This series of articles is a summary of a recently published book 1 of the same title by Dr Paul Dupont, a former head of a clinic and member of the Rose-Croix University International. By Joe van Dalen | Nov 02, 2020
SOURCE: https://amorc.org.au/articles/2020-11-02-foundations-of-health/

Part 1

Physical, Mental and Spiritual Wellbeing

More and more books and articles relate how to maintain good health and fitness from a physical point of view. An increasing number also deal with health from a mental perspective. But the spiritual aspect of health is still rarely discussed. This despite the fact that the physical, mental and spiritual planes of our being are all related.

Much scientific evidence today supports the link between our physical body, thoughts and emotions. Research is also emerging that corroborates the notion that there is a spiritual influence on our health which mystics of the past have always maintained. While most people focus on the physical and the mental aspects, it cannot be ignored that the source of energy that maintains life is essentially of a spiritual nature.

The spiritual and material parts of our existence can therefore not be separated since they interact with each other. While the physical body may at times lack vitamins and mineral elements, so the spiritual and mental may be lacking emotional and spiritual nutrition. Good health is an equilibrium between the physical and spiritual. Harmony between all levels of our being will maintain perfect health.

The Physical State

Physical deficiencies likely to disturb our Physical, Mental and Spiritual Health.

Avoiding excesses and deficiencies are keys to balanced health. If imbalances exist on any one of the levels already mentioned, it will affect the other two. Physical deficiencies that may affect the mental and spiritual levels, are the following (the list is by no means exhaustive):

Lack of iron — A lack of iron can bring on depression and a loss of memory. It automatically makes our inner being more fragile making it more difficult to maintain harmony on the mental and emotional levels.

Lack of magnesium — A lack of this mineral makes people more nervous, irritable and suffer from insomnia. They have difficulty adapting to stressful situations.

Lack of vitamin B — The lack of this vitamin leads to a loss of memory, tiredness and a difficulty concentrating, all the things needed for healthy mental activity.

Lack of phospholipids — Phospholipids are the main food for the brain and the autonomic nervous system. A lack here can disturb the connection between the physical and mental levels. The spiritual energy that flows naturally through these systems will also be disturbed. Emotional worries are the result and people find it difficult to return to a state of peace and spiritual equilibrium.

Lack of iodine — A lack of iodine lessens ideation. That is, it is vital in sensory perception and the formation of ideas. It is suggested today that when homo sapiens started to consume seafood that the species rapidly evolved. A troubled thyroid gland is the cause of difficulties. Hypothyroidism means a difficulty concentrating and slow thinking. It makes meditation and spiritual perception hard. Iodine is also a source of energy.

Lack of lithium — A lithium deficiency makes people more nervous and sensitive to stress. Stress is part of the positive and negative aspects of existence. Where people have a lessened ability to handle negative stress, there are problems of sleep, a disharmony in the functioning of the organs thus accelerating aging. Regions where drinking water has more lithium, there people are happier and live longer.

Lack of essential fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6 — A general lowering of overall energy levels, particularly of the nervous system can be the result of a lack in essential fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6. The omegas are transported by the phospholipids and provide energy; phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine transport the omega -3 DHA and EPA, both necessary for the transmission of sympathetic nervous system influx. They make up the membranes of cells of any organism, particularly neurones. Clearly a lack of these causes nervous troubles and problems in the autonomic nervous system, vital for the functioning of the body.

The Mental State

Stress and its Influence on Our Physical and Spiritual levels.

Stress is not necessarily negative. In a certain way, it can restore harmony to the human condition at the different levels. It is primarily a stimulus that can change the way we act and can be2. An awareness of stress makes it possible to discover more of Self and helps to re-centre ourselves. What makes it detrimental to health is the way we handle it negatively, when we do not realise its cause, when we throw the cause on to others or particular events. Of course, nothing ever happens by chance. While we continue to oppose the stressful conditions, it becomes a more negative factor and affects both the physical and spiritual aspects of being.

When we are in a prolonged negative stressful state, we make ‘bad blood.’ Some people manifest skin conditions like psoriasis, others digestive problems, or nervous conditions and depression. Negative thoughts poison the psyche through worries, negative emotions, and there is a general difficulty in rising above material circumstances to commune with the beneficial universal spiritual forces.

