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At some point during a natural, drug-free, disease reversal process a  patient will experience what is known as a Healing Crisis. This is the  special mechanism used by Nature to cure Arthritis, Cancer, Emphysema,  Asthma and other degenerative diseases.

My years of practice and research have taught me that few  practitioners – traditional or holistic – truly understand the nature  and significance of a Healing Crisis. It’s an event that every healer  should strive to produce in every patient suffering from Arthritis or  other wasting disease but it must be carefully monitored to obtain the  desired healthy outcome.

So, what exactly is a Healing Crisis? Before I answer that question  I’d like to give you a backdrop to this concept of a healing crisis and  where it began. During the 19th century a brilliant European Homeopath  by the name of Constantine Hering discovered a law, a basic unerring  principle of nature.

This immutable principle revealed that:

• all cure comes from within out • from the head down, and • in reverse order as the symptoms originally appeared in the body.

The Path to Disease

Most diseases such as Arthritis follow a certain path or stages of  deterioration and degradation and a predictable path to recovery. Doctor  Hering observed that when patients engaged in some manner of systemic  waste removal one of the first manifestations exhibited was a  revisitation of the same symptoms formerly present when a patient had a  specific ailment in the past.

Since the time of Doctor Hering many Practitioners have embraced and  furthered his research in this area. Doctor Jensen developed a  four-stage system of disease degradation and recovery that was quite  successful with patients during 60 years of clinical practice.

The four stages of disease as taught by Doctor Jensen are known as:

Acute:   Inflammation, pain, sensitivity, fever, discharge, high  acidity are usually present. Poor living and dietary habits can  contribute to the buildup of catarrh and this can lead to the beginning  of toxic settlements throughout the body. Using common respiratory  complications as an example of how disease can progress through the four  stages of increasing degeneration the following observations and  assumptions can be made:

• Disease manifestations: Colds, coughing, bronchitis, influenza, allergies. • Traditional modes of suppression: Coal tar or sulfur based drugs, nostrums, and aspirin. • Necessary waste elimination: Loose catarrhal settlements in the lungs and sinuses.

Subacute:   Absorption of systemic toxins, dull aching pain, low  metabolism, weakness, lassitude. Devitalized foods and beverages, poor  living habits, polluted environment, all lead to general buildup of  excessive accumulations of toxic matter throughout the body.

• Disease manifestations:  Sinus troubles, hay fever, toxic acidic discharges from skin, nose, eyes, mouth, genital area. • Traditional modes of suppression:  Nasal sprays, vapors, synthetic chemicals, drugs, aspirin, etc. • Necessary waste elimination:  Prolonged loose catarrhal elimination.

Chronic:   Low metabolic activity, increasing toxic buildup  throughout system, lack of vitality. Heavy accumulations of toxic waste  interfere with vital cellular activity. (Doctor Jensen found that at  least 80% of all recognized disease in the  U.S. could be classified as chronic).

• Disease manifestations:  Pneumonia, asthma. • Traditional modes of suppression:  Penicillin, antibiotics, antihistamines, sulfa drugs, tranquilizers. • Necessary waste elimination:  Large accumulations of hardened catarrh throughout body and solid waste matter from colon.

Degenerative:  No perceptible sensations in affected tissue,  extremely low blood circulation, low nerve force, tissue decay. General  breakdown of life supporting activity in affected area and often  throughout entire system. Vital force at low ebb.

• Disease manifestations: Malignancies, tumors, cancer, Arthritis, gangrene, emphysema, hardening of arteries. • Traditional modes of suppression:  Heavy drugs, chemotherapy, radiation, cortisone, gold injections. • Necessary waste elimination:  Thorough systemic cleansing of toxic  accumulations from the entire body through skin, bowel, kidneys, lungs,  eyes and mouth. This often indicates the necessity to flush the large  colon with water, a change in lifestyle to something more in tune with  nature and eating wholesome foods.

We can determine from the above example that if we do not properly  and effectively address disease in its infancy the long term prognosis -  the inevitable deterioration to a disease state such as Arthritis - is  not encouraging.

However, the Healing Crisis is Nature’s surefire way of arresting any  disease at whatever point it is to be found. If we allow the Healing  Crisis to proceed unobstructed, Nature can reverse the direction of the  disease condition.

