Creating your physical health

Until very recently I would watch my body closely for any sign of a developing illness or other negative physical condition. As soon as I thought I saw one (uh oh, runny nose!), I would predict the course of the condition (great, next comes the sore throat, then the fever and headache ...) and adopt the mindset of a person who is ill. More often than not, my predictions would come true, and I would be sick and miserable for a week or more.

Religious Science (along with other schools of New Thought) teaches that the Universe sends you what you expect. By treating my body as a seed bed for disease, and predicting the growth of illness in it, I was inviting the creative principle to send me just that.

I no longer allow myself to predict that my body will become ill. I am still mindful of my physical condition; in fact, more mindful than ever. But if I feel a twinge in my body or a tingle in my nose, I do not create in my mind a course of predicted negative consequences for the compliant but neutral creative principle to fulfill. I may acknowledge the possibility that a virus has crept into my body and increase my intake of vitamins or zinc. But I also adopt the view that the twinge or the tingle will go away, and will not return along with more severe symptoms. I predict that my body will remain healthy, and more often than not, it does.

Of course, I don't believe that I have a permanent shield of immunity from all disease or other adverse physical conditions. One of the greatest students of energy healing alive today, Grandmaster Choa Kok Sui, has been severely ill with pneumonia twice in the last few years. I am sure he thinks of himself as a healthy person, but perhaps he did not live his life consistently with that belief, because of his constant travel and teaching schedule. He has now announced that he is taking a sabbatical, and I wish him a full recovery and many more years of blessed productivity.

While the Universe tends to deliver what you expect, there is always the chance that a negative condition will slip through. You can demonstrate your belief in, and help ensure the manifestation of, your expectations by living the life of a healthy person, with good food, exercise, sleep, and moderate behavior; as well as regular medical checkups and medical treatment for any physical ailments that do arise.

Since negative conditions arise in the energetic body before they manifest in the physical, it can also be helpful to perform regular hygienic cleansing of the energetic body in the manner described in the followin post (immediately above). Whatever practices you adopt, do not forget to offer thanks to God for the health that you possess, and pray for the blessing of health to be bestowed upon all others.

And so it is.

Namaste

What you are "now" is what you always have been and always will be. Only your level of awareness of this changes.

God is the combined manifestation of all the souls in the Universe; and all the souls in the Universe comprise the entire manifestation of God.

All the purposes and all the pursuits of humankind can be seen as either seeking God, or avoiding God. To stay on the Path, it is only necessary to be mindful of this at every moment.

The Mind's Self-Importance

Have you ever read a science fiction story about a computer that became self-aware and ran amok? That is what the human mind has done. We evolved the mind as a survival tool. It is an adjunct and outgrowth of our physical bodies. However, once the mind became aware of its own existence, it decided that it was the reason the body existed, not vice versa. The mind has been on an ego trip ever since. It continually creates new excuses for inflating its own importance. The mind does what it can to suppress awareness of Spirit, which existed before bodies and minds and will exist forever after they have passed. When spiritual awareness is able to shine through the smokescreen of endless monkey mind chatter, it shows the mind for the hollow implement that it is.

The mind is like a computer that programs itself into an endless loop. It creates problems so that it can divert attention to itself as the supposed sole source for resolving those problems. It is only necessary to step back into the point of view of Spirit to see such issues as mere word games. Spirit has no need of words, and is not troubled by verbal paradoxes. Spirit is aware already that mind is a limited tool, and is no more than amused when mind points to itself and says, "See how important I am, I have created a problem even I cannot solve!" Spirit is aware that problems do not exist until they are created by mind.

If you find yourself asking, "What am I if I am not my mind?" you are in a state of unconsciousness. This is where meditation comes in. Once a person falls into unconsciousness, it is only through meditation that Spirit can become conscious of itself again. When the mind is still -- or when you can detach your awareness from mind -- and you realize that what is essentially you exists as the observer, then you will have the answer to the question.

The Body

What is this body that I inhabit? Until very recently, I would simply have answered, "This is me." Study and meditation have let me to an understanding that this body and I are very different things, even though we are bound together for a time. Spirit has chosen this body as its physical manifestation of that part of itself that is my consciousness. Still, I did not begin to understand these concepts at an intuitive level until I was able to perceive my body as a part of the physical Universe. I believe that, for my entire life up to that moment, I thought of my body and the Universe as qualitatively distinct concepts. Here I am, and there that is, and we interact, but we are separate and, therefore, independent of each other on some fundamental level.

Of course, it is absurd to believe that the body is not a part of the physical Universe. Clearly it is subject to the laws of physics and chemistry like all other material things. I never had trouble understanding the application of physical laws to other humans, animals, and plants; yet somehow my ego managed to cling emotionally to the notion that this body is "special" and "me".

Identification with the body no doubt has many consequences. I may believe that I can bring fulfillment to myself by gratifying the body. Conversely, if I have feelings of dislike toward myself, I may seek to punish the body. Most importantly, I may identify with the ego, that mental construct that is attached to the body yet uniquely capable of self-dislike.

Because my body is part of Nature, I owe it the same respect and love that I feel for the rest of the Universe. God is in Nature, and It is in me.

Meditation is not meant to connect my individuality with God, but to re-unite Spirit with itself by stilling the noise of thought and allowing the fundamental unity to emerge.

Resistance and Surrender

I must give up resistance in order to be able to see what is needed, and to take whatever steps are necessary.

Resistance blinds me to values and priorities.

Resistance sometimes takes the form of being distracted by trivial things or even by other worthwhile activities.

Surrender is necessary in order to see clearly. When I see clearly, proactivity happens. My natural inclination is to do right things.