An awareness of stress makes it possible to discover more of Self and helps to re-centre ourselves.

The soul becomes imprisoned in a darkness. Preoccupied by fixed negative and disturbing ideas, a person cannot project a positive consciousness to levels of peace, harmony and goodness. Negativity releases hormones into the nervous system preventing harmony spiritually. This is exacerbated when there is too much emphasis on the ego and materialistic values.

The Spiritual State

Influence of Materialism and the Ego on the Physical and Mental Levels.

Materialism — Humanity currently benefits from the great progress made in the fields of communication and transportation, at least in industrialised countries. These conveniences should have freed individuals from material constraints and allowed for more leisure time, greater spirituality and reflection on Self.

However, the time for rest is occupied by increasing materialistic demands. The mind is almost exclusively concerned with the rational and the five senses flood the brain with material perceptions in the main. With a lack of deep thinking, humans are cut off from a relationship with the Divine and the spiritual energy of the universe, losing contact with nature. Rather, the attention is focused on the material world with the needs and passions it generates.

A lack of true spiritual values obscures the real meaning of life and diminishes insight into what we need to do to maintain proper health.

Computers and vehicles could liberate individuals but too often tend to plunge consciousness further into material values or an illusory world. Some realise this and are turning towards meditation, yoga and other ways to satisfy the inner life. However, not all methods used have a spiritual basis and may even reinforce materialism, giving the illusion of a spiritual practice. They merely amplify the ego.

A lack of true spiritual values obscures the real meaning of life and diminishes insight into what we need to do to maintain proper health. Those who take the time to meditate and attune to the divine gain information springing from the depths of their being. Isn’t the small voice within always aiming to keep us in balance, and fight against shortcomings such as egoism?

Weaknesses related to the ego — There are people who unconsciously keep themselves in a state of hate, resentment, spite, envy and jealousy. These spring from the ego and certainly from a lack of spirituality. Spirituality is not religiosity even though believers may associate the two. Spirituality is something all humanity has in common, and is innate, beyond belief and education.

A child born into a loving environment will show the characteristics of a spiritual nature. He or she will abound with energy, and growth under its influence produces an independent spirit. Gradually, this nature can be thwarted by external events, habits, living conditions, and suggestions that the material world is all important. Adolescents may go through a crisis period because of it unwittingly, where the spirituality of childhood becomes lost.

Egoism increases when young people are badly educated or brought up, and when the inner conscience is ignored. Of course, this may not directly affect the health but the moment when a debt (or Karma) intervenes, then a lack of spirituality may disturb the personality so much that the mind becomes greatly disturbed. Stress develops and perhaps physical illnesses. Depression is so common these days.

Part 2

The Physical Foundation of Health

There are four key physical foundations of health: food, drink, breathing and movement. The first three depend on a healthy non-polluted environment. The fourth can be adapted according to our age and physical condition.

The products we consume should be natural, not synthetic — It is increasingly difficult nowadays to avoid foods made of synthetic molecules that cannot match what nature has evolved for our wellbeing. Nature has virtually all the molecules that exist within our body, even the hormones. Organic chemists insist there is no difference between naturally occurring organic molecules and synthetic ones; and science does not readily accept the existence of a higher energy operating in nature and being present in matter. Louis Pasteur realised this when he fed yeasts with racemic acid synthetically produced and that these yeasts only consumed the acid in part. He deduced that there were two types of molecules which he called dextrorotatory and laevorotatory. Racemic acid is a mixture of the two.

Most medications and vitamins today contain this mixture. Our body generally accepts the laevorotatoric form, as it exists in proteins and carbohydrates. Nobody really knows what the dextrorotatory form does and it may well be toxic. Another difference between these forms of molecules is their spatial configuration, that for science remains a puzzle unless we postulate an energy capable of orientating the arrangement of carbon atoms for example (the building blocks of life), producing a weight, size and dimension to cradle life. The underlying energy is dual in nature and can explain the configuration in space of the DNA double helix.

