The Course in Jewish healing                       February  2008

Understanding Healing
Healing derives from within, not from others or outside sources. Your physician, your psychotherapist cannot really know what you feel inside; only you know. That is why you must become responsible for your own healing. Health care professionals can only inform and guide you, but you must make the ultimate choices as to how your healing will proceed. You have to work at your own pace, at your own level, rather than having anyone tell you what you should be doing or where you should be. Healing takes place in life, not in a health care professional's office. Your own daily life experiences are your best teachers, only if you pay attention to what each momentary occurrence is trying to tell you.
Psychoneuroimmunology
Jewish healing can assist in the effectiveness of professional medical or psychological treatment. Many doctors today recognize the efficacy of alternative medicine, the combination of holistic therapies combined with standard medical or psychological procedures.
From "A Framework for Jewish Healing" the notion of psychoneuroimmunology, a relatively new field of medicine that claims the mind provides numerous healing benefits for the body, may have become evident. Spirituality begins in the mind through the power of the imagination and from there filters its way deep into the spiritual dimension. Spirit can be compared to the operating system of your computer; it's responsible for running all the software. Like the computer, we too are programmed to function physically, emotionally and mentally; if there are glitches in our software, some of the programs may not run so well.
Stress
One of the principal causes of human software malfunction is stress. A certain amount of stress is beneficial; it keeps us on our toes. But an over abundance causes the "fight or flight" response to kick in and places many bodily functions in overdrive. Chemical changes occur that create imbalances in our psychophysical makeup which lays the groundwork for illness. Jewish healing attempts to bring spirit into our lives to untie the knots that bind us.

The Four Worlds of Jewish Mysticism
The Zohar, the authoritative text of Jewish mysticism teaches the concept of universes or worlds which contains the fundamentals of Jewish healing. These worlds, which are nothing more than shades of energy that span the boundaries between heaven and earth, have been understood by ancient civilizations since the dawn of mankind. The Jewish worlds were limited to four--other cultures ascribe other numbers--and these correspond to the ancient natural elements of earth, water, fire and air. In Judaism they are the Worlds of Assiah (action), Beriah (formation), Yetsirah (creation) and Atzilut (emanation). These four also relate to the yod, heh, vav, heh; God's ineffable name.
Each session of our healing journey will take us through each of the four worlds. The element of earth relates to the body and its sensations; water pertains to every facet of our emotions and relationships. Fire is the energy of the mind, like those electrical impulses that go whizzing around inside our brain; and air, with its delicate, vaporous characteristics brings to mind our spiritual nature.
Our definition of health assumes that each of the four elements needs to be in balance with one another. Either excess or a deficiency of any one of the four contains the cause of illness. In other words, a disease state is an imbalance of the body/mind continuum, otherwise known as the four worlds.

Our Goal For February 2001 

Owning our feelings
One of the most important principles in self-healing is “owning” your own experience; by that we mean accepting the responsibility for your feelings rather than blaming others for the way we feel.  We habitually assign our negative feelings to others; “it’s their fault that I feel this way”, we maintain. Blaming others for your problems is counter-productive to the healing process—all of the negativity that we designate to others actually lies within. We have to learn to become responsible for all of our feelings, as it’s the only way we can transform them. It is very common for children to blame their parents for everything that goes wrong in their lives; it’s almost to say that the way they brought us up accounts for why we are like that today. We’re all expert at shifting the blame to someone else because if relieves us of the responsibility of our problems. With that sensibility, it’s easy to understand why many of us prefer to shift the responsibility to health care professionals. It’s easier that way. We think we can live our lives enjoying the pleasures that society has to offer with the understanding that if I get sick, a doctor or therapist will take care of it. It doesn’t work that way and maybe that’s why medical offices and hospitals are generally overcrowded.
 

A Journey Through Four Worlds

Disclaimer:
In no way should the exercises or ideas expressed on these pages be a substitute for proper medical or
psychotherapeutic treatment.

This month we continue work on the Four Worlds. It is not necessary to start at the beginning; you could start
anywhere that's most comfortable, doing any one or all of the exercises in each World.
When working on any of the Worlds, it is important to try to keep your body as relaxed as possible and
breathe deeply. It could also be helpful to keep your eyes closed. We suggest you print out these pages to
work from. Some people prefer to record the exercises on a tape recorder, so your own voice provides the
necessary guidance. Healing work takes place on all levels concurrently. Remember God is the healer; we are his
partners in the process. It is our own responsibility to do the necessary work.
 

Earth                                      The World of Assiyah                                                     The Body
This exercise and those to follow in future months are designed to bring renewed awareness to the body. In
the process of growing up we lost much of the sensitivity of our bodies. As infants we relied heavily of
physical sensations, like wet, hungry or uncomfortable. The years of intellectual education has brought our
focus into our minds--we learned to think matters through--while leaving the sensations of the body behind.
The body is our source of spiritual and healing wisdom. Getting in touch with our bodies brings up clues to
what's gone wrong, physically or emotionally. Our emotions, for example, are actually feelings--sensations
we experience somewhere in our bodies. Spiritually our bodies live in the present moment where we are
most capable of encountering God, our source of healing energy.

