The following diagram may be helpful in visualising the process
of sharing the One life with individual organisms:-
The actual situation, of course, is infinitely more complex
than a simple diagram can show, but here we are looking at general
principles in an effort to understand the nature of existence.
Dr P Groves, Swedenborg's Mighty
Contribution - The spiritual foundations of biology
oOo
It must be recognised that people have a deeply placed inner life,
a psychic or mental life, and bodily existence. They have a spiritual component,
a mental component and a biological component.
The mutual, harmonious and natural interplay between these levels and components support life and
promote health. Blockages or deviations in any line of influence leads to repercussions through the
whole person. The natural healer has to keep before their mental eyes the plan of this most important
interrelation whenever they accept a new patient. They must learn how to locate and identify those
departures from law and order which break up the proper interplay and exchange between the primary levels
of being. The roots of disease are to be located in this triad. For example, nutritional deficiencies
affect the biological component, disturb the mental component and disorganise the whole person.
Mental conflicts, inadequacies, repressions and regressions seriously disturb a person's outlook and
control, and often reflect into the body as psychosomatic disorder.
Spiritual ignorance, deviation from the inner laws of life,
misdirection of spiritual energies or even rejection of spiritual
reality strike at the foundations of mind and body so that they
lose their harmony of relationships.
The
Philosophy of Natural Healing by Dr Groves, Ch1 Foundations
of the Philosophy of Natural Healing
oOo
Heavy, bad long lasting emotions can so change the chemistry of the body that the immune system,
the thing that gives our major protection against infection can be depressed. And so we are rendered
more and more susceptible to infections. The colour of the bile changes with the emotions. So we find
that every mood, every state affects the molecular pattern of the body. We also find that strong clear
firm positive thoughts held in the mind and spread through the body; that helps to produce a salubrious
state. Our general chemistry becomes better organised, better integrated. We are less susceptible to
ills and misfortunes. But when people carry gloomy, depressed, worrying thoughts within themselves the
opposite happens. Again their chemistry changes, the metabolism is affected and they become susceptible
to all the trivial little passing ills. But above all the molecules of our body are susceptible to
spiritual forces. Now spiritual forces are flowing through us continuously. And if we have learnt to open
ourselves to some extent to this subtle atmosphere that is proceeding through us constantly, we find that
the molecules will respond to those creative and nutritive energies of the spirit. The molecules will
align themselves with these spiritual forces. They come into a state of correspondence with them.
And when our organic body gets into correspondence with spiritual influences, then we find there is a
completely new surge of life through us and we feel it. We not only feel it but we know it.
We have to get ourselves into a positive steady state as much as possible so as to maintain a
certain constancy of our internal environment so that we are not thrown into either emotional or
chemical fluctuations that can work against us.
Dr P Groves
oOo
Visualisation is another powerful method of arousing and reinforcing the protective action of
the immune system. Visualisation is based upon an understanding of the internal states of energy
underlying moods, attitudes and other psychological states. Suitably organised patterns of thought
which are internally seen as clear, meaningful images, mobilise psychological energies in a salubrious
manner. Physiological energies follow the patterns of the mental energies and images, and this produces
a good bodily response. Children with leukemia can be taught to visualise their healthy white blood
corpuscles as miniature space craft equipped with powerful laser guns. When these fighting cells encounter
cancer cells, the latter are blasted out of existence by laser attack. Elderly people can in a similar way
be shown how to use visualisation techniques to measurably increase the number and effectiveness of natural
killer cells in their blood.
Dr Philip Groves, Science and Esoteric
Wisdom: Ch2 The Lymphatic System and the Emotions
Recommended
Books, DVDs & CDs on Health, Wholeness & Harmony.
Swedenborg's Mighty Contribution to the welfare of the soul
by Dr Philip Groves.
A compilation of eight lectures presented
including "Swedenborg's View of the Individual", "Swedenborg's
Spiritual Psychology", "Myths, Symbols and Parables", Phantasy
and Reality", "Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs", "Spiritual foundations
of Biology", and "Swedenborg's Vision: A Quantum Leap in Time".
The book is well illustrated with eight exquisite full
colour mandalas.
$15.00
The Philosophy of Natural Healing, by Dr Philip
Groves.
Natural therapy can provide a very great service to the
community. By virtue of its wholistic foundations, it gives
attention to the total person and helps him live in harmony
with nature. It accomplishes this by means of various regimes
and thorough education. The regimes are practical ways of restoring
health to the person, and education is the means of helping
him to know and understand the laws of nature and how to live
in obedience to them. Health, wholeness and harmony are the
central themes of natural healing; they are also the central
themes of sound living. The material included here incorporates
an overview of the whole field of natural therapies - yoga,
naturopathy, nutrition, forms of massage, spiritual healing
and also a broad view of methods of improving well-being and
quality of life.
$30.00
Spiritual Psychology by Dr Philip Groves.
2006, 115p paperback
Spiritual psychology is concerned with the arousal
and development of the buried potentials of human life which
are unknown to most people and but dimly suspected by a few.
It is the application to ourselves of methods and disciplines
that serve to establish the conditions in which a completely
new kind of life may begin to appear. This new life is often
referred to as rebirth or regeneration. We cannot make it happen,
because we have no power over the higher levels of the universe;
but we can work upon ourselves and prepare the ground for the
possible ingression of spiritual, celestial and Divine energies
which are capable of reviving us. This book deals with details
of a methodology which leads to self transformation. The concepts
in Swedenborg's spiritual teachings are drawn upon as well as
from other esoteric teachings.