The epigenetic phenomenon: foods act on our genes — It is easy to conclude that everything is genetically determined and that our genes determine our health and destiny. However, we are responsible for our destiny, a view that does not please creationists. Genes evolve during our life and can be modified through changing habits, our lifestyle, our food and no doubt our thinking. While our genetic inheritance may determine health to a large extent, various factors can intervene to favour or repress the manifestation of illnesses induced by them.

Epigenetics, a relatively new study, encompasses the environmental factors likely to affect the genes, and modify their beneficial or harmful activity. In some ways epigenetics is a study of the physiological functioning of the genome. A study of twins, for example, living in different environments and developing different states of health according to the polluted environment and poor nutrition, led to the idea that genes may be triggered to manifest some cancers. Such factors do not directly intervene as in genetic manipulation but influence the proteins around which DNA is entwined.

With bees, for example, we know that food can determine whether the larvae become queens or workers. This is epigenetics and can explain how species evolve, since repetitive events can reach an irreversible response on life, inducing a genetic mutation passed on to the next generation. Repeated contact with carcinogenic toxic products, or medications taken over a long period can modify the genes too. Children born of parents addicted to alcohol or drugs can be more aggressive, linked to a lack of serotonin in the life of the parents.

Daily discoveries are being made of industrial chemicals that affect our health: bisphenol A (BPA), for example, contained in plastic bottles and food containers, has been found to induce a resistance to insulin and effect adiponectin, a protein satiation hormone that protects us from diabetes. On the other hand, epigenetics has also shown the role of foods. Vitamins like B6, B9 and B12, provided they are natural, found in foods like broccoli, avocados have a protective effect and can have a reversible effect on pathogenic genes. The list of harmful and beneficial effects of many substances on health is endless.

With bees, for example, we know that food can determine whether the larvae become queens or workers.

Digestion starts on the plate with the secretion of enzymes — Salivary and intestinal secretions are triggered at the mere sight of food, triggering memory of taste and odour, in anticipation of what we are about to eat. The body is capable of unconsciously remembering what is good for it or unpleasant. When bad, allergies may be the reaction; hives, for example, may appear after consuming certain foods.

There is a link, of course, with thought processes, since at times, allergies appear if there has been psychological conflict or stress. In any case, digestion begins in the mouth when we salivate and start chewing; the happier we are eating, the more nutrients are digested, free from abdominal discomforts. We should avoid food filled with synthetic aromas and substances. Where natural fresh foods are not available, it is better to consume snap frozen products. Teaching children good eating habits and food choices is naturally very important.

The large peristaltic wave — A peristaltic movement operates right along the digestive tract to ensure the food is digested properly to provide the utmost nutrition. This movement remarkably follows a cycle; it starts from the back of the throat right through the intestine to the rectum.

There is also a slow recovery wave that depends on the parasympathetic nervous system, particularly the vagus nerve and is effective only outside mealtimes. Its action occurs independent of our will and its economy is very much dependent on our thinking. Discord and stress may upset its work and block it, causing reflux, with poor bile excretion, reacting with the acids of the stomach forming gas. Sitting down in a relaxed manner is best when eating.

Walking after a meal for digestion — Why is it good to walk after a meal? Firstly, to induce mental relaxation, and secondly to mobilise the lymphatic system for better circulation. It is partly through lymph and through veins near the intestines that nutrients are absorbed. Walking helps with this nutrient exchange.

However, it is important not to get cold during digestion and to not undertake too much strenuous physical activity straight away, diverting blood away from the intestine to the major organs. Smoking and alcohol do not aid digestion either but rather constrict the blood vessels. Research has shown that a ten-minute walk lessens the glycaemic load3. Less insulin is therefore required to regulate sugar in the blood and cells. A short walk after a meal can be more beneficial than a long walk at other times. An increase in glycemia causes weight gain.

Are the intestines our second brain? — It is in recent times that researchers have postulated that the intestine could be a second brain, as if we had a particular behaviour management system coming from our stomach! By definition, the satisfaction in eating motivates our behaviour; if we look at the animal kingdom, we can well believe this.