     - Being aware of your body means having your attention fully in your body so that mind and body
     become united.
     - Being aware of your body quiets your mind and reawakens your senses. As you become more and
     more aware, your self-confidence grows.
     - With greater awareness of the body, you can learn to take more responsibility for your own well
     being.

for February
The way you breathe reflects the way you live. Breathe well and your health and quality of life are immeasurably enhanced. Breathing is the one body function that can be either voluntary or involuntary, bridging the conscious and the unconscious, the body and the soul. By learning to deepen your breathing, you can alter the way you feel and think and discover a new sense of stability and calm. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7.

Deep breathing
In order to improve your breathing you need to become aware of your breathing patterns. This exercise will show you how your belly and chest should move when you inhale and puts you in touch with the motion of the diaphram. It will also help you expand your breathing capacity by stretching the breathing muscles and diaphragm.

1. Lie down in a comfortable place. Bend your knees and move your feet about eight inches apart , with your toes turned slightly outward. Make sure your spine is straight.

2. Scan your body for tension.

3. Place one hand on your abdomen and one hand on your chest.

4. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose into your abdomen to push up your hand as much as feels comfortable. Your chest should move only a little and only with your abdomen.

5. When you feel at ease with step 4, inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth, making a quiet, relaxing, whooshing sound like the wind as you blow gently out. Your mouth, tongue and jaw will be relaxed. Take long, slow deep breaths that raise and lower your abdomen. Focus on the sound and feeling of breathing, as you become more and more relaxed.

6. Continue deep breathing for about five or ten minutes at a time, once or twice a day, for a couple of weeks. Then if you like extend this period to twenty minutes.

7. At the end of each deep breathing session, take a little time to once more scan your body for tension.  Compare the tension you feel at the conclusion of the exercise with that which you experienced when you began.

8. When you become at ease with breathing into your abdomen, practice it whenever you feel like it, during the day when you’re sitting or standing.  Concentrate on your abdomen moving up and down, the air moving in and out of your lungs, and the feeling of relaxation that deep breathing gives you.

9. When your have learned to relax yourself using deep breathing, practice it whenever you feel yourself getting tense.
 

Brachah for healing the body: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe who heals all flesh and acts wondrously.

Water                                                  The World of Beriah                                     Emotions
for February
This month we explore positive emotions. These are memories of joyous events that took place in your past. It will serve you will to store a collection of these recollections, as they are an antidote to the negative feelings of  fear, anger, sadness and grief.

Learning more about yourself is an important step in the process of healing. Through deep personal introspection, you can begin
to recognize behavior patterns in your life that may be inappropriate which may prevent you from living your life fully. You can discover areas in your life that needs change? It may be helpful to keep a journal of your responses to these questions and those
that will appear in future months.

The positive emotions
This month we explore the feelings of love and compassion. Before you begin, take a long deep breath and let it out slowly. Allow your breathing to become full, deep, and relaxed.
1. Describe a time in your life when you felt real love (Describe the event, the conditions, the place, etc. in as much detail as you can).
2. Describe a time in your life when you experienced a wonderful event. Examples: a walk along a deserted beach, a glorious sunset, a spectacular mountain view, an encounter with a long lost friend.
3. What was that experience like for you?
4. Who was there?
5. Where did it take place? Describe the environment in detail: the room, the scene, the colors, etc.
6. What were you feeling at that time? What symbols or images of the experience comes to mind that would help you recall the feeling now?
7. What are you feeling right now as you recall that experience? What emotions are triggered? Use feeling words to describe how
you feel.
8.  Where in your body are you feeling that?
9. Describe the physical sensations in your body that this feeling produces.
10. What can you do to reconnect with this feeling in the future? How can you get this feeling to repeat itself?
11. Take the feeling you just experienced and allow yourself to feel love for yourself. (Take one minute for this)
12. Take the feeling you just experienced and allow yourself to feel love for other people in your life, who needs your love. (Take
one minute for this)

Any time you can recollect and restore such positive feelings, they can help you to ward off or soothe emotional pain.

Take a minute on feel the feeling of what it's like to love unconditionally, free of any thoughts you may have about it.
Feel love for the feeling just the way it is.
Feel love for yourself for having that feeling.
Feel love for the people and events in your life.
Brachah for healing the emotions: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe who gives strength to the weary.

Fire                                           The World of Yetzirah                                                    Thought
Light is a very effective means to heal physical ailments. Before you begin, there are two preparatory aspects you need to keep in mind. The first is to activate your source of  healing power and the second is to is to determine whether the ailment feels hot or cold to you. This doesn't have to be a clear mental decision, a vague impression will do fine. Create a relaxed atmosphere for yourself before beginning any visualization whether for relief from mental or physical ailments.

