To Heal or Not

2000-4-10 10:40:00

Thanks for your gracious note Bonnie and again welcome to the new ones on the list who have had the fortitude to stay with us.

Overall, people on both sides of the arguments that have come up are gentle souls under normal circumstances and are not likely to bite anyone's head off, especially a newer member. Sometimes we old timers go for the jugular in each other and there may be a little ego at times, but the main motivator is a desire for the other side of the argument to see their point of view or desire (right or wrong) to enlighten their fellow man.

You are welcome to ask any question at all and either I or some other member will do our best to answer. In the thousands of pages of archives I do not think you can find an example of me snapping at anyone for asking a question. If someone calls names or is rude it is quite possible they will be told that this is not acceptable. That should be the worst that will happen to anyone who jumps in with both feet.

If you present a point of view it will always be possible that someone will disagree with you, but that is the price of free discussion.

And Maryellen - no apologies needed. I have enjoyed all your posts and find you a welcome addition to the list.

Back to the subject of healing.

We left off where I have related the story of the first real miracle I experienced in my life. The example I gave illustrates that it is possible to heal without any conscious cooperation from the ill person. But does this mean that faith exercised by the person who is ill is not necessary?

No. Cooperation, belief and faith from the ill person can be a great aid as witnessed by the healings of the Master himself. In many accounts of healing in the Bible Jesus told the person experiencing the miracle "your faith has made you whole." Notice that he did not say "my faith has made you whole," but "your faith."

It is also interesting that when he visited his home town that he could perform no miracle there because the people who thought they knew him did not believe in him. Instead of taking advantage of healing by faith they attempted to kill Jesus by throwing him off a cliff merely because they disagreed with him.

So if a normal part of a miracle is a show of faith from the person being healed then how was it that my command for healing was honored by God?

Someone came close to the truth, but I do not recall the name. The answer I received as time moved on was that I was at a point of tension. At this point I was trying to decide whether to make my prime focus the following of outside authorities or the inner self and the scriptures. On top of this, I felt full of faith and without doubt at that moment.

I believe the healing was honored more as a teaching lesson to me than for the healing of my friend. It is even possible that my friend came down with the disease as part of the plan behind the lesson. Whatever the case, this event did have a profound influence on me throughout the rest of my life to date. From that time on I have never just swallowed what any authority has said without questioning and thinking it through for myself. Once an authority proves himself several times I will give him some leverage, but until then I apply the principles of discovery first.

The funny thing about this miracle is that at the same time I had an uncle who also had MS for some time and was slowly getting worse. For some reason I did not feel impressed to try to heal him. I picked up that he did not believe he could be healed unless it was by an elder of the church. Years later when I did become an elder I approached him and asked him if I could give him a blessing. As me and a companion laid our hands on his head and I began to speak I tried with all my power to give the command to my beloved uncle to rise and walk, but the spirit within told me no. It was not to be. I then gave him a general blessing of support, but could not promise him a healing. Then a couple years later I tried again and still the Spirit within said no - the time is not yet.

Finally, some time later again I was visiting my uncle who was cared for by my grandmother. My friend Wayne from the book was with me. I looked at my uncle lying on the couch. He could no longer raise himself up; he could not speak and could barely eat with my grandmother's assistance. As I touched him I felt great sadness and wondered to myself why God would heal a casual acquaintance through me, yet would refuse to heal a man who had suffered so much for so many years - a man I loved deeply. He was one of five brothers and the whole family agreed that this man was the most spiritual of the bunch, and was the last person who deserved such a fate.

As I stood in silent contemplation the inner voice spoke to me and it said these words: "This man has suffered enough." I stepped back and reflected. What does this mean? If he has suffered enough it would mean it is either time for him to die or to be healed. I hoped it was time to be healed, but prepared myself for the other possibility.

I turned to my grandmother and said: "Do you think it would be alright to give Bob one more blessing?"

She looked on at her son with sad eyes and said, "Yes, that would be fine."

Wayne and I then laid our hands on his head and I promised him that he would either be healed or be taken, but that he would suffer no more. Wayne and I were in our college years at the time and the next day we departed back to school for it was the end of Christmas vacation.

Three days after the blessing I felt a powerful presence and I knew it was my uncle who had passed on. The man was absolutely thrilled to be released from that dreadful situation. He was as happy and joyful as it is possible for a man to be, and was extremely appreciative for my assistance in releasing him from his earthly prison.

A couple hours later my mom called and spoke with sadness in her voice and said: "I have some sad news. Bob died."

I told her. "That is not sad news. It's good news for I assure you that he is very happy to be free from that terrible disease."

It was years later after I learned the truth about reincarnation and why life seemed to be so unfair. Because of cause and effect and karma accumulated over many lifetimes each of us are in special situations unique unto ourselves.

Question:
Taking reincarnation and karma into account why do you suppose it is that some people can he healed and others not? Is it possible for one to be healed when his disease is connected with his karma? If one learns his karma is it possible to accelerate payment and thus free himself from unfortunate circumstance?