Source Text
Foreword This book is an inquiry into anthroposophical medicine by the Norwegian acupuncturist and veterinarian Are Thoresen.
The central ideas of the book can be summarized as follows: 1)Anthroposophical medicine has to be thought of as part of a cosmic process. The practitioner does not deal with human beings or animals as distinct entities, but as interwoven with greater cosmic forces. 2)The universe is of a spiritual nature, of which the healer is also part. 3)The healer must acknowledge that the forces in the spiritual world are not only good. Evil spirits or demons also exist, and they are more numerous and have a greater significance than commonly acknowledged. 4)In the treatment of diseases, the power of Christ is the most important tool. 5)Finally, because the healer is part of a greater spiritual whole: he is a world healer.
We would see man as embedded in a larger unity of cosmic forces instead of belonging to the disintegrated world that is the inheritance of modern science. This would then give us a better understanding of the phenomenon and significance of human life than the scientific discoveries of the last past 500 years have been able to do. It would also inspire us with hope and confidence in the future of humankind on the planet, instead of leaving us with a feeling of fear and alienation.
Unlike the old philosophy and science, man will not be seen as something independent and self-sufficient, but as an integral part of the processes and forces that govern the cosmos, understood both in its physical and spiritual aspects.
this new philosophy is not only rational, but even more rational than traditional philosophy and science have ever been.
The basic concept in the study of spiritually-caused illness is that of demons.
To understand what demons are, the first step is to acknowledge their spiritual nature. In order to do this, we have to distinguish between good and evil spirits. Generally speaking, spirits can be divided into two classes: those that can connect with the human realm but not influence us without the human being’s conscious free will and, on the other hand, those that are ‘allowed’ to influence humans without the victims’ free will and conscious acceptance.
According to Thoresen, the proper word for demons would be ‘pathological structures of spiritual origin with their own life’. In other words, they are spiritual processes that have a non-benevolent effect upon humans and that can live and behave like independent spiritual beings, i.e. as individual and conscious entities.
spirits of deceased people and the hierarchy of higher spirits, such as the ahrimanic and luciferic beings.
Elemental nature spirits and ordinary nature spirits exist in their own right, without necessarily interfering with human life, and in many cases they do so. However, many of these demons are created by the thoughts and actions of human beings, past or present. They are sustained either by a mysterious force emanating from the depths of the earth (geopathic radiation, an ahrimanic influence) or by the magnetic field of the earth (related to Lucifer). They are always involved in creation of diseases. One of the secrets of these dark forces is that they have no power of their own. They can only feed on the fear and resistance that they initiate. The more we resist them, the more we risk that the demons suck power and strength from us if we do not fight them in the right way.
AI Summary
Demons and Healing by Are Thoresen, Hans Kolstad, and Phil Rogers presents key insights from the Christian Mysticism tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
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Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
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