The Sceptre of Hermes – Part Three

We can never hope to understand the true nature and origin of disease, until we come to understand the true nature of ourselves.  We need to know who we really are.

Just as the symptoms of disease have to be traced to their origins within the body, so the body itself has to be pursued to its source. That source, according to the wisdom of the Sages, lies in the mind.

Conventional thinking regards thought, and the existence of the mind, as a by-product of the brain. The body is considered to be the foundation of the mind, by providing that physical structure which makes consciousness possible.

To the Sages and mystics, however, it is the mind which is the architect of matter, and the determinant of all experience. As the 20th century Indian Sage Sri Ramana Maharshi remarked in answer to a question:

“I say that the body itself is a projection of the mind. You speak of the brain when you think of the body. It is the mind which creates the body, the brain in it, and also ascertains that the brain is its seat.”  1

The mind, as the Buddha has also taught, is nothing more or less than those thoughts and feelings that make it up. If there is disharmony in the outer form, then the source of this disharmony must arise from these thoughts and emotions.

The origin of disease must therefore be pursued to its source in the mind. The Sages have consistently taught that the secret of enduring health lies in the harmony of one’s thoughts and feelings.

If these are healthy, the body too will be free from any disease. Jesus pointed out that disease stemmed from what transpired within a person’s heart, rather than the result of anything that occurred to the body itself.

“Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of his mouth, this defileth a man.”  (Matthew 15:11)

“For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man.”  (Matthew 15:19-20)

Regardless of how disease is defined and treated, its origins remain the same for all cultures and for all seasons. The imperfections displayed by the body are evidence of the imperfections of one’s thoughts and feelings.

If one delves into the innermost sanctum of the mind and clears away the mental debris which is to be found there, the outer limitations in the form of physical disease must inevitably disappear.

For as another Indian Sage, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj pointed out to one incredulous questioner:

Question:  “Can I cure myself of a serious illness by merely taking cognisance of it?”
Maharaj:  “Take cognisance of the whole of it, not only of the outer symptoms. All illness begins in the mind. Take care of the mind first, by tracing and eliminating all wrong ideas and emotions. Then live and work disregarding illness and think no more of it. With the removal of the causes, the effect is bound to depart.”  2

Few of us, however, are competent to deal with disease on so supreme a level. For the average person, it is only when a symptom of disease appears on the physical level that he or she is prompted to seek a cure.

This “cure” invariably takes the form of removing the offending symptoms, in a manner which is consistent with the parameters of that person’s own belief. Yet the disappearance of the outer symptoms does not by itself lead to a lasting cure.

By simply removing the physical symptoms without attending to their mental causes, the patient must inevitably succumb to some other manifestation of disease, perhaps in quite a different form.

Within the context of western medicine, therefore, the pathology which appears on the physical plane to be the cause of a physical ailment, is itself the product of a deeper cause which lies at the level of the mind.

The germs that are thought to be the cause of disease, are thus the result of the original disharmony, rather than its source. It is not bacteria which cause disease, for this bacteriological action is simply a physical and outer reflection of an inner and mental disequilibrium.

According to this view of life, any manifestation which appears in the physical realm must inevitably be preceded by changes in the non-physical realm. Thus, any effect which reveals itself on the physical plane, must be accompanied by a non-physical equivalent which precedes it.

In the case of disease, disease or disharmony would first manifest itself in the non-physical realm. As it developed further, this disharmony would subsequently appear on the physical plane in the form of physical pathology.

This consequential progression of disease has been neatly summarised by William Tiller of Stanford University.

“All this leads quite naturally to a perspective of healing: i.e. that pathology can develop at a number of levels and that healing is needed at all of them to restore the system to a state of harmony.

“The initial pathology begins at the level of Mind and propagates effects to both the negative space-time and the positive space-time levels. We then perceive what we call disease or malfunction at these levels and try to remove the effects by a variety of healing techniques.

“The best healing mode is to help the individual remove the pathology at the cause level and bring about the correction by a return to “right thinking”. The next best healing mode is to effect repair of the structure at the negative space-time level. The third best level of healing is that which medicine practises today, wherein one effects repair of the structure at the positive space-time level.”  3

Jesus and other enlightened Sages performed their “miraculous” cures directly at the level of the mind, which then produces instantaneous results. Other healers, of the type we call faith healers or psychic healers, operate within the negative space-time realm described by Tiller.

The vast majority of healers, however, including those physicians who act within the western medical paradigm, devote their efforts to resolving pathology at the positive space-time level, which is the level that is discernible by the senses.

There are significant consequences to this overview of disease. Those symptoms of disease which appear in the physical body must necessarily have their counterpart in negative space-time in a non-physical body, and this non-physical pathology must ultimately derive from the mind itself.

Merely counteracting the physical symptoms of disease, therefore, without attempting to correct the underlying causes at the mental level, can never contribute to a lasting cure.  As long as the pathology remains on these more subtle planes, the disease must inevitably recur in the physical body, possibly in another form.

