Voices of Healing
Rev. LeRoy Zemke
Temple of the Living God
St. Petersburg, Florida 33713
That night, God appeared to Solomon and said to him, 'Ask for
whatever you want me to give to you.' Solomon answered, 'Now Lord God
... give me wisdom and knowledge so I can lead these people in the
right way..."
Chronicles 1:7,9-10
"All the cosmic patterns, the secrets of the Universe are
embedded in our muscles and bones and cells, in ... the context of
the self"
George Leonard
In our Western Society, alternative therapies, new and different
modalities, and numerous singular approaches abound to the way we can
look at, think about and approach the subject of healing. It is a
moot question a to which system or mode is best for any two people
for the same or similar ailment.
For instance, if you personally experience discomfort in your back,
neck or shoulders, feet or legs...what are your options? Do you (a)
see an M.D.? (b) visit a chiropractor? (c) have a session with an
acupuncturist or reflexologist? (d) resort to homeopathy or flower
essences? (e) make an appointment with a psychotherapist? (f) consult
with a psychic to determine cause and treatment? (g) contact your
minister, spiritual teacher or guru and ask for spiritual mind
treatment; (h) pray about it; (i) meditate about it; (j) visit your
health food store and ask about appropriate foods, vitamins, or
herbs? (k) have a massage; (l) go on a fast and do serious physical
cleansing to eliminate-bodily toxins? (m) ignore the symptoms untiI
they either ‘go away' or get worse; (n) try past life regression
therapy; (o) change your dietary construct; or (p) relocate - i.e.,
move to a new apartment, or new area of the city, or another state?
And while this is only an abbreviated listing of the many viable
alternative health avenues available toward wholeness, I will
reference the value of study and discernment later herein as we make
our individual approach.
If you have ever been in a health related dilemma, then you know that
it can be enormously confusing to even begin to know where to start,
let alone determine which modality of system of healing to pursue.
The inherent message of healing is about recovering our inner
wholeness. Recovery is discovery. lt’s a journey, not a
destination. The voices of healing are many, varied, and all have
value. But our work, I believe, is to appropriately sort and clarify
what we need and what we really can implement in our personal arena.
In an awakening state of awareness, I believe that each of us is
called to begin to take some personal responsibility for our
individual choices of the any voices of healing. I suggest a straight
forward approach to any and all of the "opportunities" that
may stretch before us and we may need to consider an avenue of health
related involvement (care., treatment) in our personal lives.
(I). Get "Right with God.” First things first! Our
connection to and our relationship with the Eternal Source of All
Life is and should be our primary consideration. Getting
“right" with God suggests that we need to place our faith
and trust in the Divine to guide, lead and direct our choices and
decisions. We need to put our trust in the Absolute to
"reveal" to us which avenue or modus is for the best or
highest good in our personal situations or conditions.
Getting right with God means practicing our spiritual disciplines,
such as prayer or meditation, to seek God’s help or assistance
in any issue or question before us. After we have asked for God's
help, we can proceed to the next step. Maybe God says
"Wait.” Perhaps God says "Visit your herbalist or
massage therapist." Or it seems to us, that God is silent and
says nothing. We have sincerely and penitently asked for guidance and
no real, direct " answer” is forthcoming. What do we do? If
we cannot recognize the answer or we feel confused about the answer,
then I suggest that we should resort to the help of a trusted friend,
teacher or therapist who may enable us to sort out our confusion and
shed some light on our lack of clairty. When that is accomplished,
give thanks to God for the “answer" - the help, assistance,
direction offered.
(II). Proceed cautiously, but with conviction. For example, it may
have been indicated that our approach to healing should include both
dietary changes and a muscle therapy. Gather information. Read.
Study. Get data that is clear, precise and tried and proven. Evaluate
it for your needs. Then and then only, act upon it. Take the plunge.
However, somewhat like learning to swim. "Wade slowly into the
water" first. Get adjusted to the temperature and the feel of
the water as opposed to dry land and moving your body through air.
You're in a new (different) element. Approach it with care,
consistency and diligence.
If we need to be more mindful of our diet because what we eat tends
to disagree with us (makes us uncomfortable or ill), we may need to
look at our attitudes. Do we eat when we're nervous? irritated? feel
alone? upset or distress over some condition or circumstance we
cannot accept of control?
The answers will provide clues to our condition.
It may also be that our body is telling us to "lay off meat"
for a while. If so, what kind of meat? Red meat? Fowl? Fish? How
often should we be able to partake? 0nce a day? Once a week? Twice?
Once a month? Or are we to eliminate it permanently?
Our work is to pay attention to the signals our body is giving us.
Learning to interpret all of the clues will require some astute
attention to details and some record keeping observing our dietary
patterns. It is a journey of discovery. Taking personal
responsibility on the journey is our task ... and can be, mastered.
Finally, whether it is a health concern or some other issue, the
voices of healing which offer us so many options must, of necessity,
be approached with care, sensitivity and reason. Life, in a larger
sense, is always offering options or choices. It is for us to make
the best choice, the wisest option, the most intelligent selection of
all that is offered at any given moment.
Then we must learn how to use, how to implement our options.
For instance, if we were to purchase a grand piano, not only for its
beauty and tonal qualities but because we hoped to be able to compose
symphonies or sonnets, we will never achieve our desire unless we
take many lessons and practice faithfully. And, indeed, eventually we
may he able to create a sonata, a rhapsody, or even a symphony after
years of endeavor.
Life calls to us to involved in our process, our unique journey. Life
invites us to discover how to take from each offering it brings and
learn what is to learned. This journey of ours requires from us our
deepest skills, a willingness to Iearn from "mistakes" and
thereby discover that which is, of necessity, really for our highest
and best good. When God is invited into our journey, when we can get
a sense that we are responding to His/Her guidance and prompting in
the silence of prayer or meditation, etc., then we can proceed ...
one step at a time into each day ... and in that process come to
honor our singular relationship with Life.