We, as aspirants to a more spiritual way of life, having overcome
the baser elements of human nature, are confronted with subtler
but equally dangerous forms of transgression, such as spiritual
pride, self-righteousness, indiscriminate impositions of "service"
upon our fellow men, intolerance, false judgments and harsh criticism,
impatience and selfishness — the list seems endless. The path of
attainment is never free from the temptation to sin, and each
temptation to which we succumb to makes us more susceptible to
illness.
Pain and sickness are caused by transgression of the laws
of life. This is the Rosicrucian Teaching. It is what we learn
also through experience, and what we must learn to recognize and
transmute to effective use if we would avoid the hardships incurred
by not heeding God's laws.
Let us take the first step, that of purity. It has been said
that Christ's gospel could never have been delivered by one who
was diseased. Likewise, it is certain that the healing miracles
performed by Christ Jesus could not have been accomplished by
one who was diseased. All healing results from an application
of divine healing force which comes from the Father. The healing
angels, the invisible helpers, and all who devotedly care for
and pray for the sick, work with this healing force in one way
or another. In the Rosicrucian Fellowship Healing Service we are
told that a pure and strong healing force cannot be generated
unless we keep our minds and bodies clean and pure.
Whether the healing force is impersonally directed for use
where it is most needed, as happens during the healing service,
or whether it is directed toward a specific individual, the instrument
through which it is directed must be pure. As instrument tainted
with impurities will compromise the power inherent in the healing
force, so is a spotted lens unable to give a true picture.
The most pure and perfect earthly instrument ever possessed
by an evolving ego was made by Jesus. Only in so chaste a
vehicle could the sublime Christ Spirit fulfill His mission of
imparting the gospel of love and brotherhood and healing the sick.
Only so chaste a vehicle could withstand the rarified vibrations
of higher thought, wisdom, spiritual strength, and love brought
to earth by this sublime being. Only so chaste a vehicle could
transmit the divine healing force with such intensity as to bring
about the healing miracles of Christ Jesus.
We too shall some day be able to apply the same measure of
power in the great healing work and to accomplish the same kinds
of cures that today seem so awesome. This will occur, however,
only when our inner as well as outer purity becomes more like
that of our ideal, Christ Jesus.
Now let us consider the second step of cooperation. If we
request aid from the Invisible Helpers, we must bear in mind that
the process of healing is not one-sided. We must be prepared to
cooperate with the healing force that is being directed toward
us. There are specific things we can do and specific things we
should not do in order that the healing ministrations may be of
utmost benefit to us.
Many people these days are coming to understand that certain
foods are unhealthy and that prolonged lack of sleep can cause
significant damage. Generally, however, we pay less attention
to the potential effects on health of our thoughts and emotions.
After they have taken their toll, we have no trouble remembering
the headache brought on by a fit of weeping or upset stomach that
plagued us after we got angry. If we constantly send thoughts
of criticism, intolerance, hatred and revenge to others, we will
harm ourselves more than we harm them. The attitude that prompts
such thoughts
tends to harden our finer vehicles — a condition which in turn
reacts adversely upon physical health. Obviously, it is just as
important to cooperate with the healing force by sending out our
most elevated thoughts and emotions at all times as it is to eat
properly and get sufficient sleep. To cooperate with the healing
force is to cooperate as best we can with Christ and with the
Father, from whom, ultimately, healing comes. Christ Jesus, by
words and example, has told us what we should do. We have but
to look to His life on earth and strive to live so that our own
lives are filled with the love and tolerance that He brought into
the world. When we learn to do this automatically and consistently,
we find ourselves cooperating with the healing force before we
have need of it, because we will have learned to live right, thus
insuring good health.
Fidelity is the third step to spiritual healing. The dictionary
tells us that to be faithful is to be constant and loyal. It suggests
qualities of stability and devotion, which are steadfast and enduring.
James says, "The prayer of faith shall save the sick."
Loyalty, devotion, and steadfast fidelity to the highest we know
will weigh heavily in the scale for healing. What does this faithfulness
imply? It implies that we live in awareness of what we are thinking,
saying, and doing at all times. Faithfully we screen our thoughts
and our words. Loyally we make sure that they are positive and
loving. Steadfastly we treat others as we wish to be treated.
