Esoteric Healing: A Modern Perspective Journal of Esoteric Psychology • Volume 4 • No. 1 • 1988

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ESOTERIC HEALING:A MODERN

PERSPECTIVE

By Jose Becerra, MD, MPH, FACPM

Any discussion of esoteric healing needs to beplaced in the context of the current paradigmsof healing, orthodox and unorthodox. Theorthodox paradigm considers subjectivism, andthe inner dimensions of healing as a nuisanceto the progress of science and medicine. For theorthodox scientist, the golden standard of proofis the randomized, double-blinded, clinicaltrial. The so-called "placebo effect" is theremnant of an expression of reality that hasnot yielded to the reductionist grinder of amaterialistic science.

The current competing paradigm, underthe rubrics of holistic or alternative medicine,professes allegiance to the integration of spirit,mind and body. At first sight, it seems to bethe answer to the shortcoming of the orthodoxmodel. However, within this heterogeneousgroup of unorthodox diagnostic and treatmentmodalities, a self-centered body awareness istoo many times the sole focus of attention. Thisemphasis on physical health can be easilyascertained by reading the current holisticliterature as well as by its fierce competitivespirit against the orthodox modalities ofdiagnosis and treatment. If its focus werereally different, why compete for the samebodies with such entrepreneurial passion? Itseems that the spiritual dimensions of theholistic approach have been left outside anypractical role in the process of healing. Thereare significant although very few exceptions tothis generalization. In contrast, the science ofesoteric healing stands on its own, theetymological meaning of esoteric healing is "tomake sound from within." This definition addsnew or maybe lost dimensions to the process ofhealing: the "within."

This definition also adds an unequivocaldirection to the healing process. It is fromwithin, and not from without, that the ultimatesource of healing, of making sound and holy, isencountered. The physical body becomes theeffect and not the cause of illness. Only thencan the right perspective of spirit, mind andbody be attained.

The origin of the science of esoteric healingis unknown to me, as is the origin of diseaseand pain. However, the existence of anunderlying structure of thought is proven bythe many systems of healing that haveappeared throughout history before the adventof modern science. I am reluctant to ascribedetailed and exacting systems of healing suchas Ayurvedic medicine and acupuncture toignorance and superstition.

Furthermore, I do not think that what ispublicly known today about these systems isall they really are. In this sense I see thedifferent systems of healing akin to the manyreligions of the world today: they reveal acommon origin and a common process ofbenign distortion of an original truth.

The science of esoteric healing is not theintellectual possession of any person, group,institution or nation. The science of esoterichealing is as naturally available as rivers andwaterfalls. To the unready, however, thissacred science is as inaccessible as themountaintop that supplies the flowing waters. There are people who can naturally tapinto a river or maybe a creek supplied by thisknowledge. These are the natural healers of allages: the higher they tap into the source, thepurer their system. The lower their followerstap into that source, the more distorted it has

Esoteric Healing: A Modern Perspective Journal of Esoteric Psychology • Volume 4 • No. 1 • 1988

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reached us. Many orthodox scientists findevidence of disproof in such distortions. I findirrefutable evidence of a mountaintopwhenever I see a river, even if its water waspolluted. The basic principles of the science ofesoteric healing are within reach to those whocan access the mountaintop (the "within"dimensions of being). Furthermore, the path ofascent is not uncharted. In the same way thatprevious travelers have left some useful signsthat have become the well known Yoga Sutrasof Patanjali, travelers of this particular pathhave left behind some signs to guide theneophyte. The result is the laws and rules ofesoteric healing as presented in Djwal Khul'streatise Esoteric Healing, (Lucis PublishingCo., New York; Lucis Press Ltd. London; 1953). According to my views, there are threebasic ideas or principles that underlie thescience of esoteric healing. The first principalstates that all disease is the result of inhibitedsoul life. The second principle postulates theexistence of the reflection of the soul on thephysical plane, the etheric body. The ethericbody is the most immediate antecedent in thecausal chain of events culminating in thephysical expression of disease. The thirdprinciple of esoteric healing is theinterdependence of all units of life within theplanetary, solar and cosmic life. This lastprinciple addresses the relationship betweenthe individual and his environment. The firstbasic principle of esoteric healing deals withthe most transcendental fact of humanexistence, the reality of the soul. A closeparallel can be drawn between the nucleuswithin the atom and the soul within anindividual. Both are infinite sources of energyat the microcosmic and macrocosmic levels,respectively. It was no accident that the firstcomprehensive treatise on the science ofesoteric healing (1953) was closely timed to therelease at atomic energy (1945). It is my beliefthat further progress in releasing the energy ofthe atom is hampered by our lack ofunderstanding of the laws of the soul. Thecorrect application of the laws and rules ofesoteric healing are a step in the right