Of course, this does not only apply to food: seeking shelter, the pleasure related to reproduction, the quenching of thirst, are natural needs to be satisfied. For humans, why not consider the heart as the second brain rather than the intestines? Nevertheless, the conclusion of some scientists is that well-functioning intestines lead to good behaviour and attitude; conversely bad behaviour and attitude can affect the digestive system. The brain and the digestive systems communicate with each other through the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

The intestinal brain depends on the flora of natural bacilli that live in the gut. It has been found that depressed people develop harmful flora; and given that good flora synthesises 95% of serotonin which the body needs, a substance enabling a person to be calm, we see that a vicious circle starts when the more dysbiosis or microbial imbalance exists inside the body, the less serotonin the brain has, and the more prone we are to depression. But it is difficult to say if depression has caused the dysbiosis or dysbiosis has caused the depression.

We are familiar today with faecal transplants to re-establish nervous harmony and good bacteria, clearly showing that we live in osmosis with good and bad bacteria, just as our cells react to our emotions, thoughts and acts. We have in and on us around 100 billion protective bacteria of some 500 plus species, that is, about 10 times more than the total number of cells.

Without realising it, they influence our thinking, psychic function, our aura in effect, and just like trees need all these micro-organisms in their roots and the billions of insects, we can appreciate we are part of an interdependent environmental system. Rather than say we have a second brain, we could say that a natural intelligence is in collaboration with us. Some experts have gone so far as to use psychobiotics to treat psychiatric disturbances.

Walking after a meal induces mental relaxation, and secondly mobilises the lymphatic system for better circulation.

Part 3

Physical Exercise Adapted to Our Needs

Physical exercise circulates and integrates energy, allowing us to get rid of mental problems. For maintaining good health, science has shown movement to be a must. This is not saying that physical activity must be intense but movement is nevertheless advised. Many believe that running or participating in sport is enough but in fact, walking or going for a swim are some of the most useful movements we can do on a regular basis. Being sedentary, sitting or lying down for too long, outside of sleep, is harmful. A study of 400,000 people has shown that 15 minutes of physical activity a day on average, or 92 minutes per week, will prolong life by 3 years as compared to sedentary people.

Throwing yourself into rigorous sport, no matter what your age, is obviously a mistake, along with taking steroids or stimulants to withstand the strenuous effort. Not every physical body is suitable to take up running, or playing tennis, cycling, weight lifting, etc. The consequence could be a body that develops deficiencies and oxidises, leading to a lowering of immunity, not to speak of infections, muscular, skeletal or joint injuries.

Intensive sport requires careful preparation and training, and each person needs to listen to their body’s capacities. It is now well established by science that movement or physical activity can reduce the many causes of death like an improvement of the cardio-vascular system, the risks of cancer, improved attitude, sleep and the quality of life generally. It can reduce weight and reduce the risk of falling among the elderly.

Classifying physical activities according to their intensity.

We can identify four levels of physical activity…

• Light physical activity like walking at about 4 km/h, for example. It does not lead to a shortage of breath or perspiration.
• Moderate physical activity can lead to some shortage of breath and perspiration. Swimming, dancing, gardening, bike riding, climbing stairs, a 5 to 6 kilometre walk, for example, come into this category.
• More intense physical activity like power walking at 6.5 km/h, quickly running upstairs, jogging, bike riding at 20 km/h. These produce significant shortages of breath and perspiration, and make conversation difficult.
• Very intense activity producing a lot of perspiration and gasping for air, making conversation difficult for up to 10 minutes.

Effectiveness of physical activity for health and the precautions to take.

Contrary to accepted thinking, the intensity of the sport or physical activity is not the most important factor. Moderation is, as well as good breathing, avoiding polluted air and taking adequate rest. Three hours per week over three or four session lessens the chances of cardio-vascular disease.

It can be built up to five hours; daily regularity is important and a long session once a week or the weekend is not as effective, particularly not intense activity likely to cause fatigue fractures or muscular injuries. Walking is beneficial no matter at what age. Generally, it is advised to take 10,000 steps daily or 3,000 at moderate intensity.

A medical examination is always desirable before embarking on prolonged physical activity to check blood pressure and cardiac rhythms in particular. A warm-up activity for 5-10 minutes, to assist the muscles become supple and prepare the body for physiological changes is also advisable. During prolonged activity, enough water should be consumed, and some calories in the form of a banana, for example, are beneficial.

