Reading Israel Regardie's The Art of True Healing - Part 3
I am working from the Helios Books edition 1970. The original was first published in 1937 and has been through many editions since, so yours may be slightly different to mine, but not in its overall ideas. There is a pdf copy available for free here which will do the job. It is a deceptively simple book which can be read through in no time at all. Full digestion and appreciation of it takes much longer though. For additional background and context I am also drawing from The One Year Manual by Israel Regardie, where he explains this practice in a different way, I have also referred to I Called it Magic by Gareth Knight (the man who set up Helios Books) as well as the 800+pages of the Golden Dawn teachings, as compiled by Israel Regardie. I read these things so you don’t have to!
RECAP: The Art of True Healing is not just about healing. It is about life. We all have a natural, innate desire to be well, but we also block and resist the very flow that would make us well. As I said before,
“We are full to bursting with infinite amazingness, but we deny it, block its expressions and resist its manifestation... everyone, everywhere, all the time, would be health and light if we would just let it. When we don’t do this then fatigue, tiredness and illness are the consequences”
In order to overcome/release/move past this problem Regardie suggests that we should deliberately cultivate God-awareness, a re-programming of our consciousness to see God, more than we see the material. This, above anything else, expands our horizons and increases our desire for health and wellbeing. Once we remember God we also remember our birthright, health and well-being.
Once the blocks are removed, health improves.
Reconnection with rhythm is also extremely important, because rhythm is a manifestation of the cosmic order, while chaos is a manifestation of the demonic. Reconnecting to rhythm in as simple a way as possible is also a divine activity, because the cosmic order is simple, while Satan just loves complexity. Reconnection to rhythm is done most simply through deliberate deep, full and regular, counted breathing.
All this has to be willed, an effort has to be made to deliberately do it. Otherwise it won’t get done.
NOW: Chapter II (in the 1970 edition) then moves onto deal with the big question, which was as relevant in the 1930’s when he wrote the book as it is today in the 2020’s: Why do most healing methods not work, or only work for a short time?
Answer: because they do not deal with the realities of the spiritual body. You will recall from Christina’s series of videos that the human being is composed of Four Bodies, the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Well this is just another way of saying that there are four psychic centres, four energy centres located in the body and the fact that a great many (most? all?) healing modalities do not recognise this is the cause of their failure.
Now, in mainstream, allopathic medicine if you went to the dentist complaining about toothache and he started cutting your belly open you would soon have something to say. But really this is what is happening with a lot of alternative and complementary medicine and healing modalities, because they aren’t dealing with the realities of the body and they therefore cannot work. And these realities, says Regardie, are Elemental, with the Elemental energies of Air, Fire, Water and Earth located in the body as per this picture:
At this point many people are going to think, ah yes, chakras. But ah no, not chakras. These are Elements, and Elements precede and outweigh the chakras. The Elements are more powerful than the chakras and if you accidentally land up activating your chakras before you activate your Elements then all hell is likely to break loose.
This is extremely important, and not a little challenging. The whole idea of chakras (wheels, in sanskrit, which Arthur used to pronounce as shockras) are a very real set of energy centres within the body. In the original Hindu texts the number and location of these chakras varies, while in modern Western thinking it is usually said that there are seven located along the central nervous system. However, the idea of the chakras was only introduced to Western audiences in the 19th century, after which the ideas got mashed up with many other spiritual practices. Regardie doesn’t say this explicitly but I will - the popularity of the chakras in the West is a fetishisation of Eastern ideas and their adoption, not on merit, but because they are Eastern, because too many are too quick to believe that all things Western are backwards and patriarchal, and all things Eastern are exotic and mysterious. But the Art of True Healing, and the body of work it hails from, is Western, from its roots to its tip and the practice we are studying here has nothing whatsoever to do with the chakras.
Chakra work, though popular in modern spirituality, can be highly dangerous because it is all too often only about self. The energy of the chakras, if awoken incorrectly, will energetically burn you, not resolving but causing all manner of illnesses and ailments. If handled really badly then the chakras may be the source of awakening for demonic energies. Anything to do with the chakras, including their so-called balancing should be left well alone until you have successfully awoken and balanced your Elemental centres, which precede, pre-date and are more important than, chakras. You will note, if you have read Soul Strong Volume One, that the work of the Way of the Second Cross relies upon knowledge and use of these Elements, not the chakras. Please talk to me about this point if you are unsure. As there are now so many people performing chakra work surely the world should be getting better, right? Ha! Things on Planet Earth are getting worse partly because humans are awakening the wrong parts of themselves, the demonic sides, though poor or hasty chakra work and are neglecting their divinity, as it is offered to them through the Elements. If you never engaged with a chakra in your entire life you would advance more spiritually than most of those who did. The consequences of awakening the chakras before the Elements could be obsessive sexual desire, inflammation of the liver or kidneys, digestive problems, heart problems, thyroid issues, emotional imbalance and difficulty sleeping to name but a few!
Chakra work always, in the end, leads to the unfolding and raising of the kundalini, the so-called coiled serpent that sits at the base of the spine. This is also highly dangerous for the kundalini itself is nothing less than a demon. Verify this for yourself by observing all those who mess around with their kundalini; their life will almost always be a train wreck. There is no safe way to awaken the serpent within you other than to correctly awaken the Elemental centres in you, first, and to do that in the sight of the greatest positive force known to humanity, Christ. This is why there is a fifth location on the picture above, a psychic centre above the head, an entry point for God and Christ. We will get into how to activate all five of these centres next time, but for now, please simply become aware of these five locations in your own body, and memorise their Elemental correspondences.
Above the head - God/Christ
Throat - Air
Middle of Chest - Fire
Genitals - Water
Feet - Earth
Become increasingly aware and conscious of these locations whenever you are standing up straight or laying down. Once you know what is where, instantly from memory without consulting your notes, then you are ready for the next stage, ready to begin the work of balancing the forces within you. What we are really doing here is setting up what is known as the Middle Pillar, the way of balance, the establishment of which resolves extremities, awakens your divine powers and ejects all coarseness and denseness from your aura, bring you greater clarity, better judgement and a stronger centre.
More in 2-3 weeks time. Your ongoing homework is to consider what is being said here as deeply as you can, to continue with deliberate God awareness and ordered breathing, while now also becoming aware of these Elemental centres, but not doing anything particular with them, yet. Reach out with questions in the comments below please so everyone can share in the process. Please excuse any typos. Read ahead in the book itself if you wish, but It is VITAL that you absolutely master each stage of the practice before proceeding to the next.
Repeated re-reading of both the book itself, and these commentaries is advised. The messages he communicates are deceptively simple and easy to overlook.
“The use of [this technique] will increase the field of attention, aid in the achievement of balance and equilibrium, and unfold a completely new and remarkable sphere of power and spiritual perception.”
