Beyond the Mind

Healing the Physical 

Today, we hear a lot of talk about the importance of addressing body, mind and spirit in healing. In reality, we rarely, if ever, look at all three areas as a whole, or even equally, when it comes to real healing. Once we practitioners encounter the patients and their symptoms, we immediately begin treating symptoms. It's rewarding to conquer symptoms. Even if we understand that a condition relates to energy stagnation or emotions, we remain stuck treating conditions. This appeals to practitioners and patients alike.

To create true healing, the practitioner has to help his or her patients understand a problem's root cause. For instance, today we now know we live in a world of energy, thanks to the insights of quantum physics. All the diseases and illnesses are fundamentally energy problems. These can be caused by the mind, by emotions or by consciousness. They can be caused by internal or external factors. Even if they are caused by external factors and "look like" they come from the outside, they are really generated by internal energy imbalances first.

The body offers us a miraculous treasure map of clues that can illuminate the cause and purpose of health problems. As practitioners, we have to search behind the presenting conditions to see their purpose for the individual, the story they are trying to tell, and the signs they offer. From the energy point of view, there is no disease; there is only energy stagnation.  When emotions, desire, and the mind cannot flow freely, they will create energy stagnation. This stagnation can progress from the energetic level to a vast array of physical conditions and also create situations that allow external factors to enter the body. That's why it "looks like" we have caught bronchitis. It "looks like" we fell and broke a bone (but what is broken in our lives?). Or, it "looks like" we didn't drive carefully enough and caused an "accident." From small things like catching a cold to life events like developing cancer, this energy principle applies. Within each of these situations, a story is embedded that the conscious mind of the patient needs to tell and clues to why it created them. To understand these dynamics is to use our innate ability to discover the answers the energy way.

Take the condition of being overweight. As noted elsewhere in this issue of Harmony, obesity is a national epidemic. Excess weight means your body is suffering from energy stagnation. Is it just the food . . . or is it your mind? What's the deeper fear behind the excess weight? Is it related to your job? Your emotions? Your relationships? Unless you solve the problem behind this condition, even if you exercise or change your diet, the results will never be permanent. Why? Deep down your conscious mind is not dealing with the cause. What about migraines? Is it the migraine . . . or is your whole life a headache? Is a relationship or your job causing your headache? Are your responsibilities causing your migraine? Until you go further and identify the real cause, prescription drugs, Tylenol or even acupuncture can only alleviate the symptoms.

If we can search our mind more deeply, we will see energy in a different light. We can begin to comprehend that all conditions or diseases in our lives have a reason and a purpose. Your disease or illness exists uniquely to help you recognize that something in your life is out of balance. Don't simply seek to treat the disease or illness; learn what it is telling you. What do you need to change to bring your body, mind, spirit, and emotions into balance and harmony? If you can find this answer, then you have found the real cure. If you cannot find it by using your mind, then embrace meditation. It helps you drop your mind and listen to your heart. It gives you the unique opportunity to find the answer that is already there waiting for you. Remember, you have to trust that your body possesses all the healing knowledge it needs. Only your mind is standing in the way.

Nan Lu, O.M.D., is the founder of the Traditional Chinese Medicine World Foundation. He has spent more than a decade helping his patients discover the path to true healing and true health. He is the founder of Building Bridges of Integration for Traditional Chinese Medicine and will speak at this educational forum in October 2006.