RISE, TAKE UP YOUR BED, AND WALK:

ATTAINING METAPHYSICAL WELL-BEING

by

DAVID CHRISTOPHER HIGGINS

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF METAPHYSICAL SCIENCE, M.Msc.

On behalf of
the Department of Graduate Studies of
the University of Metaphysics

This thesis has been accepted by

___________________________________
Thesis Advisor, Dept. Head

___________________________________
IMM President, Dean
June 7, 2023
 Acknowledgements

I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Masters, and everyone at the University of

Metaphysics; the entire process has been very enlightening, and fulfilling in a way that entirely

exceeded my expectations. Thanks specifically to Rev. Jordan R Walker, for all the patient sup-

port and encouragement. Thank you Sydney Thomas for brilliant editing, and also for setting up

the Thesis support Facebook group. And thanks to my wife Rebecca who inspired and motivated

my interest in the topic of this paper.!

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 Table of Contents

Introduction .........................................................................................................................3

Review of Literature ............................................................................................................6

Discussion..........................................................................................................................29

Conclusion .........................................................................................................................34

Works Cited .......................................................................................................................37

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 Introduction

Each of us occupies space in a physical form. When all is well, there are many pleasures

can be experienced on our physical level. The physical level can provide negative experiences as

well; we are all familiar with pain, and sickness. These phenomena present challenges that can

stop us in our tracks, bringing life to a halt by completely occupying our attention. We are very

conscious while we are suffering, so the connection between the mind and the body becomes

very apparent. Pain and sickness can create and heighten emotions such as sadness and fear,

which can seem to take on a life of their own, becoming chronic depression and anxiety. The

worst emotion which can be induced by suffering is hopelessness. We can begin to entertain the

idea that we will see no end of suffering except in death, tempted by despair to believe suffering

is our fate, somehow decreed and endorsed by higher powers, and therefore inevitable and in-

escapable. These are lies. God is not evil. We are not created to suffer. We are here to live in a

state of beauty and harmony, but in order to have that experience we must understand beauty and

harmony. We are born into this realm and given the opportunity to explore our alternatives, and

to find our proper place in the Ultimate Harmony, which cannot be complete without each of us.

Our journey into Harmony includes playing a few wrong notes; we experience disharmony, but

but we are never to kick ourselves out of the orchestra, because we are all destined for individual

virtuosity, and a vital role in the collective virtuosity. Our personal virtuosity, and the part we

must fill in the collective harmony, are both destined and assured, it is simply a matter of time.

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 What is time? That is the kind of question that occurs in the mind when we are suffering,

usually in the form, "How long O Lord?” Or we wish we could invent a time machine, wanting

to skip ahead to "happily-ever-after.” These are metaphysical inquiries. Pain and suffering make

all of us metaphysical. This is the definition of Metaphysics, from Wikipedia:

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of

reality, including the first principles of: being or existence, identity and
change, space and time, cause and effect, necessity, and possibility. Metaphysics is con-
sidered one of the four main branches of philosophy, along with epistemology, logic,
and ethics. It includes questions about the nature of consciousness and the relationship
between mind and matter, between substance and attribute, and between potentiality and
actuality. Metaphysics studies questions related to what it is for something to exist and
what types of existence there are. Metaphysics seeks to answer, in an abstract manner, the
questions of: What is it that exists; and What it is like. (Metaphysics, wikipedia)

In short, it addresses the question: what is the total nature of reality and what is its

source? We metaphysically ask ourselves, "What is the meaning of this suffering, and what is its

source?” We ask this because we instinctually know that if we can understand our suffering, we

can deal with it more effectively. The maxim, "know thy enemy” certainly applies. Don#t ever

be willing to make friends with pain and suffering. Do not embrace disharmony, throwing your-

self into living hell.

Well-being is the goal; it is a state including body and mind. If we are purely focused on

the body, our well-being is partial, and if we try to be entirely spiritual, using some zen to try to

deny the existence of a negative phenomenon, or minimize the significance of the physical level,

we are not experiencing total well-being, rather we are in the clouds, in a spiritual dream-state.

Physical well being, and spiritual well-being must be considered simultaneously, because if ei-

ther one is out whack, we are not truly, totally well. There exist two opposing views of reality

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that play into the aforementioned scenario. Physicalism is the view that the totality of reality is

purely physical, and matter is the basis of all phenomena, including consciousness. Conscious-

ness is argued to be a product of the brain, which is made of particles, so consciousness results

from a fortuitous combination of particles. Spiritualism opposes that hypothesis, and argues that

reality is entirely spiritual - the perceived reality is an emanation from a higher, unseen realm.

This is a fairly mystical concept, arguably more intuitive than strictly rational. We must be ratio-

nal.

Metaphysics is supposed to be inclusive of the total Reality. These days, it it seems meta-

physical health practitioners are generally more inclined to lean toward the spiritual perspective

on life, while conventional modern medicine tends to lean toward the physicalist mentality. The

current popularity of the use of pharmaceuticals to treat disease shows the current prevalence of

the physicalist view. Pharmaceuticals are also widely used to treat mental health because of the

physicalist theory that mental problems are mostly the result of brain chemistry imbalances.

Based on these distinctions, a metaphysical well-being modality should be positioned somewhere

between spiritualism and physicalism, because these two extreme philosophies both try to ignore

one half or the other of our total humanity. We must aspire to be both physically well and spiri-

tually well; this is metaphysical well-being. Good metaphysical practice is internal and external.

Also, one-treatment-fits-all approach is invalid because life is filled with an infinite variety of

people and scenarios. It will be demonstrated that because the individual human being is a per-

fectly unique partnership between body and consciousness, a customized, hybrid, metaphysical

(physical and spiritual), self-determined, dynamic modality is the only valid approach to the de-

liberate restoration and maintenance of well-being. !