When a physician trained in western medicine prescribes specific drugs to counteract certain pathological agents in the body, the offending symptoms may well disappear completely. But this does not mean that the patient can be regarded as being cured.

The physician may be satisfied that healing has taken place, but if the underlying cause is not attended to, which is seldom the case in western medicine, then symptoms of the underlying pathology will inevitably reappear. The cycle will repeat itself.

The patient may undergo a series of apparent successful “cures”, but may ultimately die as a result of powerful causes at the non-physical level which were never recognised or treated.

All forms of physical medicine suffer from this liability. The most effective forms of healing, therefore, are those paradigms which acknowledge the non-physical causes of disease, and provide techniques for dealing with disharmony at this level.

The medicine of “primitive” aboriginal societies practised by shamans and witchdoctors is, in this light, often more effective in combating disease than the sophisticated technological forms of medicine that dominate the world today.

This shortcoming of modern medicine is at last coming to be recognised, as attempts are made to provide a more “holistic” form of treatment, tailored to the psychological as well as the physiological pathology of the patient.

While the physical symptoms of disease are merely the outer manifestation of an inner imbalance, the mind itself plays a key role in determining the onset of these symptoms. It does this primarily through the emotion of fear.

Fear is simply the opposite pole of desire. It is desire directed at an unwanted target. Yet the very nature of the mind is to attract those experiences in life which reflect the content of desire. For as Maharaj has indicated:

“It is in the nature of desire to prompt the mind to create a world for its fulfillment.”  4

It is the persistence with which we hold on to our desires which draws them into manifestation. This principle is equally effective when dealing with negative desires or fears. Again, as Maharaj has pointed out, “All happens according to your faith, and your faith is the shape of your desire.”  5

Just as we attract those things toward us that we desire, so also we remorselessly attract to ourselves anything that we fear. Both desire and fear work with the same efficiency, and generate results in due proportion to the energy which propels them.

If the generating power is strong, whether though the magnitude of one’s desire, or else through the intensity of one’s fear, the result, whether hoped for or feared, is bound to materialise.

If we are afraid of contracting cancer, for example, we inevitably draw cancer to us. The time it takes for cancer to materialize, and the severity with which it strikes, depends on the strength of our fears.

There may be no intrinsic flaw in our physical bodies, nothing that would warrant the mutation of healthy cells, but the disharmony that exists within our minds will inevitably produce pathology within our bodies in consonance with our fears.

Whenever the content of the mind is focused on disease, the mind begins to complement this mental image by producing its precise physical counterpart.

While we laugh today at the naivety of the primitive person who succumbs to death by voodoo curse, we ourselves are victims of the same power of suggestion. We little realise that we are assiduously at work creating those very circumstances which we most fear.

When disharmony appears at the level of the mind, and then upon the negative space-time level, it ultimately manifests in the positive space-time realm in the form of some pathological affliction. The form which this disease takes will be determined by the prevailing conditions within the physical body.

A chain breaks at the point of its weakest link. But it should be evident that no physical disease can appear without its mental counterpart, which is the true cause of this condition.

Once non-physical disharmony is present at the level of the mind, some physical reaction must naturally follow, and that takes the form of disease. This disease is not caused by the adoption of any physical habits, for it is a function of the underlying disequilibrium of mind.

The mind is not only the source of all disease, but it remains the most powerful agent for overcoming disease.

It is the attitude of mind, reinforced by faith, which is capable of overcoming the physical manifestation of disease. In so doing, the mind is merely dealing with its own disequilibrium.

There is no magic in this. The action of the mind in counteracting disease is simply the action of the mind re-forming itself. Once the mind is consciously reformed, the original impetus for harm is overcome. The true art of healing is directed, as it always has been by the Sages, to restoring the harmony of the mind itself.

Dr Carl Simonton and, his wife Stephanie Matthews Simonton have been in the vanguard of those medical researchers who have utilised the mind as a powerful weapon in overcoming the manifestations of disease.

Working with cancer patients, they have encouraged them to visualize their cancers in the form of various antagonistic creatures present in their bodies, and to imagine various scenarios for overcoming them. Some patients have visualised an army of white blood cells marching upon the invaders and, in grand “star wars” fashion, repelling these hostile intruders.

Others pictured their pathological agents in the form of snakes and other creatures, and devised vivid mental strategies for defeating them. The more dramatic, in fact, these scenarios became, the more likely they were found to be effective. Dr. Simonton reported that his patients succeeded by these methods in gaining relief from pain, and remission of their cancerous conditions.

Conquering disease by means of mental visualisation is still a highly controversial subject within the medical profession. However, it rests on sound psychological principles enunciated by the Sages. Yet it is not a simple panacea for all ills. Merely targeting the physical symptoms without addressing their underlying mental causes, can never lead to a cure that is lasting and complete.

