Energy healing and alternative medicine have their beginnings dated back to around 3000-3300 BC. Below is a brief historical overview of the beginnings of human healing. People, limited by their knowledge, placed more faith in themselves. Placebo has scientifically proven effectiveness at around 80%. If we believe in something, the method is irrelevant, the body itself produces the necessary enzymes, which is why it is so important to take care of the proper functioning of the psyche, living in harmony with nature, and keeping our thoughts pure, as thoughts create reality.
China
Chinese medical knowledge dates back over five thousand years. The first written record that contains knowledge about diseases and methods of their treatment is the “Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon” (3rd century BC). It remains the basis for diagnosis in Chinese medicine to this day. In 2698 BC, the legendary emperor Shen Nung listed 365 plants in the “Classic of Herbal Medicine,” providing information on their storage and use. Information about the import of herbs from China to Babylon dates back 3000 BC from clay tablets. The Chinese see a deep connection between humans and nature. They believe that humans are a part of the universe and live in rhythm with its vibrations, sounds, and colors. Therefore, they are subject to the same laws and forces that govern nature.
Egypt
In ancient Egypt, spiritual ailments such as epilepsy, hysteria, or nervous disorders, which were believed to be a punishment for sins or the malevolence of the gods, were treated with the so-called sacred sleep. This was not an ordinary sleep, but a somnambulistic (lunatic) state so deep that the person had not only chaotic visions but real visions, often related to recovery. It was simply hypnosis and helpful suggestion. Another mystery of Egyptian sacred medicine was the phenomenon called magnetism. Magnetism involved light touching, hand laying, rotational movements, and blowing (breath of life) to induce sweating, cure infectious fevers, etc.
Source: Krzysztof Konat “Medicine in Ancient Egypt”
Sumer
The oldest textbook on healing methods in Sumer comes from the city of Nippur from around 2200 BC. These are clay tablets (currently located at the British Museum in London) written in cuneiform script by a Sumerian doctor – there are about 200 of them. It is the only evidence of advanced knowledge in that field in that era. The references in the text to various activities and processes indirectly indicate that the Sumerians also had a deep knowledge of chemistry.
Before a resident of Sumer used medicines or sought help from a surgeon, they tried to expel the disease, which was considered the work of evil demons, with an appropriate spell in the name of their god. Doctors – at least at a certain point in history – could ignore magic in their medical practice, but this does not mean that their actions were in line with the common belief and practice.
Source: Antoni Mierzejewski “Secrets of Clay Tablets”
India
Ajurweda is a concept of life developed by sages, yogis, and philosophers in India. The first known Ayurvedic physicians, Charaka and the father of surgery, Sushruta, were also sages in both the philosophical and spiritual sense. They were practitioners and researchers who could empirically prove the validity of theories and improve practice. They possessed exceptional knowledge of the human body, having devoted their entire lives to exploring the mysteries of diseases and how the human body functions in the physical, mental, and spiritual spheres. Their legacy was recorded in books and is still used by medical students in India. Indian knowledge of life is based on the belief that living beings coexist with all animated and inanimate nature, with the entirety of existence and the universe. A human being is “composed” of the body, or physical organism, psyche, and spirit.
Greece / Rome
Doctors gathered around temples, called Asklepiads – sons of Asclepius. Temples of Asclepius – Asclepieions, were places where the sick came. After offering a sacrifice, they washed their body and entrusted themselves to the care of the priests. They were treated with sleep, herbs, and simple surgeries. The services of the priests were free, but every healed person donated a votive tablet to the temple. Hippocrates was a student of Democritus. Democritus performed the first surgeries on animals, which Hippocrates developed further. Hippocrates believed that when a disease manifests itself, the natural power of the body is able to heal it. Health is a state of internal balance. Hippocrates used compresses, bandages, water and mud baths, sunbathing, and massages. The main healing force is nature itself, and the doctor is only there to assist it. He created the first descriptions of cold, solar heat, light, and physical exercises as therapeutic treatments.