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 Review of Literature

According to Dr. Paul Leon Masters in the Minister#s/Bachelor#s Degree Curriculum, "the

human individual is a $psycho/physical unit#, i.e. the mind rules the body or the body rules the

mind, or the two interacting upon one another as a unit” (2:1). Emanuel Swedenborg concurs,

and elaborates upon the spiritual/physical dynamic in his short work, "On the Intercourse be-

tween the Soul and the Body”. He begins by describing the context for the existence of the indi-

vidual, which is that reality has two levels, spiritual and natural, and there is an influx from the

spiritual into the natural. Spiritual heat, which is love, and spiritual light, which is wisdom, flow

from the spiritual world into the natural consciousness of the individual mind, into the will and

understanding, and from there, into the body. Spiritual Love produces good intentions in the

will, and Spiritual Light produces the truth of wisdom in the understanding. The reciprocal part-

nership of goodness in the will and wisdom in the understanding manifests physically as the dy-

namic phenomena of useful existence in the body (n. 3,7,8). In "Divine Love and Wisdom,”

Swedenborg discusses the two essential elements of humanity:

By rationality we mean the faculty of understanding truths and thus falsities, and
of understanding goods and thus evils; and by freedom we mean the faculty of thinking,
willing and doing these freely. It can be seen…that a person possesses these two faculties
from creation and so from birth; that they come from the Lord; that they are not taken
away; that they produce the appearance that a person thinks, speaks, wills and acts as
though of himself; that the Lord dwells in every person in these faculties; that owing to
that conjunction (between the individual and the Lord) a person lives to eternity; that a
person is reformed and regenerated in consequence of these faculties and not apart from
them; and that it is these faculties which distinguish the human being from animals.
(n. 264)

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 Both Swedenborg and Dr. Masters teach that our purpose in this life is to evolve spiritual-

ly and to ultimately establish a state of conscious unity with the Divine. In the introduction to

the Ministers/Bachelor#s Degree Curriculum, Dr. Masters states that the goal of the student of

mysticism is to discover our "ultimate Self-Reality” (God), which is the center of our being, with

the purpose of manifesting that creativity and power, ever improving our life experience guided

by spiritual intuition (1:2). Similarly, Swedenborg uses the terms reformation, regeneration, and

conjunction to frame the enlightenment journey, whereby the lower, natural, animal conscious-

ness is discarded and replaced by the spiritual consciousness of the True Self, which he calls the

Heavenly Proprium, aka Christ Consciousness. A lengthy description of that journey (ref-

ormation and regeneration) is presented in “ The True Christian Religion” (chap 10). There

Swedenborg gives a symbolic, metaphysical interpretation of this verse:

I will give you a new heart and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take the
heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within
you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgements and do
them. (Ezekiel 36:26,27 NKJ)

He says that:

The new heart in these passages means a new will and the new spirit means a new
intellect, since "heart” in the Word means the will and "spirit” when it appears alongside
"heart,” means the intellect. From reason as well we know about our renewal: the person
who has been regenerated must have a new will and a new intellect, because these two
faculties are what makes us human. They are the parts of us that are regenerated. The
quality of these two faculties determines the quality of the human being. (n. 601)

He went on to explain that the co-equal partnership (conjunction) of Divine Love and Di-

vine Wisdom, as received in the will and understanding, is the way enlightenment is brought

about (Divine Love and Wisdom, n. 37).

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 Dr. Masters champions the cause of individual freedom and rational self-determination.

The lecture titled "Achieving Independence of Mind and Soul” very powerfully affirms that we

can only be said to exist if we are spiritually free, and that our ideal state can only be found in

self-determination. He explains that because God is an independent thinker, "the highest form of

spirituality is to think for one#s self,” and that we actually cease to exist the moment we give up

our ability to have a sense of independence of mind and soul.

(Masters "Achieving Independence” n.p.).

In his book, Divine Providence, Swedenborg says we are not at all human if we don#t

have (our own, individual) freedom and rationality, i.e. self-determination is the key to well-be-

ing (n. 96).

The Bible clearly indicates that we were created in a world of real choices:

Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he placed the
man he had created. And the Lord God planted all sorts of trees in the garden- beautiful
trees that produced delicious fruit. At the center of the garden he placed the tree of life
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:8-9 NIV)

Our states of consciousness have effect the on the body. The effects of fear and anger on

our physiology is common knowledge gained through universal mundane human existence.

Though not always blatantly evident, we know/feel the effect of fear and anger on our personal

organic/biological mechanisms. We also know that psycho/physiological conditions impact phys-

ical behaviors and their subsequent resulting life conditions. Joel S. Goldsmith taught about the

governance of spirit upon the body, and that when spiritual health is established, physical health

will be the result (Goldsmith 107). Swedenborg clearly indicates we must attain an enlightened

8
state of consciousness, and when the spirit evolves the flesh will follow: "The natural world

comes into existence from the spiritual world, precisely like an effect from its cause” (Heaven

and Hell, n. 89). Furthermore, he explains that influx of the Divine Life can become obstructed

when one lives contrary to what is good and true, causing constriction of the tiniest most invisi-

ble vessels which constitute man#s interiors, bringing the first vitiation of the blood, which is the

beginning of ill health. An inner receptivity to heavenly influx, into the desires and thoughts,

and the resulting life maintains the proper functioning of the tiny inmost vessels, the purity of the

blood, and the absence of disease (Arcana Coelestia, n. 5726). From Dr. Masters we learn the

Law of Cause and Effect, which states that thought releases psychic energy in the Universal

Mind of God, that brings into being the effects visible in the external world (Bachelor#s Curricu-

lum 2:35).

Swedenborg writes extensively on the spiritual origin of disease. He indicates that dis-

eases, in general, have correspondence with cupidities and passions of the lower mind (hell),

such as intemperance, luxury of various kinds, mere bodily pleasures, feelings of hatred, re-

venge, and lewdness.

These destroy man#s interiors; and when these are destroyed the exteriors suffer, and drag

man into disease and death.” Simply said, the influent spirit essence (life), ultimately produces

physical health or disease by energizing the natural which we have established through choice,

according to our intentional focusing of the mind by desires indulged. But he is careful to point

out that just because disease has a spiritual origin, does not mean that natural methods of cure

will not succeed. (Arcana Coelestia, n. 5712-13)

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 The Bible provides many examples of the use of natural restoratives such as herbal medi-

cine: "On either side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a

fresh crop each month. And the leaves of the tree were used for medicine for the healing of the

nations” (Ezekiel 47:12; Revelations 22:2). This refers to the use of topicals: Jesus made an

ointment out of spit and clay and used it to cure blindness (John 9:6; Mark 8:32). In Revelations

3:18, eye salve is prescribed for curing blindness. Washing and anointing with oil are often used

curatives in the Biblical narratives (John 9:7; 2Kings 5:10; Mark 6:13; James 5:14). Of course

Swedenborg is known as a champion of interpreting scripture symbolically/metaphysically; in-

terpreting Revelations 3:18, he says physical blindness symbolically represents ignorance; this

reveals a symbolic relationship between physical phenomena and spiritual significance:

Eyes symbolize the intellect, and the sight of the eyes intelligence and wisdom,
…and since eye salve symbolizes medicine for it, it follows that to anoint the eyes with
eye salve means symbolically, to heal the intellect, so that it may see truths and become
wise (Apocalypse Revealed, n. 214).