$30.00
Science and Esoteric Wisdom by Dr Philip Groves.
2010, 197p paperback.
Here we find a wonderful combination of
the laws of the natural world and the laws of the universe as
taught by esotericism. It is explained that these universal
laws are found as guidelines and sources of wonder throughout
all natural existence; specific examples are studied in order
to be able to recognize this - in human biology in the form
of cells and anatomical mechanics, in literature and creative
expression, and within the structure of many world religions
throughout history. There are also specific chapters devoted
to examining esoteric material and how we can apply it to ourselves
in order to gain a more abundant life experience.
$30.00
Spiritual Foundations by Dr Philip Groves.
2010,
205 pages, paperback
Spiritual Foundations is a detailed exploration
of the ways in which a person is spiritually connected with
the cosmos, written with re-markable clarity. An extensive study
of the language of correspondences provides insights into the
meanings of the natural world, and clarifies our relationship
to the Whole.
$35.00
Observing Spirit by Peter Rhodes.
2005, 227 pages, paperback.
Peter Rhodes presents a practical guide to spiritual
progress on the path to Heaven with Gurdjieff and Swedenborg.
Stressing personal responsibility for overcoming negative traits,
each chapter explains how we can realize our true spiritual
awareness by cultivating awareness of our baser reactions and
by applying the tools of Gurdjieff's spiritual method, "the
Work", to our everyday existence.
$20.00
The Natural Depth in Man, by Wilson Van Dusen.
1972, 208 pages, paperback.
A psychologist explores a person's
inner states. He discusses the limits of consciousness including
expansion of awareness through drugs and mystical experience,
dreams and their significance, the strange logic of madness,
and other realms of the psyche.
$15.00
The Presence of Other Worlds by Wilson Van Dusen.
2004, 266 pages, paperback.
When piecing together clues drawn
from his own personal experi-ence, his work with mental patients
and his study of Eastern & Western philosophy, clinical psychologist,
Van Dusen discovered much in common with the spiritual findings
of Swedenborg. A cen-tral theme involves the need to consider
the implications of living a useful and thoughtfully directed
life.
$20.00
Spiritual Recovery by Grant Schnarr.
1998, 117 pages, paperback.
Using a twelve-step approach, Schnarr presents
a path to freedom, away from destructive tendencies, toward
greater awareness of others, self and God. Filled with practical
advice for incorporating the twelve steps into life, the book
explains how each step works.
$18.00
Essays of Spiritual Psychology by Carolyn Blackmer.
1991, 60 pages, paperback.
The reader will find a clear outline
of Swedenborg?s psychological concepts through an accessible
and concise account of how they emerged from his own profound
process of personal and spiritual transformation.
$18.00
Hearts, Heads & Hands by Stephen Russell-Lacy.
2008, 180p paperback.
These pages from a psychologist's case
book tell of a helpful spiritual outlook quite different from
the guilt inducing religion of the past.
$28.00
DVDs of talks given at the Swedenborg
Centre.
Carl Jung: Wounded Healer of the Soul.
Claire
Dunne presents a human spiritual portrait of Jung and the core
of his work, with some emphasis on the late years of his deep-est
flowering and amplified by symbolic images from her beautifully
illustrated book Carl Jung: Wounded Healer of the Soul.
$12.00
Understanding Sickness and disease through Swedenborg.
The man-in-the-street's perception of modern medicine is that
it is really only his body that is sick; that there is therefore
a pill or medication for most ailments. Swedenborg outlines
a different model for understanding illness and health. Talk
given by John Maitland.
$12.00
Energetics of Healing.
"Energetics of Healing"
refers to the dynamic processes and interactions between the
various levels of our being - physical, psychological, emotional,
spiritual - that are involved in healing (as well as in disease)
and appreciating how these internal processes manifest through
these levels. Presented by Martine Negro.
$12.00
Health and Correspondences: Towards inner and outer harmony.
Even though "blushing" is an obvious outer expression of an
uncomfortable inner state, it is not as obvious when one generates
high blood pressure, rash or chronic pain from an inner highly
emotionally charged issue. Martine discusses the subtle manifestations
of inner correspondences, looking at how we reconnect with them.
Presented by Martine Negro.
$12.00
CDs
The Healing of the Spirit, by Dr Michael Stanley.
Healing the spirit of spiritual sickness and disease such as
jealousy or self pity is of greater importance than healing
of the body alone. It is such spiritual illnesses that are the
real subject of stories in the Gospels. The way in which we
can experience truly spiritual heal-ing, and why this is sometimes
delayed, is explained according to spiritual principles of life.
$9.00
Books that can be borrowed from the lending library.
Mind as Healer, Mind as Slayer by Kenneth R. Pelletier.
This is a seminal book on the link between stress and four major
types of illness: cardiovascular disease, cancer, arthritis,
and respiratory disease. Dr Pelletier offers a holistic approach
to preventing stress disorder, exploring the sources of stress
and supplying methods for evaluating one's own stress levels.
Sound Mind, Sound Body. A new model for lifelong Health by Kenneth R. Pelletier.
In this dramatic new approach to understanding personal health, Dr. Pelletier shows how lifelong
good health is far more dependent on a positive, purposeful life orientation than on aerobic workouts
and rigid low-fat diets.
The best alternative medicine by Kenneth R. Pelletier.
Dr. Pelletier evaluates the major areas of complementary medicine and addresses how they can be used
to treat specific conditions. He explains such popular therapies as herbal and homeopathic remedies, spiritual healing,
and traditional Chinese systems, discussing their effectiveness, the ailments each is most appropriate for, and
how they can prevent illness.
