Temperament and the Healing Touch
Depending upon whose view of my family lineage you subscribe to either I, or my brother Paul, is a “seventh son.”
What does that mean? Why, isn’t that obvious? One of us can “heal the sick, raise the dead and make the little girls talk out of their head” (thank you Willie Dixon), of course.
A bit skeptic are you? Me too.
In fact,what it really means is we were both born and raised in a very rural, secluded area of the West Virginia Appalachians. In those regions people paid close attention to the workings of life and the cause and effect relationships of the natural events in life. And that such people were very adept at making observations and drawing conclusions about those relationships.
It also means that sometimes those observers made mistakes in their observations and conclusions, as any generator of hypothesis is want to do. Hens the belief that a seventh son is endowed with certain innate abilities.
In fact, one such mischance of identified associated factors as causal leaps to mind in connection with one of my close relatives.
I once had an Uncle named Jesse. He was an extremely elder member on my mothers side of the family. In his youth, Uncle Jesse had accidentally had an index finger amputated while working in a saw mill. Uncle Jesse made a full recovery and as the amputation occurred just at the first joint of his finger he was able to lead a very normal life.
However, local lore had it that Uncle Jesse was imbued with certain healing powers and could remove warts. He merely had to pass the stump of the missing finger over the wart and speak some mystic phrase and the wart would eventually go away.
I once had the opportunity to be in close proximity to Uncle Jesse when he spoke such mystical phrase. I leaned in close and listened intently as in his slow spoken, low timbered, deep voice he said, “Now don’t worry about it and it will go away.”
Don’t you know Uncle Jesse’s cure usually worked.
Ever though I pressed Uncle Jesse on the subject many times, he would never give me a straight answer as to whether he believed he was truly removing the warts or not. But, I do know his phlegmatic heart loved the revered attention his healing brought him.
I’ve later learned that a wart is a lump on the skin caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) and as you know, viruses of this type usually go away on their own (Seattle Public Health).
However, one fact is undeniable. People felt better after one of Uncle Jesse’s “treatment.”
Further, Uncle Jesse was not the only such healer in the area of my home.
I began to look more deeply into the techniques of Uncle Jesse and the other colloquial healers common to my home. I noticed one commonality. Nearly all those who were considered to be successful used some form of touch in their technique.
Through the years my mind and temperament have never allowed me to let this go. I have encountered quite a large body of research and work written on the healing power of touch. Here are a few of the benefits believed to be had from touch techniques.
1. relieves stress aids relaxation
2. relieves muscle tension and stiffness
3. alleviates discomfort during pregnancy
4. provides greater joint flexibility
5. promotes deeper breathing
6. reduces blood pressure
7. strengthens immune systems (remember the virus)
The very nature of this concept is tailor made to be utelized melancholy and supine temperaments among us.
Have you any such experiences to share?
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:52 am
I have a long history and relationship with energetic healing and touch technique - 7 car accidents would not have fared well in the medical model. A current practiioner said …muscles remember, they know every thing and hold onto all - I am in the process of her retraining and releasing the things my muscles remember. It’s fascinating. I also am blessed in that I am very receptive, hyperly aware of energy and can benefit greatly from these types of exchanges - some can not. I prefer these modalities.
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:34 am
Seven car accident survivals is amazing! If I believed in luck I would be puzzled whether yours is extremely good or extremely bad. I would love to hear more about the methods you are exploring for the retraining. Perhaps we could write about them from differening perspectives.
Also, why didn’t you tell me my post needed gramatical work?
I suppose that is the price for midnight inspirations.
An editor, and editor my kingdom for an editor.
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:16 pm
ahhh but my comment has spelling errors - are you sure you’d trust me with gramatics? I am severely dyslexic you know! I have taken the approach that by the time a post rolls around to the back side who’s going to know !! I try so hard in my drafts and then once it’s live I see it completely differently - the fussy in me would edit and edit and edit for perfection - and then I’d never have a life!!
If I find the good in seven accidents I’d say it would be the generosity of so many caretakers, it’s how I met my second husband, and even though we are divorced he and I are friends, and it reminds me to trust my instincts regarding medical approaches vs holistic approaches.
I’d have to think if energetic healing really fits into my 90 day plan for my blog - I did that after SOBCon - you MUST go next yr !! I think in August it would work as my travelling is lighter - I wrote it down - fun idea, thank you
I do need a guest author in June - it’s my Blog’s first birthday month and we are celebrating all month long - I have 11 days to fill - would you care to post??
May 24th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
My favorite folk magic tale is a spell from Brazil, intended to keep a young woman’s husband from straying. It involved a complex concoction of pepper oils, a talisman (made from a black dogs paw collected in a graveyard at midnight, among other things) and many incantations. The talisman was to be sprinkled with the oil regularly, and placed in his pillow, which should be kept fluffed and clean. The oil was also to be placed on his eggs each morning, the eggs made his favorite way, and served with a smile. And finally, the oil should be massaged into his feet by the woman. Every night.
The spell had a reputation for effectiveness, and no wonder. Instead of being spiteful and cold because he might glance at another village girl, the wife was tending to his bed, his breakfast, and giving him a nightly foot massage.
After looking at this and many other folk tales, I’mconvinced some of the folk healers and magic dealers were not as ignorant as we often assume. I think they often knew exactly which parts of the spell did the work, and why — but they kept it secret for two reasons. First, these *were* trade secrets, on which their livelihood depended. Second? People seem to need to be tricked into doing what they need to do. If the old healer told the young woman “tend to his needs, and he wont stray”, the girl probably wouldn’t have done it.
Ok, enough of my rambling.
And btw… grammatical errors are a required ingredient for a blog. And they’re much easier to aquire than a black dog’s paw from a graveyard!
November 20th, 2008 at 3:45 am
I HAVE THE POWER TO REMOVE WARTS AND OTHER THINGS. MY RECORD IS 100%
November 20th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
That’s great Bill!
Can you tell us more?
Thanks for commenting.