After activity, there should be adequate deep breathing and rest to return the body to normal blood pressure and heart rate. Any signs of irregular heart-beats, or too fast a rhythm, shortness of breath during normal exercise should indicate you need to consult a doctor. Obviously smoking during physical activity is not recommended and has its cardiovascular risks.

Supplementary foods and physical activity.

Physical activity will increase the need for extra energy and supplements can be taken to avoid deficiencies. Without going into the practices used at high level sports, certain carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and anti-oxidants in particular are required. Free radicals and acidity in the body can induce cramps and fatigue.

Anti-oxidants like krill oil, vitamins C and C2, black and blue berries, rose hip are nutrients that fight off free radicals. Microalgae like spirulina, Klamath, chlorella and sea algae like ascophyllum nodosum rich in anti-oxidants are useful for those who participate in sport regularly. The consumption of water to compensate for the perspiration is important and as well as sea salt.

The brain needs glucose and foods rich in fructose rather than sugary drinks are preferred. How we use the brain is important, of course. Exercise allows for the growth and renewal of tissue and the elimination of waste.

The Importance of Sleep

In recent years, interest in sleep and its mystery have been rekindled. Sleep is not merely a period of rest but a time of regeneration on the physical and mental levels. It is also the moment when our spiritual part can influence the physical and mental sides of being. In other words, during sleep, order is restored in our principal vital functions. There are generally five stages of sleep recognised today.

The Transition Stage.

It is a short period when we recognise the need for sleep. We cannot know exactly when we will fall asleep, hence the danger when at the wheel of a vehicle. The urge comes in cycles and if we miss it then we have to wait for the cycle to come around again. For this reason, it is a good idea to go to bed daily at the same time. The phase also depends on the secretion of hormones from the pineal gland, notably melatonin.

A deficiency will result in a difficulty falling asleep and waking often during the night. It can be alleviated by eating foods containing tryptophan like eggs, peanuts, tofu, pumpkin seeds or roasted squash, and making sure you get enough sunlight during the day. It is also important to be aware of what we are thinking when we fall asleep, avoiding anxious and worrying thoughts. Have confidence in the Divine in this instance, a phase the Egyptians referred to as “the little death”, and upon waking, we may have clearer thoughts and even solutions to some problems.

Light Sleep.

This is the longest phase of sleep in which we are neither awake nor totally asleep. There is some slowing down of breathing and heart rate but muscles are not totally relaxed and one is easily awoken. If sleep does not go beyond this level, then it is possible wake up feeling tired the next day. Outside stimuli that may cause waking up may include a poorly aired room and too much carbon dioxide, or a temperature that is either too cold or too hot, as well as sudden noises.

Into Deep, Slow Sleep.

During this phase, the body is regenerated. The first phase produces irregular and discontinuous brainwaves, and the second a regularisation of neurotransmitter secretions (delta sleep-inducing peptides) with regular brainwave activity. The more profound this slow sleep, the greater the recuperation. The hormone secretion has been shown to be reduce stress and chances of cancer.

REM Sleep.

This phase is referred to as the Rapid Eye Movement stage in which relaxed muscles contract as if receiving a magnetic impulse to energise them in a rather random manner. It is a phase that can coincide with dreaming which can take up to a quarter of the sleeping period. The dreams increase as sleep progresses and close to the waking stage. We spend nearly a third of our lives asleep and so we should see to it that it is beneficial. Having a bowl of water near the bed is useful in humidifying the air thereby inducing a more profound sleep.

Paying Attention to Breathing

Breathing is an exchange of energy, passive in the sense that we don’t have to consciously do it, in which the alveola in the lungs effortlessly relax within the protective thoracic cage. The lungs are like an inverse tree. Captured oxygen is transferred to our cells, where it meets hydrogen from our food (carbohydrates and lipids or fats) and the mitochondria of our cells frees this energy that maintains our life.

Rosicrucians have always maintained that there is an extra vital factor from the Sun that enters each breath. The oxidised residue in the process are then eliminated by the liver and lungs as carbon dioxide. Vitamin D is part of this cycle, that behaves like a hormone, a regularising energy for the whole body.