The apparently natural means of cure, is actually spiritual if the principle of correspon-

dence is understood, which is the principle which explains the spiritual origin and meaning of

natural realities. (Arcana Coelestia n. 8615 [3]). In this concept, we can understand the essential

relationship that exists between all natural phenomena and their spiritual counterparts. Corre-

spondence is a cornerstone in Swedenborg#s metaphysical structure, and he talks about the idea

throughout his voluminous writings. A good statement of its meaning is found in chapter 12 of

Heaven and Hell. Basically, the relationship between the psychological essence and its physical

objectification is called correspondence. According to the manifestation dynamics of the Science

of Correspondence, the inner level of consciousness (which is prior, and spiritual) appears to the

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senses as a physical (sensual) object, an objectification into the most external plane of the mind.

Prior to the advent in consciousness of the idea, which is intellectual, is the affection, which ex-

ists in the will, and is emotive, as a feeling or desire. The affection causes the idea, which is the

intellectual form of the affection, and thus it represents the affection symbolically on the lower

(more external) intellectual level. The affection and idea bring forth a physical result, an objecti-

fied outward form. A simple example of a physical objectification arising through the inner lev-

els of reality is the human face. A smile is affection and thought combined in a resulting physical

manifestation. In Swedenborg#s terminology, the smile corresponds to the thoughts and affec-

tions that produced it. Those thoughts and affections exist on the physical level of reality as a

smile. In his analysis, all physical phenomena originate in exactly this dynamic through the col-

lective mind. All physical phenomena correspond to something that is first present in the collec-

tive inner world of humanity. (Heaven and Hell 87-102).

The process of the objectification of affections and ideas present in the collective con-

sciousness is thoroughly analyzed by sociological philosophers Peter Berger and Thomas Luck-

man. In their book, The Social Construction of Reality, they describe the dynamic process

through which the shared reality is established through what we together decide to believe is The

Truth, showing that the fabric of society is woven of our agreed upon definitions, through which

we establish acceptable behavior and thought patterns; the chosen definitions are demonstrated

to powerfully determine the outcomes of our existence. We collectively decide what is true, and

that becomes what is. They are saying that what is first accepted as knowledge then becomes re-

ality; knowledge is a form constructed of words, so words are the elemental foundation of reali-

ty.

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 What is taken for granted as knowledge in the society comes to be coextensive
with the knowable, or at any rate provides a framework within which anything not yet
known will become known in the future. This is the knowledge that is learned in the
course of socialization, and that mediates the internalization within the individual con-
sciousness of the objectification structures of the social world. Knowledge, in this sense,
is at the heart of the fundamental dialectic of society. It "programs” the channels in
which externalization produces an objective world. It objectifies the world through lan-
guage, that is it orders it into objects, which are apprehended as reality. (66)

Reality coming into existence through the power of words is Biblical. In the opening of

the book of Genesis, we read, "God said, $Let there be light” (1:3). Then each and every element

of the universe that He brings into reality, including the sun and moon, the land and sea, plants

and animals, and man, all first exist as words spoken by God. In the Gospel of John we are told

that those words, which are the essence of each piece of phenomenal reality, are actually God

Himself: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”

(1:1). These are two of the most iconic sections of the Bible, and taken together, we are given to

understand the importance of words, for they are the very presence of God within each perceived

element. The Divine Word is Light Itself, Life Itself (1:4).

"Words are Reality” can be said many ways. William James understood mind-cure meth-

ods to be based on the principle that "thoughts are things,” and they are not inert, lifeless things;

they are dynamic and creative, positively and negatively. (James 69).

Of course, ideas reside and live and move in the minds of individuals, but ideas have a

social/collective reality as well. In his book, Your Hands Can Heal You, master pranic healer

Stephen Co teaches that the critical first step of personal healing is to clear negative emotions

and limiting beliefs. He stresses the importance of the unconscious mind in physiological health,

12
because it controls our heartbeat, blood flow, breathing, brain function, endocrinological secre-

tions, and all other organic operations of our body. Of the many elemental contents of the un-

conscious, most significant are "learnings” we have acquired individually, and those we share as

members of the human race. He says those shared learnings are part of the collective uncon-

scious, and that both the individual and collective unconsciousness control the flow of prana (life

force) throughout the body. Co explains how suppressed emotional content and thoughts form

energy blockages and disturbances which disrupt the flow of pranic force leading to health prob-

lems. The key to maintaining the proper flow is to make unconscious ideas conscious, and not

suppress and deny the reality and legitimacy of emotional experiences. This is to say that under-

lying ideas about the nature of reality which we harbor unaware, and those latent in the social

fabric, can determine how much life can flow into us, and through us (29, 34).

We can see this principle demonstrated by the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth. They re-

jected Jesus in his hometown, because they had known him as the son of Joseph, rather than as

the Son of God and the Son of Man. Socially accepted ideas within the group consciousness

made them unable to "continue is his word” and come to realize the truth, so he was unable to set

them free. They could not recognize the presence and availability of healing energy, nor receive

it, because as a group, they had already decided who Jesus was, and who he was not. "He could

not perform any miracles there, except to lay his hands on a few of the sick and heal them. He

was amazed at their unbelief” (Mark 6: 5,6, BSB).

James explained his understanding of the new thought mind-cure philosophy to be

thoughts (truths) are forces, which are personal, but they must be experienced, which is to say

13
one must "continue in the word” or live it, and this will provide experiential verification, i.e.

freedom.

…the controlling energies of nature are personal, that your own personal
thoughts are forces, the powers of the universe will directly respond to your individual
appeals and needs, are propositions which your whole bodily and mental experience will
verify. And that experience does largely verify these primeval religious ideas is proved by
the fact that the mind-cure movement spreads as it does, not by proclamation and asser-
tion simply, but by palpable experiential results. (James, 73)

In the opening section of Meditation Dynamics, Dr. Masters presents 54 powerful state-

ments about the metaphysical and practical importance of thoughts. those five pages of profound

advice will inspire any thinker to sit up and take control of their mind. (3-7)

We should also remain cognizant of emotions as powerful forces as well. In Handbook

of the New Thought, Horatio Dresser commenting on the philosophy of Berkeleyian Idealist,

Swedenborgian minister, and direct disciple of American mental healing pioneer Phineas

Pankhurst Quimby, Warren Felt Evans, who like Mary Baker Eddy, mistakenly thought Berkeley

and Swedenborg were both denying the existence of the natural world by pointing to conscious-

ness as the source and substance of reality. Dresser warns that this misunderstanding of Berkeley

and Swedenborg leads to an over-emphasis on "right thinking,” by focusing on "bad thoughts” as

the source of disease, neglecting the essential importance of the emotions. By neglecting the re-

ality of the physical and emotional in their personal concept of $causation is mental,#%both Eddy

and Evans reduced well-being to an intellectual discipline, a "psychology without a body”

(21-28).