It is at this particular point that Nature can walk a patient back  through the degenerative, chronic, subacute and acute stages of a  particular disease path until the original condition of acute irritation  is attained.

From there it is simply a matter of a patient following a sensible  maintenance program for continued tissue cleansing, cellular  rejuvenation and system-wide homeostasis.

How the Healing Crisis Works

Hering’s law of cure tells us that in order to get a handle on any  given disease or affliction that’s in, let’s say, the degenerative stage  we must somehow reverse the entire process of degeneration through a  series of Healing Crises. With each successive crisis the body can begin  the long but sure pathway back to the stage of initial acute but  manageable inflammation.

This reversal process usually takes a patient back through all of the  bodily sensations, pains, aches, nervous tension, thought patterns and  emotions associated with each level of disease manifestation in the  previous stages of disease development.

Over the years I have spoken with many people who told me they  literally panicked when confronted with these old disease symptoms  again. This usually occurred when people were not educated about Healing  Crises. Their initial reactions, when experiencing the old symptoms,  were of shock and disappointment.

Just before a Healing Crisis began these people were feeling so good -  right up until the old disease symptoms started reappearing. They were  completely at a loss as to what steps to take to deal with the symptoms.

This is why it is so important that a person going through a self  administered body cleanse or who is under the care of a practitioner be  aware of how and why the disease reversal process will usually result in  at least one major Healing Crisis.

The feeling of optimum health and well-being you experience  immediately prior to a Healing Crisis is Nature’s warning she’s about to  begin the great event. You have cleaned your body and strengthened it  to the point where a Healing Crisis can and must take place. This is the  one and only path you can take to a complete and natural cure of  Arthritis or whatever disorder you may have.

The Healing Crisis as it Can Apply to You

As your body is fasted, cleaned of accumulated toxic matter, fed  wholesome nourishment, exercised and rested properly, it can experience  this great event at different times and in various ways along the  reversal path to good health.

If you have recently been taking cortisone or gold injections or  chemically based drugs to ease your arthritic pains, during the first  few months of a thorough systemic cleansing program your body will try  very hard to rid itself of much of the accumulated toxic chemicals that  were used to deaden your nerves. While this is happening you will  probably feel much if not all of the pain you would have felt had you  not taken the cortisone, gold or drugs for the pain.

Most Healing Crises will tend to develop along the path back to good  health at just about the same point the original ailment became  manifest. In other words, as your condition originally worsened from a  cold, to influenza, to bronchitis, to hay fever, to pneumonia, to asthma  and finally to Arthritis or a malignancy, when you begin the road back  to good health your body will experience the same major disease  manifestations it once exhibited while you had each of the  abovementioned ailments.

Make no mistake about this, your body MUST go through this disease  reversal process in order to cleanse itself of all toxic drugs and  accumulated waste material that contributed to the development of each  ailment in the past.

The route the body chooses to travel on the road back to good health  is a rocky, one lane mountain pass wrought with EVERY SINGLE MAJOR  AILMENT you ever encountered during your life. You can’t avoid  re-experiencing each of these afflictions if you truly desire to reach  the summit and be well again. This is Nature’s way of cleaning house and  setting up shop again the right way.

While you are engaged in the reversal process the body senses you’re  giving it a chance to correct past ills. Perhaps it further senses this  may be the last or best chance it has to do as such. All at once it  proceeds with a Herculean effort to clean up as much of the mess you’ve  made of your body as possible in the shortest expenditure of time.

How Long Does a Healing Crisis Last?

Although there appear to be no sure fire laws written in stone, a  good rule of thumb is that for every major ailment you had along the  road to degeneration a true healing crisis can last for one to five  days, with a common average of three days.

If, for example, you reach the point in your reversal process where  you’re beginning to experience symptoms of bronchitis, you may have the  same sensations, feelings, mental state, emotions, catarrhal discharge  that you once experienced when you actually had bronchitis. This may go  on for one to five days as the body quickly and thoroughly rids itself  of every trace of bronchitis and the drugs once used to suppress it.

After the healing crisis is finished it’s a good bet your body is  done with whatever residue of bronchitis there may have been in your  system. Your body may do this with every major ailment it comes across  on the reversal path to recovery.