There is also the question of energy. The essential factor in all non-physical forms of healing, lies in the extent of one’s inherent level of energy, or personal power. As Michael Harner stresses, “In shamanism, the maintenance of one’s personal power is fundamental to well-being.”  6

This is a theme which recurs throughout the writings of Carlos Castaneda. The ability of mind to influence matter depends on the level of this vital energetic source.

Individuals do not possess unlimited amounts of energy, and their effectiveness in achieving their objectives depends on the degree to which they are able to conserve it. As Maharaj replied to a questioner who said that he was lacking energy:

“What happened to your energy? Where did it go? Did you not scatter it over so many contradictory desires and pursuits? You don’t have an infinite supply of energy.”  7

Similarly, when the disciples of Jesus were unable to heal a stricken child who was brought before them, they appealed to him to explain why they had failed. Jesus answered. “This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting.”  (Mark 9:29)

Jesus drew attention to some of the time-honoured ways of increasing personal power. In the accomplishment of any desire, it is not sufficient simply to visualise the selected goal. This mental image must be energised by power. That power is the power of life, residing in consciousness.

As Maharaj responded to another questioner:

Question:  “I have cut my hand. By what power did it heal?
Maharaj:  By the power of life.
Question:  What is that power?
Maharaj:  It is consciousness. All is consciousness.”  8

On another occasion he remarked:

Maharaj:  “In some way or other you have to work for the fulfilment of your desires. Put in energy and wait for the results.
Question:  Where do I get the energy?
Maharaj:  The desire itself is energy.
Question:  Then why does not every desire get fulfilled?
Maharaj:  Maybe it was not strong enough and lasting.”  9

As he went on to explain:

Maharaj:  “When your desire is not clear nor strong, it cannot take shape. Besides, if your desires are personal, for your own enjoyment, the energy you give them is necessarily limited; it cannot be more than you have.”  9

The energy that we possess can be enhanced by repeated efforts, focused upon a clear objective. The power of this strategy can be likened to the blow of a hammer on a metal rod. Although a single blow may leave the rod unmarked, if these blows are repeated for long enough, even a small force will ultimately break the rod completely.

So it is in the achievement of our desires. The problem of applying the mind of a patient to his or her own symptoms of disease is that their inherent power has been drained by this disease.

For example, Kirlian photographs taken of human limbs clearly show a diminution in the energy field when the subject is ill or mentally depressed. When the body has been ravaged by some chronic condition such as cancer, the amount of energy needed to overcome the symptoms may far exceed that which is possessed by that particular patient.

Such a person will be unable to overcome this condition through visualisation, because of this inadequate reservoir of energy. This deficiency may, however, be rectified by the infusion of energy from some outside source. This is the basis of all healing which takes place by means of the “laying on of hands”. It is simply a means of redistributing energy.

Psychic healers also achieve their results by transferring energy directly to the afflicted person. If the amount of energy transferred is sufficient to overcome the pathology, that person will be healed immediately. In most cases a single session is usually inadequate, and repeated attempts must be made before healing is complete.

When the flow of energy is clearly focused, and the reservoir of energy is great, as it is with those who have learned to harness their mental resources, truly astonishing acts of healing are capable of taking place.

For example, the psychic healer Elsie Salmon recorded the case of a man who attended one of her healing missions, who was suffering from a congenital deformity of his leg. Following treatment, his leg grew by two inches to its normal length in the course of a single night.  10

As a youth, Sri Yukteswar Giri suffered from a severe illness which caused him to lose a great deal of weight. During his convalescence he approached his Guru, Lahiri Mahasaya, who reproached him for being so thin.

His Guru remarked, “Really, it is your thoughts that have made you feel alternately weak and strong. Thought is a force,” he went on to say, “even as electricity or gravitation. The human mind is a spark of the almighty consciousness of God. I could show you that whatever your powerful mind believes very intensely would instantly come to pass“.

When Yukteswar enquired whether he could regain his lost weight, the Master replied, “It is so, even at this moment“. Yukteswar reported that he felt an instant increase in strength and weight. “I weighed myself and found that in one day I had gained fifty pounds; they have remained permanently“.  11

(Continued in Part Four)

References

1  “Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi“, recorded by Swami Saraswathi, Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai, 1968, p. 296.
2  “I Am That“, Conversations with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, translated by Maurice Frydman, Book I, Chetana, Bombay, 1973, p. 258.
3  William Tiller, Introduction to “Science and the Evolution of Consciousness“, Autumn Press, Brookline, 1978, p. 17.
4  “I Am That“, Book I, op.cit., p. 100.
5  Ibid, Book I, p. 182.
6  Michael Harner, “The Way of the Shaman“, Bantam, New York, 1982, pp. xv.
7  “I Am That“, Book I, op.cit., p. 56.
8  Ibid, Book I, p. 42.
9  Ibid, Book I, pp. 28-29.
10  Elsie Salmon, “Christ Still Healing“, Arthur James, Worcester, 1956, pp. 71-72.
11  Paramahansa Yogananda, “Autobiography of a Yogi“, Self Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, 1977, pp. 133-134.

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