The Rhythmic System as the Healing System
If we look at THREEFOLD HUMAN BEING we can notice the special position of
the rhythmic system in the middle between the nerve-sense system and the
metabolic-limb system. The rhythmic system encompasses the heart and the
lungs which – as we can see from the picture – are closely bonded together.
We could say: The two lung wings are embracing the heart in the middle. This
physical relation of two organs of rhythmic system reflects their
cooperation in the process of reinvigorating the 'tired' blood which carries
the carbon dioxide which has come into existence in the cells of the body as
the side product of glucose metabolism. This blood flows through the right
ventricle of the heart into the lungs where, through the activity of
breathing, carbon dioxide is removed from it and oxygen taken in. The blood
enlivened by oxygen returns to the left ventricle of the heart and then
flows through the network of arteries and capillaries to the single cells of
the body. This continuous rhythmical transformation of the blue blood into
the red blood [1] is of vital importance for the existence of our whole
organism.
This collaboration of these two organs is happening in a rhythmical
manner, because the middle system in the human being "includes in the
functional sense everything that is subject to rhythm – primarily,
therefore, the breathing system and its connection with the system of blood
circulation. In the wider sense, too, there are rhythms that are of
essential significance to the human being; for example, the rhythms of day
and night, of sleeping and waking, the rhythmic assimilation of food and so
on. These latter rhythms are constantly disrupted in many ways, therefore
the consequences of such disturbances have to be brought into equilibrium by
certain regulative factors found in the organism.
The rhythmic organization of the human being is very frequently
misunderstood in relation to one of its definite characteristics, namely the
ratio that is established between the rhythm of the blood circulation and
the rhythm of the breath. In the adult human being, this ratio is
approximately four to one. This, of course, is only the average, approximate
ratio, and its variations in individuals are an expression of the measure of
health and disease in the human organism. What is revealed in this rhythmic
human being as a ratio of four to one continues in the entire human
organism. Everything that flows from the metabolic system toward the middle,
rhythmic system – set against that which flows from the nerve-sense system
into the rhythmic system – takes place in a tempo of four to one. To speak
precisely, we may take the breathing system to be the rhythmic continuation
of the nerve-sense system and the circulatory system to be the rhythmic
continuation of the metabolic system. We can say that the metabolic system
sends its effects, as it were, up into the rhythmic human being and this
expresses itself in daily life through the rhythm of the blood circulation.
The nerve-sense system sends its effects into the breathing system and this
is expressed through the rhythm of the breath. Thus in observing the ratio
of four to one in the rhythmic human being – for there are some seventy
pulse beats to every eighteen breaths – we see the encounter between the
nerve-sense system and the metabolic system." [2]
This ratio of two rhythms has a deeper background, because "man is a
member of the whole great cosmic connection, as each one of our fingers is a
member of our whole organism. The great majority of people no longer feel
themselves members of the great world-organism. Yet ordinary scientific
reflection might teach a man, even today, that he and his life are part of
the whole cosmic ordering in which he as organism is placed. Let us take a
very simple example. We all know that in the spring, on the 21st March, the
Sun rises at a definite point in the heavens. This we call the
vernal point.
We know too that this vernal point is not the same each year, but that it
progresses. The Sun rises a little further on in the Zodiac every spring,
and it is easy to see that in a given time the place of sunrise will have
moved through the whole Zodiac. Now the approximate time required for the
Sun in its journey through the Zodiac is 25,920 years. When 25,920 years
have gone by the vernal point will be back again at its original place." [3]
If we now direct our gaze into the interior of the human being, we can
notice, that "in his normal state a man draws eighteen breaths a minute.
This varies, because he breathes rather quicker in childhood and more slowly
in old age – but of a normal man it is correct to say: he draws eighteen
breaths a minute. It is easy to reckon that 18 times 60 make 1,080, which is
the number of breaths to the hour; multiply this by 24 and you get 25,920
breaths in the day. Thus you see that the same number regulates the human
day as regards a man's breathing as regulates the passage of the vernal
point through the great cosmic year [4]. This is an example which shows that
man is really governed in an important activity, upon which each moment of
his life depends, by the same number and measure as the course of the Sun"
[5] from which all life on the Earth depends.
There is much more behind this, but the above description should suffice
to demonstrate the importance of rhythms in human life; it also helps us to
grasp why the middle system of
THREEFOLD HUMAN BEING is called the
rhythmic
system. If we put all this into the framework of
THE ESSENCE OF HUMAN HEALTH, the great significance of the proper
functioning of the rhythmic system for the health of the whole organism
should become evident. This becomes even more evident when we add to this
the explanation on the origin of
'HOT' vs 'COLD' ILLNESSES which are
manifestations of excessive effects of the nerve-sense system and the
metabolic-limb system on each other. The middle system mediates in a
rhythmical manner between two polar systems which represent two different
worlds – the spiritual world above and the physical world below. Therefore
we can identify the rhythmic system as THE INNER HEALER OF MAN.