The idea that we have individual authority to direct the power of the universe according

to our own intentions and desires (which are directed by emotion) is fundamental to most meta-

14
physical systems . Metaphysical philosopher George Holmes Howison advocated Personal Ide-

alism, which postulates the individual consciousness as the foundational element of Reality; the

Universe is a pluralism composed of an association between innumerable free individual rational

minds, with the Ideal Individual (the Divine, or God). He argues that within our own proper

sphere, we command total sovereignty, and the power of efficient creative causation; this "multi-

verse” becomes a harmonized "universe” through the presence and operations of the Ideal, which

is present in the origin of each individual consciousness. This inspirational presence of the Ideal

is in no way coercive, because each is given the choice to acknowledge the Ideal or not, and yet

acknowledged or not, it is the primary motive factor, it is the Life Force Itself, and the true pri-

mary, final cause of the world of Nature. (Howison preface xxii) In the essay, "The Harmony of

Determinism and Freedom,” which is one of the several in his book, Howison elaborates on the

system of causes, in the philosophy of Aristotle, and shows how the act of self-differentiation

from the Ideal by each individual is essentially a free act of rational self-creation, which results

in the forms of nature becoming realized, (fully established in rational existence), through influx

by association with the Ideal. Howison acknowledges the conflict that exists as we choose our

level of harmonization within the Ideal; it is through this rational process of establishing distinc-

tions, that we establish the reality of our "self” (363-369). I have presented a summary of my

understanding of personal idealism in my book, The Personal Universe, Reality is an Idea; that

book is an indictment of physicalism.

We experience the conflict between the natural and the ideal as suffering. Suffering

makes us aware of our need to pursue enlightenment, it is our body inspiring inner change

through disrupting our status quo. Ancient Hebrew King David said how his suffering lead to

15
enlightenment: "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes”(Psalm

119:71). To learn the divine statutes is to determine our rational boundaries. Suffering makes us

acutely aware of our individuality, it separates us from the rest of the world, to focus inward and

ask "Why me?” And then we ask if there is a way to a better state? The disruption of our status

quo is that because suffering has resulted, we are forced to examine the quality of our life formu-

las, to find something else that works better for us as an individual. Suffering is a very personal

experience, and therefore the way out must be personal. According to Dresser, the way out of

suffering is within each individual; the key is to find their unique inner light, which presents

guidance specific to each moment and type of trouble, in the moment trouble arises. (The Power

of Silence, 85).

Jesus was referring to the need to think independently when He said: "Enter through the

narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter

through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find ”. To

"enter the narrow gate” is to have an independent mind, and to "walk in the broad way with many

to destruction,” is to be victimized by group-thinking. (Matthew 7:13-14 BSB)

Dr. Masters teaches that we can avoid group thinking if we maintain "purposeful inde-

pendence,” which is focusing on our own unique, God-given sense of purpose, the ideal exis-

tence we intuitively seek. (Masters "Achieving Independence of Mind and Soul” n.p.).

Enlightenment is always spoken of as having been attained through a journey, or a "way.”

Jesus said, continue (live actively) in his word and Dresser said we must address our entire mode

of life (Haller 134). This same principle, that for wellness our lives need to be amended on every

16
level, is confirmed by Jesus, when after healing the man at the pool of Bethesda, he instructs the

man, "Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something worse shall happen to you” (John 5:14).

To "stop sinning” is to realize the importance of our individual choices and behaviors and set

them in order, and this is completely personal. We must find our personal narrow gate. Dresser

admired eclecticism, which is to "assemble meaning out of distinctive traditions.” (Haller 133).

This is to take stock of what we hear in the world and choose. This is accomplished by determin-

ing what harmonizes with our inner light. Dresser#s advice is to "marshal the tendencies of the

mind,” centered on the ideal outcome, held together by the chosen ideal (James 71). The chosen

ideal is the Christ within, our ideal outcome. The allegorical symbol of that personal inner light

is Jesus, and the Gospels clearly state that becoming a true disciple of that light (the truth, sym-

bolically portrayed as Jesus) is the only way to attain salvation (freedom from suffering). This

means that we should generate our own set of ideas that work for us individually, and choosing

an ideal and using meditation to focus the mind on the ideal. This places the responsibility of

well-being squarely on the individual. (John 1:9, 3:16) The pranic healing method likewise ac-

knowledges that individual receptivity is key in the healing process, saying that the patient

should be encouraged to engage in mental affirmations and visualizations of the ideal outcome

during treatments. This is a voluntary establishment of the presence of inner truth by the individ-

ual, facilitating influx of the Life Force. (Kok Sui 75). Pranic healing also involves addressing

the emotional factors which drive unhealthy thought patterns and choices, which are the source

of the energy depletion the method tries to mitigate, so the ideal sought, is not only physical, it is

to establish a personal "way” of well-being. (Kok Sui 32). Dresser concurs:

17
 I advocate that interpretation of life which places the responsibility largely on
ourselves, which teaches us not to lean on systems of thought and on people in whom we
believe and whom we permit to do our thinking for us, but encourages us to look within
and find in our own souls an ever-present resource. (Power of Silence, 18)

Steven Co explains that we have the ability to guide Prana (Life Force):

You can sense, increase, and direct the bodies supply of prana to improve your
health - if you have the proper training. Prana is a living force; it has consciousness. It
can be built up and consciously controlled. There is a saying in chi kung practice: $The
chi follows the yi.’ We don#t have a perfectly equivalent word for yi in English, but it
refers to the mind or intent. Thus, the rough translation is: "energy follows thought” ;
prana goes where you intend it to go.” (Co 28)

It is very important to be aware that energy is not just an impersonal $force#%like maybe

we might visualize electricity being a non-conscious stream of particles called electrons. Since

Life Force responds to our thoughts, it must also be thinking. (Co 28)

Rupert Sheldrake, biochemist and parapsychology researcher, proponent of morphic res-

onance, which proposes that nature possesses a collective memory, and a telepathic interconnec-

tion between organisms, (Wikipedia) published an intriguing article in the Journal for Con-

sciousness Studies, titled, Is the Sun Conscious? Sheldrake theorizes that the energy of the sun

shows signs of being personally conscious, and intentional. This is the abstract of that article:

The recent panpsychist turn in philosophy opens the possibility that self-organiz-
ing systems at all levels of complexity, including stars and galaxies, might have experi-
ence, awareness, or consciousness. The organismic or holistic philosophy of nature points
in the same direction. Meanwhile, field theories of consciousness propose that some elec-
tromagnetic fields actually are conscious, and that these fields are by their very nature
integrative. When applied to the sun, such field theories suggest a possible physical basis
for the solar mind, both within the body of the sun itself and also throughout the solar
system. If the sun is conscious, it may be concerned with the regulation of its own body
and the entire solar system through its electromagnetic activity, including solar flares and
coronal mass ejections. It may also communicate with other star systems within the gal-
axy. (Sheldrake, abstract)