I personally experienced multiple healing crises related to a number  of childhood and early adult ailments the first time I went through  Doctor Jensen’s elimination diet and colon tissue cleansing program back  in 1984. I have not had a reoccurrence of ANY of those disorders since  successfully passing through each associated Healing Crisis.

Relief from Pain and Discomfort During a Healing Crisis

Depending on the severity of the affliction, patients with advanced  cases of Arthritis and other forms of Rheumatism may experience short  lived but rather acute pains in joints and soft tissue while going  through a Healing Crisis. Although I don’t recommend any drugs or other  symptomatically targeted remedial measures I do have a few suggestions  that have been quite helpful.

Most of the aches and pains the average Arthritic patient will feel  during a Healing Crisis is the result of toxic, acidic waste material  and inorganic substances being lifted out of joints and soft tissue and  being put back into the blood and lymph streams for removal.

Many patients are satisfied with our recommended Hydrotherapy  treatments, Shiatsu, Swedish Massage or Healing Touch to relieve pain  during a Healing Crisis. However, the best way we’ve found to counteract  much of the pain associated with a Healing Crisis is to serve such  patients a broth high in potassium which can help alkalinize the  patient’s system.

The broth we prepare for patients is made from the jackets of 5  organically grown white russet potatoes and two ripe stalks of celery.  Barbara cuts up the celery and the potato peelings and throws them in a  pot with one quart of distilled water. Next she brings it to a boil,  covers the pot and simmers on low heat for 20 minutes. Then Barbara  allows the preparation to sit for a few minutes - with the lid on the  pot. After which Barbara strains the broth and serves it to the patient.

If taken two or three times daily during a difficult Healing Crisis  it works quite well in alleviating many of the sporadic aches and pains  of a Healing Crisis.

I have another useful suggestion along these lines. If you don’t have  access to raw russet potatoes, soak two tablespoons of raw, uncooked  oats in a pint of distilled water and let it stand in your refrigerator  overnight. In the morning remove the mixture from your refrigerator. Let  it stand until it attains room temperature. Then strain and drink the  water.

This raw oat water will have a good amount of potassium and other  beneficial biochemical elements that can help relieve the pain and  discomfort of a Healing Crisis.

Although there are many advertised topical applications available to  somewhat reduce soft tissue and joint-related arthritic pains, these  remedies will invariably only address the symptoms of the disease  without correcting the cause of your discomfort. I prefer to let Nature  orchestrate any pain relief measures naturally and within the confines  of our recommended Nature Cure program.

Respect the Healing Crisis and It Will Respect You

Frankly, it’s not advisable for someone with Rheumatoid or  Osteoarthritis to purposely induce a Healing Crisis without the  supervision of a trained, knowledgeable health care practitioner or a  biological treatment center’s guidance. A Healing Crisis should not be  provoked unless you are under the care or guidance of a person or  organization experienced with patient care and management during and  after such an intense event.

The only other prerequisite to justify self-inducement of a Healing  Crisis is if the person has successfully undergone this intense event  previously.

The entire disease reversal process - culminating in one or more  Healing Crisis events - should never be taken lightly. The revisitation  of acute pain, anguish, emotional and mental irregularities and other -  often peculiar - psychological and physiological disturbances can wreak  havoc with someone unschooled about such matters.

Perhaps the best way to sum up the difference between a Disease Crisis and a Healing Crisis is as follows:

• During a Disease Crisis the body usually has great difficulty  expelling toxic waste. The accumulation of this morbid matter throughout  the body leads from acute to subacute tissue inflammation. If the  condition is left unchecked the subacute symptoms can deteriorate to  chronic or degenerative disease. • During the disease reversal process, resulting in a Healing Crisis,  the body experiences many of the same symptoms present during a Disease  Crisis. The two exceptions are that the symptoms generally last no  longer than a few days and all of the body’s channels of waste  elimination work very hard to expel toxic waste - particularly fecal  matter, urine and catarrh.

When the Healing Crisis has run its course whatever unpleasant  physiological, emotional and mental symptoms you may have experienced  during that event will probably not come back to trouble you again  during your life if you learn to care for your body properly.

The Healing Crisis is Nature’s way of cleaning house. She does it  thoroughly and certainly better than any Doctor, drug or medical center  could ever do.

Healing Crises are manageable and should always be much preferred to a  continuation of the lifestyle that supports a painful and unpleasant  degenerative disease state such as Arthritis.

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