Searching for Sacred Medicine
Sacred medicine, sacred science and monastic medicine seem to fall into a category with religious overtones in the modern world. In the modern European world the word sacred is often defined as; made or declared or believed to be holy, worthy of religious veneration, concerned with religion or religious purposes (dictionary definitions). Where, as sacred medicine in the amazon performed by cunidaros or shamans has no connection what so ever with any religion or religious ceremony. It is based on intuition, inspiration, and faith. Their sacred medicine is passed down through many generations of cunidaros (shamans).
In countries throughout the world sacred medicine has been used for thousands of years, each with it’s own tools, techniques and belief system. So then, what is sacred medicine? With so many different tools, techniques, belief systems how can it be succinctly defined?
The Essene Brotherhood of the first century A. D. believed that all that was of God was sacred. The Essene’s were an ancient Jewish sect of the first and second centuries B.C. and the first century A.D. They were not secured to any organization or religion, preferring instead simplicity and the natural order of creation. I cannot speak of them as a historian, but rather as companion beings residing today in the hearts of all that realize natural life. To the Essenes the realization of natural life was the realization of themselves as Devine Energy within a physical vessel. All that was around them was sacred including plants and animals, of which both had healing powers as food or “medicine”. As well, they were of God, therefore sacred.
A similar way of being was that of the ancient Ko Shinto sect of Japan.
A basic conviction of Ko Shinto is; in the beginning all creation including Gods (Kami), man, and nature are born of the same parents (parents are defined as vibration or natural life energy). This would mean all are related. According to the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters) when creation came to a stage of solid matter two Kami’s (high spirits), Izanagi no kami and Izanami no kami, were assigned to the procreation of the entire universe including that which you can see and that which you cannot see. Therefore, everything seen and unseen is Kami-born, has a Kami nature, and the potential to be fully Kami.
According to Ko Shinto belief every living thing has a Kami or spirit. This would include man as well as animals, plants, rocks, mountains, clouds, etc. All is one with nature, one with universal law (universal harmony and balance inherent in all creation). Shinto is not a religion or a spiritual organization. It has no dogma, business plan, and board of directors or congregation. Shinto is a way of being. Ancients tell of an age before the dawn of recorded time when all was one with universal law. When gods possessed human form and man looked upon the universe as vibrational form rather than modern scientific words and definitions. Every living thing was sacred.
Kototama Futomani is the dimensional foundation of Ko Shinto.
Kototama means word sole or divine vibration. Futomami can be defined as the place of origin or that place that divine vibration is realized in third dimension life or understanding the universe through the process of defining vibration as life itself. Everything exist simply because we recognize it. That is to say, we create the world around us through our recognition of it…we create our story through how we intuit the vibrational world.
The true story we create combines a priory and the recognition of a posteriori. That is, heaven and earth. Our story is quite personal, somewhat like a dream, which cannot be explained just referenced. When we do try to explain our story it can become confused and muddy. It can be better understood by example…how we follow our story, how we respond to our environment, to our experiences. Others will (if they pay attention) sense our way of being and be able to grasp our universe, our true story. Our story is sacred.
Treatments performed by shamans is said to be sacred. The Essene Brotherhood believed that all God created was sacred. Ko Shinto belief is that all life seen and not seen has spirit…therefore sacred. Kototama Futomani defines true life as that which we realize formed and unformed through intuition as True Life…sacred life.
So were does this leave us with sacred medicine.
Could it be that medicine is sacred to us when we resonate intuitively with the practitioner performing the treatment and not particularly with the treatment alone? From Dr. Lobsang Dolma beloved Chief Physician at Tedetan Medical Center in Dharamsala, India to the dedicated compassionate family care physician in the United States. From Ayurveda medical practice to Oriental medicine, yoga, tai chi… Could all these practices be defined as sacred medicine if you sense or intuit its benefit for you at the time? Is sacred medicine limited to herbal remedies, chants, odd diets or traveling to foreign countries? Or, is sacred medicine personal? Not someone telling you what you should do, but heart and mind (heaven and earth) working together for your higher physical and spiritual good.
I believe the answer to these questions is within each of us. Could it be that an exploration of our soul, heart and spirit is the answer to our search for sacred medicine?