Constantly we refrain from gossip and criticism. We know that
negative thoughts and actions act adversely upon the body, actually
weakening and destroying cells and tissues and disturbing normal
functioning and regenerative processes. James further tells us
to pray for one another" that we may be healed. When the
desire to help and serve our neighbor is so strong that we are
willing to forget ourselves in our concern for one another, we
find that we, too, have benefited from our prayer. It is impossible
to give "loving, self-forgetting service to others"
without in some way reaping good in our lives. The constancy of
our faithfulness in believing in the Christ and His Teachings
and in practicing them in our daily living is a sure refuge. Gradually,
as we grow in strength to live more closely to the highest we
know, we find that we also have the strength to help others more
effectively. As James also tells us, "the effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much." As we walk the
path to purity, we are increasingly eager to develop within ourselves
dependable, steadfast fidelity to the Christ within. That loyalty
and faithfulness will shine through us, illumining our lives and
encouraging others to become faithful to the highest within themselves.
Forgiveness — To Forgive is to heal. This is our fourth step.
"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass
against us." The quality of forgiveness is essential to right
living. Forgiveness insures new beginnings. It implies that grievances
are set aside and that we cease from nursing old wounds and holding
grudges. It is a foundation of good health, for to forgive is
to free ourselves of resentments that otherwise would impair our
well being.
If we examine ourselves closely, we are likely to find an
astonishing amount of debris in the form of resentments left over
from episodes long past, of which we may be only vaguely aware,
but which still gnaw at us. In order to be completely forgiving — completely
free — we must rid ourselves of even the tiniest of these resentments
and put them out of our minds forever. The principle of forgiveness
pervades all nature. For instance, our bodies put up heroic defenses
to contend with the flagrant abuses involving improper diet and
destructive life styles. After too much abuse, of course,
our bodies do break down, but the amount of ill-use that is overcome
sometimes seems incredible. Nature is not interested in punishment.
Nature's whole purpose is to heal and make right again.
Retribution and revenge rest on the principle that nothing
new can be brought into a situation. Forgiveness, on the other
hand, is founded on the idea of change and renewal. We do well,
then, to discard unpleasant memories and build up our relationships
with our fellow men on the basis of love and wisdom, forgiving
everyone, including ourselves. Only in this way will we create
the new conditions within ourselves that lead to permanent good
health.
Harmony is the fifth step to healing. Health, essentially,
is harmony. The process of healing is the re-establishment of
harmony. When physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects
all work harmoniously with each other, we are best prepared for
our work in the world. Harmony in and among our individual vehicles,
however, is but the manifestation of an underlying universal harmony
upon which all cosmic progress is based. Harmony within ourselves
parallels the broader harmony with God. When we comply with natural
law, we are in harmony with the divine plan of evolution. Our
energies are directed into channels in which they best serve us
and all evolving life. We work smoothly with the higher powers
to further the divine plan. At these times, our various vehicles
and their constituent members work smoothly with each other.
When we disregard natural law, we are out of harmony with
God and with ourselves. Our energies are directed into channels
inimical to progress. Our physical organs and our higher vehicles
become misaligned and at variance with each other, we work at
cross purposes with God, and thus, are at cross purposes with
ourselves. The Higher Self, the God within, is obscured by the
lower nature, which follows its own renegade path. Illness is
the inevitable result. If we would be healed, we must strive for
harmony. Insofar as our conduct is in tune with spiritual precepts,
to that extent may we expect to enjoy the blessings of good health.
Our ability and our desire to express compassion, sympathy, kindness,
purity, spiritual humility, and most essentially, our every endeavor
at selfless service, all contribute to harmony.
Living Artistically is the sixth step on the path to spiritual
healing. To live artistically is possible only when one's consciousness
is attuned to the divine laws governing art in human relationships.
This attunement grows out of the constant application of spiritual
principles to the daily experiences of life. Before one can impart
the artistic touch to his relationships, he must have within himself
love for and faith in humanity. He has faith in others because
he has faith in himself — faith in the God within himself. If one
knows within his own soul how to contact a power greater than
himself, he also knows it is possible for every other person to
do the same thing. A person who cultivates God-consciousness develops
the ability to see and hear intuitively. In other words, he sees
and hears more acutely than he hitherto did. His relation to others
takes on an artistic spiritual quality. He oftentimes blesses
others without being conscious of it. He finds a willingness growing
in his heart to see the best in his fellowmen. He sees a vital
human need in a mere gesture or an apparently careless remark.
Then, with artistic finesse, he gently helps a fellow human being
on his way. Every individual has a fundamental desire to come
up out of ugliness into beauty — to grow and unfold. This desire
may remain latent for a time, but eventually it will manifest,
blossom, and bear fruit. Ours is ever the privilege of living
artistically and helping others also to weave a life tapestry
glowing with the radiance of obedience to divine law.
