The pandemic sounded a bell for humanity. It divided our lives and changed them forever. But it was also a period of awakening and great learning – both from a personal perspective and for us as a species.
Before the pandemic, our fast-paced lives, the rapid growth of technology, social media, and the demands of our ambition drove
us to the periphery of our existence. When the pandemic came, the gears of the machine halted. Humanity froze and we were left alone with ourselves. We opened our souls’ Pandora’s box, and the things we had been running away from suddenly resurfaced. Yet over that period we were also given the time to wake up, take charge of our own existence and expand our consciousness. I myself have experienced a personal awakening.
In the 13th century, the philosopher and mystic Sufi poet Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī wrote: “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today, I am wise, so I am changing myself.” In more recent years, the author and spiritual leader Eckhart Tolle observed: “The pollution of the planet is only an outward reflection of an inner psychic pollution: millions of unconscious individuals not taking responsibility for their inner peace.” When we read these quotes we notice that – as humanity – we have not made much progress in taking care of our inner peace.
To me, the pandemic signalled a wake-up call and – driven by
a unique blend of holistic therapies and arts – I had the chance to dive into my subconscious while also returning to my family tree
and ancestors.
Epigenetics informs us today that we carry the DNA material of up to seven generations. Hippocrates (460-377 BC), the father of modern medicine, was the first to say that “all body diseases stem from soul diseases”. Anything that is not faced as a disease of the soul during one’s lifetime becomes a disease of the body and is passed on from generation to generation. When you heal yourself, you also heal your family line and prevent passing on the pattern to future generations.
In fact, ancient Greece provides many answers to questions about wellbeing and resilience. The word ‘wellbeing’ is derived from the ancient Greek terms EU zên and eudaimonia. In the The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle conceived ‘eudaimonia’ as the highest virtue that humans could attain. He defined it further as the activity of the soul’s rational part, or the capacity to guide ourselves by using reason and in accordance with virtue.
So how can we achieve that today? What would happen if the arts met holistic therapies and proper nutrition and physical exercise to achieve a good physical state? The answer is possibly hidden in the Peloponnese region of Greece, an area with a mild climate and abundant spring waters.
In the small polis of Epidaurus stood the healing temple Asclepieion. In Greek mythology, Asclepius is the god of medicine and today is regarded as the godfather of so-called holistic therapies. Built in the early 4th century, the Sanctuary of Asclepius was located behind Epidaurus’s ancient theatre, and Greeks considered it the birthplace of medicine.
Today, the Sanctuary of Asclepius’s ruins are not only famous masterpieces of Greek art but are also a testimony of medical practise in antiquity. They reflect medicine’s evolution from a phase where healing depended on the gods to its transformation into a science, with the systematic recording of cases and the gradual accumulation of knowledge and experience. Its fame and recognition quickly expanded beyond the Argolid Peninsula, and more than 200 healing centres were built throughout the eastern Mediterranean.
People would visit these places to cure the soul, mind and bodily diseases and stay in the area for several days. The treatment they received included cleansing with special spring water (something like today’s thermal springs) and the incubator (enkoimesis) where the patient would be induced to sleep and the god Asclepius would visit their dreams to inform them about the treatment needed to be cured – rather like today’s hypnosis.
Then there was the avaton (a place with a mystical healing process); the gymnasium, where special physical exercise was introduced; the restaurant, where a special diet of mainly herbs was prescribed; and the ancient theatre of Epidaurus itself, where tragedies and comedies were displayed and people could experience catharsis and cure depression. Finally, guitarists and harpists would play specific tones and harmonies to tune patients from low frequencies to higher ones.
What would happen if we could reproduce this ancient healing process today–incorporating the mind, body and spirit – to achieve a holistic approach to resilience? We have all experienced the transformative power of art. Advances in technology allow us to study human physiology like never before, and a growing community of researchers is studying how art and aesthetics affect us. We now have scientific proof that the arts are essential to survival. We know that art, in its countless forms, heals our bodies and minds. This is giving rise to a field that is changing how we understand the power of the arts, named ‘neuroaesthetics’ or ‘neuroarts.’
In short, the arts and aesthetics change us and can transform our lives. Many people tend to think of art as either entertainment or an escape–a luxury of some kind. But the arts are so much more than that. They can be used to change our day-to-day lives and help address serious physical and mental health issues with remarkable results.
This way of looking at the arts links to Aristotle’s concept of eudaimonia and how a person could achieve Virtue and Theosis (deification), which are also associated with inner peace and resilience. The transformative power of the arts can possibly cleanse our soul channel and dive into the subconscious mind, where we will meet our demons, traumas and negative emotions carried from generation to generation.
As soon as we deal with all of these bravely and let them go, we are no longer defined by our past. In other words, to heal means to bridge our subconscious with our conscious mind. When you heal trauma, you heal the nervous system. When you heal the nervous system, you heal the emotional body. When you heal the emotional body, you heal the psychic (empathic) body. When you heal the psychic body, you heal vibration. Once the vibration is healed, realities change.
Let’s respond to the call the pandemic offered us: a chance for awakening and a closer look inside our mind and soul. If we restore balance in ourselves, we will contribute immensely to healing the the planet. “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom,” wrote Aristotle. One could add that knowing yourself is the beginning of creating inner peace and, thus, resilience.”