Rinderpest, swine flu, bat virus, monkey pox, harelip, goose liver…. oops, something else is meant by that…. (Even though I personally think it’s sick). But this is about something else: I have a hunch that this growing flood of animal diseases actually has a certain animal origin.
Euphemism for a sick mind
In German, we have the beautiful saying “to have a bird (in your head)” – meaning: you are insane. This saying goes back to an ancient superstition that mental illnesses occur because of birds nesting in the head. Perhaps it was also a paraphrase of demons occupying a human mind. Unfortunately, the knowledge of this and how to deal with it has been lost in our culture. The English equivalent might be “to have too many bats in the belfry”.
In any case, this expression denotes an intelligence of doubtful quality or possibly a mental illness. And in view of our ill handling of our health, one can unfortunately only agree with this. It is felt that too many heads in our society are currently heavily populated by large to very large birds. Unfortunately, since we are talking about metaphorical poultry, the physical size of the head is not a limitation.
Nevertheless, I would like to apologize to birds for their metaphorical misuse. And in general, to all animals for their unfortunate participation in our current madness! That’s why I decided to illustrate this article with animal pictures. I also want to acknowledge their superior approach to illness. They are actually much smarter than we are! Right now anyway.
We are much sicker than all the animals put together
We strain the animal kingdom with our disease names, yet no species has as many diseases as we do:
A quick search revealed: there are now thousands, if not tens of thousands, of human diseases. (Haven’t found a clearly reputable source) and there are more every year. It seems that humanity is getting sicker and sicker. And this is certainly not only related to the fact that it is also getting older.
By comparison, there are 205 animal diseases listed on the World Animal Health Organization site…For ALL animal species! And without a doubt, the sickest animals are those that interact with humans. Pets even pick up diseases and symptoms from their beloved owners. Veterinarians are all too familiar with this phenomenon. In that case, you can hardly help the animal until their owner is willing to do something for their own health.
Multiple imbalances make us sick
We suffer from internal and external imbalances: in many countries, the poor population suffers from famine, while the rich population suffers from obesity. And malnourished are all: the quality of food in an average 
supermarket does not cover by far the need for vitamins and minerals that we actually have. Too much stress, too little exercise, and not enough restful sleep, plus an overabundance of addictive substances from drugs to sweets and caffeine to computer games, social media and streaming services.
And sickest of all, we have allowed an entire industry to profit from our lack of health. The sicker we are, the better off the pharmaceutical industry and its profiteers are.
Many constantly fear for their health
But the main problem is not the diseases – but the hysterical fear of many to fall ill. The possibility of being able to research diseases on the Internet does not make this any better. There are an astonishing number of people who fear pneumonia for a mild cough, influenza for a cold, a mild swelling due to a small bruise or a mosquito bite that doesn’t heal fast enough for a tumor, etc. Sometimes I think we should include hypochondria among 
the Olympic disciplines….
At the same time, very few diseases are life-threatening or really fatal. Behind it is, according to my observation, a whole bundle of fears. Of loss of control, of being dependent on others, of not being able to continue one’s own life in the usual way – and even of being punished by God… Surprisingly many people develop feelings of guilt when they are ill. Because they think they have done something “wrong”, otherwise they would not be ill and are ashamed to have to burden others with their suffering.
An illness is not a punishment, but a wake-up call!
The worst thing that can happen is that you have to massively change your way of life due to a severe illness. 
But that doesn’t necessarily mean limiting your quality of life. I know some people who have told me that their cancer or a serious accident was, in retrospect, the best thing that ever happened to them. That’s because it showed them what was really important to them in life, and that experiencing quality of life is far more a matter of the mind, than the body!
Basically, what we call the opposite of healthy is always an expression of an organism that is out of balance. Then we can look for what the organism needs to get back into balance.
Illness as messenger
And contrary to many previous approaches, we are neither a machine, a bio-robot or exclusively a kind of walking ecosystem. We directly affect our bodily functions with our psyche and our mind. Incessantly, whether we are aware of it or not.
This means that it is always and fundamentally a worthwhile approach which physical dysfunction was preceded by a mental-emotional imbalance. Every organ, every symptom speaks its own language. Smart people have even decoded them by now. One can look up in books by Louise Hay or Jacques Martel what may be the root of the current complaints. Then you can trace within yourself where one gave priority to negative thoughts over good ones…which then resulted in this self-attack.
Illness as a catalyst for growth
Those of us who still belong to the generation when we endured the so-called “childhood illnesses” know that 
we usually made a physical and psychological growth spurt during them. Pants were subsequently too short, shoes too small and a little more maturity had replaced childishness. I also remember when I was a kid in the 70’s, children were purposefully put together to infect each other. So that they could all go through this helpful process of strengthening their individual immune systems at the same time if possible. I remember when I had mumps, I was allowed to eat ice cream with a young friend with only one spoon….
The psycho-energetic effect of our recent fashion flu
I too was sick with Corona some time ago and found it an enriching experience. For two weeks I was incredibly tired, had tremendous aching limbs, mood swings, very vivid dreams, short concentration spans, and a great need to just be left alone. I had no fever, no loss of taste or smell, and little appetite. When the primary 
symptoms subsided, I still noticed some exhaustion for about 1-2 weeks. It took time for me to regain the fitness level I was used to. But after I regained it, I noticed that I felt fitter and clearer than before the illness.