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 Swedenborg has this to say about the sun:

I. There are two worlds: the spiritual world, inhabited by spirits and angels, and
the natural world, inhabited by men.
II. The spiritual world first existed and continually subsists from its own sun; and
the natural world from its own sun.
III. The sun of the spiritual world is pure love from Jehovah God, who is in the
midst of it.
IV. From that sun proceed heat and light; the heat proceeding from it is in its es-
sence love, and the light from it is in its essence wisdom.
V. Both that heat and that light flow into man: the heat into his will, where it pro-
duces the good of love; and the light into his understanding, where it produces the truth
of wisdom.
VI. Those two, heat and light, or love and wisdom, flow conjointly from God into
the soul of man; and through this into his mind, its affections and thoughts; and from
these into the senses, speech, and actions of the body.
VII. The sun of the natural world is pure fire; and the world of nature first existed
and continually subsists by means of this sun.
VIII. Therefore everything which proceeds from this sun, regarded in itself, is
dead.
IX. That which is spiritual clothes itself with that which is natural, as a man
clothes himself with a garment. (On the Intercourse between the Soul and the Body n. 3-
11)

Furthermore, he says,

"the actuality of the natural sun is not from itself, but from a living force proceed-
ing from the Sun of the spiritual world.” (Divine Love and Wisdom n. 157).

Heaven's sun is the Lord; light there is the divine truth and warmth the divine
good that radiate from the Lord as the sun. (Heaven and Hell n. 117)

The way we gradually come to recognize and realize the presence of that personal inner

light is depicted symbolically in the Gospel narrative of Jesus, the inner light of each individual

(John 1:9). Swedenborg explains that our journey of regeneration (enlightenment) is an image

of truth and goodness being united in the lower levels of the mind (the natural), and these are de-

picted allegorically in scripture as "the glorification of the Lord” (Arcana Coelestia 4353). By

19
"the glorification of the Lord” Swedenborg means uniting the natural perspective and spiritual

love, or gradually joining what is human with the Divine within our consciousness (The New

Jerusalem and its Heavenly Teachings 300)

Through a metaphysical understanding of the narrative journey of Jesus depicted in the

Gospels, we see that that light (the Truth, symbolically represented by Jesus), will grow, mature,

and adapt as it is revealed in each successive stage of our enlightenment journey, and in each

unique context (daily challenges):

The Truth, Jesus, is first a helpless baby (Matthew ch. 1, Luke ch. 2);

The Truth as a precocious boy, answering the religious authorities (Luke 2: 46,47);

The Truth going through the rituals of purification (Luke 3: 21);

The Truth facing worldly temptations (Mathew 4: 1-11);

The Truth elaborating itself across all areas of our life (Matthew 5-7);

The Truth heals and provides throughout the four gospels;

Ultimately, The Truth (our personal, inner light) must endure death of the natural, to al-

low the spiritual to be revealed: crucifixion and resurrection;

Eventually, ultimately, and inevitably our individual True Light Within (Christ) has total

dominion (Matthew 28:18).

From the general plot of Jesus#%life written in the Bible, we can deduce that our con-

sciousness of the Inner Light for each of us, will be a gradual unfolding. (A more complete de-

velopment of this metaphysical interpretation of the Jesus narrative is found in, "Allegorical Je-

sus, The Hidden Parable of Divine Humanity,” by David Higgins.)

20
 Likewise, Goldsmith teaches that the inner presence of the Divine is the only actual Real-

ity, i.e. the total dominion of the Inner Light (Goldsmith 174). He also widely elaborated on the

concept, stressing the necessity of the individual realization of Truth in the healing process. He is

a strong advocate if individual spiritual sovereignty:

It cannot be emphasized too strongly, however, that every individual has the right to his

own life and the right to his own death….He has as much right to seek his health through materia

medica as any other person has to seek his through God…if anyone wants to use medicine,

surgery, or any other form of material aid, he has the right to it, and he should be set free to find

his good his own way. (95-96)

Critical of Blavatsky#s Theosophy, Elizabeth Town rejected the concept of spiritual mas-

ters, urging us to be confident that the inner light will guide each one to the desired outcome:

Nobody is any closer to God than you are. Nobody has any more of a monopoly
of God than you have. See that nobody has any greater faith in the God within him than
you have. See that nobody depends more absolutely upon the God within him than you
depend on the God within you. Do the will of God within you, and you shall know what
to believe on all manner of subjects…Call no man Master, call no teacher Master, call no
Mahatma Master, call no Lord Master. Only one is your Master, the One within you.
(Haller 208)

Others also object to any system of healing that proclaims some exclusive insight or sta-

tus. William Wilberforce Juvenal Colville (1859-1917) objected to the claims of exclusivity by

Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science, and the elevation of Christianity in the world of

New Thought healing, recommending the processes of spiritual healing be described by neutral,

non-Christian terminology (Haller 199).

21
 The seeming exclusivity described by Jesus#%own words: "Whoever believes in Him (the

Son of God) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, be-

cause he has not believed in the name of God#s one and only Son” (John 3:18) is mitigated by

applying Jesus#%own words elsewhere to this verse. He teaches that He is (symbolically) The

Truth and The Way (John 14:6), and that we escape condemnation through receiving The Truth,

spiritual truth, and walking in The Way of Truth. That is what it means to believe in the Son of

God. Truth, spiritual light, is in every individual (John 1:9). The disciples were perplexed by the

idea that Jesus was not available to a wider audience, only showing himself to a small group.

Jesus answered by saying that he was present in the heart of all who love Truth. The teachings of

Jesus, understood spiritually, speak of the universal love of God, because the Christ (Spiritual

Truth) is in the heart of every person, and is not contained, or monopolized, by any organization,

creed, or guru. (John 14: 22-23)

Dr. Masters further exhorts us: "Ask yourself, $Am I doing my own thinking? Do I have

freedom of my own mind and my own soul? Or am I under the influence of one or more people,

or a society, or a government, or a religion?’” He is saying we must be ever aware and vigilant of

everything that is passing through the mind, and discover its source, and then be true to what is

true in ourselves. ("Achieving Independence of Mind and Soul” n.p.).

In The Book of Revelations, The Holy City, the New Jerusalem, is described as descend-

ing from heaven, and is said to have twelve gates (chap 21) . Symbolically, allegorically, and

metaphysically interpreted, Swedenborg, explains that the Holy City signifies the enlightened

spiritual state of the mind, and the subsequent life according to that state, and the end of all suf-

22
fering, which is enlightenment. Gates signify spiritual truths which give entry to that life, and the

number twelve is an expression of being complete or all. This indicates that there are innumer-

able points of entry to the state of well-being (Apocalypse Revealed 879, 899).

