Suffering is the common denominator of human experience. Why humanity experiences this state and how it either contributes to our demise or evolution depends on how we utilize the experience. That there is purposefulness to this is a philosophical question that will be addressed at later time.

We are hardwired in our brains and in our DNA for numerous functions. The first and most predominant of these exists for the governance of our survival. Food, clothing, shelter, and procreation are the most fundamental. All of our basic fears, impulses and desires are determined from these essential primal needs. Attending to them predominates the majority of time in our daily lives and requires the largest expenditure of our energies. In past primitive civilizations, and in the few remaining primitive cultures today, we can easily see their direct activity focused on the acquisition of these basic needs. However, in today's technological society, the obvious and direct appropriation of energies for obtaining these necessaries are more obscured and are hidden from the forethought of our daily consciousness.

Our work-a-day lifestyle is governed by the same motivational principles as our primitive brethren. Our direct participation in their acquisition is far more obfuscated and thus we are disengaged and removed from direct experience with our primal initiative. Because of our being in the cultural midst of acquiring these needs we lose the objectivity required for observing the purposefulness of our daily activity. Therefore we are obliviously engaged without the benefit of knowing why. We therefore conduct ourselves in our daily activities in automated and mechanical behaviors and routines believing that we are intentional and conscious in our actions. We are in fact completely and wholly unaware of our purposefulness and our raison d'etre. This sorrowful state as to reality of our existence has been amply examined, clearly recorded and well documented by poets, philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, and forms the foundational basis of all spiritual and metaphysical teachings from time immemorial.

If the first primary directive hardwired in us is to survive, then the secondary directive is to thrive. By thriving, I mean to postulate that there is a moving force in us, that is as equally compelling as the first, which begs the question as to the meaning of life. These questions cannot be entertained however until the first survival instinctual issues have been to a greater degree addressed.

Recent discoveries in DNA research strongly indicate that there is something akin to a 'religious' gene inherent in the human brain. This assertion has been supported by anthropological research that contends that all known civilizations heretofore observed have some type of religious practice. What then are we to make of the relationship between our innate impulse to survive and our desire to thrive? How are these two essential and intertwined components of human existence tethered, and does suffering serve as a role in this dynamic interaction?

At first glance it might appear that our sufferings on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels are nothing more than a series of accumulated misfortunes that are the fate of human kind as a whole. Our own sufferings then are mixed with the plight of all humanity from the beginning. Interestingly enough, suffering, in its equanimity, is by its inherent nature nondiscriminatory and as such transcends all social, economic, cultural, temporal, and ethnic distinctions.

The history of our species is unique from all others in so far that our process of evolution provides the possibility of a conscious transformational state, as well as the biological evolution shared in common with other kingdoms in a Darwinian sense. The human record is filled to overflowing with accounts of great sufferings at the hands of Nature as well as by our own hands. There is sufficient evidence to suggest that the greater bearer of crisis, harm and catastrophe to the species is self-inflicted. That philosophy, myth, art and religion have played a significant role in our development is indisputable and inestimable. Each culture claims that their evolution proceeds from one subsequent epoch building upon the lessons learned from the previous one and incorporates those improved aspects as a part of its unfolding. How is it possible then, that there appears to be a very limited improvement to quality of our lives as a whole? For all the claims of improvement it seems clear that the plight of humanity has not moved along accordingly. Ironically, war, crime, untold human suffering, and the desecration of our host planet lay in the wake of our progress. Our libraries are filled with the works of outraged and heartfelt pleas of writers, scholars, saints, poets and social critics, who, being the brightest and most noble spokesmen of their time, make a case as to the human condition and offer insight and alternatives in order to remedy the despicable dilemmas only to be lauded but eventually dismissed and for some even anathematized. Religions have been established around the world for thousands of years. Yet the universal messages of the founding saints and visionaries of peace, freedom, and fulfillment remain obscure and often distorted, their congregations disillusioned, intent on following their organized beliefs systems, yet resigned to their sufferings. As T. S. Elliot writes, we live "lives of quiet desperation".

