Spiritual Healing
In the first part of this series we learnt about the ultimate reality of life. In the second part of this series we learnt about the structure of the body, the faculties of the soul and the different meanings of spirit. In this part we will learn how things get distorted and how to correct them. Spiritual healing to be complete has to focus at three different levels – mind, spirit, and emotion.
Does God Exist?
As discussed in the first part most people believe in the existence of an external source that is perfect and limitless. It is also accepted that perfection can be achieved only by closeness to this source. Some prefer to just consider it as a source of power or energy. Others believe it to be a person and call him God. The shortcomings of the former are clearly spelled out in the first part of the series.
The Imperfections Of Body And Soul
At the time of conception the embryo (which later forms the body) carries all the material ingredients of the parents. The physical health of the body depends to a large extent on the quality of the material ingredients. The body has a self correcting mechanism to a certain extent and can also be subject to external corrections.
The soul by origin contains the ingredients or information of a perfect nature. Perfect means hundred percent good. The soul which is perfect begins to absorb by transmission certain imperfect information from the nature of the parents and thus becomes imperfect from the moment of contact. This is called the original defect and is a consequence of the original sin of which we will speak later.
Factors That Influence Character Formation
The various qualities in a person is called the character. It is reflected in the behavior of the person. What is contained in the soul decides the character or nature of the person. Originally this nature is perfect. The alterations in the nature of a person begin at conception itself and depend on the quality of influences absorbed. After birth as the child grows he or she has a greater ability to absorb or reject the influences that lead to character formation. The surrounding environment begins to play an important role as it has a great influence on the formation of the type of nature or character.
One of the twin sons was allowed to grow up with a drunkard father. The other was brought up in an environment where alcohol consumption was considered as a vice. The former developed an affinity to drinking. The latter was not affected by its existence. Creating a sound environment for children to grow up has to be the foremost priority of parents, families, and society. We create the environment and are responsible for the results.
What Is Spiritual Healing?
Removing all that is negative in a human person in the form of thoughts and emotions is called spiritual healing.
The memory records every incident in our life from the time of conception. Every moment recorded carries a corresponding emotional experience. These experiences are commonly called feelings. Every time we remember a moment in the past the corresponding experience is felt in the heart.
The experience can be positive (good) or it can be negative (bad). Positive experiences are of love and happiness. Negative experiences are of hatred and sadness. A perfect nature contains only positive experiences. The negative experiences make the nature imperfect.
The heart is like a fertile field. The negative emotions of hatred and sadness are like thorny bushes in a fertile field. They throttle the growth of positive emotions of love and happiness. All that is negative has a detrimental effect on the health of the soul and thereby the body.
Healing Of The Mind
Spiritual healing is about repairing the memory and the corresponding emotional experiences. The mind has to be first made conducive to the above explained reality. This happens with acquiring the correct knowledge. All this time we have been doing just that. The healing part is possible only if you believe and accept all that you have been reading.
Rejecting the lies or deceptions (wrong information) in the mind is the first step in spiritual healing and is called deliverance. The deceptions are removed only when the truth (correct information) enters inside. Having the right mind set is the key to abundance in every area of life both physical and spiritual.
We collect wrong information through our senses in different ways from various sources. We collect so much wrong information that over a period of time it becomes the normal. As the wrong information exceeds the correct information our decision making becomes faulty.
The Bible is the perfect information and the ultimate truth. Filling the mind with this information eliminates the wrong information and decision making is normalized. This is the beginning of a life of abundance.
Healing Of The Spirit
Those who believe in eternal life must know that the corruption of the soul through sin has two consequences. A corrupt soul is separated from God and is condemned from his presence. The blessings that come from living in a relationship with God are lost and thereby the door for sufferings is wide open. The spirit is no longer able to access the things of God and distress sets in. But there is a provision to turn things around. The provision is Jesus.
The enlightenment through the message of the Bible moves a person towards repentance which leads to the healing of the spirit. Repentance restores relationship with God, access to God through the spirit is restored and divine love starts flowing in the soul. Repentance means accepting that God’s decision on what is right or wrong as final, owning responsibility for one’s actions without any excuses, expressing sorrow for the same, and promising to make efforts to walk in the ways of God.
The healing of the spirit opens the door for receiving direct information from God and hastens the process that strengthens the mind. Restlessness is dispelled and peace of mind increases.
Healing Of The Emotions
When our body is hurt physically we get wounded. We need to attend to the hurt till the wound is completely healed. Otherwise it will lead to further complications. Similarly when we are hurt by another person in word or through some action we get wounded in the heart. This hurt is called an emotional wound. The only way to heal this wound is by forgiving the person.
Once the spirit is active the love of God flows into the heart and compensates for all the hurtful experiences caused by lack of love. The person is able to forgive others and emotional wounds begin to get healed. This is not a onetime event but a gradual continuous process. Since we get hurt by others every day we need to practice emotional healing by forgiving others on a daily basis.
If you remember any incident that makes you feel hatred (anger) and sadness (discomfort) then there is an unhealed wound in the heart. Unhealed emotional wounds decrease our capacity to love others. The expression of forgiveness has to be continued till the negative emotions connected with the event are fully dispelled.
Spiritual healing of the heart, mind, and spirit leads to the ultimate experience of love, peace, and joy. When the mind is at peace and the heart is filled with love the soul experiences joy. This is the true abundance of life.
The Truth About Suffering
Suffering is a mystery and has many reasons. Any talk of a life completely free of suffering is a deception and has to be avoided. Those who live under the illusionary belief of a totally suffering free life take a devastating hit when reality strikes. The practice of self healing is preventive, curative as well as training in perseverance for times of adversity. Spiritual healing is about dealing with these aspects in a step by step systematic manner. Finally human suffering has a redemptive element too.
contributed by: Simon Nazareth
contributed by: Simon Nazareth