How To Develop The Gift of Spiritual Healing:
This post contains excerpts from Murdo MacDonald-Bayne’s book on spiritual healing which was first published in the United Kingdom, in 1947, by L.N. Flowler & Co. Ltd.
This famous book, entitled ‘Spiritual and Mental Healing’, was reprinted in a new revised paperback edition in 2006, by Mystica Publications Ltd, P.O. Box 13-581, Christchurch, New Zealand.
For a copy of the book, email: [email protected]
Murdo macDonald-Bayne was a Spiritual Healer who helped many people during the course of his career, either to completely cure a disease, or to help alleviate the condition of sickness.
Murdo MacDonald-Bayne’s eloquent description of the process of spiritual healing is instructive to all those who wish to begin developing the natural ability which we all possess, the ability to heal.
In the transcripts of lectures which Murdo gave towards the end of his career, he gives instructions for spiritual healing. He explains how to give healing with the recipient near you. He explains how this process of uniting the spiritual body, through positive intention, through ether, to universal mind, can work in healing people, both near, as in the laying on of hands, and far, as in absent healing.
His explains how Divine Power benefits both body and mind, and that this Divine Power can be brought to a person, so that he is conscious of it, through the effect of stimulating the general nervous system: This can done both mentally, through Spiritual Healing, and with physical means such as the laying on of hands, or with acupressure, as in shiatsu or reflexology, when it is applied with a conscious will to improve the vital life force and enhance spiritual awareness.
This is because the nervous system is not just a system which conveys sensation and feeling, the nervous system also conveys the ‘nourishment of the Spirit through the Mind’, to use Murdo’s expression.
These excerpts are taken from Lecture Three:
Healing By The Advanced Method is detailed on p.82 of Murdo’s book.
Murdo explains that Healing can be performed by preparing the mind, after which an out-pouring the Healing Power from Spirit is done with a conscious projection of the Power into the patient.
Murdo advises that the patient sits before you, while you stand a little way, say about two feet, from him. The patient is advised to relax and close his eyes. At this point, the healer consciously joins his will ‘to the Will of the Creator’, whilst the Power is consciously projected through the patient by your sheer will. Murdo advises that the arms are not quite touching the shoulders of the recipient, but that the arms are be stretched out towards the patient, with the tips of the healers fingers almost touching the recipient’s shoulders.
Murdo explains that we are not separated from our maker, but that our ethereal bodies merge into the great ethereal matter of the Universe. He says “Really, our bodies extend everywhere and our minds are an extension of the Mind Principle; therefore your ethereal body and the ethereal body of the patient are mingled together, and also your minds are in tune with the Universal Mind, and by directing the Power, you energise his ethereal body and his mental body correspondingly, according to your own Power and development”.
How Absent Healing is Done With Mind: Murdo goes on to describe the elements given in a previous lesson where he explained the different strata of the mind and how the human mind is linked up with the Universal Mind. “There is only one Mind in operation but different phases of action are in fact one Mind. Consciousness is the directing power in mind; it is this knowledge that makes my method in healing at a distance, ‘absent healing,’ so effective”.
Dr Murdo talks about his many successes in absent treatment alone: He says that there is a result in every case where he has given healing, and that many people in this particular lecture will verify that fact. At least “there is great alleviation of the trouble”… “if not a complete cure”, he claims. It is important to have the understanding “that there is no separation” between yourself and Divine Power, and that this consciousness sets in operation “the subjective activity of the mind of the patient which links up with the Divine Mind”, he says.
It is important for the patient to be relaxed, because this enables the Power of Spirit to out-pour from the healer to the recipient.
The Healing Power In Action.
Murdo explains the physical effects of spiritual healing, and how the intention of healing helps to link us and the recipient of healing to Divine Power.
Page 48 of Murdo’s book talks about the effects of the healing on the recipient. A “feeling of warmth may be felt by the patient, or he may feel the vibrations in any part of his body, especially at the seat of the trouble”. Benefits of the healing are that circulation of the blood are increased, and the mind and body are put into harmony with each other.
At this point, Murdo stresses that you tell the patient that these good effects are not from yourself doing the healing, but from the Divine Healing Power. He explains that “the warmth that is felt through the system is the natural reaction to the Life Energy pouring through the body; the nervous system responds to the surge of this energy passing through to the extremities, the message is reflected back to the brain and the mind becomes aware of it”.
How Spiritual healing can give a person faith in a ‘power greater than thyself”: This action and reaction inspires faith in an individual, “so that the personal consciousness of the individual will align itself with the divine Consciousness within, uniting the perfect Divine Life in the mortal life”, he says.
Raise the Vibration of Your Own Mind, Murdo states: By raising the vibratin of mind, you can ontact the Will and the Mind of the Creator. This enables your spiritual mind to ” make contact with the Mind and Will of the Creator”. He explains that we all have within us a spiritual centre “which comes into operation immediately you become aware of it”.