Physical pain, it is said, is the great attention getter. Suffering, on all levels, physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual also receives their generous share of our attention. As far as recorded history permits, along side of humanity's suffering also coexists its counterpart. Just beside the growth of poison ivy, it's natural antidote jewel weed flourishes. So too in the human species, a natural corresponding cure is available in the guise of the prophet, the healer, the sage, or the master. The singular attribute that each of these practitioners share in common in order to deliver their art, is their ability to truly perceive the true nature of the dis/ease in each individual that they are administering to. The stories and metaphors are rife in all traditions and teachings of how the individual is made genuinely free of suffering when he/she perceives their own obstacle to cure. The cure is invariably their own ability to see themselves. This implies

that an individual has the capacity to transcend their suffering by becoming aware of themselves more objectively. Creating intentional circumstances, which permits levels of objective self-observation, whether initiated through devotion, religious exercises, or through natural medicinal therapeutics permits the individual to move beyond their immediate hardship. With the skills of the practitioner they are then able to transcend that painful experience into an altered state thereby metamorphacizing their proximal suffering into something more intelligible and transcendent.

The individual not only assumes a more conscious posture which alleviates the initial state, to either a greater or lesser degree, but in turn allows them to remove the intensity of the suffering along with many attending consequences. Furthermore, having attained this newly acquired higher perception of reality, many coexisting problems and ancillary difficulties, not immediately in the purview of their awareness, begin to diminish of their own accord. These other seemingly unaccountable and even unconscious attributes, which gradually fade with this new awareness, as they are assessed as undesirable and unnecessary, also account for a general uplifting of the individuals well being.

While on the physical level, a diseased state may remain the same, the inherent mental and emotional sufferings concomitant with the disease are eliminated allowing the individual to focus on the value and purposefulness of their remaining life as it is, rather than being preoccupied with their declining health. Conscious preparation, regarding the death experience, is an endorsement and validation of life at the moment characterized by freedom of fears and anxiety.

Pain and suffering assumes for people the role of the minuet which calls forth our attention to engage in a higher and healthier pursuit. All authentic healers have the possibility and responsibility of listening to the voices of their charges. Through learned techniques they clearly perceive the true nature of their problem and address it accordingly. Their own transformative experiences, coupled with objective and impartial observations, allow them to see beyond the initial presenting symptoms and ascertain the origins, involvement, and extent of the suffering. From this perspective, a protocol can be established to give aid and untangle the complex relationships of the origins of the malady.

It must be noted that deep emotional responses, such as temporary grief and sadness, associated with loss of life, whether it be through illness, trauma, or catastrophe, appears to be a response behavior that is natural and even correct in the human condition. In many traditions it is viewed as a reminder to our own inevitable mortality. In such instances these experiences provide a shock to the mechanicality of our ordinary life. As such, certain teachings have utilized these events for the purposes of
transformation and may serve as an opportunity and a catalyst for investigating new

perceptions. It is interesting that human responses to loss of life are also shared with other primate and mammal groups. While members of these other kingdoms manifest different behaviors, it has been clearly documented that they too are not oblivious nor indifferent to the death experience. The process of healing first begins with our own healing and development. The merits of the injunction of Hippocrates that "healer, heal thyself" was formulated on the understanding that one is required to become essentially and fundamentally healthy first before attending to the ills of others.

Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathic medicine, writes in his seminal work, the Organon of the Medical Art, that "In the healthy human state, the spirit-like force (autocracy) that enlivens the material organism as dynamis, governs without restriction and keeps all parts of the organism in admirable, harmonious, vital operation, as regards both feelings and functions, so that our indwelling, rational spirit can freely avail itself of this living, healthy instrument for the higher purposes of our existence." Hahnemann clearly articulated in this treatise that the relationship of the first and second prime directives of human existence are integrally interwoven and that no genuine state of health could emerge for an ailing individual without incorporating both simultaneously. Likewise, we as healers must first untangle the threads of the pathology as they manifest on all levels and clearly delineate the presenting symptoms from the causative factors. In some cases it will become possible to ameliorate these presenting symptoms by addressing the origins of their arising. In situations of chronic diseases, where the causative factors are emotional in nature, and the manifestation of the disease has not been permitted to advance for too long a period of time such that there results significant cellular and molecular disintegration, then a treatment could be offered by addressing and resolving the emotional disorganization. In this instance, removing the exciting emotional or mental origins of the pathology allows the life force or vital force to relieve the tension and pressure placed upon the organism and promotes rapid healing to the presenting physical symptomology.

On the other hand, if the patient's suffering constitutes a certain depth of quality, and has been established for a significant duration, then the body will have already somatized the disease on a molecular level and the ensuing deterioration will be demonstrated as overt physical symptoms. When this occurs, it is not possible to treat for the etiology. Rather, it becomes necessary to deal with the presenting manifestation of physical pathology since the erosion of heath is already of marked proportions. At this time, attending first to the already extensive damage, treatment of the ravaged organism in its diseased state is the only way to proceed. Attempting to annihilate the disease picture by pursuing a course of treatment by expunging the etiology is ill advised. The insistence on continuing this etiological course of treatment at best can only result in a future deteriorating of the patient's condition. The reason for this can be found in the science of biophysics and other related sciences that can best explain the lawfulness of the tempo of degeneration and deterioration as it pertains to decomposition of living matter.

In healing, as in any other art form, becoming aware of the process is essential. The first aspect to consider is the dynamic quality of the individual. How can one determine the quality of the vital force? There are no medical tests or apparatus, thus far invented, that can make a firm and accurate assessment of an individual's dynamic properties. Today's medical methodologies and advanced diagnostic equipment allows for only gross identification of decomposition of cellular matter and the general overall capabilities of system and organ function. They never take into account the relationship and interconnectedness of the entire organism and thereby can never accurately measure the true dynamic capabilities of the individual. How else is it possible to account for common but unintelligible medical experiences such as spontaneous remission? Likewise, physicians are equally confused with regard to numerous other medical situations where a person will die for unknown reasons.

Without factoring in the dynamic properties and interrelationships of the entire organism, on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels, medical science is often hard pressed to explain commonly encountered diseased states and the myriad ways that patients exist in them. The ambiguities experienced by physicians and psychiatrists alike as to why and how patients either respond or not to various treatments leaves the medical profession in a perplexed state. This is especially true when it becomes eminently clear that the continued course of the diseased state almost invariably and progressively moves from bad to worse, as recurrence of more and deeper acting pathologies assault the patient over time.

The capacity of human beings to evolve mentally, emotionally and spiritually in spite of the natural involution of the physical body as we chronologically age, affords us the possibility of developing in these ways to our highest potential. Each person in their lifetime has the opportunity to chose whether or not they wish to attain the greatest potential a person can achieve, objective consciousness, also referred to as enlightenment. Throughout history, it is those enlightened individuals who have set the highest standard by which others could live and should aspire to. They have given us great works in art and literature, founded religions and metaphysical schools of knowledge, initiated codes of morality, and set forth, through their very being, the principles of exactly how one should conduct themselves as a humane being. Each in his or her own way had meticulously adhered to the calling of the second prime directive. Each in their own way had the knowledge and acquired the techniques for healing others. The single common denominator that each processed rested not with their particular style, but on their ability to perceive objectively the truth of the causes of the diseased individual. The application of their unique methodology employed to alleviate the suffering of others was merely a matter of preference, familiarity of technique, and opportunity.

