A New Dawn

Medicine of the future

by Dr Patrick Quanten MD

A new dawn is breaking through in our Western World. A light of recognition is starting to shine at our horizon. It has been a long night but finally the prophesy of a brave new world is showing signs of becoming true.

The promise of finding all answers to life’s questions, made by the medical profession in their belief that technology is going to unravel the intricacies of nature, is beginning to sound hollow. In spite of all the space, time and energy (including enormous financial input) that our society has dedicated to the search for the Fountain of Youth, our population is suffering more and more illness and disability. Technology is demanding an even greater commitment of our people to follow their lead to the next step down into the world of intracellular research believing that the answer to life’s problems is a few proteins, a mineral, a molecule or an atom. Not only have the results of this epic journey been extremely disappointing (theories about disease causes had to be changed drastically, therapies were proven to be ineffective or even dangerous, the mountain of unexplained phenomena is still just as high), but at the same time we are running out of resources to supply this epic expedition with the necessaries. Money is running out. The cost of medical services in our Western culture has continued to rise to the extend where it is now one of the main factors of our economic decline. The service that was supposed to restore health quickly and efficiently, and therefore providing society with a strong economic workforce, has increasingly been keeping people in illness, being unable to contribute towards the productive side of our economy, increasing the passive load on the non-productive side. An increasingly large number of people are now draining the economic resources provide by an increasingly declining workforce. Our medical efforts have played an embarrassing major part in creating this no longer tenable imbalance. It is embarrassing, especially if we look at the people that are managing good health and find out that what is really needed is inexpensive and readily available to every one of us. Nature has provided us with that ingredient that the Medical Services in our Western Culture have failed to provide: natural instinct.

All illness is an expression of an imbalance in life-energy. This imbalance is always caused by a struggle, a fight, an apparent incompatibility of two opposing forces. This struggle causes pain and heat. That part of our body where this struggle manifests itself becomes a battlefield, where fire burns, where destruction reigns. We are in pain. We are ill. So we need treatment. This can involve three different levels.

Firstly, we can cover up the symptoms, take them away. We can make the pain go away; or more accurately we can numb our senses to the pain. Our society has developed remarkable skills in this area ranging from drug therapy, to sophisticated surgery, to altering messages carried by the nerves (TENS-machine), to changing the way the brain reads the incoming messages (some hypnotherapy; a positive attitude). Dealing with the pain, trying to clean up the battlefield, does not alter the war. The two opposing forces still go on fighting, even if they have to find another battleground. Even when symptoms have been successfully removed, the war continues, "until death do us part".

Secondly, we can strive for an intellectual understanding of the underlying forces. This involves an insight into the relationship between what we do and our state of health. A real understanding of the possible effects of bad eating habits, drug intake, emotional impacts (problems in relationships, at work, etc.) can lead to a change in attitude or circumstances. This could significantly relief the stresses on the battlefield and help to restore the equilibrium of the health-balance.

Sadly, for most of us, being able to understand the logical cause-and-effect links does not seem to provide all the answers. Knowing the liver cirrhosis process has started, does not stop the alcoholic from drinking; knowing that her husband beats her up, does not stop the battered wife from returning into the relationship, even with the fear of losing her life; knowing that cancer is caused by suppressed anger and resentment, does not stop the wild proliferation of cells; knowing that angina is really a problem of Loving, does not open up the blocked arteries.

So, if nor our therapies, nor our understanding of the undermining factors cure illnesses, what else can we do? The answer is complete acceptance.

Consider the following:

In nature, all and everything plays a part in the grand evolution. Every action, every non-action, every event or coincidence is a vital element in the growth of the Universe. The animal that falls prey to a predator, and is savagely ripped to pieces, contributes an essential piece in the jigsaw puzzle that eventually will show the total picture of the Universe. But equally the predator, snatching the opportunity that he was presented with, fulfils a similar task. There is no good, better or worse; there is no right or wrong; all is just. Everything is essential and necessary in the Movement of All Things, even if this is beyond our human comprehension. Circumstances, whether global, regional, or personal, all arise as part of the movement forward, as part of the natural drive to complete the Universal Picture. There is no ulterior motive. Nature is honest, just and fair.

As part of Creation, the Human Being in our Western Culture has tried very hard to do better than Nature. Not only do we produce better air in bottles, cleaner water, healthier food, etc. than Nature, but we also, by law, prevent certain animal species from dying out, stop animals from committing suicide, and destroy animals that invade our lives and impede our expansion. We now reap the benefits of our actions. Nature retaliates and shows us that it is a Never Ending Story, and an eternal battle that we can not win. The reason being: Nature knows best, and will always find a way to show us that it holds all the answers.

So maybe, whatever happens to us, has meaning and purpose. Whatever happens to us, is part of the long winding road evolution takes to create the final overall Picture of the Universe. Whatever happens to us, is our contribution, at this moment in time, towards the journey of the whole of Creation. Whatever happens to us, is just. By accepting Nature and all its laws, we put our lives in the hands of the only consistent, permanent and just Mother there is.

Let’s try and draw these points closer together now. Pain is the expression of a fight, of an imbalance in vital energy, which we seem to cause by "breaking the Law of Nature". If only we could just sit back and "let Nature take its course", everything would be all right.

Wrong.

Yes, it is true that pain is a direct result of non-acceptance of Life as it is, at this moment in time. The pain and distress is definitely caused by our continual strive to achieve bigger and better. What we actually see is that any striving to achieve anything, including good health, eternal youth (longevity), or spiritual enlightenment, causes the same pain, instigates the same battles. But it is not true to say that a passive life of "sitting down and letting nature take it’s course", is therefore painless. To reduce the level of pain and distress, one should take opportunities as they present themselves to learn and develop; just as the predator needs to take the opportunity to feed himself when a prey is presented, otherwise he will die of starvation. On the other hand, if we push ourselves to create opportunities that are inappropriate we leave empty handed; just as a predator desperate for food, rushing in and scaring the prey away every time.

The feedback we receive from Nature lets us know where to continue and where to stop. Certain things will develop effortlessly, others will cause hardship, pain and distress. No goal or aim should remain unchallenged; we should be prepared to let go of any goal if what we are doing is resulting in any kind of pain. This way, we walk the line that Nature intended for us; we balance our lives; we remain pain-free, still and peaceful.

We need to accept that our Life is what it is, including the misfortunes, the illnesses, the limitations. Yet we need to be constantly alert in order to achieve and maintain the balance of Nature in our life. Happiness is born in acceptance, and nurtured by the knowledge that "all is well".

We need not to pursue goals set by our logical mind. We need not to intervene in Nature’s way to gain any sort of benefit, be it on a physical, psychological or emotional level.

Let’s now return to medical help. What is it then that we can do to help people to lead a healthier life?

From within our own acceptance, we can only hope to achieve a supporting role, allowing to happen whatever it is that needs to happen. Any real healing comes from within each of us and will only occur when one is ready for it. If you want to help, then ensure that all you do, is to hold the other person’s pain. Just hold it, don’t do anything with it. Create a safe environment in which a person can allow his or her pain to become apparent. Then hold it there, and if and when the person is ready, he/she can face the pain, experience it in it’s full, extensive sense, and decide what he/she wants to do with it. Only allow yourself to hold the mirror, and only when invited; never interfere with the picture that it shows in any way, shape or form. The Doctor of the future will be valued by his skills to hold the mirror motionless.

Dr Patrick Quanten

June 1995