It's not about curing the disease, but healing the life; then the physical benefits come.
Bernie SiegelRead
Some spiritual traditions view the moment of birth as a passage from a state of wholeness and knowledge to a state of forgetting. In this view of the world, we spend the rest of our lives searching for wholeness and knowledge, wellness and health-the balance and harmony we lost when we were born. If our wholeness is interrupted, then our health suffers, and we need to find a way to restore our sense of meaning. When we move in the direction of that meaning, we're healing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that birth separates us from a sense of wholeness and knowledge, leading us on a lifelong quest to regain that state through healing and finding meaning.
In the perspective shared by Siegel, the experience of birth is seen not just as a physical event but as a profound transition where we lose an innate state of completeness and understanding. This initiates a lifelong pursuit for individuals as they strive to reclaim the harmony and wellness that were present before birth. The emphasis is on the idea that when we reconnect with this sense of meaning in our lives, we foster healing—both for our body and spirit—underscoring the importance of nurturing our inner wholeness and knowledge.
Themes
BirthWholenessKnowledgeHealingMeaningWellness
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop on personal growth, this quote can illustrate the journey individuals take toward self-discovery.
More from Bernie Siegel
All quotes →Diseases can be our spiritual flat tires - disruptions in our lives that seem to be disasters at the time but end by redirecting our lives in a meaningful way.
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It is astounding how much the immune system is strengthened by reducing daily mental stress levels with either visualization or meditation. The other great tonic for the immune system is love—loving ourselves as well as others.
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I truly feel the best doctors are ones who are criticized by nurses, patients and family. They do not make excuses and learn from their mistakes.
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Part of my evolution has been to learn how painful most people's childhoods are. They grow up not liking themselves, not loving themselves. Ask people if they were lovable the minute they were born, and watch them sit back and have to think about it. One lady said, 'I suppose so.' That's painful.
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Being a survivor doesn't mean being strong - it's telling people when you need a meal or a ride, company, whatever. It's paying attention to heart wisdom, feelings, not living a role, but having a unique, authentic life, having something to contribute, finding time to love and laugh. All these things are qualities of survivors.
Bernie SiegelRead
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