The Spectrum of Belief in Healing Systems

By George A. Boyd ©2015

Belief in healing systems ranges from total reliance on miraculous healing to repudiation of all healing systems. This scale is listed below:

  1. Belief in the miraculous power of God, angels, or reputed healers is complete; belief in self-efficacy is nil.
  2. There is strong belief in the miraculous power of God, angels, or reputed healers, but the individual begins to adopt some self-help measures, such as dietary changes, exercise, or use of herbal or homeopathic formulas.
  3. There is belief in the miraculous power of God, angels, or reputed healers, but the individual has greater confidence in the use of self-help measures, and uses them to augment prayer and healing sessions.
  4. There is belief in the miraculous power of God, angels, or reputed healers, but there is greater trust in scientific medicine, and the individual will consult allopathic practitioners.
  5. The miraculous power of God, angels, or reputed healers are seen to be based on wishful thinking, superstition, and fantasy, and the individual places his trust fully in allopathic medicine.
  6. The individual sees flaws in both miraculous healing and scientific medicine, and may explore cures from Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, or other alternative healing systems.
  7. The individual sees flaws and deficiencies in miraculous healing, scientific medicine, and alternative healing systems, and resolves to suffer and die, believing there is no hope and no cure.

People seek results from whatever healing system they embrace. Testimonials may lead them to investigate it; results will lead them to maintain their allegiance to that system of healing. When nothing works, people fall into hopelessness and despair (scenario 7).

Over time, individuals may shift their emphasis on this scale. They may predominately rely upon allopathic medicine (scenario 5), but then, when they cannot get healing for a particular condition, they might entertain faith and self-help measures (scenario 4), or go to practitioners of alternative healing systems (scenario 6).

Those that are members of a fundamentalist belief system may rely entirely upon the Divine healing power (scenario 1). For others, while religious faith plays a central role in their lives, there may be a folk medicine tradition associated with their religious group, and they may adopt different self-help measures to augment the healing power of faith and Divine Grace (scenario 2). Yet others may largely rely upon self-help measures, and go to healers or physicians only when they encounter a problem their methods cannot remedy (scenario 3).

We often tell aspirants that each problem has a unique solution, and it is a matter of finding which modality produces that solution. For some, miraculous healing will provide an answer. Others will find it in a variety of self-help measures. Some will receive their cures using modern allopathic medicine. Others will resolve their issues using clinical nutrition, chiropractic treatment, Chinese and Ayurveda methods, or other alternative treatments.

If one system is not working for you, be willing to explore other approaches. It may be that there is a solution to your problem. You just have to discover who is using this, and apply it.

Your beliefs condition what methods you are willing to try. As you receive results from these different modalities, you will see the efficacy of each to promote healing for certain conditions.