Fulfilling conditions is step seven. "Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy mind . . . Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self"
(Matthew 22:37, 39). As we learn to abide in the consciousness
of Christ, we find it becoming easier to fulfill the conditions
of loving God and our neighbor, and this also has a bearing upon
health. The love which we feel within and which we send forth
has its effect upon our surroundings. It has an even greater effect
upon us. It is a well-known fact that anger adversely affects
digestion and that many bodily ailments are initiated or aggravated
by a variety of negative emotions. In rebellious moods, we sometimes
question how we can be expected to love one who seems so unlovable.
Upon further thought, we discover that as a matter of self-preservation
alone, we have no choice. In the knowledge of our unity with one
another we find that the object of our hatred is truly one with
us, and we are hating part of ourself. When someone wrongs us,
he is the one who must suffer the consequences of wrongdoing.
If we respond to the act with resentment, discussing it with others
and considering ways of retaliation, then we make it our problem
too.
Instead, if we bless the offender, sending him love, it not
only protects us, but may be the means of lifting our brother.
What greater service can we give? Little or temporary relief is
all we may expect when we ask for spiritual healing — unless we
are willing to fulfill the conditions outlined for us by the Christ.
Silence is the eighth step in healing. In the past, when life
was lived less intensely than it is now, many people realized
the value of maintaining silence for at least a certain amount
of time each day. They knew that it is necessary for the ego to
turn periodically within and shut out all else. In these more
hectic, stressful times, noise is the order of the day, and silence
is at a premium. Today, more than ever, we need rest from the
clamor of the world. We can most effectively analyze our thoughts,
chart the course of our aspirations, and commune with the highest,
when we are alone and all is quiet about us. Elijah, we must remember,
did not receive an answer to his problem when the storm was raging
or during the turbulence of earthquake and fire. Only when the
sounds of destruction and disharmony had ceased did the "still
small voice" issue its commands to save Elijah's life. Sick
people have an even greater need for solitude and silence, which
is medicine for the spirit The patient who is conscientiously
trying to fulfill his role in the healing process finds that
daily meditation is an imperative. Quietness is an essential condition
for creative thought, and is particularly important when we are
in need of healing and seek to commune with the Christ within — the
source of our creativeness. The "eternal perspectives"
essential to an expanded, more abundant mode of life are discovered
and retained only amid peaceful surroundings. If we are harassed
by the noise of the world, we are imprisoned in the world. But
the "sounds of silence" offer us the dimension in which
we may aspire and the serenity with which we may begin to restore
and maintain our health.
Gratitude is the ninth step on the path to healing. Gratitude
is most essential to healing because if we humbly accept all that
comes to us without question, we will
receive the help we are seeking. It is the open door to pardon,
if we completely surrender to His will. Max Heindel tells us that
our whole life should speak forth our thankfulness. Every condition
and place we are in should be a witness of our thankfulness. Some
people demand perfect health and claim they have a right to it.
They forget that either in this life or a former life they have
disobeyed nature's laws. Through suffering they have to learn
obedience. When they have mastered nature's laws and are willing
to sin no more, their right to health will be restored. The annually
recurring event of the birth of the Cosmic Christ is hallowed
by the accumulated righteousness of men and women everywhere. Each
Christ-mas time, the density of the earth's body has become lessened
in proportion to the spiritual advancement made by humanity during
the past year. The great spirit of Love becomes less shackled
with each succeeding Holy Birth. We hasten Christ's liberation
by reverently beholding God and His Laws and by receiving Him
into our hearts, minds, and lives, freed from the pain of sin.
What is spiritual healing? Spiritual healing consists in raising
the vibrations of the various vehicles of a person to such an
extent that all crystallization is broken up and these vehicles
are enabled to properly perform their function. There are various
methods of accomplishing this vibratory elevation. Contact with
a highly spiritual person may bring it about, inasmuch as this
person may act as a channel for the higher spiritual forces, which
are inducted into the organism of the patient. The Rosicrucian
method of healing enlists the beneficent energies of the Invisible
Helpers, who, working on the invisible planes, manipulate the
finer vehicles of the patient and direct the healing force to
him as required. Prayer, if coupled with intense desire, makes
contact with the Christ healing force from the World of Life Spirit,
and draws this force down for the healing of the mind and body.
— Frieda Mader
— Rays from the Rose Cross Magazine, September/October, 1995
This web page has been edited and/or excerpted from reference material, has been modified from it's original version, and is in conformance with the web host's Members Terms & Conditions. This website is offered to the public by students of The Rosicrucian Teachings, and has no official affiliation with any organization.
