Invocation:
The Foundation Stone
I had the honor of offering the Invocation at the banquet for the
annual Cranial Academy conference held this year in Portland, Oregon. Many
people have requested copies of this Osteopathic prayer, so I decided to
make it this month’s installment of “Concerning Osteopathy.”
I agree with Dr. Sutherland’s sentiments when he declared, “I have
often said that we lost something in Osteopathy that Dr. Still tried to
get across. That was the spiritual that he included in the science of
Osteopathy.” As a profession, Osteopathy has lost it’s spiritual
connection. However, what was lost can be found and what is found can
flourish again.
If the public expression of Osteopathy refuses to honor the
“spiritual in the science of Osteopathy” it does not mean that individual
Osteopaths must ignore the Foundation Stone in our work as healers. I am
willing to ask the question, “Is it possible to practice Osteopathy
without a spiritual connection?” I dare to answer this question by saying,
emphatically, “No, it is not possible to practice true Osteopathy unless
one recognizes the presence of God in our patients as well as in
ourselves!”
Presented at the annual Cranial Academy conference on June 26, 2004
The Cranial Academy conference is auspiciously held every year during
the third week of June. This conference marks a historic Osteopathic event
that is sentinel for the entire profession. On June 22, 1874 at 10 AM
Andrew Taylor Still stated that he “flung to the breeze the banner of
Osteopathy.” Dr. Still said that he was “shot not in the heart but in the
dome of reason.” Historically we mark June 22nd as the birth of
Osteopathy.
I believe that Dr. Still’s epiphany was more than just an intellectual
expansion. On June 22, 1874, Dr. Still had a spiritual awakening. His soul
was liberated. I believe he had a direct experience of the Divine and his
life was transformed. From that moment forward, Dr. Still had an intimate
relationship with his Maker and interwove this priority into what he later
termed Osteopathy.
Dr. Still said, “Is God an Architect? If so why not be governed by the
plan, specifications, building and engineering of that Architect in our
work as healers? When we conform to and work by the laws and
specifications of this Architect, we get the results required. This is the
foundation stone on which Osteopathy stands.”
The Foundation Stone on which Osteopathy stands is having an absolute
respect that it is God, the Infinite, or the Source of all Life that is
directing the course of healing. The annual Cranial Academy conference
honors Dr. Still’s awakening and consequently becomes for every member a
reminder that our authority as physicians originates from our
spirituality.
Dr. Still once said, “I love my fellow man because I see God in his
face and in his form.” When we pray, meditate, commune with Nature, or
engage the oneness of the Universe we make a connection with a power that
is dynamic, vital, and truly amazing. When we utilize Osteopathic
Manipulation we apply a type of prayer in action that is based upon
appreciating the effects of the Divine found in the form and function of
our fellow human beings. The origin of our work as healers is recognizing
the presence of God in our patients as well as in ourselves.
Dr. Still superbly illuminated the essence of our perceptual experience
as Osteopaths when he said, “To find health is the object of the doctor.
Anyone can find disease.” As Osteopaths, we find Health and then use it as
a sensible and accessible reference point in our work as healers.
Health is an effect of the Breath of Life. Health is a manifestation of
the Divine that is present in a biologic system. Health is a subtle
biologic force that is fully available in every moment. Health can be
perceived and engaged. Health is part of the aliveness of a human being.
Health is a feeling of absolute goodness. Health is an expression of
wholeness.
Please make a connection with the colleague, friend, or loved one
seated on either side of you by holding hands.
Now, let us pray in the way all Osteopaths have for over 100 years.
Let us all engage the Health in ourselves. Let us now engage the Health
in the people whose hands we hold. Finally, let us engage the Stillness
emerging in this room.
May we always remember this moment. May we always remember our true
Divine Nature. May we always remember that the Foundation Stone of
Osteopathy is our direct perception of Health, our trust in the emergence
of Stillness, and in our personal relationship with God.
Amen
Steve Paulus, DO |