In Mark 2:7-12, Jesus teaches that the healing of the paralytic hinged on his "sin (erro-

neous behaviors, which result in suffering) being forgiven (mitigated and neutralized) by the Son

of Man.” Jesus is asked by the crowd, "Who is the Son of Man who must be lifted up?” Under-

stood metaphysically, Jesus replies that it is our inner Light i.e. Spiritual Truth, i.e. Christ Con-

sciousness. He said [the Son of Man] is "my light shining out for you.” The act of elevating the

inner light, spiritual truth, above all other competing perspectives in our consciousness, will de-

liver us from the impact of karma (sin) and restore well-being. (John 12:34-36)

Swedenborg explains that "faith” is more than knowledge of truth and acknowledgment

of its validity, but first and foremost it is obedience to all it teaches, which results from loving the

Truth more than anything. (Arcana Coelestia n. 36). This is "having faith in Jesus”: obeying

truth will heal us. Though we don#t have a record of the subsequent activities of those healed in

the gospel narratives, it is entirely valid to presume their obedience was assured in what is obvi-

ously their complete trust in the moment they manifested well-being. It is important to recognize

that it is said that their faith, not someone else#s faith, or faith in general that led to their healing.

The healing depended on the state of their own personal relationship with the truth. In several

incidences, Jesus tells people that "their faith has healed them” (Mark 5:34; Mark 10:52; Matt

9:22).

23
 Many of Jesus#%healings involved those who were entirely incapacitated by their suffer-

ing, they were lying prone on a bed or mat or brought to Jesus on a stretcher. The victims seemed

helpless, but in all these instances, they actually retained ability to take the initiative; the healing

was accomplished when the person, of their own power, obeyed Jesus#%command, to rise, take up

your bed, and walk. It is also to be noted that Jesus equated this behavior with the forgiveness of

sins (which may be understood as the reversal of karma.) Interpreted metaphysically, where

physical activities represent spiritual changes or shifts in the state of consciousness, to "rise” ob-

viously represents enlightenment. It is notable that Jesus did not give them a new bed; He sim-

ply stated that they should walk with whatever bed they already had.

(Mark 2:9; Matt 9:6; Luke 5: 24; John 5:8).

Swedenborg explains the symbolism of a bed as representing the spiritual teachings of

truth, which is where the mind finds rest, and that "carrying the bed and walking” signifies medi-

tating on those spiritual teachings. We must simply rise up into a spiritual light, and walk, and we

can leave karma behind (sins forgiven) (Apocalypse 137).

Dr. Masters is a passionate champion of meditation, teaching that it can play a very sig-

nificant role in metaphysical physical healing, and strongly advocates spiritual meditation as the

foundational practice of metaphysical living. In the first chapter of the Ministers/Bachelor#s De-

gree Curriculum, it is printed in bold that: "The main practice in Mysticism is that of Meditation”

(1:3). Also in the Bachelor#s Curriculum, we have the endorsement of meditation as "a proven

method for healing physical ailments” (2:43). In Meditation Dynamics, Dr. Masters makes the

following declaration:

24
 There is ultimately but one healing power and it operates on all levels of the mind and

awareness - surface conscious thinking, subconscious influence, psychic level. Because this

healing power touches all regions of one#s mind, (through the practice of meditation), every level

should be taken into account when attempting to heal oneself through spiritual means. (56)

Jesus meditated (Luke 6:12), and He advocated meditation for his students, instructing

us to "continue in the Word” (John 8:31). He described meditation in the parable of the persistent

widow pestering the judge, to attain her justice. This is a lesson about being faithful to pray

(meditate on truth) at all times. Through meditation "the Son of Man will find faith on the

earth,” which symbolically means Spiritual Truth will become established in the lower levels of

our consciousness, if we persist. (Luke 18: 1-8)

Follow up action on the part of the individual attaining restoration was often required.

Jesus also often commanded the healed to tell no one, but to go "show themselves to the priest”

and present the offering Moses prescribed for cleansing, "as a testimony” (Mark 1:44; Matt 8:4;

Luke 5:14; Luke 17:14). Interpreted metaphysically, this is to perform affirmations in the high-

est levels of consciousness, symbolically represented by "the priest,” but we should protect the

attainment from lower mental states, represented by the common people, until the outward ac-

tions dictated by the healing were fully executed, which is represented by "the proscribed offer-

ings to Moses,” evidence which makes the healing a completely established fact, both spiritually

and naturally. We should proclaim our wellness in the highest levels of our consciousness, while

keeping it quiet to the rabble until we have fully manifested the healing. This is in line with the

wide use of affirmations in the process of metaphysical healing by most New Thought systems.

25
For example, in The Power of Silence, Dresser encourages us to simply fill our minds with lov-

ing thoughts and then there will be no room for any unpleasant thoughts and feelings (93). This

is the process of affirmation. James characterizes the entire "Mind-cure movement” as deliberate-

ly and aggressively optimistic, and this is done through mentally affirming positive expectations

(James 58).

The use of affirmations in concert with meditation is universally presented and endorsed

throughout all of Dr. Masters#%practical metaphysical instructional materials directed at each and

every area of life. The entire book, Meditation Dynamics, by Dr. Masters is devoted to explain-

ing the various techniques whereby a metaphysician can channel the Divine Healing Power to

attain universal wellness using affirmations and meditation.

A powerful example of the successful use of affirmations occurred on May 20, 2023 in

Indiaola Mississippi. Aderrien Murry, an unarmed 11-year-old African-American boy, was shot

in the chest by an Indianola Police Department officer on May 20, 2023, after police responded

to Murry's 911 call for help at his home. The shooting caused him to have a collapsed lung, a

lacerated liver, and fractured ribs. The boy did not fall, or cry, but ran outside to his mother.

When he saw the blood coming from his mouth, the thought occurred to him that he might be

about to die, but he said at that moment he remembered a song he learned in church, and started

singing, "no weapon that is formed against me shall prosper.” He survived the shooting, and in a

recent interview, after saying he now intends to become a doctor, the journalist, Demarco Mor-

gan asked if Aderrien wanted to become a doctor because the doctors saved his life? He said, "It

was not their doing. It was God that saved my life. And I truly, truly believe that.” This young

26
theologian knew the truth, that God has the power of life, and he affirmed that truth with the

song, and lived. (Murry, np)

Similar is the history of Apache warrior Chief, Geronimo. As with Aderrian, meta-

physical truth was firmly established in the life of Geronimo, and he repeated it to many, many

people through his long career as a warrior. And he proved it to be true; despite being shot many

times, he died of old age on the reservation, after calling a truce with his enemies. He was told

by God, that guns had no power over his fate, he believed that, affirmed it, and it became truth.

