For as long as there has been life on Earth, there have been problems with maintaining health and treating illness. Today, when many of us get sick, the first thing we do is call the doctor and make an appointment. After some poking and prodding and possibly a battery of tests, we leave the doctor’s office with a small slip of paper with a prescription for a synthetic drug.
Modern medicine is based on what is called allopathic medicine. The premise of allopathic medicine is to use the “opposite” to heal the body. Doctors deal with health problems by suppressing the symptoms rather than tackling the cause of the disease. If a patient is retaining fluids, they are given a diuretic to encourage urination. Similarly, if a patient suffers from a bad cough, they are given a cough suppressant.
Ancient healers used herbs.Oleksandr / Adobe Stock)
Ancient remedies battle modern medicine
In the early 1800s, scientists learned how to extract the active ingredients in herbal remedies. They also discovered how to create formulas from inorganic substances that mimicked the effects of traditional natural remedies. These “medicines,” unlike earlier natural preparations, could be patented and sold for a profit.
Shortly thereafter, with the founding of the American Medical Association (AMA), Western allopathic medicine took root in society. Physicians, working with pharmaceutical experts, began prescribing newly created “prescription drugs” to patients.
By 1904, members of these increasingly powerful elite groups, like the tribunals of the Inquisition, began to systematically attack doctors who introduced traditional, non-invasive, or drug-free treatments into their practice. These doctors were defamed and called swindlers, charlatans, and quacks, and were imprisoned for various reasons. Ultimately, their lives were ruined.
Our view of traditional healing has changed significantly from how people viewed it in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Many people are suspicious of alternative medical therapies, some even seeing them as evil or the work of the devil.
The reason we are hesitant to accept the traditional methods offered by today’s alternative medicine practitioners is because for the past 100 years, all we have heard about medicine has been the voice of the AMA. Their marketing tactics have brainwashed us into believing that these methodologies have little to no healing power. However, traditional alternative medicine methods have been available for thousands of years. We each bear silent testimony here to their effectiveness as we have survived as a species.
Medicinal plants are still used in alternative medical therapies such as Ayurvedic medicine.Nira Newsom / Adobe Stock)
Traditional healing practices of ancient Egypt
An assessment of the medical know-how of the ancient Egyptians reveals perfectly well our knowledge of traditional healing practices. The fame of Egyptian physicians was recognized throughout the ancient world.
Our understanding of why we get sick has evolved since ancient times. While we no longer believe that illness is the work of evil spirits, these early medical professionals, like alternative medicine practitioners today, understood that to restore health, the body needed to be cleansed and rid of the bad guys.
Unlike modern Westerners, the Ancient Egyptians understood the importance of a healthy diet. In addition to using therapeutic diets, they had a deep knowledge of medicinal plants and incorporated techniques such as massage and color therapy into their treatments. Papyrus documents indicate that there were remedies for diseases of the bones and teeth, blood, nausea, ulcers, and inflammation of the heart, lungs, urinary tract, and joints.
The foundations of health practices in ancient and indigenous cultures may not have been as sophisticated as those of the Ancient Egyptians, but they followed a similar consistent theme: Their goal was to heal the “whole” person, not just cure an illness.
Collective shamans and medicine men offer a set of services similar to those of ancient Egyptian physicians. These medicine men diagnose illnesses like modern medical intuitives. They are said to have the ability to peer into the patient’s body and diagnose illnesses. Their assessments evaluate not only the patient’s physical health, but also their mental and emotional health.
Herbal remedies played an important role in these cultures. Concoctions of herbal tonics, cleansers, massages, and even aromatherapy were often recommended. Treatments such as sweating, similar to what we see in modern saunas, were also used. The value of sweating is now recognized: it cleanses the body of toxic substances and boosts the immune system. Hot baths were also used. Baths calm the nervous system and improve blood circulation. They also help relieve general pain in the body.
Modern Western medicine has only recently begun to recognize that various forms of “stress” can be detrimental to health. Early physicians also recognized the impact that thoughts and emotions have on health. They utilized a variety of spiritual healing techniques to alleviate the underlying disorders in their patients’ lives. This took the form of prayer, drumming, changing, toning, meditation, and the use of deliberate intention.
Ancient Egyptians regularly used herbs to treat illnesses. (Fair Use)
Ancient herbs and medicinal plants
The art of healing dates back to ancient times. Herbs as a means of treatment have been found in the archaeological record. In 1960, while excavating a cave in northeastern Iraq, archaeologist Ralph Solecki and his team unearthed an adult Neanderthal male, aged between 35 and 45 years old. His body was found about 15 meters (49.21 feet) from the entrance to Shanidar Cave. Evidence suggests that the man was buried intentionally. He was buried in a shallow grave, with his body placed in a fetal position. Beneath his body was a bed of woven woody horsetail.
