The Course in Jewish healing                       January 2010

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 January 2001 
As you go through the Journey Through Four Worlds for January, try to keep in mind the notion of releases. A release is a "letting go" of constricted areas in your body; they are signals that you have reached new plateaus in healing regardless how insignificant they may seem.
Your emotional distress: sadness, fear, and anger all indicate tense areas in your body. This stress restricts the normal flow of energy to those areas, which could cause illness to that region of the body. That's why its so important to deal with emotional problems in healing physical symptoms.
During the exercises that follow, you may experience signs such as weeping, sighing, laughing, twitches shivers, sweating, etc. They are signs that a release just occurred. Its not so important whether the release occurs; it's more important to just notice it when it happens. The absence of a release does not diminish the effect of the healing work in any way. Healing is a process of letting go, surrendering, fully feeling and and releasing all pain, fears and blockages.

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 begin 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 January
Our senses are our point of contact with the world. They bring us pleasure and pain, experience and information. But much of our sensing ability lies unused beneath the threshold of our awareness, for extended periods of time. By getting in touch with our senses, we get to understand our bodies more effectively.

• Sight: Sit comfortably and let your gaze settle on the outline of something in your room, that is fairly simple and strong in shape, like a vase of flowers or a chair. Now  very slowly trace the object with your eyes--don't jump around, just gaze evenly. Maintain a light steady gaze and don't strain.
• Hearing: Choose a piece of solo music on a CD or cassette. Jazz or classical solos work best. Now relax and let your hearing rest steadily and persistently on the melodic line. See how long you can go before your attention switches to stray thoughts or one of the other senses. When this happens return your attention to the music and stay with it for a while.
• Touch: Select some objects as different in weight and texture as possible (Shells, fruits, stones, wooden objects, etc.); it's up to you. Place what you have chosen on a table top in front of you. Close your eyes and and pick up one object at a time exploring differences in texture and temperature. You can also try this experiment with your bare feet.
• Smell: Gather some strong smelling objects: flowers, dried herbs, peeled fruit, soap, etc. Close your eyes. Pick up one object at a time absorbing and noting the fragrance of each.
• Taste: Prepare a meal for yourself with the different foods kept separate. Taste each food slowly, savoring the flavor of each mouthful and enjoying the process of biting, chewing and swallowing. Notice how the your teeth and tongue responds to the food. You may be surprised how full you feel before you finish your plate; a benefit of conscious eating.  A great weight loss aid.

Water                                                  The World of Beriah                                     Emotions
This month we explore Hot Buttons. These are the recurring situations that trigger emotional distress. It isn't easy to change your unconscious emotional responses, but its worth the effort considering the alternative--being run by them for the rest of your life.

for January
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 innapropriate which may prevent you from living your life fully. You can discover areas in your life that need change? It may be helpful to keep a journal of your responses to these questions and those that will appear in future months.

This month we explore "hot buttons", those sensative areas that cause strong reactions of anger, fear or sadness.
1. What are your hot buttons? What is the stimulus (or stimuli) that upsets you frequently?
2. Take some time to describe persons or situations that push your hot button and cause you to get upset.
3. Why do you need to react as you do? Do you think you're overreacting? Do you have any other choice than reacting as you do?
4. What would happen if you didn't react or allow yourself to feel this way?
5. What can you do to change the way you react?
6. Why do you need to hold on to your feelings so strongly? What are you resisting?
7. What old tape (old messages) is replayed when your Hot Button is pressed?
8. What are the underlying beliefs behind that response?
9. What does the feeling that results from having your Hot Button pushed mean to you? What does it symbolize?
10. How does your Hot Buttons make you feel now (What emotions are triggered?) Use feeling words to describe how you feel.
11. Where in your body are you feeling that?
12. Describe the physical sensations in you body that this feeling produces.

Take a minute on feel the feeling of what it's like to have your Hot Button pushed, 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 person or event that pushed your Hot Button.

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 January.
If the illness you're healing is of a cold sort, try to mentally augment the image of cold as icy, frozen or chilled. Now visualize a flame-like light emanating from your source of healing energy. See it as warm red light penetrating the symptoms and feel warmth and comfort in that area. Watch the icy image melting, dissolving completely into water. Finally see the water running slowly down through your body, through your throat, chest, stomach, legs and out your feet until it absorbs completely into the ground.

If the illness you're healing is warm or hot, you can visualize cool white light emanating from your source of healing energy and encircling the upper part of your body. This light attracts all illness like iron to a magnet and flows out from the top of your head, dissolving into the sky above.

If your pain or obstruction feels like a stone, a stick, a knife, etc., imagine that the mere touch by the light streaming from your source of healing energy, the symptom is immediately extracted from your body, like the sudden extraction of a splinter or a thorn.

If you have an undesired growth existing somewhere in your body, you could visualize a very bright, sharp laser like light flowing from your source of healing energy. The mere touch of the light cuts the growth into tiny pieces and disintegrates them into their component atoms that are expelled through your normal bodily wastes.

If your dealing with arteries clogged with plaque, first sense their location then use your powerful healing light to dilute, melt, purify and clear all the harmful deposits. Feel as if your arteries are wide open and clear with blood coursing through them without any sign of obstruction.

You can create any scenario you wish that feels best for you. You can choose from many qualities of light such hot, warm, sharp, and cool, coloring the light in any way that you feel would work best for you. You can use these visualization in conjunction with any kind of therapies your are receiving, like strengthening exercises or physical therapy.

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 thirty second psalm, the second 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 32 for January
A Psalm of David, an instruction Fortunate is he whose transgression is borne, whose sin is covered.
Fortunate is the man to whom Adonai does not count iniquity, and in who spirit there is no deceit.
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away, through my groaning all day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy on me; my marrow turned dry as by the droughts of summer. Selah.
Therefore my sin I acknowledge to You, and my iniquity I do not hide; when I said, "I will confess my
     transgressions to Adonai", You have already forgiven the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
For this let every man of devotion pray to You, in a time when you may be found; indeed when mighty waters
     threaten they will not reach him.
You are my shelter from distress You preserve me; with glad song of rescue, You envelop me. Selah.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way in which you should go; I will signal you with [the winking of] my eye.
Be not as the horse or as the mule, devoid of understanding; who with a bit and a bridle must be
     restrained when being groomed, so that they do not come near you.
Many are the sorrows of the wicked.
But he who trusts in Adonai, kindness surrounds him.
Rejoice in Adonai, and exalt, righteous ones, and sing for joy all who are upright in heart.

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