direction. It is known that the nucleus of oursolar system, the Sun, releases atomic energyby a "natural" method quite different of thatused by modern physics. The Sun releasesatomic energy by fusion, whereas modernscience attempts the same feat by fission. Thelaws of esoteric healing are closer to the fusionprocess in the sun than to the fission process inthe modern nuclear reactor. The esoteric healer attempts to release theenergy of the soul by fusing with the patient'ssoul. This requires long practice andproficiency in the science of meditation.Meditation esoterically understood, is themeans by which contact and completeintegration with the soul are accomplishedwithin the healer. This degree of integrationwith the soul is accomplished within thehealer. This degree of integration with the soulis the real meaning behind terms such as"wholism" and integrity. Once this degree ofinner alignment is achieved, then the healer,already made sound from within, serves as acatalyst for other human atoms to undergo thesame transformation. Only then is the soul'senergy safely released to heal and make soundnot only the individual, but the wholeplanetary life of which he is part. A decentralized attitude on the part of bothpatient and healer is needed in order for trueand lasting healing to occur. The illness in thephysical body is not the focus of attention. Theart of the healer is concerned with the lifting ofthe downward focused eyes unto the soul, thetrue healer within the form. In consequence,there are three equally successful outcomes inesoteric healing, (1) complete healing (sometimes referred to as "spontaneous remission" or"placebo effect" by the skeptics), (2) theestablishing of a state of mind which willenable the patient to live with himself andwith his complaint, un-handicapped by thekarmic limitations of his body, or (3) enablingthe patient to achieve (with joy and facility)the right liberation from the body and, throughthe portal of death, to pass to complete health.It is this decentralized attitude that really setsapart what currently is accepted as "holistic"from the practice of true esoteric healing.

Esoteric Healing: A Modern Perspective Journal of Esoteric Psychology • Volume 4 • No. 1 • 1988

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The second basic principle of esoterichealing postulates the existence of the ethericbody. The etheric body is an energy field thatinterpenetrates the dense physical body. Itsexistence is not accepted as such by theorthodox biomedical community. However,research such as that done by Dr. RupertSheldrake strongly points in this direction.

The condition of the etheric bodydetermines the degree of susceptibility toillness. Seven main foci of energy arerecognized within the etheric bodycorresponding to each of the seven importantendocrine glands: the pineal, pituitary, thyroid,thymus, pancreas, gonads and adrenal. Each ofthese foci is in a state of delicate balancebringing into dynamic equilibrium the energiescoming from within (the emotions and themind) and from the environment. Medicaldiagnosis is greatly simplified by payingattention to the state of each one of these foci.The growing field of psycho-neuro-immunologybears witness to the many recent discoverieson how the within (the soul, mind andemotions) expresses itself through the nervousand immune systems to render the physicalbody immune or susceptible to illness. Thepsychological causes of illness are veryimportant in esoteric healing because theyrepresent modifiable factors for which theindividual is responsible (in this or in a formerlife) that are inhibiting the flow of life of thesoul. Herein lies the greatest potential forprevention at the individual level ofintervention. Disease such as arthritis andmigraine are preventable in this or the nextlife if the right steps are taken in "negating thecause by the opposition of a trained will."

The third basic principle of the science ofesoteric healing is the interdependence of allunits of life within the planetary, solar andcosmic life. As we have seen, the etheric bodyis the point where a balance is reachedbetween the inner and the outer environment(the outer environment includes inheritedbiological predisposition through parents). Theetheric body is a direct link between theindividual and the planetary life, including therest of humanity. Communicable diseases,

epidemics, unintentional injuries andmalnutrition are examples of illnesses forwhich the individual is not solely responsible.For instance, epidemics can be traced to thecondition of the planetary etheric body. It isinteresting that "communicable diseases" (aterm not used in the treatise and for which Iassume full responsibility) are classified inEsoteric Healing as "the planetary diseases:cancer, tuberculosis, syphilitic diseases." Theallusion to "syphilitic diseases" I interpret asrelated to the modern term "sexuallytransmitted diseases." Also, the eventualdiscovery of cancer as a communicable diseaseis a prophecy made in the treatise. It is furtherstated, "Some day medicine will realize thatbehind every single disease lie these threemain tendencies in the human body." Theresemblance with what homeopaths call"miasms" is apparent.

The treatise is most emphatic in the needto integrate the knowledge of modernmedicine, especially in dealing withenvironmentally related causes of disease,such as diseases preventable by immunization.Even with causes related to psychologicalfactors it is stated, "ordinary, ameliorative,medical or surgical methods will not bewithheld." In addition, the need toscientifically prove new experimental diagnosisand therapeutic methods is under covered. Finally, the role of medical astrology inpreventive medicine is related to this thirdbasic principle of esoteric healing. It is stated,"The time has come for a study of the ethericbody, of the conditioning rays which govern itsmanifestation in space, and of astrology, whichgoverns its manifestation in time." It ispredicted that eventually "the etheric body willbe checked by correct astrologicalconclusions...Astrology, however, must be liftedout of the hands of those interested inprediction astrology and placed in the hands oftrained mathematical scientists and in thehands of those who have given as much time toscientific training along astrological lines as isnow given to training a reputable physician, achemist or a biologist."

In summary, the etheric body, individual,

Esoteric Healing: A Modern Perspective Journal of Esoteric Psychology • Volume 4 • No. 1 • 1988

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planetary and cosmic, is the scientificfoundation for the study of past accumulatedpredispositions and the environment thatprecipitates such predispositions into actualdisease. Research focused on the three basicprinciples discussed in this brief exposition issorely needed to bring closer to reality thepreventive and curative potential promised inthe science of esoteric healing.

Dr. Jose Becerra, a physician who engages inpreventive medicine and public health, is aFellow of the American College of PreventiveMedicine. One of Dr. Becerra's primary,interests is the attempt to link orthodox andscientific paradigms with esoteric healing.