What is the spiritual nature of medicine? First let me be clear that this is not a religious blog. It is a spiritual blog. You get to choose if you believe in a Higher Power, how you see your Higher Power and what your Higher Power means to you. My belief is that as human beings we are all connected because we are all children of a Higher Power I choose to call G-d or Hashem (Hebrew). If we all have a piece of Hashem within us, the spiritual soul, then we are all intimately connected.
How does this work in medicine? Those of us blessed with the gift of healing others need to see people in order to heal. When a patient finds a physician, there is a special, spiritual, connection between the two individuals. We didn’t come together by chance. For me this is very humbling because there are other proctologists a patient can choose and picking me is a gift I do not take for granted.
What is the Spiritual Nature of Medicine
Spiritual nature medicine is the ability of our spiritual soul to innately know there is a problem that needs addressing. The spiritual soul is completely connected to the physical body so it knows if there is a problem even if we don’t.
When the spiritual soul knows of an ailment that isn’t felt by the physical body(asymptomatic), the spiritual soul will cause the physical body to create a symptom which is unrelated to the real issue, to get ourselves to the doctor. When a thorough discussion and examination is performed, many times the doctor will find the asymptomatic problem which is completely unrelated to the patient’s symptoms.
This process is the inner spiritual connection we have with Hashem. G-d lives inside of us and knows we have an ailment which doesn’t produce symptoms but which could lead to something serious including cancer. I believe that since G-d wants the best for us He wants us to have this harmful asymptomatic problem evaluated.
He wants us to go to the doctor to find the problem in order to have a continued purpose on earth. The only way to get us to the doctor and advocate for our health is to create a different problem which causes symptoms
Why Believe in the Spiritual Nature of Medicine
A polyp or a small mole are just two of many examples. Polyps are benign growths in the colon or rectum. Polyps are almost always asymptomatic, meaning you can’t feel them or know they exist. Polyps will continue to grow until cancer develops. Cancer leads to symptoms like abdominal pain, weight loss, black stool, maroon stool, obstruction etc. Cancer can be deadly. The spiritual soul within us knows that it will be better to remove a polyp than to develop cancer.
If the polyp is removed early cancer will not form. How can we remove a polyp if no symptoms exist and the patient never sees the doctor? If we don’t know a problem exists, why would we see the doctor? In the case of the polyp, the spiritual soul knows there is something wrong and needs to create a problem leading the patient to the doctor. Bright red bleeding is the most common symptom. Patients come to see me all the time with bright red hemorrhoid bleeding. The bleeding has nothing to do with a small, medium or even large sized colon or rectal polyp.
Bleeding, however, is an indication for a colonoscopy, an examination which evaluates the colon to look for and remove polyps. When I do a colonoscopy due to bright red bleeding, find and remove a polyp or polyps, it saves the patient from getting cancer. The spiritual soul knew there was a problem, the polyp, and created the symptom, hemorrhoid bleeding, to get the physical body to the doctor to be saved. In my opinion, this is not by coincidence.
Another example is the mole. The mole could be on the back where we don’t see it. Maybe we develop a persistent headache which leads us to the doctor. On examination, the doctor sees the small mole and decides it needs to be removed. After removal, the mole turns out to be a precancerous mole which, if not removed, would have become malignant melanoma, a very deadly skin cancer.
The patient didn’t go to the doctor because of the asymptomatic mole, he/she went to the doctor because of the headache. The spiritual soul knew there was a problem, the mole, and created the symptom, headache, to get the physical body to the doctor. In my opinion, this is not by coincidence. The spiritual nature of both the body finding a way to get us to the doctor and the spiritual connection between the patient and the doctor led to the diagnosis of the precancerous mole.
Connect to the Spiritual Side of Your Body
As physicians, we are trained as healers of the body. Unfortunately, society has been informed over and over again that doctors do tests and procedures to make money. This may be true for a limited number of doctors, as every profession has a few bad apples. The majority of doctors, however, care about their patients and want the best for them. I truly believe this in a spiritual realm. We as humans are not curing anyone. It is the outstretched power of His right hand which heals. He doesn’t do this directly one on one with the patient. G-d appoints doctors, nurses, social workers, therapists etc. as vehicles to do His work. This blessing was one I used to take for granted and had no true understanding of its meaning. I now know the gift that has been bestowed upon me and I am deeply humbled.
I believe we are on this planet for a reason, that we are all connected to G-d as we understood Him, that we are all connected to each other through G-d, and that Hashem wants the best for us because He loves us unconditionally. For these reasons, when a symptomatic ailment needs attention, know that it is your inner, spiritual soul, connecting with the physical body to signal you that something is wrong.
Go see the doctor for an evaluation. The best-case scenario is the doctor finds nothing wrong and your symptoms resolve. Another blessing is when something is found early, preventing a serious problem. Personally, I go to the doctor any time I have an issue because I know the importance of the messages my body is signaling to me. It is a blessing to be connected with oneself and the doctor. Don’t ignore what your body is telling you. Know you are on earth for a reason and get to the doctor for an evaluation. You are worthy!