It is important to breathe through the nose, which purifies the air to some extent of impurities and dust. The air is humidified as it passes through the upper nasal passage and the pharynx, taking on the temperature of the body, an important stabilising factor. Breathing exercises are familiar to Rosicrucian students to make the breathing process more effective. It is a bodily function over which we can have some control; deep breathing may calm the nervous system, provide extra energy, lower the blood pressure etc.

The Eastern tradition also speaks of breathing through the left or right nostril, these alternating according to natural cycles. The normal breathing cycle is around fifteen to twenty times per minute, that can vary according to the amount of physical activity undertaken. Proper breathing helps the organs to function correctly. The quality of the air we breathe is clearly important. In towns and cities, exhaust fumes are a major pollutant while in some country areas so are agricultural chemical sprays a hazard. More hidden pollutants exist inside motor vehicles, in the home where some furniture, carpets, paints contain toxic elements.

Scientific studies have also shown that, on occasions, certain winds can have an effect on the body and mind; hot dry air with many positively charge ions can cause problems in unbalancing those sensitive to them. Conversely, wind that is humid and has a predominately negative ionised charge, can be calming and even healing in effect. Most humans instinctively know that to immerse oneself in nature is highly beneficial, from walks in the woods, the seaside, mountains, attending natural thermal springs, or some sunbathing all have their cleansing and restorative effects. Recent studies have shown of the beneficial effects of the energy emanating from trees. Trees emit phytoncides that protect against harmful insects and germs. People walking in forests receive this substance to stimulate their immunity, particularly lymphocytes (natural killers) that destroy cancerous cells. The aromas have a calming effect on the brain and lessen the secretion of adrenalin and nor-adrenalin.

More and more people are showing hyper-sensitivity to chemicals and vibrations emitted by modern communication systems, mobile phones in particular. Toxicant-Induced Loss of Tolerance has been known since the 1950s and countries like the United States, Canada and Germany recognise these as true illnesses. Some cannot tolerate chemical odours like perfumes or touching some cleaning products; discomfort can result in the eyes, skin and breathing. Electro-magnetic radiation from telephone towers can induce headaches, a sensation of heat inside the head, muscle and joint pains, fatigue and trouble sleeping4. Home gadgets including computers also tend to emit either chemical or electro-magnetic radiation that can have a negative effect on the organism. Awareness of these is the key to enable life-style adjustments to be made.

Part 4

The Mental Foundations of Health

Mental health is more than healthy thinking. It includes the emotions. The word ‘psyche’ covers it more clearly. Our personality includes both thought and emotion, and in the long term, they determine our habits, behaviour and choices in life. Let us look then at four basic conditions of our psyche that affect health: positive emotions influencing the endocrines glands, good thoughts acting on the nervous system, harmonious contact with nature and the four elements describing personality types. ‘Psychosomatic’ is a term now frequently used but it usually has a rather negative connotation, describing the ill effects of problems affecting our body. Obviously, the reverse is also true: positive thinking has its beneficial effects.

Mental Outlook and the Endocrines Glands

Our thoughts and emotions, our character in effect, influence the secretion of hormones just as, conversely, a hormonal imbalance will affect our behaviour. For a long time, this fact was not known or overlooked, but today the interdependence between emotions and hormones can be illustrated. In a previous book by Dr Dupont, The Endocrine Glands and Your Health, direct links are well established between the thyroid and fear, between hypophysis and emotional outbursts, between the heart and anxiety, and between worries and pancreatic secretions.

Recent research has established how the vagus nerve acts on the brain. Prior to this, it was believed that the vagus nerve acted independently of the will, being autonomically controlled by various brain centres. Rosicrucians take great interest in the sympathetic or autonomous nervous system with its plexuses governing many organs and glands. Harmony between the two branches of this nervous system, the sympathetic and parasympathetic (vagus nerve), results in good digestion, breathing, blood circulation, and according to recent research, proper brain function. Scientists have been able to temporarily bring a patient out of a deep areactive coma by simply stimulating the vagus nerve. The person experienced an awakening of sensations after a long time not moving or showing any sensory perception at all.

