By definition the word "HEAL" means, 1. To restore to health or soundness, 2. To set right, repair, 3. To restore a person to spiritual wholeness, 4. To become whole and sound, to return to health.
By definition "SPIRIT" means, 1. The vital principle or animating force within living beings, Incorporeal consciousness. There are about twelve more elaborations mostly to do with various religious implications.
By definition "RELIGION" means, 1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe, 2. A set of beliefs, values and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
Based on these common interpretations of how things 'ARE', many paradoxes are created. The resultant effect is confusion and un-wellness. The Truth as we are beginning to understand it is this: Every Thing in the universe is Energy and Consciousness. How anyone feels about that Fact cannot change it. The purpose of All religions is the recognition that humans have a part of themselves that is not physical and there is a need to explore and experience this aspect of themselves. Part of the intent is to discover one's purpose and to live in the best way possible, part of that goal also includes the attainment of Truth and Spiritual Wellness. However, the result in regard to our Spiritual health most have been an abysmal failure. If the most important aspect of our being is our Spiritual self, it is a miracle we even exist.
Currently, many churches are in a state of extreme confusion in an attempt to enter the next millennium. Their greatest struggle is how to incorporate all the now known knowledge and assimilate it into their dogma and theology. The problem is the impossibility of reconciling the obvious flaws in most theology and doctrine. The obvious shortcomings and how political and nationalistic and other special interests and agendas have resulted in a history filled with disappointment and tragedy. I have counseled ministers and individuals who have spent a lifetime in religious practice who have never had a Spiritual Experience in their entire life. For many it has only created confusion. Churches are full of believers and few knowers. In speaking with one minister in 1982, I asked him what would happen if one Sunday morning he was to get up before his congregation and tell them the "Truth", his response was, "I would be gone before sundown, I have to tell them what they want to hear".
Perhaps the most brilliant early pioneer in modern psychiatry was William James, of the late 1800's. Dr. James was about a hundred years ahead of his time. This world class lecturer and noted authority ruffled more than a few feathers when he stated, " In our western civilization, the cause of our greatest psychological problems is Religion". No wonder that even today most people, including psychiatrists have never heard of him.
God according to many, while perceived as the creator and builder of the universe and the ultimate controller of all things, is also seen as being something very distant or external. The single conscious revelation by Christ and other Masters was the realization that this is not the case. The Knowing that came into full realization was the understanding that everyone and everything was a part of the whole. As this became an Awareness also came the experiencing of the very essence of God or Creator and of what we refer to as Love. In ordinary human terms and understanding the magnitute of this Love was the sheer enormity of it and its ability to transcend all things. For those who have never had this experience, try to imagine the time when you have felt the highest Love you have ever experienced magnified millions of times and it will probably not even come close. Understanding the divinity in all things and the interconnected consciousness is the path to all healing and wellness.
In many cultures it has always been thought and/or known that we are spiritual beings, the biggest exception is in our western industrialized cultures that we are people who happen to have a soul. The most beautiful and simple interpretation of how everything 'IS' can be found in the Native American tradition. "Everything in the universe is Spirit, each thing in it is of the same Spirit and it is all Connected." This is exactly what we are beginning to understand in science and quantum physics, that everything in the universe is made of the same thing and has a consciousness about it. The two things that are driving the scientists mad is the fact that all these things operate across time, space and dimensions they do not yet understand, and the ability of things to operate on interdimensional and multidimensional levels. A high degree of new understanding about the science and physics of what spiritual really means is now mostly coming from independent researchers. High-tech and aerospace research physicists and scientists, all seem to have a more concise and accurate understanding of Spirit and the Spiritual than those from a theological background.
DreamTime.org