"This rhythmic system is the mediator between the cosmic and the earthly in man." [6]
And "just as plant and animal life, in its external form, takes its course
rhythmically, so does the life of the physical body. The heart beats
rhythmically, the lungs breathe rhythmically, and so forth. All this
proceeds so rhythmically because it is set in order by higher spiritual
forces, by the wisdom of the world." [7]
Thus we can conclude that "since factors are active in the rhythmic
system that are healing factors, there is a doctor continually present in
the human being. In fact, the whole rhythmic system is a doctor. The
function of a doctor is to heal something, however, and if healing is needed
there must be illness. If that is so, walking, thinking, digesting must be
continual processes of illness, and breathing and blood circulation a
continual healing. This is indeed the case" [8] in the human organism. In
accordance with this insight we can see everything that is coming towards
our centre as a temporary disruption which needs to be transformed in a
manner that maintains the balance of the whole by the help of the wisdom
which is active behind the rhythmic system.
"Let Food be Your Medicine"
After we have gained basic comprehension of the healing role of the
rhythmic system in the whole human organism, we can now focus on its
relationship with the metabolic system which is providing nutrients that
enter the circulation of the blood in the small intestine via an enormous
number of intestinal villi.
As is explained in NUTRITION AND 'INNER PATIENT', "every metabolic process,
if unchecked, causes illness in the organism." [9] If we look at the
threefold division of human organism we see the special position of the
rhythmic system in the middle. For that reason "if
metabolism is to exist at all in man, other processes must exist whose
beginnings are of an earlier date. [10] These are the circulatory processes. The
circulation produces continuous healing processes. If we are to describe man
rightly, we must work backwards from the metabolic to the circulatory
processes, including, of course, all the impulses that underlie the
circulatory processes. One substance induces quicker, another substance
slower circulation in the widest possible sense. We do of course also have
minor circulatory systems in us. Take any mineral substance, gold let us
say, or copper, introduced in some way – by mouth, by injection or in some
other way – every substance is endowed with the power of influencing the
circulation, changing it, restoring it to health, and so on. And what one
must know, in order to gain insight into the essential healing processes in
man, is what kind of processes every single substance in the world around us
triggers in us to change the circulation. Thus one can say that
the
circulation is a continual process of healing." [11]
If we want to grasp what is meant by this change of minor circulation we
need "to realize – as soon as we begin to speak of the fluid organism which
fills the same space that is occupied by the solid organism – that we cannot
speak of this fluid organism in the earthly human without speaking of the
etheric body which permeates this fluid organism and fills it with forces.
The fluid should not be thought of as so much uniform fluid, but
differentiated and organized – though the organizing process here is a more
fluctuating one." [12] This is also valid for the blood. "Inasmuch as the
blood belongs to the fluid organism, we find in the blood the etheric body
which permeates it with its forces." [13] This etheric
body is not a simple entity, but is hugely differentiated; in it are
numerous streams, main rhythms, sub-rhythms and minor rhythms – all of which
have an impact on the state of the whole human organism.
In this nutritional principle we have focused on the polarity between the
metabolic and the rhythmic system with its blood circulation and breathing.
While the metabolic system with its tendencies towards illness can be
characterised as an inner patient, the rhythmic system is in its essential
character an inner healer, because it possesses the innate power of
restoring the balance in the human organism. However, there are also
influences entering it from outside – sense impressions, substance in the
air, and substances in our food. These influences can be beneficial or
harmful. For example, "if you consider the heart, this wonderful organ with
the regular beat and innate wisdom, and you compare it with the desires and
passions of the astral body which unleash all sorts of actions against the
heart, you will recognize how its regular course is influenced detrimentally
by passions" [14] which are stimulating us to repeat
things we like beyond a healthy limit.