Around his body was pollen from many medicinal plants used by modern herbalists, including yarrow, cornflower, lamiaceae, ragwort, groundsel, soapberry, and St. Barnaby’s thistle, all of which are said to have healing properties, including diuretic, astringent, stimulating, and anti-inflammatory properties.
A reconstruction of a Neanderthal burial site found in Shanidar Cave, Iraq. Archaeologists believe the Neanderthals were purposely buried surrounded by medicinal herbs.Human History)
Pollen found at the site provides evidence of how long herbs have been used for medical purposes, and if this man was an early physician, as the evidence suggests, knowledge of and use of herbs for their therapeutic properties dates back even further than 60,000 years ago, when he was buried.
Herbal remedies aren’t the only alternative therapies to find evidence in the archaeological record. In 1991, hikers trekking in the Ötztal Alps discovered the mummified remains of a man frozen in the ice. Tests determined that the man, nicknamed Ötzi the Iceman, lived approximately 5,000 years ago. One notable thing about Ötzi is that his body was covered in tattoos that were grouped together in a series of lines and crosses. The tattoos are a deep blue in color and are thought to have been made using soot that was likely removed from a fireplace.
The majority of the more than 50 tattoos that cover his body are one, two, three, four or even seven parallel lines running along his entire body. Research by three acupuncture associations has found that many of the tattooed lines on Ötzi’s body are located at traditional Chinese acupuncture pressure points. The cross tattoos on his left ankle and knee correspond to acupuncture trigger points.
Today, acupuncture is sought for pain relief, stimulating specific points along pathways called meridians. Of the many tattoos on Ötzi’s body, 15 are on the bladder meridian, which is traditionally intended to relieve lower back pain. A crisscross tattoo pattern near his left ankle is identified in acupuncture texts as the “master point for lower back pain.” Examination of Ötzi’s body revealed that he suffered from severe knee, hip, ankle and back problems, as well as abdominal disorders.
Ötzi the Iceman’s wrist tattoos. Acupuncturists claim that many of the tattoos correspond to acupuncture points.South Tyrolean Archaeological Museum)
Indigenous techniques in ancient healing practices
These are just a few examples of ancient and indigenous healing techniques. The list of methodologies they employed goes on and on. At this point, we can only speculate as to when these techniques began to be used to restore health, but after all, it is easy to see that these techniques have been in use for hundreds of millions of years.
It is understandable that many people are hesitant to embrace the concepts offered by alternative medical practices. We have been taught that the methods used by our forefathers and their forefathers were bad, ineffective, or harmful. Many see them as primitive, outdated, or “old,” but it is only in the last 150 years or so that the methodologies offered by Western allopathic medicine have been utilized.
Our bodies are built from birth to have the ability to heal themselves. They are not built to ingest, digest, incorporate or process synthetic products or substances. Our quick fix instincts have us looking for a “magic pill” that will cure all our ailments. We have been taught to ignore the results, by-products and side effects of these man-made chemicals as long as it makes us feel good in the short term. We have come to believe that we can experience happiness through chemical reactions, yet humanity is getting sicker and sicker every day.
The goal of allopathic medicine is to eliminate symptoms, not to cure the body. The focus of alternative medicine, like that of our ancestors, is to cure the body. Historical records show that herbs, acupuncture, rituals, prayer, meditation, toning, massage, and many other forms of treatment have been used for thousands of years. No matter how much traditional healing practices are ridiculed as Voodoo medicine, the historical record of their effectiveness is unshakable.
No one wants to get sick, and when they do, everyone wants to get better. If you’ve avoided traditional alternative therapies until now, now may be the time to revisit them. As you can see, these methods have been practiced for thousands of years. They may work for you too.
Image above: Image representing an ancient healing technique. Source: Dimension Design / Adobe Stock
Dr. Rita Louise
About the Author
Dr. Rita Louise is a best-selling author and medical intuitive, host of Just Energy Radio and founder of the Applied Energy Institute. She is the author of the following books: Man-Made Creations: The Chronicles of Extraterrestrial Gods, Avoid the space 2X4, Dark Angel: An Insider’s Guide to Ghosts, Spirits, and Haunts and Inner Strength She has also published hundreds of articles worldwide, appeared on radio and television, and spoken at conferences covering subjects such as health and healing, ghosts, intuition, ancient mysteries, and the paranormal. For more information about Dr. Rita, please visit http://www.soulhealer.com
