EGYPTIAN MEDICINE- PART II

BLACKHERBALS.COM
MICROCOSMIC SCIENCE

COSMIC BIOLOGY
THE SCIENCE OF EGYPTIAN MEDICINE -PART II
TARIQ SAWANDI, M.H.

The Eye of Ra:

RECONNECTING WITH THE HEALING WISDOM OF ANCIENT AFRICA
The use of herbs as medicine and as aids to health is an ancient African tradition. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors believed that health was a balance of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual elements. It is only when a system of medicine recognizes all of these levels in the individual can it be regarded as being truly "wholistic". If a healing system treats only the physical while ignoring the other levels, it is not taking into account all aspects of a person nor all the elements involved in maintaining

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true health. Herbal medicine is still the medicine of choice for three quarters of the Earths population. The oldest known use of plants for medicinal purposes was established by an African physician name Imhotep, who lived in 2980 B.C. Imhotep is regarded as the real "Father of Medicine". He served as the Chief Physician to the court of King Zoser during Egypts Third Dynastic Period, where he established himself as a healer and medicine man. He diagnosed and treated more than two hundred diseases. Imhotep knew how to detect diseases by shape, color or position of visual parts of the body. He also practiced surgery and the extraction of medicine from plants. Imhotep also knew of the circulation of the blood four thousand years before it became known in Europe. Presently, 25% of our medicines in the United States are still based on plants. Plants give us such drugs as penicillin and aspirin. A majority of the recent innovations in drug research comes from the study of higher plants. One of the major problems confronting the descendents of Africans today, particularly AfricanAmericans, has been the rise of degenerative and chronic illnesses--the "diseases of Caucasian civilization." Heart attacks, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, hypertension and obesity are diseases connected to European culture, which appeared soon after the modern development of agriculture and the domestication of animals for food production. It has become greatly apparent that the major illnesses suffered by African people today, are promoted by a mismatch between our genetic constitution and a variety of lifestyle factors inherited through American culture. Today, we also know that most herbs have healing powers. African-Americans have moved far away from their African lifestyles of foraging for wild herbs since their captivity from Africa. We can never bridge the gap across four hundred years of enslavement, but we can reintroduce herbs into our daily regime and diet as we once did in Mother Africa. The basic principles of natural healing, herbal healing in particular, is that man is a part of nature and can, if given the right encouragement and support, heal himself. He can do this both emotionally and physically using the principles of right living and the use of mild herbs and raw foods which can be found growing closest to him. Herbs are also used by naturopaths and are be very effective for certain diseases and conditions. However, the herbalist or naturopath must prescribe herbs which complement the constitution of the patient. Herbs can sedate, stimulate, eliminate, support and build. The herbalist must determine which of these basic approaches are valid to use in a given situation. Herbalism involves a study of nature, not only of medicinal plants but also of human nature, so he can assign the right foods and herbs to affect balance and healing. Therefore, it is important when applying herbs as medicines, that the herbalist take into consideration the African constitution, because "one persons medicine may be anothers poison." Imhotep discovered that the more melanin a person has in his make-up, the wider the depth, range,
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intensity, tone and character of vision and hearing. Therefore, every culture is balanced differently based upon their philosophy and nutritional systems. Because of their melanized constitution, African people are able to absorb more stimuli and utilize nutrients better, which brings Africans closer in harmony with nature. In our attempt to balance ourselves with nature through herbs, we also need to balance ourselves through diet, exercise, mental and emotional attitudes and experiences, which is called "freedom of the spirit." We need to balance health first through proper nutrition with the help of herbs serving as special foods for both body and mind. There can be no true healing with herbs if the diet remains the contributing cause in sustaining the disease. The point is to find the most suitable place to begin so we can get a grasp of the whole body, mind and spirit. When each of us tunes into our inner self, we naturally make the correct decisions for ourselves. Our innate divine sensibilities (Ra) are cleared and restored to the "natural" state of Ra. In the ancient system of Egyptian Freemasonry, this concept was clearly understood. It was taught that the divine Ra-consciousness, or spirit has a major objective to expand. If mans ego misuses the physical elements to prevent the Ra-consciousness from its continuous expansion, the Ra-consciousness will subtly take hold of the situation by creating havoc and "dis-ease" in the body, mind, and emotions with the intention of ultimately coercing those physical elements into submission. So, Ra, the all-seeing eye of Horus which is located in the pineal gland of the brain, can only be allowed to expand by removing the egotistical, physical, mental and emotional blocks which the individual has, for any number of reasons, created. This gland produces the melatonin which strengthens our body functions and also produces an organizing hormone. The 33 degrees of knowledge in Freemasonry alludes to the 33 columns in the spinal cord. Each cord in the spine represents a point of elevation of Ra. With proper nutrition to the body, the glands and hormones are allowed to clean up the spine, to raise up Ra-consciousness which opens the eye of Horus (refer to Figure A). Figure A

