Physical Healing

In the decision to be separate from God, the part of your mind that chose to be not-God, ego, needed a means to make separation from God real to you. This is what the body is for. It is the “proof” that separation from God is real and the means the ego uses to make you feel whole again. The ego teaches you to use the body to get what you want in the world, be they situations, things or other bodies.

Though made to make separation from God real to you, the body is actually neutral. It has no feelings or impulses of its own. All of its feelings and impulses come from your mind. When you identify with the Holy Spirit you have no personal goal for the body. The Holy Spirit uses the body as a means to reach minds that perceive themselves as separate from God to teach them of their Oneness with God. When the Holy Spirit is done with the body, It will not destroy it, but lay it aside.

Yet sickness is not of the body, but of the mind. All forms of sickness are signs that the mind is split, and does not accept a unified purpose. (T-8.IX.8)

As long as you identify with the ego the body will manifest as illness the inherent guilt and fear of the ego-mind. When you are ego-identified you will use illness in many ways: As a manifestation of fear, whether it is fear of God or fear of the world; to bring attention to you from others; to get rest; to avoid situations you do not want; to punish yourself when you feel guilt for something you perceive you did in the world; to punish yourself for separating from God.

Physical illness (and mental illness that is perceived to have its origins in the body) are symptoms of your perception of yourself as not-God. This perception is itself the “illness” that must be healed. The only way to heal the body is to heal your mind. Whenever you experience physical healing it is because you no longer see value in the illness. You may accept this directly and experience “spontaneous” healing. But if you cannot accept healing comes from your mind, then you project the source of your healing onto a person, treatment, therapy or medicine, be it “traditional” or “alternative”. For a long while the awareness that the source of illness and healing is in your mind might frighten you more than the illness. As long as this is the case, it is better to accept help from outside agents of healing than to suffer.

An individual may ask for physical healing because he is fearful of bodily harm. At the same time, if he were healed physically, the threat to his thought system might be considerably more fearful to him than its physical expression. In this case he is not really asking for release from fear, but for the removal of a symptom that he himself selected. This request is, therefore, not for healing at all. (T-9.II.2)

Physical medications are forms of "spells," but if you are afraid to use the mind to heal, you should not attempt to do so…Under these conditions, it is safer for you to rely temporarily on physical healing devices… (T-2.V.2)

Healing is not permanent, however, until you accept full healing of your mind. As long as there is some ego-identification, there will be manifestations of illness. The less you identify with ego, the less you will use the body for your own purposes, and the less the body will manifest this mis-identification.

When you are ill, it is not bad or wrong or a failure, but a mistake. You can lovingly take care of yourself without guilt. And you will lessen the impact of the illness by learning to recognize it as simply an “eruption” of ego and detach from it. Sometimes, if the reason you have chosen to be ill is obvious then dealing with the cause may help you to detach from the symptoms and to overcome it faster. But blaming yourself for the illness or spending long amounts of time digging around in your psyche for the cause are not helpful. The former only increases your guilt; the latter only makes the illness more real to you.

Know that the source of illness is ego-identification and that this is a mistake you can correct. Use the illness as a reminder to spend more time communing with God. Ask the Holy Spirit’s guidance for self-care as well as for choosing caretakers and treatments. Remember you are a teacher of God and use the illness as an opportunity to extend love to those who come into your life because of your illness – caretakers and others who may be ill as well. Don’t take the illness personally, but give it a purpose in your awakening. Use it to heal your mistaken belief you are not Part of God. Remember, no one comes into your life by accident. Why would that change just because you are sick?

The body cannot heal, because it cannot make itself sick. It needs no healing. Its health or sickness depends entirely on how the mind perceives it, and the purpose that the mind would use it for. (T-19.I.3)

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Comments

Poppo said…
"Remember, no one comes into your life by accident" Now you got me. Is this stated in the Course somewhere? Who organizes these entries into one's life?

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