Dr Sir John Whitman Ray Anniversary Message
2005
Hello everyone.
Each year I have sent an email to reflect on the passing of Dr Sir John Whitman Ray, founder of Body Electronics, on April 21, 2001.
This year, having achieved a major milestone in my own life in completing my Naturopathic Diploma, which I started in 2000, my reflections are on John's often quoted biblical statement, "Forever learning but never coming to a knowledge of the truth."
On one hand John had been quite approving (I might even say delighted) by my decision to embark on this journey, yet at the same time frequently voicing the above caution. Here are the issues of "becoming" instead of "being", seeking truth from man instead of from God, assuming knowledge or truth to be the be all and end all, and resistance patterns such as "I'm not ready."
Embarking earnestly on any course of study is often a humbling experience as you discover how little you know and how wrong you have sometimes been. Sometimes it is a timely reminder of how glad you are to know that you already know the truth as it helps you see through the shallow representation of truth or the abject falsehoods being posed to you. Sometimes education becomes an indoctrination and removes you from truth. It is quite clear to me that truth does not come in its fullness from books or teachers.
I believe that John has given us a starting point from which to see through the many counterfeits for truth. There is only one way of seeing the truth and that first requires the ability to be fully present and still in the moment so that one can perceive the reality and illusion simultaneously.
In order to complete the thousands of hours of work to complete my diploma Body Electronics often took a back seat. Part of the reason for doing the diploma was a feeling of not being ready, of "not having enough knowledge" to help people, along with good old intellectual curiosity. I did discover that I had been guilty of all 3 sins of criticism, judgement and condemnation towards various healing modalities that I had written off as "balancing".
Like medical science, modern day naturopathy has become "evidence or research based" and while it is of tremendous value for the majority of people who refuse to be helped in any other way it has forgotten that while darkness may struggle with light, light does not struggle with darkness. There is no battleground of immune forces in the body; germs no more cause disease than ants cause picnics. Chemistry is not the cause of life; life is the cause of chemistry. DNA is not the blueprint of the body for it is itself merely a manifestation of a greater knowledge that chooses to express itself by creating DNA; DNA is thus only an intermediary. The outer cannot affect the inner; the outer can only affect the outer. The inner, when truly activated will overcome absolutely any outer appearance.
No doubt, the vast majority of modalities have no concept of true regeneration since the inner is not part of their consideration and so what else is left to do but balance the outer? But then again, there are also so many people needing help who have no concept of the inner either. Should they be left unaided? Can any of us who feel a bit more "enlightened" afford not to accept responsibility for those who aren't there yet? I have found that being a naturopath allows me to better "be all things to all people", not because naturopathy is so great, but because it gives me the diversity of perspective to be a better Body Electronics practitioner.
What is a Body Electronics practitioner anyway? Is he/she the one who holds points? Do they dole out dietary or lifestyle advice? Do they teach correct principles and let people govern themselves? Do they read eyes? Yes they do all of these things, but they must also go beyond these outer activities and read God's word as it is written in the people who come to them for help. I might say that where before I could only read the open books, the expansion of my vision helps me to also open the closed books.
I now understand that although there may well be "a time and place for all things under the sun," one cannot choose between alternatives on an intellectual ground without understanding the nature and scope of each of those "things". Arriving at this position is a necessary stepping stone, just like grief (the level of intellectualism) is a stepping stone on the way to enthusiasm, where one has the creative capacity to act on their intuitive understanding. (This of course presupposes we have already resisted life to this degree, which I for one will admit to.)
Beyond this "intellectual discernment" (if I can risk this contradiction in terms) is creative discernment wherein intellectual considerations are no longer relevant because one perceives the appropriate course of action on a moment-by-moment basis. This is the Body Electronics practitioner or person John held the vision for us to be.
It is a continual marvel to me how John was able to fiercely be the embodiment of the principles and activity of Body Electronics and yet always see when a different approach, even a very un-BE-like one, would be more appropriate. To me the lesson is that it is not enough to "know" the truth, since one must also "be" the truth in action.
Forever learning and never coming to a knowledge of the truth? Most of us are always looking for that bit more, that extra sign but in reality we already know what to do. More to the point, how (with what attitude) will we do it?
So in all things:
- Are we approaching them from a position of faith where we are seeing the end from the beginning?
- Do we trust that all is Perfect Divine Order, that we can discern and that we can apply the Law of Right Action?
- Are we maintaining a state of receptivity to life's experiences instead of selectively being enthusiastic and loving, while resisting everything else - can we truly receive life?
- Do we have a correct motivation - is it contracted and self-centred or does it accept responsibility for the collective self?
- Are we encompassing the dualities (the contradictions, the real and
the unreal, the cause and the effect, the inner and outer) or are we
only seeing one side (the effect) and judging it to be real in and of
itself? If not, where are we placing our faith?
Thus, the Five Virtues.
I thank you John, once again, for pointing the way.
In Love, Light and Perfection,
"I AM"
Graham Bennett