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| The Sustainable Herbalist; The Sustainable Life - Page 7 |
ANCIENT HEALING
We may find that there is healing wisdom to be gleaned from past centuries, which we may find to be relevant to the current times.
Towards the beginning of Plato's book of Charmides, Socrates describes a certain leaf that, if given to an ailing person at the same time that an incantation is spoken, will cure him. But, he continues, without the incantation, the leaf will be of no avail. It is implicit in this and other ancient references to "magical" cures that the curative value of natural substances is realized only when accompanied by words either written or spoken.
Since antiquity, the need for verbal accompaniment to enhance the herbs or other natural substances has been recognized as being an important aspect of healing. There was a definite perceived effect of the power released by the practitioner's words. In fact, in some cases the substance itself is not believed to have any inherent curative value but rather is understood to work in tandem with the words that accompany its application. It was thought that the words spoken with the medicine was an additional means of establishing a sympathetic link with the "non-human" forces who are actually expected to perform the cure.
Many people studying ancient medicine have labeled all ancient curative strategies as either "medical" or "magical." The magical is considered the use of words to invoke healing. The medical indicates treatments in which the application of the substance alone brings about the cure. Thus, this had created two schools of thought that are in opposition to one another, the magical and medical views.
However, in the late classical period of history, healing practitioners were "doubling up" strategies, engraving their powerful words upon powerful substances that were believed to have a strong affect upon the body. And at the time when substances were being applied certain words, prayers, and incantations were again used.
This part of healing is a sadly neglected aspect in our current medical paradigm that I feel needs to be reexamined
The idea of "incantations" or prayers being uttered when utilizing any healing modality may help us to see life as a whole rather than thinking that they are separate parts. To separate life into two different arenas: one aspect being the "material world" and another our "spiritual life" will create a schism in the mind that may lead to a sense of fragmentation and aloneness. How can our spiritual life be one thing and our job another? How can we take an herb and still maintain that we are separate from nature? How can we help someone and not invoke the help from the Invisible realm? The herb, its essence, it's very existence is the workings of a magnificent Wisdom. This needs to be acknowledged and not hidden from view.
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