Once you have the awareness that “your will and the Will of God are united in His Service, a union takes place between yourself and your Creator naturally”. Murdo states that “All things are then possible, because your mind and will and the Mind and Will of the Creator are one in reality.
Life Energy expreses itself in perfection whenever it is able, Murdo says. He explains that uniting your own forces with Life Energy enables us to become one with it so that we may use this wonderful Healing Power of Spirit.
It is important to have co-operation of Minds and energies in healing: that co-operation, Murdo says, is beween yourself, the patient, and God.
“The patient must be shown how to tune in to the Life Energy so that he can become aware of the Mighty Healing Power which is waiting to serve us at all times”.
Murdo emphasises that spiritual healers must develop a positive attitude, and never allow themselves to become depressed. A positive attitude is required at all times, so that we keep our own vital forces ‘up’ so that we may raise the vibration of those around us, and help and heal when needed:
Murdo: You must use constructive thought power. Murdo emphasizes the need for a positive attitude: One which expects healing to occur. He stresses that we should never allow ourselves under any circumstances become depressed, because, in fact, there is always something you can do to help a situation. He says to
- “remember that it is the Life Energy that is doing the work and not you. All you have to do is to fulfill the laws, the natural laws, the laws of mind and the spiritual laws, then the Life Energy does the work. Therefore it is essential to hold a positive attitude throughout”.
He explains that not every patient will get better – that sometimes people improve, and sometimes they become worse:
- This is the law of fluctuation that belongs to the patient and not to the Life Energy at all.
- Murdo stresses that a patient being anxious inhibits healing. He stresses the idea of faith, and to ‘Rest in the Lord.’ ‘Be not anxious’ but wait patiently for Life itself to reorganize the tissue structure. “It knows what to do and how to do it. You must fulfill the Law by believing in the perfect Law of Life. A sense of anxiousness is a sense of doubt”.
Having a negative attitude and doubting yourself when healing closes yourself to the Power of Spirit. You will not realize your true potential in healing if you doubt yourself: “but when you get an understanding of the Principles underlying this great work you will have that faith which will keep you on the constructive side all the time”.
- Mortal flesh has no power and so the condition of your patient has no power of its own, except the power given it by your patient. So tell the patient this.
- “Mortal mind is but your reaction to these mortal conditions which exist only in this world of illusion. There is no Reality in them. When the patient begins to recognise these truths there is an awareness of Divinity which brings peace and he realises that his condition has no power, but that it is he who is giving it power by bestowing his attention upon it. The less one thinks of his trouble the quicker it will disappear. Be one-pointed in regard to life and hold fast to it, and a change will soon take place for the better”, Murdo says.
The laying on of Hands: There are various methods of applying the Healing Power, but there is one which has been known and practised tor thousands of years and that is laying on of hands. ‘And He laid His hands upon them and they were healed.’ ‘Take up thy bed and walk.’ If you have not got the strength or the conviction that your patient will be healed when you say to him, ‘Take up your bed and walk,’ it is advisable not to say it, because it may create a doubt in his mind that afterwards may be difficult to remove if no healing is effected.
The application of the Power through the hands is a method through which the Vital Energy is transferred from the healer to the patient, and there are specific rules which should be applied. The solar plexus is the seat of this sympathetic nervous system. Any energy which is passed through the solar plexus energises the entire involuntary processes; It is the centre that particularly affects the cell life of the body. By placing your hand on this centre, Life Energy pours through the whole system and the Intelligence is set into action. When you put your right hand on the solar plexus and your left hand at the seat of the trouble, the force, then passes through the sympathetic nervous system to the area affected. The blood vessels dilate at the area of the trouble and an intelligent healing action takes place.
………At the lecture, the “Doctor demonstrates by putting his right hand on the solar plexus of the patient and the other hand on the shoulder – and the patient feels a strong current to the shoulder. Blood and energy flow to the area where the left hand is and a warm electrical feeling is experienced. The blood vessels dilate, blood flows to the area and flushes the area with blood. Vital Energy also passes through the whole area, and immediate reaction is obtained; all pain has disappeared and the trouble is eliminated. Doctor now explains that this is no miracle but the action of a definite law in healing…………..
We will now engage in specific treatment by passing the force throughout the affected area, placing the right hand over the solar plexus and the left hand over the affected part. Now imagine the Power flowing through your right hand, through the solar plexus and making contact with the left hand. Breathe easily and deeply. You will join forces with the will of the patient and direct the patient’s mind to the healing operation, by explaining that the blood is rushing to the affected part, that the arteries and veins are dilated, and the blood, combined with the Healing Power, will eliminate the troubled condition.
Murdo talks about the miracle of healing: that damaged tissues and organs can be revitalized so that they redevelop and function normally. Of course, it takes a healer who is spiritually well-developed and certain of his power to do this. Jesus was one who had this exceptional healing ability:
Murdo: Tissue material that has been destroyed can be restored to perfect health again. The blood tends to force its way into that tissue and the cells become energised, and naturally a healing takes place. But do not forget that you must unite yourself with the Universal Power and this is best done by an understanding of the Truth.