This is especially true in the case of food and drink, because "we cannot avoid
continually injuring our health through eating and drinking. Eating and
drinking to excess merely injure us more seriously, but we are always
injuring ourselves to a slight degree. The rhythmic system, however, is
continually healing this illness. Human life on the earth is a continual
process of becoming ill and a continual healing." [15]
If we want to understand this transition from injuring to healing we must
look at "the change which the outer (food) substances undergo in the
nutritive system (metabolic system), for then we recognise the significance
of the nutritive forces in man. But these forces are carried over into the
breathing system. And whilst they continue to work further in
the breathing system they become not only forces to appease hunger and
quench thirst; not only the repairing forces of the human being, but the
inwardly correcting forces for the sick. The transmuted nourishing forces
are healing forces. He who rightly understands nutrition understands the
beginning of the healing process. He who knows what mineral
[16] should do in
the healthy man, knows how mineral then works in as a means of healing in
this or that case. The healing forces in us are the metamorphoses of the
nourishing forces." [17]
For a real comprehension of the various mineral substances which are
entering us in various forms and which have various effects on the 'minor
circulatory systems' in the whole system of blood circulation, one needs to
study classical medicine and spiritual-scientific medicine as well. For
other people it is enough to grasp that knowledge of these impacts was
behind the saying of Hippocrates: "Let food be your medicine and medicine be
your food." [18]
In the transition from the metabolic to the rhythmic system we have the
process where nutritional substances metamorphose into healing substances –
more precisely, the mineral substances which contain the nourishing forces.
Food can be our medicine only because it contains mineral substances. "Thus
it is quite a good practice if someone who cannot tolerate this or that food
unsalted adds more salt to it. Someone else has to add pepper, while others
add paprika. Because a person cannot tolerate things just as they are, he
adjusts them to meet his needs. There is again no borderline in a case when
someone needs pepper or paprika as a remedy; there is no borderline between
giving pepper or paprika so that one can 'digest oneself well' or, if things
get worse, taking something from the mineral kingdom. It does not matter
whether this is given as an addition to food or as medicine; here again
things flow into one another, and again there is no borderline."
[19] In
other words, in relation to the effect of mineral substances on the rhythmic
system there is no real borderline between mineral substances which enter
the blood circulation as nutrients, and those entering as stimulants or
medicines. Therefore in this case there is no real borderline between food
and medicine.
For complementary perspectives see:
♦ NUTRITION AND 'INNER PATIENT'
♦ FOOD AND SOUL MOOD
DIETARY CONCLUSIONS & PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS
This nutritional principle explains how our food is metamorphosed into
medicine. However, this doesn't mean that all food has a
positive
therapeutic effect on the state of our organism. This can happen only in the
following conditions:
- if we eat good quality food;
- if we eat the proper amounts of food;
- if the choice of food suits to our individual needs.
It is known that medicine can be harmful if is taken when it is not needed,
or if the doses are not right, or if its quality is poor. All this hold true
also for food; the difference is that effects of various nutrients are milder in
comparison with medicines, and that amounts of food consumed are larger than the
average amounts of medicines.
If we look at the issue of food quality the first thing to stand out is
the great importance of minerals in our food. This is recognised by modern
nutritional science, but without awareness of the different quality of the
minerals. There is a crucial difference between naturally occurring minerals
and artificial, human-made chemical compounds, such as
artificial fertilisers,
herbicides,
pesticides,
and food additives. One can imagine that the effect of all these artificial
mineral substances (even in small doses) on the circulatory processes cannot
be beneficial in the same extent as in the case of natural mineral
substances. In this regard the wild food or organic food has an advantage of
containing minerals in their natural form and composition.
In this context we can also see the great advantage of wholefoods
versus
refined foods. Due to the process of refining we lose a great amount of
important essential minerals and trace minerals. Besides this, we can get
too much of a particular mineral substance, like pure salt or pure sugar,
without accompanying trace minerals which are essential for proper
stimulation of minor circulatory systems. Consumption of refined foods
results in disharmony between metabolic and rhythmic processes. For that
reason it is no surprise that nowadays there exists enough evidence that
overconsumption of white sugar stimulates our 'inner patient' to the
extreme, and consequently contributing to the hosts of modern illnesses.
[20]
For all these reasons the best preventive medicine is to obtain
enough minerals in their natural form through our daily diet. This is
confirmed also by the fact that traditional medicine has been based on the
use of plants in manifold forms, as teas, tinctures, elixirs, herb mixtures,
etc. All natural foods are extremely complex combinations of hundreds of
natural chemical compounds [21] which
cannot be supplemented by isolated substances, even if they are derived from
natural resources. For example, iron inside the nettles will work different
than iron in the meat because of all the accompanying phytochemicals
in the nettles. The best sources of 'multi-mineral
medicines' are therefore natural foods, mainly plants.
WARNING: You always have to put the above
practical dietary instructions inside the framework of
GENERAL NUTRITIONAL
GUIDELINES with the aim to know their limits when looking for a solution
of a specific nutritional problem. You also need to be familiar with
THE ROLE OF NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES
with the aim to avoid any one-sided conclusions.