Having acquired the wisdom and knowledge to become enlightened beings is far more

encompassing than utilizing a towering intellect. For if intelligence was sufficient alone,
anyone with a great mind could stand among them. Their shared secret was not to engage the intellect alone but rather to align and harness the correct relationship of all the centers in a distinctive harmonious correspondence relegated and unique to the human species. It is for this reason that so much of their teaching is revealed through parable and metaphor. This simplistic schematic does no justice to their formidable works. However, if one seriously investigates the essence of their teachings, one will soon discover the validity of this premise.

Process, if not universally lawful, is certainly permanently established here on Earth. Everything existing here has a beginning, a middle ground, and an ending. There are few, I believe, who would argue this most obvious of assertions. The origins of the beginning of all things existing need not distract us from this rudimentary thesis. It is sufficient to simply state that from a seed grows a tree, and that tree bears fruit, and eventually it will die. That from conception a child will be born, and then will evolve into adulthood, and then finally into death. There are no exceptions to this rule except for time, which has bestowed upon it a uniqueness and character unto itself.

A paradox now emerges because the phenomenon of process has no capacity to stand alone outside of time. That matter itself evolves and involves simultaneously in the matrix of time is inseparable. The essential nature of process is flow and unfolding and as such is the reflective manifestation of time itself embodied in the material dialectic. All things existing are formed only to inherently evolve into their eventual demise. This knot of Solomon has been pondered and elucidated for eons, but it is not our focus here. Neither eternal recurrence, reincarnation, or the big bang theory is appropriate for our investigation. We must be content to explore only a small component of the larger question, and try to understand a segment in the life of an individual, the nature and manifestations of disease and how these maladies impede the quality of life. Our mission then, is to comprehend the totality of their derangement and set them on the path to health as it was so eloquently stated by Hahnemann.

A middle-aged patient has cancer and the prognoses appears bleak. Apparently there is no environmental nor life style etiology for their disease. Even their family history is devoid of this contemporary plague. With the clear absence of any contributing factors the question arises, why does this happen? The true causes of cancer like many other diseases are not altogether understood since in this instance it is not created by some morbific microbial invasion of the organism. In taking the case we of course will firstly factor in the obvious tissue symptomology with all of its attending attributes as it relates to sensation and functioning. The site of the disease, the qualities of pain and the secondary involvements with regard to its action upon other involved organs, are all important in ascertaining the extent to which the disease has impacted the physical

organism. In spite of delving deeply into the physicality of the illness, we know very little about who they are as unique and distinct individuals, and in truth have not really seen them.

The departure for us from allopathic medicine becomes apparent when we begin to explore the relationship of the physiology of the disease with its probable involvement on the mental, emotional and spiritual levels of the individual. Our investigation proceeds further when we examine the following aspects of the entire patient in relationship to how this wholly individualized diseased state encompasses the whole of their organism. Aside from the generic diagnosis of the disease, it must be viewed as a condition that has been created from within itself. Consequently it evolved and became establish from a specific series of internal interdependent relationships unique within the individual, and absolutely different from any other person that is seemingly suffering from the same disease. There is an extensive list of involvements that are required and must be gathered in order to genuinely understand the patient. They include, but are not limited to, the following physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual symptoms.

The physical center:

Food cravings and aversions.
Sleep posture and quality of sleep.
Relationships to weather.
Relationships to the environment.
The quality of all organ functioning.
All discharges, including odor, consistency, etc.

The emotional center:

Fears and anxieties.
Depressions and sadness.
Delusions, insanity, and delirium.
Impulses and self concepts.
States of anger and irritability.
Desires and aspirations.
Sensitivities to external influences.
Sexual conduct and attitudes.
Attitudes toward oneself and others.
Dreams.
Violence and jealousy.
Egoism, pride, self-conceit.
Ailments from emotional trauma.
Obsessive behaviors.