I told you before about breathing, and I will revive your memory. Breath is life and by breathing rhythmically you build up in your body a reserve of Life Energy which enables you to carry the load necessary to heal. If you have a lamp that can only take 250 volts and you put 5,000 volts through it, it would be smashed. It is the same with you. When you develop yourselves along the lines explained, you will be able to absorb energy through your system amounting to millions of units of Life Energy, so that you can use it not only in your hands, but through your mind also.
In healing, it is important to increase your Prana, your vital energy or life force.This gives you the extra energy which is needed to transmit life force into the receiver. Breathing exercises help you to unite your spiritual self with Universal Mind and healing forces.
Here is Murdo’s Recommended Method For Increasing The Life Force Through Breathing:
Therefore practise breathing 8-4-8-4. Inhale, 8 hold 4, exhale 8, suspend 4. At the same time you will notice that all the ‘mantrims’ have four words, namely ‘Divine Life Fills Me.’ By repeating them as directed, you set the rhythm which is essential to build up a tremendous amount of Vital Energy in your system, thus more Universal Life Energy can be absorbed and transformed into Vital Energy, like a generator transforming basic Energy into light. We likewise transform Life Energy into Vital Energy. The more Energy you can absorb the more powerful you become.
If you are treating properly you will be making contact with the conscious and subsonscious mind at one and the same time. This is most important, because buy this means you can eliminate instantaneously the mental and emotional conditions attached to the trouble.
Disease has three aspects, mental, emotional and physical, and you will notice that it has no spiritual aspect, because disease does not belong to the spiritual. If you could live in the true spiritual state your troubles would disappear. Very few can do this because we are living in a mortal world, and this is a world if illusion; a world of the senses, for the senses react to conditions that are not True and you accept the error, and because you accept, so it is unto you as you think it is…………
………As I have already said, I have had thirty years’ experience in healing all over the world and I know of no one who has had so vast an experience; I have been in every country in the world and have seen many terrible cases, all so-called incurable, yet 80% of these people are cured. Many of my patients here amongst you, as you know, have been told that they were incurable, yet they have been cured of their troubles. I am speaking now from experience, the greatest teacher in the world. Unless we look for new methods and avenues of healing, we shall still stick in the rut where medical science is now.
There are Miss C’s case, Miss V’s case, Sister E’s case. These are only one or two of many hundreds. It is proof of the fact that it can be done. I am very proud of a little girl M.D., a patient of mine. That little girl had infantile paralysis. She was saved from being like so many others who are now cripples. I treated her also through astral projection every night, and she saw me on nearly every occasion, when I was treating her with other spiritual healers who assisted me.
These are just a few of many cases which reveal this Mighty Healing Power. It is from these experiences that I know of the Truth of the Living God within each and everyone of us. All over the world it has been the same.
Man has three bodies, mental, emotional and physical. These three interpenetrate and affect each other, and when disease is of long standing the tissue structure may be affected. Then it takes longer to effect a cure. When you reach his subconscious mind you reach his emotional and mental activities getting down to the very root of the trouble, changing the negative condition into a positive one, and the Healing Power is set in action. Our own negative thoughts and images prevent the Mighty Power form flowing; these we must substitute for thoughts of Life and Healing.
Doctor demonstrates the Power flowing – everyone in the hall feels it. He now goes on to explain:
This energy which you feel is Universal Energy transformed into Vital Energy. It is absorbed and transformed by my awareness of it. If you deny its existence as far as you are concerned then that is your misfortune. But immediately this negative attitude is eliminated, the barrier is eliminated and the Universal Energy flows through you. Negative thoughts are destructive to your lif’e’s existence in your mental, emotional and physical planes.
Now grasp this Truth: you have three bodies – mental, emotional and physical – through which the Spiritual Power flows. Your mental body is just as much a body as your physical body because it interpenetrates and supports the physical.
It is necessary to be down into the subjective mind; if you cannot reach it in one treatment then you must persevere by knowing the Truth and explaining the Truth. Tell the patient the Truth of his own being, that he is really Spiritual in Reality. The very essence of our being is Spiritual and the foundation of our life is Spiritual. We misuse our mental faculties by creating negative thoughts which our-picture in our mental and physical bodies.
There are laws belonging to the mental, emotional and physical planes that must be observed. We do not break the Law; the Law breaks us when we violate the Law. When we come to the mental part of this Course we will see the mind and all its phases explained in simple language, so that you can understand our mental processes. We will also see our own faults, and then we can remedy them.
Complicated sayings and complicated sentences do not give you the Truth. If you know the Truth it is easy to put it into simple language. To simplify the complicated is the art of genius. To complicate the simple truth is the practice of knaves and fools….