Geronimo…who was a shaman or medicine man who seemed impervious to ene-

my arrows and bullets. This supernatural gift was allegedly bestowed upon Geronimo by
the god Ussen after Geronimo#s wife and young children were murdered by Mexican sol-
diers. Praying in mourning atop Bowie Peak, Geronimo heard Ussen#s voice on the wind,
saying, "You will never die in battle, nor will you die by gun. I will guide your arrows.
(Roos, np)

David, a shepherd boy from Bethlehem, tells king Saul, that he will serve his nation Is-

rael, and kill Goliath: "The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear,

will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Sam 17:37)

But David said to the Philistine,"You come against me with sword and spear and
javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies
of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This
day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistines to
the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that
there is a God in Israel. And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or
spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD#s, and He will give all of you into
our hands.” (1 Sam 17:45-47, NSB)

Spiritually discerned truth, spoken as affirmation, becomes reality. And in the book of

Daniel, three brave nobodies, decide what is true for themselves, step out of the spiritually blind

society where they lived, and defied the king:

27
 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no
need to answer you in this matter. If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us
from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be
known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set
up.” (Daniel 3:16-18, NSB)

Again, spiritual perception, spoken into reality. Of course, examples taken from scripture

differ from those found in current events, and recent history, but if we read the scripture meta-

physically, the examples take up new force in our consciousness. "The letter kills, but the Spirit

gives life.” (2 Cor. 3:6, NSB)!

28
 Discussion

Common sense tells us that we have the freedom to make ourselves unwell; whether de-

liberately, or unconsciously, self-destruction is in our bag of tricks. We also have the power of

self-creation once our spiritual consciousness is in play. What we have just read in this paper can

convince us that we also have the ability of re-creation; if we first created a self that is unsatis-

factory, or somehow find ourself in a self which is unacceptable through no fault of our own, we

can uncreate the suffering self. The teachers and philosophers I have presented all offer ideas,

power-filled words, which they have used themselves, and the ideas worked for them. They can

convince us, if we want to be convinced of course, and no one else can convince us, but us. I can

try to persuade you, but I will fail, if you a determined to remain unconvinced.

We each possess an inner rationality which is inviolate, it is God#s sacred gift to you, the

place where he can meet with you Human to human. The Divine Light Himself has declared,

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come

in and dine with him, and he with Me. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit

with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne. He who

has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelations 3: 20-22, BSB). The

Truth will not pound on the door, and it will not come in uninvited. If we desire to remain in suf-

fering, choosing to be a victim of circumstance, the Truth will always respect our choice. God

creates reality with Words: the words are motivated by Love, and loving words will never tres-

pass on the freedom of another. God loves us too much to take away or freedom to suffer, if that

is our desire. An innocent baby is helpless and defenseless, and others take care of him; grown

up we are, if we are capable of a grasp on spiritual principles. If you are finding any sense in a

29
metaphysical understanding of your predicament, the ball is in your court, you are no longer a

baby; don#t try to be a baby, it is no longer possible for you. If you are suffering, and you hear

the voice of spiritual truth knocking on the door of your rational mind, and yet you choose to

keep the door closed, then you are choosing to be a victim, suffering by choice. We have these

words from Moses, speaking on behalf of the I AM, who is the Life of each of our souls: "See,

today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse - a blessing if you obey the commandments

of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, but a curse if you disobey the commandments

of the Lord your God and turn aside from the path I command you today by following other

gods, which you have not known” (Deuteronomy 11: 26-28 BSB). This statement describes the

battle of voices that occurs in our heads, opposing ideas, blessings and cursings. The true

voice, the great I AM, our Highest Self, is always hoping we choose blessing, but we must walk

in the way, and no one can walk for us. God will not live our life for us. The most crucial and

the very first step of any healing journey is for the individual to be able to take honest stock of

themselves, and ask, "Do I actually want to be well? Do I want it enough to do what wellness

requires?” Because fixing a negative situation requires effort, change requires effort, very many

people prefer to suffer rather than to take personal responsibility, discipline themselves, and do

the real work to establish what is good in their life. Some people want to revel in the role of vic-

tim; there are many who use their illness to get attention, draw sympathy, and thereby control

others. Some use illness to excuse laziness, those who don#t want to grow up, preferring to have

someone else take responsibility for them. Some religions preach God punishes us for our mis-

deeds, or like the nihilist philosophy of Buddhism preaching that life is suffering and we need to

detach ourselves from the illusion of our external life. Both of these ideas are contradicted by

30
Jesus who taught the way to experience complete joy. If we follow our inner light, it will lead to

abundant life (John 15:11; John 10:10).

Fundamental to our very existence is to recognize that the inner light of our conscious-

ness is personal, not an arbitrary, impersonal, non-intentional force. The sun is symbolic of the

Divine basis of our personal consciousness, which is why it is natural to intuit the sun to smile on

us, and feel the loving caress of its rays. Sheldrake gives evidence that the movements of the

objects in the starry heavens betray intention and purpose, and Swedenborg teaches that that very

appearance of solar intelligence comes into being metaphysically because of the om-

nipresence of Divine Love and Wisdom. That spiritual sun is forever present in each our spiritual

level of consciousness, as our inner light, our inspiration, and guide. The presence of the Divine

in the highest level of our being is fully Wise, Loving, and intentional toward us as individuals,

ever seeking to fully connect and integrate with us rationally, and yet with complete, loving, re-

spectful acknowledgement of our intellectual freedom and emotional sovereignty.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, we were told there existed a new, highly contagious

virus with the power to kill us in great numbers, and our society was put on lock down. Very

familiar with the metaphysics of Swedenborg, and the philosophy of idealism, I was quite con-

vinced that on a personal level I had nothing to fear, because according to my rationality, I knew,

from reasons of my own, that I was impervious to the contagion. Those in charge of the CDC,

who were purely physicalist in their approach to this crisis, claimed "scientific” authority to

make far-reaching decisions impacting the collective well-being. However, physicalist science

is not true science, because it ignores a very large portion of the relevant data when it draws its

conclusions. Physicalist science ignores powerful, non-physical factors, such as the emotional

31
state of the population, which must be carefully included in the proper analysis of a highly com-

plex global, societal phenomena such as covid-19. I did my own careful research and analysis of

that situation, and the result was a book titled, "The Metaphysics of Covid-19, Idealism, Disease

and Society”.

My research into the statistics clearly revealed that the virus particle did not cause the

disease conditions manifesting in individuals; percentages showed that the most significant fac-

tor in the advent of the covid disease, was not the presence of the particle, it was the physical,

mental, and emotional condition of the individual. Viruses do not replicate themselves; they are

entirely inert. The personal physiology of the individual host undertakes the replication, and

very similar to the phenomena of allergic reactions, it is the over-reaction of the person#s own

autoimmune system that causes the disease symptoms and possible demise of the victim#s entire

organism. This reaction/susceptibility is associated with pre-existing conditions, a high percent-

age of which are associated with unhealthy behaviors, and unhealthy states of consciousness.

