The Magic Genie

Until a few months' ago, I'd gone cold-turkey on reading any secular literature for six years. I didn't read newspapers, internet, books, nothing. All I read was Torah. Then, G-d gave me the idea of retraining as an aromatherapist and energy-medicine healer, and for the first time in years, I was reading secular stuff again.
 
After all the Torah stuff I was immersed in, I'm finding a few things: one, that I can cover an awful lot of 'deep' secular stuff in a few days (which is why I could retrain so fast – at this rate, I could probably do a degree in three weeks. But then, so could most people 😉
 
Two, a lot of what I'm reading is nonsense. And three, there is some wisdom in some secular stuff, albeit often warped, that needs gathering up and bringing back to its true source in Torah and G-d.
 
One of those things is a book by an American chiropractor called Donald Epstein, called 'The 12 stages of healing'. In that book, Epstein goes through the 12 stages of healing that characterize the process of travelling from sickness to good health.
 
The first chapter was so full of comparative-religion rubbish that I nearly gave up – but G-d made me persevere, probably just so I could write this article.
 
Because starting in chapter two, Epstein started describing a global problem that is definitely at the root of most of our spiritual, emotional and physical issues. In a nutshell, many of us, even frum Jews, believe that in order for our problems to get solved, we have to find some sort of external 'magic genie' to help us.
 
When it's health, we go all around the houses looking for the right doctor, or surgeon, or even, alternative therapist. When it's finances, we go looking for a financial expert; when it's family issues, we try and find a therapist; when it's general bad luck and problems, we'll try a Rav.
 
And on one level, there's nothing wrong with doing that – to a point. The point being, that the real answer, the real healing, the real turn around, can only come about from inside ourselves, and from connecting to G-d and our souls.
 
I see so many people going here and there, following fad diets, or fad exercise regimes, or even fad learning programs and mentoring workshops, and I know it's all pointless. Why? It's because these people are looking for the answer in the wrong place. Other people can guide us and help us – to a point. But the real answers come from within.
 
In his book, Epstein explains that most people get stuck in the first three stages, looking for the magic genie that's going to rescue them from their woes, and never move on from there to a place where the real healing and learning and growing can happen.
 
He describes the process like this: stage 1: you realize something is wrong, and needs fixing. 2: you go all out trying to find the 'magic genie' who's going to make your problem go away. 3: you realize the magic genie is limited and flawed – either you still have the problem, or a different problem, or the problem came back, or the 'cure' didn't work as well as you hoped.
 
And here's where most people go back to stage 1, and just keep repeating the process ad nauseam until they croak.
 
Physical healing is just a parallel process of spiritual healing. The two very often go together, although modern medicine has done its best to sever that link. If the soul is happy, the body is usually in good shape. If the soul is struggling, on whatever level, sooner or later it will turn up as a physical issue.
 
And that's when the real breakthrough can happen, but only once we realize that the answers we require are all inside us. Yes, of course we all need spiritual guides to keep nudging us along the right path, but one of the reasons I love authentic Breslev rabbis so much is because they respect people's free will. They are usually happy to give good, holy advice, but the final decision rests with you, and that's how it has to be. Because these holy rabbis understand that the real answer has to come from within, and not from an external 'magic genie', however holy and connected they may actually be.
 
The key to genuine, lasting healing, whatever the problem or issue, is to connect to that internal place, and to talk to G-d. It'll save you a fortune in professional fees; it'll empower you spiritually; and the most fantastic benefit of all, is that it'll work.
 
 
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You're welcome to visit Rivka Levy's personal website at www.emunaroma.com