The sympathetic system allows the body to adapt to changing external conditions, when running for example, increasing the heart rate, directing the blood to the main organs and muscles. Following intense physical exercise, the parasympathetic system returns the body to a more stable condition. The systems are a sort of unconscious intelligence that maintain life, whether we are aware of it or not. Breathing and certain exercises can have some influence on these systems.

Cardio-respiratory Coherence

When we go to the doctor, our blood pressure and heart rhythm and rate are measured. The breathing rate, pressure and rhythm are not and yet they are so important, it being quite evident that there is a strong connection between breathing and heart function. Breathing is affected by our emotional state; a feeling of shortness of breath can be oppressive, stifling in an emotional situation, as the blood is starved of the oxygen it needs.

It is possible to suppose that a prolonged lack of coordination between the heart and breathing could become chronic and a source of illness. Breathing can slow down the heart rate, calm the body, a technique used for centuries by mystics in preparation for meditation. A trained person can move from 30 to 40 breaths per minutes to only about six breaths. The practice allows for greater clarity and concentration of thought.

The Influence of Thought on Health

A positive and optimistic outlook, and from those in the close environment, clearly gives a patient a better chance of recovery. It has to be said that sometimes, it is even better the patient does not know a condition rather than brood negatively upon it. Hence the importance of how clinicians relate a diagnosis to the patient; sometimes there are cultural factors to consider. The placebo effect is familiar to most people today. Epigenetics would suggest that a positive outlook in life, regardless of the obstacles to be faced, will influence the genes as they are transmitted to the next generation.

Health, Nature, Temperaments and the Four Elements

Ancient Greek thinkers had observed the influence of the four elements on health. Earth, Water, Air and Fire influence our humours and determine the four temperaments: sanguine, choleric, melancholic and phlegmatic, describing not just physical types but also psychological and psychic temperaments.

While not a predominant notion held today, there are nevertheless some connections between the psyche and these four temperaments: lymphatic types, corresponding to the brain, are the most sensitive and have more difficulty getting rid of problems, while bilious types, corresponding to the liver, are more inclined to be dominant and have episodes of anger.

The melancholic types, corresponding to the lymphatic system, tend to have a depressive and grumpy outlook. The heart correlates to the sanguine types. Relaxation techniques enable people to find a balance, including those suffering from pathological illnesses, coupled with auto-suggestion that utilises the forces of positive visualisation.

The Healing Power of Water

For a long time, Rosicrucians have practiced a technique of ‘magnetising’ water to enhance its healing property, by using concentration and visualisation, as well as the body’s radiant energy. Japanese studies have demonstrated in double blind experiments that thought can change the structure of water crystals, transmitting thought from Japan to California. While the experiments did not prove that water has a direct influence on health, it did show that concentration and projecting good thoughts of love, health, order, well-being etc on water seemed to organise its molecules into a more aesthetic and geometric manner, even at distance. If thought can have this influence on water, then why not on our body which is predominantly water?

Conversely, negative thoughts disturb the equilibrium of the psyche and can pollute it in the same way chemicals may pollute water and air. Thoughts of envy, hate, jealousy, mischief are destructive and are a form of mental poisoning. The nocebo effect, the opposite to the placebo effect, can result in illness because it penetrates the subconscious areas of mind. Prolonged drug usage, and modern society is addicted to many strong forms of them, diminishes the nervous system that regulates the balance between thoughts and emotions, making people more vulnerable to negative suggestions. For some the outcomes are paranoia, schizophrenia, antisocial behaviour and general psychiatric problems.

The Spiritual Foundations of Health

The Universal Force

The faithful in many religious traditions throughout the world pray for many reasons and particularly to maintain their health and that of loved ones. It underscores a belief in the existence of an energy in the universe capable of doing so.

While scientific materialists may be sceptical about this, statements from many testify to its efficacy. Where does this force come from? Is it the Sun? But does not the Sun find its energy elsewhere? This universal force is the source of movement and manifests as growth of cells, as in all living matter, perhaps even in minerals. Forces manifest as those of attraction, repulsion, gravity and so on, but in our bodies and in all living things, it should be considered as a vital force.