It was explained previously how the state of our unconscious mind controls the automatic

regulatory systems of our biological organism. The same unconscious ideas and emotions which

drive unhealthy behavior resulting in the "pre-existing” conditions, also caused covid vulnerabili-

ty, causing the disease to occur in those individuals. In my book, I thoroughly analyze the sta-

tistics and demonstrate that covid-19 immunity is not to be found in a forced, group application

of physicalist remedies, and that the government made grave errors in relying on that approach,

inflicting long lasting damage to overall well-being, especially negatively impacting the collec-

tive state of mental well-being. To best establish immunity to viruses, each individual needs to

examine and adjust unconscious intellectual and emotional content in their own consciousness,

32
so their immune system can thrive. This line of reasoning worked for me, according to my own

inner light; others found peace and well-being from the vaccine, putting their faith in the phi-

losophy of Dr. Fauci, the high priest of physicalism, and that is their God-given freedom to do

so, and I would never try to deny them.

Dr. Masters says, "Independence is the breath of the soul” (Masters "Achieving Indepen-

dence of Mind and Soul” n.p.). Howison rationally demonstrates our personal sovereignty to be

real; we are truly free, but in order to make use of that empowering concept, the idea must be

fully rational in the mind of the individual, and that requires effort to establish. Each individual

must walk in the truth, in order to actually know the truth which leads to freedom from suffering.

To take conscious authority over our individual state of well-being, we must understand our psy-

cho/physiological structure, and most importantly, the dynamics of our relationship with Life it-

self. The road to well-being must be navigated by developing the rational mind, which will open

our conscious being to a higher level of existence, while being ever vigilant to remain ever aware

of our actual motives, the intentions and desires that are based on our emotional content. Ratio-

nality is not pure intellect; in fact it does not exist without heart.

33
 Conclusion

In my own experiences, I have dealt with these issues countless times. In each one of

life#s ups and downs, I may languish in a negative state for a while, until it becomes unbearable,

and then I seek and find my answer. In my youth, I observed the failure of conventional medi-

cine and traditional religion in the sufferings and eventual painful, prolonged demise of both of

my parents. I began my deliberate personal metaphysical journey to freedom and well-being

when I was very young, because I was able to see the irrationality in my parent#s ideas and be-

haviors. Swedenborg#s books opened new horizons, but it was my willingness to take responsi-

bility for the development of my own rationality, and my commitment to living according to the

truth I found, that was the key.

Midlife, I recognized that I was suffering debilitating physical pain that was without

question caused by my own beliefs and behaviors, and it was quite difficult to make the changes

necessary to bring about the restoration of health. The changes required a nearly total reinven-

tion of myself, but there was no other way. So I know the truth of what is written in this paper

through personal experience. I even had to abandon my old devotional forms, because the old

ones were not effective.

No one pours new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins

and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins,

and both are preserved. And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he

says, $the old is better#%(Luke 5:37-38, BSB).

34
 Religious changes are often the most challenging type, because we hold those type of

ideas as $sacred.’ I was first raised in the Catholic Church, and then my parents converted to

$Born-Again#%Christianity, so I acquired a familiarity with those rituals and forms, and that con-

tinues to feel natural and normal. However, once introduced to the concept of spiritual spheres

and energy, first through Swedenborg, and then at the University of Metaphysics, where I dug

much deeper into the various schools of mediation, through those new found ideas and rituals,

and I completed a course in basic Pranic Healing, from The Insitute for Inner Studies, which was

founded by Master Choa Kok Sui. Through my studies, I discovered a dynamic practical free-

dom to reinvent my experience, and simple, traditional petitionary prayer mostly, but not entirely,

fell by the wayside. Similarly, for many people, traditional physicalist medical paradigms make

it seem natural to immediately look to the pharmaceutical companies for a magic pill for what

ails them, for some that approach works; but the pharmaceutical approach fails many people, and

thankfully there is another way, metaphysical rationality. New wine along with new wineskins is

the metaphysically rational prescription.

These shifts effect our position relative to the community of thought, the impact of which

is quite significant. We have no control over which external society we are born into, and it is

often very difficult to establish for oneself a new place in the physical environment. Of course,

we can#t control what happens around us. Like everyone else on the planet, as a member of the

global community, with covid-19 I was confronted by suffering, and once again I was deter-

mined to find peace and well-being for myself through exercising personal rationality, and I was

successful; even though I was caught in the middle of a collective external social calamity, I

35
largely escaped personal misery, because I was already living in an internal community of ideas

that was not assailable by those $powerful, invisible, poison physical particles#, called covid.

Everyone who actively pursued Jesus for a healing, was individually motivated to escape

their suffering. In John 5: 1-9, Jesus encounters a man who had been lying paralyzed at the pool

called Bethesda for 38 years. One might wonder, maybe the man wanted to remain paralyzed,

because it was obvious that his current approach was a failure, but he continued in that failure,

by choice, for so long. So Jesus asked, "Do you want to get well?” The man replied with a pa-

thetic, flimsy excuse for his passive attitude. Jesus calls him out by just saying "Rise, pick up

your mat, and walk.” The man possessed a mat, the place where his mind took repose, his emo-

tional package and personal philosophy, he had to rise up with all of that, and carry it a long with

him. Jesus#%voice inspired the requisite strength and confidence to find his feet, and put one in

front of the other, using his own initiative and will. The mat he had is a symbol of his personal

metaphysics, medicines, and methods of choice, which are both physical and non-physical;

walking represents the dynamic, adaptive nature of a successful journey to well-being.

It has been demonstrated that because the individual human being is invariably a perfect-

ly unique partnership between body and consciousness, a customized, hybrid, metaphysical

(physical and spiritual), self-determined, dynamic modality is the only valid approach to the de-

liberate restoration and maintenance of well-being. The man at Bethesda chose to listen to Jesus

and obey, and he was finally well. This parable called life, clearly teaches that we need to ask

ourselves: do we really desire to be whole? If so, it is up to each of us, for ourself, to choose to

seek, find, and then obey our Inner Voice of Truth; it is that simple. This is the Way.

36
 Works Cited

Berger, Peter and Thomas Luckman. The Social Construction of Reality. New York: Random
House, 1966

Co, Stephen. Your Hands Can Heal You. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2002

Dresser, Horatio Willis. The Power of Silence. Copyright Free, 1895

—-, Handbook of the New Thought. Latham, New York: Hudson Mohawk Press, 2013

Goldsmith, Joel S. The Art of Spiritual Healing. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1959

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