It was as if I had detoxed mightily both physically and psychologically (I even had dreams involving my early childhood). I have clearly felt like a “cleaned up and updated” version of myself since then. And many others who also had Covid and with whom I spoke about it share this assessment with me.
Illness as an exit option
Some people choose an illness to end their current incarnation. This is because when the body is no longer fit for life, it is usually abandoned by the soul. Mostly this is an unconscious choice and certainly there are some who would fiercely deny this. But metaphysical research and the results of regression therapists have shown: our soul usually knows exactly and why we fall ill. And sometimes an illness, or a long-term 
disability is part of our soul’s plan. Including the exit from this life. This is planned and willed on an unconscious level. Even if we deny this with our everyday consciousness.
And at this point it is important to emphasize again that death is not the opposite of life, but of birth – it is at the other end. Subtle life is eternal, even though the material aspect is always decaying and reassembling. Seen in this way, we all consist of particles of living beings that have gone before us.
An illness offers manifold possibilities of soul experience
As much as we celebrate earthly life, from a subtle point of view it is perceived as very limited and limiting. Even more so when some souls decide to incarnate already with an illness.
Further research by regression therapists has shown that most human souls are very reluctant to give birth. 
Birth is usually an enormously challenging process physically and psychologically for all involved. We also all know photos of newborns and infants who, even if the “body dent” through the birth canal has corrected itself, make anything but a delightful impression that they are now standing completely helpless at the beginning of their earthly life.
Opposed to this is the dying process: only a minority dies in agony. The vast majority of people die more or less quietly and peacefully, and death is perceived as something very joyful and liberating. And we all know that beatific smile on the face of abandoned bodies.
Our relationship to death makes us sick
In all of this, our relationship to death and dying also plays a major role. We have a mortal fear of death, of dying. There are psychological theories that assume that this fear is our greatest primal human fear. It underlies all our other fears. That’s why we always have the feeling of not having enough time, not being fit enough, not being good enough, not being successful enough…. Because the fact is: with the day of our birth, we are moving 
towards death and are feeling the sand from the hour glass of our life running down inexorably.
But what if we were to view this as a kind of final exam that initiates us into higher levels of being? Then we can enjoy a current lifetime of all the challenges and adversities! Then the sand that accumulates below is the treasure of our enriched wisdom?
Life is eternal and illness is only a temporary condition
We would also have to finally deeply understand that death is only the end of our body, our current identity and personality. And that our soul, even our unique soul signature, our “cosmic character” and what we have individually accessed spiritually, always remains with us – is eternal. And with some soul maturity one can 
communicate with other beings from every “aggregate state”. If we become aware of this, surely the attainment of maximum soul maturity is highly desirable?
And our earthly life and human cooperation is a splendid school for it – which we have chosen exactly for this reason. The more courageously we enter it, the more fulfilling and richer will be our life experiences!
Lust for life is healthier than fear of death
Then it would also be much more fun to work for our own health! Because our body and our healthy mind are the instrument with which we can gain all these experiences. And if this instrument is well cared for and “tuned” – then it also masters challenging life compositions.
But we have had so many contrary bugs (more animals!) put in our ears that we often feel too weak for life. Diseases seem overpowering, uncontrollable and the scourge of humanity. As long as we see them as an enemy that we have to fight, and as long as armies of “warlords” in white coats with syringes and prescription pads seem to “support us in the fight”, we will never come to peace, even on the front lines. This permanent conflict is permanent stress – and maintains the disease-causing dysbalance.
May our mind become healthy and free from all miss programming
And finally, the most powerful instrument we have is our human mind. Wherever it directs its attention under the influence of the forces from our subconscious – that will manifest. Individually and collectively.
It is now scientifically proven that a diagnosis alone can trigger the disease in a person – even though he did not have it at all. Whereas someone who did not know about his illness may have lived better than if he had known “in time” and had burdened his life with “life-prolonging measures”.
Life is no picnic
After all, it’s not just about living as long as possible – but, from my point of view, about living as good a life as possible, a life worth living. And certain risks are part of that. (Incidentally, the American cultural philosopher Charles Eisenstein wrote a wonderful essay on the subject in 2020). As the German poet Erich Kästner already said in a New Year’s Eve poem:
“Will it get better? Will it get worse?
One asks every year.
Let’s be honest:
Life is always lifethreatening!”
And to want to avoid all dangers results from my view in an “unlivability”. A bit like a car that you leave in the 
garage for a long time so that it doesn’t get scratched. I’d rather experience some flat tires, a dented fender, scratches – whatever, but have travelled and seen the world!
And besides, we need “crises, diseases and catastrophes” for our growth of consciousness until we learn just as much through “peace, joy and freedom”!
We have the power over our health
People have already cured themselves from terminal cancer or died from a cold! Who goes which way is a highly personal matter. We are much more powerful than any microbes! It is time that we accept this power again courageously, live and enjoy it! If we take the responsibility for our own health again, we must not make ourselves no more the victim of our fears or be made them. 
Because that´s what makes us ill in reality more than anything else!
I also wish us all good health and compassion, respect and humility for those who choose the path of illness – for whatever reason. After all, everything is about our growth in consciousness and that extends far beyond our current lives. Therein lies the real task for each of us and as a community. Only this leads us in the long run to the longed for peace, joy and health in every respect!