The mental center:

Concentration and weakness of memory.
Forgetfulness and confusion.
Mistakes in time, spelling, location, etc.
Speech pathologies and dysfunction.
Ailments from mental shock or trauma.
Comprehension.
Abstraction of mind.
Thought patterns.

The spiritual center:

Suicidal tendencies.
Belief systems.
Ennui.

After observing the hierarchy of the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual centers, it becomes clear that the greatest preponderance of symptoms lay in the physical sphere, followed by the others in their natural succession. What becomes obvious in the comparison of the centers is a sort of pyramidal configuration with the physical center at the base, and the spiritual center at the top.

Here, it is worth noting, that the penultimate accomplishment for an individual, that is inner peace and enlightenment, resides at the apex. The ideal of liberation and fulfillment, as it has been handed down through the ages in myth, folklore, and religion, is that the deity, whatever the orientation, is always on high. In every teaching it is the aim of each follower of a spiritual doctrine to strive for union or oneness with that Supreme Entity. Jai Uttal writes in his introduction to chanting that many thousands of years ago, the rishis of India gave us the great systems of yoga, teachings to bring us to a state of harmony, peace, and ultimately, mystical union with the Divine. These ancient yogis were well aware of the multiple layers and components physical, mental, emotional, etcetera that make up the human animal, and they created practices to bring light to the whole being. The primordial seers recognized these emotions as a vital part of the human being - not an obstacle or an accident, rather a great, freeing energy to bring us to liberation.

The crux of the problem rests on the idea that in order to ascend one must fight the lawfulness of gravity. For our purposes, the gravitational pull that exerts itself on each individual is disease. Freeing a person from that force, allows them to have an

opportunity to push higher in the quality of life, thus being unshackled to obey the natural impulse of the second prime directive, to thrive. As healers it is incumbent upon us to understand the true nature of the disease, as it uniquely exists in each individual. If we were to physically cure the cancer of our hypothetical patient, unfortunately a scenario that is all to commonly encountered, but did not resolve in them their history of grief, sorrow, and mental confusion which in turn led to poor relationships and a sense of futility about life; then at some future time they would acquire yet another terminal illness or experience a recurrence of the first. And while it may be stated that the cure was a great achievement and provided some more years of life, the issue of the quality of life must be factored in as having some value that has not materialized. If the cancer is removed surgically, but the origins of its actualization, which had been created within himself by some complex internal derangement of his organism, has not been adequately addressed, then it must be apparent that the mechanism for creating such an illness continues on.

The best practitioners that allopathic medicine has to offer, sadly enough, have a great deal of experience in these matters. Furthermore it must be equally true of those practitioners of complimentary and alternative medical therapeutics as well. There should be little room for satisfaction and back slapping on the part of this latter group of administrators to the ill if their work yields the same result. Unfortunately, by today's standards, the utilization of natural healing methods has become synonymous with the highest level of health care. In many instances this may be correct, however, it is not true if the practitioner cures a chronic case of severe psoriases in a young adult only to have that patient suffer from a more serious disease a few years down the road, which is equally the case in the natural healthcare community. In both camps then, whether it be conventional or alternative medicines, the practitioner is guilty of having missed the disease, while succeeding in temporarily suppressing the symptoms.

The process of healing requires one to obtain a certain modicum of awareness regarding the total possibilities of living of an individual and of humanity in general. Of course it is the responsibility of practitioners to alleviate the outward manifestations of the disease picture. After all, that is the primary reason patients seek treatment in the first place. It is however, our sacred responsibility to eradicate the cause of the disease in the individual, and in order to accomplish this one must first see the real dis-ease, and not only be taken by the obvious overt expression in its morbific state.