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How do we follow this ancient wisdom in our daily lives? We must introduce high quality foods in place of a lower quality diet in our bodies. For example, in terms of protein, replacing pork with beef is superior because beef is easier to digest and has less saturated fat. Chicken is superior to beef and fish is superior to chicken. Lima beans, lentils and chick peas are superior to meats, and grains are superior to all. The principle applies to all our major food groups. As we go higher on the scale of quality, the closer our food comes in the natural state in which it occurs; whole, raw and unrefined. In this condition, all enzymes are found intact. Amino acids are in their finest form. The minerals, proteins, hormones, vitamins, trace elements and carbohydrates capable of reproducing healthy tissue are present. The higher the quality of the foods we eat, the quicker we will recover from disease, provided we are able to digest and assimilate properly and have omitted toxic substances such as coffee, tea, chocolate and tobacco. "Whole grains are the most valuable foods because they contain, in concentrated form, the complete life cycle of a plant. Normally, when we eat plant or animal food, we eat only a part of the whole and thus are denied the benefits of complete nourishment of our whole selves. This is not true of whole grains which are made up of three essential parts: the germ, which will sprout and grow; the endosperm or starch as bulk, which nourishes the growth of the germ; and the outer covering or bran which protects the grain. If the grain or seed remains in a whole constitution, it will live for a long period time. Certain grain seeds found in ancient tombs of Egypt were found to be capable of sprouting and growing thousands of years later".1 Presently however, African people do not function from this clear wisdom from within the self. The influences of European culture and technology, associated with Western civilization, has caused us to fall away from our natural, centered, in-tune African state of being. We are no longer guided by the cultural

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traditions that once guided us through our everyday choices of behavior and diet. The African-American has become denatured by synthetics and fast food and our traditional African mind exploited by slick and misleading advertising. When an individual makes a conscious choice to use natural herbs and foods to heal themselves, it encourages a respect for harmonizing ones self with nature and the universal forces. This is the plan of nature.
1. The

Way of Herbs by Michael Tierra. Copyright by Tariq Sawandi, M.H. June 2001. All rights reserved.

Tariq Sawandi is a Master herbalist, nutritionist, and consultant on holistic health. Dr. Sawandi is renown for his in-depth knowledge of African holistic medicine, including Chinese and Japanese medicine, Ayurveda, Naturopathy, and North American Indian herbology. He is also the pioneer of a new holistic health treatment called, "Herbal-neuro- immunology" which is used to treat infectious diseases such as the AIDS. He has written for the "Black Healer" newsletter and is the author a of new book titled, "African Medicine: A Guide to Yoruba Divination and Herbal Medicine." Dr. Sawandi welcomes your questions. He can be reached at P.O. Box 3466, Bldg. 3B04-210, #D47495, Corcoran, CA 93212-3466. This is the second part of a three-part series on Ancient Egyptian Medical Science by Tariq Sawandi, M.H. Part I. Cosmic Biology: The Science of Egyptian Medicine. Part III. Photo-Biogenics: The Ancient Egyptian Science of Healing with Radiant Foods.

Available Now Exclusively at Blackherbals.com

AFRICAN MEDICINE A Guide to Yoruba Divination and Herbal Medicine The E-Book by Tariq Sawandi, M.H.

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EGYPTIAN MEDICINE- PART II

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