritual Healing.

Galen was the next physician of note. He was the last of the noted physicians of the Roman period. His techniques built upon Hippocrates’. While lacking the dignity and the understanding of his predecessor showed humanity, his methods dominated the field until the 17th Century AD.

It can easily be seen now how through efforts of healers, not warriors or politicians some of the greatest strides of salvation for humanity have been accomplished. Many of these early healers were persecuted and put to death. Between 1300-1350 AD, more women were put to death for practicing healing than all who died in the German prison-of-war camps in WWII. This was brought about by an edict that unless you had graduated from the College of Surgeons, you were not allowed to practice medicine under pain of death. Only men were allowed to enter the College.

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This brings us to modern day from the pagan era of healing. Many countless others no doubt contributed to the progress, too numerous to name.

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Anyone desiring to enter into this study has a wonderful tradition and work behind and before them.

Books-The Story of Healing; Prophets, Religions and Seers (Peggy Barnes): Twelve World Teacher (Manly P. Hall): The History of Spiritualism (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle); The Heart of Healing (The Institute of Noetic Sciences.)
 

By Reverend Stephen G. Adkins

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In today’s world we hear it said many times that this world is falling apart due to the natural destruction and man made destruction. We have ourselves inundated with it in all forms of the media, TV, Radio, newspaper, even in our break and lunch times at work, our supposed "down time". We hear it at home, work and the ride to and from all of these places. There is no more destruction or mans’ inhumanity to man going on now than in times gone by, it is just in our face much more frequently due to the electronic media.

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The overall effect of it is generally to make us feel angry, insecure, shocked, ashamed, frightened or a combination of all the aforementioned. We usually become numb to it all as it gets more overwhelming. Most of the emotions are instinct driven and are our way of coping with this world. We have tens of thousands of years or more of genetic conditioning in these instincts and are usually the way we automatically deal with this world.

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The antidote to this type of acting is a spiritual perspective, an alternate means of reacting to this world. A spiritual perspective gives us another way to reason out what is going on, another way to view situations and even our relationships. We attempt to look at it within an infinite view of God’s plan for us, with a thought to our infinite spiritual existence. While this does not always give us a complete sense of understanding, it does allow us a chance to put it into some kind of perceptive we can live with, without shutting down, ignoring it or feeling impotent because we can’t immediately do something about it.

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As our individual knowledge and experience grows with spiritual thinking, we many times find ourselves seeking other ways to express our new found convictions in a different religious organization, sometimes to the shock and dismay of others around us who "thought they knew us". As you individually find yourself in this situation, my encouragement is to own your own spiritual direction. God will inspire you to be moved onward and upward as you were intended to be. Spiritual inspiration by God to the individual has been around much longer than organized religion. Your religion should be an expression of your spiritual beliefs, not the other way around. If you are distressed by the religious group you are a part of, how can you expect to project spiritual harmony outward into you daily lives? Very few people I know have stayed with the religion they were raised in.

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I heard an interesting saying this past week, a quote from a book, " the one-tenth of an inch difference between Heaven and Hell is whether we accept the world the way it is or we continually struggle with it".

You can be humble without being on your knees. A spiritual person is not someone who never faces adversity. On the contrary, the more of a spiritual person you are, the more need for you to be in adverse situations, to help others who are less able to help themselves.

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The nature of this world will likely not change in our lifetime. We can make a difference though, one person at a time, starting with ourselves. I have a saying I will share that has helped to not be so critical of others, " I allow people the right to be mistaken nowadays, with out feeling the need to point it out to them".

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I personally embrace a religion that has me believing in a loving God, not a vengeful God. My belief system has no claim of exclusivity in it therefore has no doctrine of conversion. I feel there is God and Truth in all religions. As peoples’ awareness grows so too does their seeking for more truth or at least a greater explanation of spiritual truth.

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I will close with a verse called "On the 23rd Psalm" ;

In "pastures green"?, not always; sometimes He,

Who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth me,

In weary ways, where heavy shadows be.

And by "still waters"? No, not always so;

Oft times the heavy tempests round me blow.

And o’er my soul, the waves and billows go.

But when the storms beat loudest, and I cry,

Aloud for help, the Master standeth by,

And whispers to my soul. "Lo it is I!"

So where He leads me, I can safely go,

And in the hereafter I shall know,

Why in His wisdom He hath led me so.

May God stand between you and harm in all the empty places you must walk.

(An ancient Egyptian blessing)

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No healing ever takes place by chance nor does "Nature' , without reason, overcome the trouble, for every change within us (and every change that takes place in the universe) is the result of law governed forces. If this were not so, science could not advance, for there might always come the unknown factor to upset calculations.

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Therefore it may be helpful to restate the general rules that govern spiritual healing. They are:

1. There must always be a thought application, either as prayer or intercession to set the healing process in motion. Study of healing from all sources and races proves this.

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2. No healing can take place outside the spirit and physical law.

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3. No state of change takes place except by the application of law governed forces to the subject.

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4. Every healing is a planned act. To accomplish this there must be applied intelligence.

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5. To produce a planned result, there must be intelligent administration of the healing forces.

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6. Through the healing of the "incurable" it implies that a wiser intelligence than man's is responsible. If it is not human, then it must come from Spirit.

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7. The spirit intelligences are not omnipotent; they can only work within their knowledge and within the law.

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8. For the reason that the cause of much disease lies within the spirit or soul frustration, etc., this can be influenced on the same plane as it exists, namely spirit, and which accounts for many healings, especially the "incurable".

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9. There must be harmony between transmission and reception (a law). Therefore, for a patient to be healed, he must be in harmony with Spirit. This demonstrates in practical ways that everyone possesses a spirit-self or soul.

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10. Healing is not restricted by religious views. An agnostic or a Moslem can be healed with equal facility.

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From these rules a vast number of questions and implications naturally arise. For example, as a healing is a planned act, it follows that the spirit intelligence must be able to diagnose the cause of the trouble in order to treat it.

If a patient needs a stimulating force to overcome weakness or anemia, then the particular lacking quality must be known in order to direct the corrective strengthening character of healing force. If the trouble is a cataract or a growth, then the nature of this must be known to the spirit doctors to be able to send the true dispersing force for the need.

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If the cause lies in some form of inner-self unrest or frustration, the circumstances must be known for the remedial corrective, thought influences to be given to calm and soothe the disharmony...and so on.

 

Spirit healing is an exact spirit Science.

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A few people, after seeking our help, learn that spirit doctors administer the healing, and they then write and say, "I do not want help from spirit people, I only want help from God." This is a very strange philosophy, for as such people are quite willing to receive help from a human doctor, why should they refuse help from a spirit doctor?

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These patients do not ask their human doctors whether they are Christians, Catholics or Presbyterians or even atheists, but strangely enough, refuse help from spiritual doctors whose only purpose can be to carry out the Divine plan to remove pain and misery.

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In these rules we find the basis of spiritual healing. We see why. the so-called "incurable" by human standards can often be restored to full health.