We received the following note from Optuslim:



"Dear friends

when it is physical sickness we treat it physically, not spiritually. I have
instances where a friend of mine was in pain until nearly eruptions in the
stomach??!!! when everyone of the meditations friends tell her ..look
meditate and it will be solved. There is no such things... "



It is a grave mistake to tell someone not to treat the body physically when
a physical condition is life threatening. On the other hand if a person
tries to meditate in order to heal something and it does not work that does
not mean that the spiritual and the physical are separate and that there is
no way to heal the spiritual way. It just means that that person does not
know how to do it!



There have been many masters, saints and healers who have been able to use
their unique connection with God to bring healing to people with "incurable"
diseases. I have a friend who is no longer an alcoholic who got such a
healing. It came to him because he joined a group of people who have faith
that God's healing energy can heal anything and anyone open to receiving it.
He can now drink a sip of alcohol and not need to finish the drink. No
alcoholic can do that. He feels he has received a new body, a new life.



This man, John, is a regular person, a contractor. He would not call himself
a saint or a healer or a master by any stretch. But he has such deep trust
in God that he has been able to bring healing to his brother.

John and his brother are very close. When John was 5 years old, his brother
had pushed him away from being hit by a car, but he himself was hit and
projected some 50 feet away. His head hit the pavement and his brains were
partly out of his skull. He survived after 6 months in the hospital. John
and his brother are now middle aged men. John's brother was in a car
accident in the last couple of years after John stopped being an alcoholic.
He then endured such terrible pain that no medication helped. He had sent a
note telling his whole family he was asking the doctors to help him
terminate his life. But he wanted to tell John in person. When John heard
his brother, he went home and tuned in to God's healing energy and prayed
that his brother heals. The next morning his brother was no longer in pain
and was discharged from the hospital.



The physical, the mental, the emotional and the spiritual are intimately
related. With enough faith you can make people deaf from birth hear for the
first time, blind people see for the first time, etc etc. There are records
of spiritual healings not explainable in any other way collected and
verified by western doctors every day. So don't give up the western medical
solutions, but there is much more to life than what meets the eyes. Faith
and love do move mountains!



Blessings,

Awtar S

Rochester, NY

Awtar:

THAT was a big wow. You are so right on. Miracles can happen and
everytime I read your wisdom,
my faith returns as to what can be done with the mind being in the deep wells
of faith. Sometimes it is difficult to stay on track. Thank you again
Lovingly
Teresa

Sat Nam Awtar,
indeed faith and love can be very healing. But is this because there
is a god or that faith that we are loved is healing within itself?

Drug and alcohol addiction certainly have physical components but are
primarily habitual coping mechanisms to deal with emotions we judge to
be upleasant so it is hardly miraculous that changing one's beliefs
and habits can be a "cure". I am familiar with quite a few people who
overcame their addictions but can ocassionally have a drink. In my
experience, and yours may be quite different and I am not trying to
discount your beliefs, this has more to do with healing the underlying
emotional causes of addiction.

Many people have difficulty (for good reason) discerning the
difference between emotional and physical pain. This is because in the
brain they are the same thing and the same centres are activated
(unkind words really can hurt if they are believed by the person
receiving them). While the neurophysiology of pain is still not
completely understood it is commonly understood by specialists that
part of the cause behind chronic pain is, in simplistic terms, that a
feedback loop has been created. There's some fantastic research being
done in this area currently that will hopefully help prevent chronic
pain syndrome.

The power of the mind and our beliefs over the body can really be
quite spectacular. This doesn't mean that we can control all our
bodily functions - or eliminate non-psychosomatic illnesses - with our
mind. At least not without some very intense training such as that
undertaken by monks who dedicate their life to meditating.

I am sure we could both cite instances that we believe prove our
perspective, and I respect your right to believe what you wish and to
explain the world in terms that make sense to you. Many things look
like magic or miracles when we don't understand how they function. A
telephone would seem magical to someone from the 1600s. There are many
illusions we can weave that appear to be magical if we understand how
human visual or audio perception works. Indeed there is much more to
the world than meets the eyes (and our interpretations of what we
think we see! Is not the practice of meditation at least partly
about letting go of the illusions woven from the fabric of our desires
so that we may discern what IS not what we wish to be? Do we need to
believe in a god to know that love and compassion are worthwhile and
healing? As I have shared, I have no issue with people believing in
whatever god they choose as long as they don't trying and impose it
upon others (and I'm sure we can agree that religion has been used to
repress others at times and still is).

We all need a sense of meaning, it's a fundamental psychological need
for us humans and how we order and make sense of the world. Obviously
your beliefs give your life meaning and I respect that and I hope you
also respect my right to see the world differently than you do. Our
differences in perspectives and beliefs aside, we both seem to share a
common belief that love and compassion are worthwhile and
healing...even if our beliefs are based upon different criteria. And I
respect the fact that though you believe in miracles you don't have
the need to discount physical medicine.
blessings and peace
ovasoul

Awtar:
I also weigh in on Ovasoul because her beliefs match mine and I appreciate
seeing both sides of the coin. Thanks to both of you.
Heartfully
Teresa