PBP #6: Disease, and Dealing with it as a Pagan

Last PBP post, which I decided to skip, I was floored with flu.  This one, which I am deciding to do, since I am well enough to do it, I am still in the throws of a sinus infection.  The gassyness is gone, I am so thankful for that, and we don't need a repeat of that, except maybe the Mentos commercials, I still lol about the Star Wars one.  There were some other good movie spoofs of Mentos, like Total Recall.  Because Arnold Schwarzenegger's angry face is a perfect time to remind us that Mentos is the Freshmaker.

Mentos freshness FULL OF LIFE! (Mentos, the Freshmaker)

But I digress.  Let me take you back to when I was more sick than I was now, when Vertigo made it hard to do things.  And I would lie on the couch and I would softly pray to Isis and take my decongestant, and would begin to feel better.  If I felt well enough I would perform the LBRP, which felt like it cleansed the space around me.  And it would be in this space that I would think, and this is where this PBP post came from.  Why not discuss the way this Pagan deals with sickness, and how I deal with sickness in others.

First of all, I am a big believer in the idea that nothing cures a disease faster than rest, liquids, and doctor's orders.  In fact, any holistic healer worth their salt will tell you that.  Holistic healers heal you in a way the medicine and such cannot, but it works with the medicine.  With that said I do believe in holistic and natural healing, like with herbs or with practices like Reiki.  I personally think some skeptics throw the baby out with the bathwater, and not see the theraputic aspects of practices like Reiki beyond the claims of energy healing.  I also believe there is a mental component to disease as well.  Now, I'm not one of those "The Secret" thumpers who think that you get sick because you think sick.  I think these little microscopic things known as bacteria and viruses disprove that hundreds of years ago, but I do think your mental outlook changes how you treat and act about the disease.

With all of that said, I would say beyond Rest, Liquids, and Doctor's Orders would have to be Cleansing.  One of the most healing experiences I had with this recent bout of sickness was after I took a long steamy shower, almost like a sauna, which, for those of you who don't know, began as a sort of European sweat lodge (with a spirit of the sauna to go with it and all).  Spiritual cleansing would also go with this, and certain herbs like Sage, work wonders for that.  Now, with my problem, incense is somewhat out of the question, seeing as how the smoke would have aggravated my sinuses, but you might not have the same problem.  The ancients honored cleanliness like this, in fact, if one was not clean, one could not go before the Gods.  We still see this in Shinto, some forms of Dharmic religions, and we can even see this in the modern Christian idea of "Sunday Best" for church.  I honor this by always washing my hands before touching my altar for any reason.

Another things I do is Spiritual Practice.  One of the most powerful cleansers of space and a personal one to is the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.  I'm sure the Star Ruby would works amazingly for me, but I still haven't memorized the Greek in the end, and I still trip up on some of the ritual signs.  Anyway, but the LBRP banishes and cleans the space of unwanted energies, and invokes the protective forces of the four Archangels to watch over.  You also begin and end with the meditative practice of the Qabalistic Cross.  This entire practice is meditative, and ultimate acts as more than a space cleaner.  In fact, many would suggest one do the LBRP daily. Speaking of, meditation is an amazing practice as well, and if you haven't already started so, now would be a good time.  Prayer beads are a good meditative and devotional practice, of which I will be discussing more about when we get to the letter P.

Invoking and Banishing Pentagrams

Last, but certainly not least, is Opening up to people.  Sickness and disease bring about a lot of catharsis and emotion.  It's best to just let it all out when it needs to.  Show appreciation, surround yourself with good friends and things that make you happy.  Both are really good, because you are sick, you wouldn't want to surround yourself with negative energy, would you? 

And there we have it, that's how I generally handle being sick.  In this way, I hit all the ways we experience sickness and disease.  I think that is one of the amazing things about our community.  In the rest of the Western world, the human being is viewed as a cog in a machine, another brick in the wall.  The human being is much more than that, and we don't treat all aspects of our nature, do we actually get better, or do we just enter this fog of being just "okay"?  I for one, want to be well, I love being well.

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