When I first attended a lecture given by Serge Benhayon in London 7 years ago, I sat there as a University educated, self-confessed logical thinker, sensibly questioning and intelligent person, who had been pursuing a lifelong interest in the improvement of people’s well-being through education, employment opportunities, along with emotional and physical healing practices. I had worked for public and private enterprise, for government, companies and for myself. I subsequently reacted to the limitations in conventional medicine by establishing a 13 year career in Shiatsu and healing practices steeped in Asian philosophy, Buddhism, Yoga and meditation, that encompassed training and practice in Australia, Japan and finally the UK.
Along the way I used my considerable drive and willpower on my body to explore a large number of the ‘alternative’ health practices on offer, so that by the time I sat at this lecture, I sat proudly with my toned personal trainer type body, fresh off my bicycle, feeling somewhat ‘holier than thou’ on my raw food diet and alienated stance against conventional medical practices and pharmaceuticals. I also sat there with more than a healthy scepticism, as I was acutely cautious of anyone masquerading as a teacher but who was in truth a hidden guru, for I had sat at the foot of such a one for 5 years in Japan and was not about to be fooled again.
So why was I interested in this lecture, given I clearly had a certain arrogance about what I thought I knew to be true? Well, there were still too many unexplained conditions in clients I treated and limitations in the healing modalities I practiced. I had reached a state of physical health and fitness that many admired but never satiated the need for betterment, in fact its pursuit seemed to feed it. But most of all, of all the presenters, teachers and false gurus I had listened to, followed, sat with and even taught under, I had yet to meet one that walked their talk; not one who truly lived ‘consistently’ what they presented and this eventually exposed the holes in their presentations and the limitations in their ‘teachings’.
It was not human perfection I was looking for but the integrity of truth in living. And for the next 7 years, as I diligently observed for my own peace of mind, this is all I ever witnessed in Serge Benhayon: an unwavering commitment to truth both in public and private life, in the clinic room and with his family, he lives the truth of what he presents, nothing more and nothing less. An area of Universal Medicine that bears the representation of this so masterfully is the Esoteric Practitioners Association’s (EPA)* Code of Ethics for all Universal Medicine accredited practitioners, a document that reflects the living integrity of its practitioners to a level of integrity none of my previous educational institutions, both conventional and alternative have ever come close to in their written codes, let alone their living commitment to uphold. It is testament to the integrity of Serge and Universal Medicine that such a code is not something enforced upon the general student body, it is something chosen by the few who choose to practice esoteric healing as a vocation and as a voluntary support guide for those in whom it inspires a call to take more responsibility for their actions in life generally.
It was only after attending Serge’s presentations that I for the first time began to even consider that the rare recreational drugs I took when nightclubbing, the occasional alcohol, or emotional disagreement with my partner may have an impact on my clinical work and beyond. That an unresolved issue that I carried the thoughts of outside the clinic room door, did not disappear once I entered the clinic room and closed the door behind me, no matter how white and neatly pressed my uniform was, nor how professional the setting and congenial my smile.
I have some understanding for those that react and sometimes bolt and lash back at Serge or Universal Medicine, because it can be hard to face the realisations that some of the things we do that we believe are harmless or even socially encouraged as good for us, may in fact be hurting us. I struggled too, I kicked backed too and I bolted too. But I returned, of my own volition, not to ‘join’ a club, a clique, a cult, but to face the truth and deal with that which I had buried, that which I could feel stood in the way of me living something that felt extra-ordinary when compared to what was on offer around me. It is a life of love and joy that arises from the commitment to living in truth, that I have now come to make my ‘normal’.
It is ironic, given the unsubstantiated accusations towards Serge Benhayon and the certified practitioners of Universal Medicine as being anti-conventional medicine, that I stand as a practitioner of Esoteric Healing modalities today, after 7 years of association with Universal Medicine, with a deeper appreciation of what conventional medicine today can offer. Today, numerous clients arrive at the clinic disillusioned, scared and reacting at times to the disease arising in their body and I encourage them to overcome their often vehement rejection of medical care and see it as a necessary part of their healing, an important step in their taking responsibility for their healing choices, given the stage of the condition.
We now have a medicine that extends a person’s responsibility beyond just taking medicine, beyond what food we eat and fluid we drink, to now consider the consequences of every choice we make and how this affects not just our mood, our physical health, or even our motivation for living, but that of everyone around us. For a society that is only just accepting as normal the legislation on non-smoking in public places, it is not surprising there is a backlash against taking responsibility for many more of our tangible and not so tangible choices in support of an honouring of ourselves and our fellow human race. Whether humanity as a whole is ready for this is not the point, some are and Universal Medicine represents the heeding of support for the call from those that are and never imposes on those that call not.
by Sara Williams, UK
* The EPA (Esoteric Practitioners Association) is the internal accreditation arm of Universal Medicine. It was instigated by Universal Medicine to monitor and accredit the modalities that were founded by Universal Medicine.