Universal Love

It is not necessary to be a believer but simply comprehend the conception that within us is an invisible aspect of the universe, that upon death, returns to its source, the body having served as a temporary vehicle. Our material ego gives us the illusory perception that we are irrevocably separate from the rest of the universe and so to conceive of a consciousness or intelligence as part of a universal intelligence or consciousness, that some may call God, is a difficult thing for everyone to accept. Yet within this great universe, this intelligent macrocosm, there is an infinite consciousness called Universal Love. It is closest to the love our heart may express for others, nature, animals and even self in an impersonal and personal way.

Some people confuse love with passion, or the love of goods and temporary pleasures. Relaxation, fun, amusements and being happy are, of course, a form of love but with their limitations. The Love cultivated inwardly is the love that knows no limits for the reason that it is not motivated by materials desires, but by an altruism and impersonal communion with the whole of Creation.

Inspired by this Love, acts become altruistic, offering aid impersonally, with compassion, sharing, the gift of a smile to others and so on. According to an ancient law of compensation, we must be ready to receive the gift of universal love. The more we give the more we receive. It should also be noted that in the area of health, the true healers who have been able to render cures or aid others are those personalities who are filled with the love of their fellow human beings.

Spirituality is Firstly Turning Within

To perceive the spiritual, it is not necessary to escape the physical body. Spirituality lies in the capacity to experience who we are, to develop ourselves, and to realise we are not separated from the whole which is perfect. The key to healing is in our desire to be perfect and to become better.

When faced with illness, depression we often ask to be healed physically and spiritually. The force within only asks to be allowed to express itself. Is it sufficient to ask to not be ill? We may not intellectually understand what perfection is, or that the Whole is perfect, and that this lies within us. Nevertheless, we can sense the energy and intelligence within.

Methods for Realising Spiritual Health

True spirituality does not exclude any persons seeking to connect with ineffable principle within, regardless of background and belief. For health, acting spiritually consists of doing certain exercises based on “Know Thyself.” The exercises prepare for the initiatic path using breathing, relaxation, concentration, meditation, communion, prayer, contemplation and union with the Divine. They enlarge the field of consciousness. They lead to the human virtues of patience, goodness, generosity and so on.

Recent studies suggest meditation has an influence on the aging process, preserving particular areas of cerebral activity, especially regarding the emotions and memory. Meditation protects the telomeres, the aging clock in every cell. Telomeres get shorter each time a cell copies itself, but the important DNA stays intact. Eventually, telomeres get too short to do their job, causing our cells to age and stop functioning properly.5 There is a difference between relaxation and meditation; listening to relaxing music does not bring the same results as inwardly meditating with strong thoughts of altruism, well-being, harmony and so on, that can in fact repair and lengthen telomeres.

Imagery from magnetic resonance indicates that meditation can augment neuronal connections in the brain, functions located in the prefrontal cortex. This area is important for planning activities, long term memory, scaffolding strategies and finding solutions to complex problems. Meditation also affects the anterior cingulate cortex that influences functions like attention, motivation, regulating emotional responses.

Lastly, meditation affects the hippocampus, the part of the brain that deals with memory, the perception of space and places. A particular form of meditation, mindfulness, in which distracting thoughts and memories are minimised, has shown an increased volume of the left hippocampus related to memory and its classification.6 Studies have indicated a reinforcement of the inferior frontal gyrus that processes speech and language, and where the individual can inhibit certain impulses and improve intentional and emotional control.

Spirituality lies in the capacity to experience who we are, to develop ourselves, and to realise we are not separated from the whole which is perfect.

It has been mentioned earlier in these articles that visualisation can maintain health and cause improvement in conditions. In medical circles this is also known as imagery rehearsal therapy. Rosicrucians have practised it for centuries although perhaps called by something else like “imaginatio” which had its application for spiritual work initially, along with prayer. These practices work on harmonics that attract higher forms of energy present within us and around us and are capable of acting on others independent of time and space.

While science will be able to replace many more parts of the body in the future, it may not be able to stop the aging process of cells. And why should it? Nor will it be able to necessarily balance the mind or prevent us from having experiences that test our mettle. Hopefully science will soon acknowledge the metaphysical aspect of life in the body and find ways of helping reach the summum bonum, the Supreme Good. In other words, for each individual to maintain health, scientific progress may help people in life through the art and metaphysical science of the God of its Heart.