There is story of a wise man, who in his travels through the mountains encounters a man with his donkey in the middle of the road. The wise man quietly observes the situation while the owner uses every means at his disposal to get the over burdened donkey to move for him. Some time goes by, and the wise man can no longer remain quiet, watching the scene while the owner resorts to abusing the poor animal. He approaches the owner and says, "Your donkey will not move for you and carry all of

your heavy possessions if you mistreat him in such a manner. In order for him to obey and carry on with your journey, you must treat him with kindness, be gentle with him, love and nurture him." This said, the indignant and frustrated owner arrogantly replied as he hands the reins over to the wise man; "Well, if you're so smart let's see how much better you can do." Then the owner walked to one side of the road leaving the wise man and the donkey in the same position he was just in only a moment before.

The wise man, being nobody's fool, drops the reins fully aware of the situation, and knowing that the donkey wasn't going to budge under any circumstance, and walked to the opposite side of the road. He looked down on the ground for a moment and returned to the donkey grasping a large thick stick about the size of a baseball bat. Standing directly in front of the donkey he lovingly looked him in the eyes and in the very next moment, hauled off and smacked the donkey in the head with all of his might.

At the sight of this, the outraged owner came rushing towards the wise man and critically yelled; "I thought you said you had to be gentle, loving, nurturing and kind to this donkey." "Quite true" replied the wise man. "You do have to do all those things, but first you have to get his attention."

This very old story has many levels of meaning, but clearly people come for treatment when their diseased state, with all its attending pains, discomfort, and dysfunction, gets their attention. The important thing to remember, is that the pathological symptoms are only the outward manifestations of a diseased person. So, just as the whole is greater than its constituent parts, equally true about the overwhelming numbers of chronic diseases, is that the true nature of the disease is not represented by, or relegated to the presenting symptomology.

That these diseases cause inestimable hardship for the patient is indisputable, and it is the solemn obligation of all healthcare practitioners to attempt to relieve them of their suffering to the greatest degree possible. However, we must be mindful of our deepest commitment to raise, if at all permissible, the overall well being of the patient to a higher level. The Hippocratic Oath requires that, "First, do no harm", implying that whatever our treatment might be, it should not have a further deleterious impact on the patients life. If treatment is administered for the sake of physical palliation alone, it does not serve the highest possibilities of the patient.

As practitioners, we need to understand the treatment of the individual in the context of the entirety of patients potentiality for being. This includes not only the eradication of the presenting symptoms, but also encompasses treatment to afford the patient the possibility of greater fulfillment and liberation. These are lofty ideals, and not easily accomplished. It is characteristic of the human species to have the capacity to evolve

and strive for greater self-perfection. As medical practitioners we must come prepared not only with our repertoire of therapeutic techniques to give relief and aid to the physical illness, but equally and perhaps more importantly we must come prepared to heal all levels of suffering whether the patient is conscious of it or not. The implication is that to some degree we must attain a certain level of clarity of what needs to be recognized in emotional, mental, and spiritual disease. Not only do we need to learn how to delve more deeply into the dysfunction of the psyche, but we need practical and personal experience on a more highly attuned level which then qualifies us for seeing the obstacles in another. Without this empirical experience it is impossible to see the suffering of another person on a more rarified and etheric level.
Gathering this knowledge can only be acquired through personal search and growth. It cannot be gleaned through literature, although there exists a plethora of material from various sources and disciplines on these matters dating back to antiquity.

This knowledge is transcendent and therefore solely experiential in nature. It demands of us an avocation of introspection, discovery, and pursuit of the sacred, in order to be able to pursue our worldly occupation as healers. Truly, seeing another's suffering implies that we have observed our own and to some degree transcended it. The benchmark of all great practitioners, of the healing arts, is that they shared a common passion for their own inner perfection of all their centers.

If one has not made conscientious efforts to advance and enhance their own evolutionary development, how then is it possible to pretend to have a direction of health for a fellow human being with similar sufferings and obstacles? The old Native American saying, "Let me not judge another until I have walked a mile in his moccasins" can have a corollary with regard to healing which might be represented as, "Let me not believe that I have seen the truth of another's suffering until I have healed myself."