From Leaf to Life

Introduction 

There is no true healing unless there is a change in outlook, peace of mind and an inner balance. 

Dr Edward Bach, The Essential Writings of Dr Edward Bach 


I once had a patient who saw me for depression and peri-menopausal symptoms. During the consultation, she repeatedly said how she hoped she could get better soon, as the “darkness of her soul” was jeopardising her whole life. She was also planning to see a “healer” for psychological treatment. Besides, giving her herbs for menopausal symptoms, I taught her a simple “‘mantra” to be repeated throughout the day: 

I can be healed. 

Two days later, she discovered that all her symptoms had eased and she felt much happier and “lighter”. Now, was the progress she had made a result of the herbs, or the “mantra”? I believe the answer was both. 

The mantra became her principal belief: internalising this mantra may have “diluted” her negative thoughts about her hopeless condition that is very likely to have caused the “darkness of her soul” in the first place. 

Since my teenage years (back in the 1970s), I have sought to find solutions to my life’s problems. During those early years, I started to read and learn about Philosophy, Psychology, and Religion such as Buddhism and Confucianism. I also tried tools such as Mind Control, Positive Thinking, Yoga, and Meditation long before the New Age movement. Some of the tools were helpful at least in releasing my emotional blockages and stress. However, my life did not get better until I changed my thoughts about myself and others. Later on, through my dealings with patients who were seeking to heal themselves, I would have an even keener appreciation of the importance of the role of one’s thoughts and beliefs on one’s overall well-being. I have found out that those who benefit from naturopathy or natural medicine tend to abide by a set of health-enhancing beliefs, or at least they strive to do so. 

As stated in the Tao Te Ching, “The inner is the foundation of the outer.” Our cumulative thoughts and feelings form our belief system. Our belief system determines the quality of our life. The Jesuit psychologist Anthony de mello wrote: “ There is only one cause of unhappiness: The false beliefs you have in your head, beliefs so widespread, so commonly held that it never occurs to you to question them. Because of these false beliefs, you see the world and yourself in a distorted way.” (De mello, 1991, p.4). 


In this book, I will first propose a set of belief patterns called the 9 Credos of Wellness™ that would lead one to wellness in body, mind, and soul. Before we can truly benefit from any therapies or medicine, we need to first internalise these principles. In other words, our internal dialogues and beliefs about ourselves, others, and nature must be health-enhancing and empowering before we can manifest wellness in all levels of our being – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. As Murphy (1997) put it, “The law of life is the law of belief.” (p.5). 

In the second part of this book, I will introduce you to the 7 Sacred Letters of Wellness™ a set of interior and exterior therapies that are essential for your body to heal itself on a daily basis. They enable you to cultivate the conditions for your body, mind, and soul to heal whether you are using conventional, or complementary, medicine at the moment.