What is “Healing”?
Healing is not only an action or a process; it is also a concept, an idea and a way of life. It is more completely understood as,
“the natural process which supports and maintains health in a sustainable way, in perfect balance with our mind, body and environment”
To learn the secrets and to reach a state of “healing”, there are four aspects of mastery required. Furthermore, the systematic progression through each aspect is a necessity in order to effect total “healing”. I call this the MightMinder Paths.
Is taking Medicine the same as “Healing”?
Absolutely not! The healing process is one that is effected by our own bodies, by our own internal capacities to restore and recover health towards the optimal state of well-being. Taking Panadols and then resuming stressful work is a way to ensure that little to no healing takes place. On the other hand, taking a good rest, and getting proper hydration will enable the body to do its work. At the most basic level, the mindset and intention to recover reflects in the actions one take, and that itself gears the nervous system towards the path of recovery. Advanced practitioners take the healing arts to another level, where they are able to sense and direct “energies” to further advance the healing process.
Medicines act as chemical agents which function in their own beneficial way, but it also relies heavily on how our bodies distribute and interact with drugs. Without a properly functioning body, no amount of drug can help, and in some cases might cause increased levels of toxicity.
In the past where medicines were scarce and precious, many relied on internal healing arts – incorporated into cultural rites and traditions, shamanic practices – to recover.
In our modern society, stress levels are much higher. The reason for this is two-fold. The industries create unhealthy work demands in order to sustain profit (for its own survival). Work complexity has increased tremendously while our biological bodies have not yet adapted to deal with all the expectations and demands. There is also stress resulting from having to communicate dynamically across various cultures and generations. The cultural clash and difference in consciousness/ideology places stress on both sides.
For the past decades, the medical industry has supported economic growth by “ensuring” the health of populations largely by administering drugs. However, with the elevated stressors, pharmaceuticals alone is becoming insufficient.
Once more, the healing arts will be necessary to facilitate the transition of the global workforce into a conscious health practice that generates surplus energies for beneficial work.
Why is “Healing” necessary?
The very first ideas of “healing” become apparent when one stumbles upon the idea of “recovery”, “reversal”, “consolidation”, “unification”, “growth”, “aesthetics”, “rebirth” through directly experiencing it in oneself, observing others having the experience, or by receiving the information from others. In nature we often marvel at how organized structure exists in a sea of infinite possibilities for chaos and disorder. We often grew up finding out how easy it is to destroy and deform things, but take much greater effort in creating things. Just as how we may come to realize, “it’s easier to be bad than good”, or, “it’s easier for things to go wrong than right”. Yet, in all that we see around us from nature, there is a subtle realization that we live in a natural environment that naturally support the symbolic notions of “healing” as described above.
Yet in the modern world, we start to realize that things are spiralling out of control, and for the worse, in the aspects of life and civilization.
One may really consider how is it that humanity has existed for many millennia, but are struggling to maintain peace and order and health in this century. The medicine industry is booming whereas people in the past had no need for it.
Human intellect and curiosity have not really progressed much farther than the ancient philosophers and thinkers. Yes, we do have modern philosophers who have contributed much to the way we see the world. Sure, we have generated more content, produced more harvest and discovered more knowledge. But the common society has regressed in philosophic thought – replaced by common sense, trendsetters, and whose behaviours are controlled by institutions that continually tempt and shape our information landscape. The accumulated “progress” is nothing more than a by-product of thought systems derived from the ancient times. The ancient people lived by a “path”, a “virtue”, a “principle”, a “value”, a “belief”. And all actions and events that take place are a direct result of these principles of mind, which was developed with rigour and consideration for “truth” and “rightness”. While we can definitely condemn atrocious acts of punishment from past institutions, those acts were founded on certain values that were thought to bring greater good. In particular, without technology, people of the past relied on psychological impact to shape society towards progress. It was the intuitive understanding of psychology, and how to effect positive outcomes in daily life that shaped cultural norms and rituals.
That was the seed of “human”-ness that enabled civilization to progress in a truly sustainable and positive direction for the collective good. Compared to those of the ancients, our “human” minds have not fully developed. The average person is kept occupied earning a living and consuming the pleasures of life over a backdrop of suffering, therefore becoming the perfect “agent” of the economy.
The culture of consumerism(especially excessive consumerism) emerged to promote the economy – to distribute wealth, goods and services – as a supposed way to “advance” and “solve” problems in society. As a result modern humans lived life to serve in the economic machinery for the invisible “economic system”. In a way, they lived their lives for the economy, and trust in the economy to take care of them in return. Unfortunately, most people are ignorant of their roles in the economy. And it is in the interest of institutions to keep them that way, for better control and for allowing means of exploitation. This breeds selfishness and is the seed of selfish decisions even from top decision makers. When this happens, trust is eroded, and from a sharing economy, it becomes an all-for-myself free-for-all market. It represents the dismantling of ethics in the economy.
The forces of modern economy says “specialize and work together – leave it to the experts”. Yet the reality is that the so-called experts are only relatively more knowledgeable than the average man, but still far from being a perfect architect of progress. Further, the disconnect between institutions of “order” and institutions of “advancement” does not guarantee a harmonious outcome – even more so when it pushes the boundaries of the human psyche.
At some point, our bodies and minds will hint to us that something is out of place.
This realization would mark the individual’s divergence from the normal workings of society, and would thus be propelled into a path of a seeker – to search for health, wealth, relationships, happiness or life’s purpose in a “healthy” and sustainable way.
In every seeker’s journey lie the central theme of health and well-being. Because only through this knowledge can they be empowered to make lasting positive changes to their own lives.