Disease and spirit, and the soul of disease

For 100,000 years, from the north pole to the south pole - until the Age of Enlightenment, that is - most humans and especially shamans have lived in an ensouled world. In our world, trees have souls, as do rivers, mountains, weather patterns, and every kind and variety of animal, too.

As a healer, I work not only with the physical and emotional symptoms of clients, but with what I perceive to be the imbalances of soul or spirit - personal, familial and cultural. It's a complicated way to work, also interesting. Sometimes I wish I had eyes like a fly, with many lenses and many facets with which to take in the layers of soulfulness that accompany clients into the treatment room.

Wait. What am I saying? I do NOT want fly eyes - good lord. I'll do the best I can with human eyes.

Among my clients are people dealing with serious illnesses, hence I've had many opportunities to sit with, dance with, and otherwise engage with the souls not only of my clients, but also with the souls of disease.

Cancer is ravenous. The soul of that horrible disease has no sense of restraint or moderation. It is a glutton that cares about nothing but itself, like an invasive plant. Cancer is like kudzu, selfish and voracious. It's a disease whose soul remains separate from the person suffering. People say they have cancer, but they never merge with the disease, like they do when they have a cold (one example). People with colds might say I'm sick - they have embodied and identified with the cold. But with cancer, very few say they ARE cancer. I've never heard it said. In fact, most people who develop cancer can't wait to get on a surgical table so as to have the diseased tissue sliced clean out of them. Cancer patients speak the language of battles and wars. Cancer is the enemy. Those who suffer from it have no desire to identify with it - and rightly so. Cancer patients willingly bomb their own bodies with hideous toxins and radiation in order to triumph over the disease. By and large, those who develop cancer are very brave.

Lyme disease is very different. There's a murky energy to its soul that makes it extremely difficult to diagnose. Even in its advanced stages, the spirit of Lyme knows how to disguise itself behind other symptoms. I perceive the energy of Lyme as evil. That is something I rarely say or think - that something is evil. I see the world as whirls and currents of energy, which I think of as neither "good" nor "bad." Sometimes there's too much energy or too little, or energy is somewhere it shouldn't be. But I hardly ever think in terms of evil. It's not the tick's fault - they're just living out their lives after all. It's the soul of Lyme that is evil.

When Lyme spirochetes get into the brain of the person suffering, that condition turns the sufferer into a zombie of sorts. I had a client a couple of years ago who became one of these Lyme zombies. It was horrifying to see her get so mixed up that she served the needs of the disease rather than her own soul's and body's needs. Eventually I had to stop working with her. I'm definitely not up to the task of dealing with that evil disease in my treatment space.

I know someone, not a client, who has been ill for years with Lyme. She said recently, after a series of trips to the emergency room, that even though her doctor advised her to stay out of tick infested environments where she could easily be reinfected with Lyme and other tick bourne diseases, she would not listen to the advice. She was strident, as if the doctor was the bad guy. She said nothing would keep her out of the woods. That is the craziest talk I've ever heard. What is she thinking? I'm thinking she can no longer speak for herself. She is enslaved to the soul of Lyme. God it is so spooky.

Heart disease, on the soul level, is a malady of the overarching family soul. Sometimes everyone in a family shares the disease. Sometimes just one or two members take on the karmic task of dealing with a heart that flops around or forgets how to pump blood. To my shamanic fly's eye, heart disease is a condition in which the personal soul of the sufferer is separated from the living beating heart, its rightful home. Separated, neither the spirit nor the physical heart functions well. Heart disease is personal, very personal. I've never seen anyone become a zombie from heart disease. Usually people become more heart felt in some way or another - either kinder and more compassionate, or angrier than ever, though that's rare. Dick Cheney is an example of someone who was not softened by heart disease. He just got worse. What I've observed is that heart disease, more often than not, renders the sufferer more authentic - whether they want it or not.

I could go on, but I've probably made my point. How is your personal soul today? If you've been feeling a bit off, you can blame it on the planets this week. I hope, though, that you're feeling balanced, inspired, safe and at ease with yourself. I hope your sense of humor is intact. Having a laugh is generally a sign of good spiritual health.

May you be healthy on every level. L'chaim.