CONCEPTS OF HEALTH & WELL-BEING

TO IMPROVE AND DETOXIFY CONTEMPORARY LIFE

The insights, assessments and counsel of St Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen's Spiritual Remedies by Wighard Strelow.

ISBN-13 : 9780892819850
Imprint : Healing Arts Press
Format : Paperback Book
Reviewed by Pieter Uys.

Evidence accumulates for the increasing prevalence of auto-immune diseases in our time.
Immune responses to self-antigens derive from a number of complex disorders of unknown
etiology. The immune system functions according to an intricate and integrated control
system vulnerable to disruption. The development of auto-immunity has a myriad causes
based on the interactions between genetic and environmental factors. In some cases,
autoimmune diseases are three times more common now than they were several decades
ago. ~ Donna Jackson Nakazawa.

These same afflictions were known and cured 850 years ago by the physician, poet,
prophet, musician and mystic, Hildegard of Bingen (10981179). Although today the Sybil
of the Rhine is celebrated primarily for her music, she was a polymath who excelled also as
botanist, composer, herbalist and philosopher.

In her treatises on healing, Hildegard anticipated a time when the earth and humankind
wouldve become desperately ill and imbalanced. She provided specific remedies for
individuals to reclaim their health, repair their collective home and restore the unity of
mind, soul and body.

Her works on medicine and natural history, Physica (The Book of Simple Medicine)
comprising nine chapters, and Causae et Curae (The Book of Causes and Cures) also appear
as one volume, titled The Subtleties of the Diverse Natures of Created Things.

Physica represents an encyclopaedic description of the qualities of elements, birds,

mammals, fish, reptiles, plants, metals, precious stones and jewels. In its examination of the
human body and its connections to the rest of the natural world, Causae et Curae inter alia
describes 300 plants, and 47 diseases by etiology, symptoms, diagnosis, prognosis and
treatment.

Herbal medicine is often accompanied by magical procedures, rituals or incantations. For

Hildegard, plants possessed powers far surpassing those associated with symptomatic
relief. Her remedies and therapies encompass crystals, gemstones, herbs, flowers,
meditation and the contemplation of scriptural passages. Herbs often feature as an
ingredient in treatment protocols related to dream patterns.

Based upon Hildegard's Book of Lifes Merits, this work by Dr Strehlow arranges her writings
and insights according to her understanding of four healing modalities. They are: Physical
healing by means of natural remedies and nutrition; Healing through the 35 spiritual forces
of the soul; Healing with the power of the four cosmic elements, and Restoration through
unity with the divine.

Liber Vitae Meritorum (The Book of Lifes Merits) illumines the connection between
physical illness and the sickness of the soul. The mind controls the body through the
autonomic nervous system and others like the digestive and immune systems. This
corresponds to contemporary healing theories like psycho-neuro-immunology.

Hildegard identified physical symptoms as effects of negative thoughts and emotions. She
linked the 35 vertebrae of the spinal cord to the same number of the bodys healing forces
and their harmful opposites. Her steps to vibrant health hinder the vices whilst encouraging
the virtues to restore the body.

These 35 factors are discussed in chapters 3 - 7: The Eastman, The Westman, the
Northman, The Southman and The New Elders' Ascent To The Summit, in the sections
Crystal Therapy, Harmful Words, Healing Words, Organ Relationship and Spiritual Healing.
Chapter 6 treats fasting as a way of discovering one's true personality.

The importance of the unity of mind, soul and soul is a recurring theme of Hildegards
words on health and healing. Holistic health flows forth from the harmonious interaction
between the emotional, physical, mental and spiritual dimensions.

In 'The Spiritual Remedies', Strehlow makes the wisdom, insight and knowledge of this
extraordinary medieval visionary accessible in practical terms relevant to our age. Black and
white illustrations, biographical notes on Hildegard and the author, plus an extensive
bibliography and index, enhance this worthy tome.