Find your source of healing energy. God is the Jewish source of healing energy, but it's difficult, if not impossible, to visualize an inexpressible, transcendent God. We could however devise a symbolic image to serve our purposes. Images such as a brilliant light, a laser beam, a golden shimmering ball, a fully lit menorah or even a wise old counselor, could work well. It is important as a first step to design an image of healing energy that feels right to you.

for February
Pain relief
This visualization can assist you in releasing physical pain and put you in a deep, relaxed state of mind. The most effective position is to lie down, although it can be done sitting. Take a long deep breath and let it out slowly. Allow your breathing to become full, deep, and relaxed.
Focus your attention on the location in your body where you experience pain.
Is it sharp our dull? Hot or cold? Do you feel throbbing or pressure?
Are there any other characteristics?
How large or small is the pain? Over what area does it extend? What shape is it? Allow yourself to feel it as three dimensional with depth and height, width and volume.
What color is the pain?
Now allow yourself to temporarily increase the characteristics of the pain.
Notice how you are doing this. Is there anything you are thinking or feeling that is increasing the pain?
Now take a long deep breath and release it. As you do, allow the pain to decrease.
Notice how you are doing this.
Now use your imagination and place yourself inside the center of the pain. As the pain, what are you like?
What is your life like?
What are you trying to say? What messages are you trying to convey?
Now begin to change your shape, color and size in any way you wish.
What are you like now?
Become yourself again and visualize the pain projected on a movie screen.
What do you see? Shape? Color? Size? Watch it like a movie.
Now visualize your source of healing energy entering the movie. See your source of healing energy completely surround the pain.
Watch the vision of the enveloped pain shrink, slowly ,step by step, until it is completely dissolved.
Remain relaxed and remain in this state as long as you wish.

Always believe that your illness has dissolved, there are no longer any symptoms and or traces of pain. Relax in the feeling of peace, relief, and the energy of good health.

Brachah for healing through the mind: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe who gives the heart
understanding to distinguish between day and night.

Air                                                      The World of Atzilut                                                          Spirit
1. Faith is the essential requirement to actualize the healing work that you have done so far. At times it is
more meaningful to have faith that your connection to spirit can effect your healing, more than the healing
work itself. It's not often easy, particularly at times at times of unsettling news, to believe in the awesome
healing possibilities of God, but it can start in small ways. We can start with trust, a quality a little more
down-to-earth. Consider some of the ways we put trust in our everyday affairs--depositing money in the
bank or buying food that's fresh from the market. Once you compile such a list, consider what it would take
to put trust in God's healing abilities. Belief in God's fervent desire to bestow good on mankind is probably
the most effective healing tool of all.

2. Another means to invoke the healing powers of the spiritual dimension is to recite healing psalms. The
celebrated Hasidic master, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) isolated ten particular psalms as
healing psalms. These songs, better known as Tikkun HaKlali, the complete remedy, are considered to
have special power for healing the body, mind and spirit.
The following is the forty first psalm, the third psalm of the complete remedy. The suggested method to
extract the most value from psalms is to read one daily for a month, and during each successive reading
attempt to find new and personal meaning in the words and the verses.

           Psalm 41 for February
For the leader. A Psalm of David.
Happy is he who is thoughtful of the wretched; in bad times may the Lord keep him from harm.
May the Lord guard him and preserve him; and may he be thought happy in the land.
Do not subject him to the will of his enemies; The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed; You shall wholly transform his bed of            suffering.
I said, "O Lord, have mercy on me, heal me for I have sinned against you."
My enemies speak evilly of me, "When will he die and his name perish?"
If one comes to visit he speaks falsely; his mind stores up evil thoughts; once outside he speaks them.
All my enemies whisper together against me, imagining the worst for me.
Something baneful has settled has settled in him; he'll not rise from his bed again.
My ally in whom I trusted, even lie who shares my bread, has been utterly false to me.
But You, O Lord, have mercy on me; let me rise again and repay them.
Then shall I know that You are pleased with me: when my enemy cannot shout in triumph over me.
You will support me because of my integrity, and let me abide in your presence forever.
Blessed is the Lord, God of Israel, from eternity to eternity. Amen and Amen.

3. Take on the Mitzvah of tz'dakah in your life. Tz'dakah is generally taken to mean giving money to charity.
The word actually is translated as righteousness, not charity. It suggests that we give something or be of
service to others, not necessarily money. For your healing welfare, try to find a project where you can give
to others. It might include visiting the sick regularly, visiting the elderly and the shut-ins, teaching a skill to
someone less accomplished than yourself, listening intensely to anyone who has a burdensome story to
tell. There are unlimited possibilities for giving tz'dakah; if you can't find any, than just give money.

Brachah for healing of spirit: My God, the soul you have placed in me is pure. You created it, You fashioned it, You breathed
it into me, You safeguard it within me, and eventually You will take it from me, and restore it to me in Time to Come. As long
as the soul is within me, I gratefully thank you, HASHEM, my God and the God of my forefathers, Master of all works, Lord of
all souls. Blessed are You, Lord our God, who restores souls to the dead.

Remember healing is an on-going process of taking care of yourself. Have patience, courage and fortitude
and you will prevail. You can start the Course in Jewish Healing at any time. If you have not read,
Groundwork for Jewish Healing, or any of the previous issues of this series, we suggest emailing us for a copy before
you begin the work. The back issues contain material which provide background material to this months Journey Through Four Worlds