Center of Healing and Meeting East and West
The Project in detail
A PLACE OF HEALING AND MEETING BETWEEN EAST AND WEST
Concept for the establishment of a healing and meeting place on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, with the aim of facilitating and furthering a cultural, medical, and interpersonal exchange between Europe and Asia. The Basis for this Project is an evident changing of the scientific paradigm towards a view of the world and of mankind. The principal Aim is to promote a holistic perspective of reality and mankind.
1. The historical and cultural background
Thanks to the progress achieved in Science and its Applications, our civilization has been developing continuously. However, accompanying the growing affluence of part of the world’s population, there has been an actual increase of poverty for the majority, and the expanding exploitation and destruction of Nature. More and more often, ecological disasters signal to us that we must change our views of, and the way we treat, Nature. We have been alienating ourselves from our own roots, from our original state of oneness with Nature and our planet, and with the cosmos itself. The consequences are a lack of orientation, bewilderment, illnesses, and a sense of inner emptiness.
On the other hand, wide areas of Science are undergoing a basic renewal. In the struggle for truth and meaning, a shift of paradigm is apparent. Indications of a radically new view of the world leading to a holistic vision of reality and man, are progressing even in the West. This change of perspective began with the discovery of the laws of Quantum Physics. Against this background, the phenomena of Space and Time acquire a completely new meaning. The universe is seen as an inexhaustible field of electromagnetic elementary particles in constant interaction and resonance. By the flow of his physical and mental energies, man is connected directly with these cosmic processes; he is influenced and informed by them. This discovery, as well as the latest research in the fields of molecular and cell biology showing that energy carries information, together with the latest ongoing findings of brain and consciousness research, has gradually lead to this change of paradigm in Western Medicine and Psychotherapy.
The holistic view of man and cosmos, in the Eastern view of the world, is based on the empirical experience of 3,000 years. In Eastern Medicine, for which the separation of body, spirit, and mind is quite inconceivable, holism is the foundation of treatment. For Eastern Medicine, the human body is determined by a wide system of Energy Channels. A disturbed or blocked flow of the energy, the “Chi”, leads to a disharmony which is manifested as a physical and psychical imbalance, producing “illness”. The therapy is directed towards rearranging and rebalancing these bioenergetic fields.
In Europe, since the Enlightenment, man was more and more considered as an isolated individual separated from others. In the course of the present change of paradigm, however, he is, also in Western Science, considered holistically, as a unity of body, mind, and spirit, as a being closely interwoven with all being, closely linked with his specific “systems” - his family, community, state, society, and religion.
In the context of this new understanding of the world and man, the so-called alternative, holistic, methods of treatment are receiving ever more attention as “Alternative Medicine”, “Energy Medicine”, “Systems Psychotherapy”, and particularly as what is presented as “Traditional Eastern Medicine”.
2. Necessity and aim
In view of the present global, social, political, and economic changes with all the problems and crises associated with them, our mutual dependence is now becoming undeniably obvious. And as more people acknowledge their common responsibilities, many are also searching for inner peace and happiness, for a “well-being” in the higher sense of “inner healing”, a “well-being of the soul”.
We can achieve true peace and justice at present and in the future only through reciprocal confidence, respect, love, and empathy. The insight that a basically common humanity unites all of us is necessarily connected to our striving for harmony amongst the members of the various nations, cultures, and systems.
In the wider context of healing in traditional Eastern medicine, there are profoundly impressive experiences to be gained. Particularly in Tibet and Mongolia, medicine is closely related to the Buddhistic philosophy of life. Though Western people may be disconcerted by the resulting esoteric orientation of the art of healing, many of them can comprehend it as a generally valid ethical system: the art of healing follows the principle that the meaning of our lives consists mainly of practising love, benevolence, compassion for all, and striving to perfect this ethos in oneself. This requires a cleansing of the mind, which equals self-healing, becoming well in the sense of becoming an integral whole. This can be achieved in meditation. If we succeed in rebalancing, in harmonizing the blocked energy, this does not only produce a positive effect within our own state of being but, at the same time, it influences our interpersonal relationships and our social existence. The ethical values of empathetic cooperation, compassion, and forgiveness are no longer empty concepts and words, but become a daily practical experience.
C.G. Jung described this process of the growth of consciousness and spiritual transformation as “the enormous experiment of increasing consciousness that Nature imposed on humanity and which unites the various cultures in a task common to all.” (See Jung’s commentary on the Bardo Tödol, the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, a book of wisdom for all).
Let us consider, for example, the human body as an electromagnetic field of energy controlling the biochemical processes. We can well imagine how easily it can be influenced by disruptive oscillations and thereby loses its harmony and finally becomes ill. These disturbances needn’t be material ones. Quite often, they are of a mental or psychological nature. If the mind is affected, this can show itself as a physical imbalance. In other words: a somatic sickness is often an expression of a mind that has become ill.
The lost balance can be restored in different ways: music, singing, art, painting, dance, also prayer and meditation contain great therapeutic potential and function as a means of easing and harmonizing the body-spirit-mind totality. Ultimately, healing always concerns individuals, and when that is achieved, it radiates outwards to others and thus develops a widespread impact. Only if the individual is recovered can there be healing and reconciliation and, with that, peace across a wider plain. In view of the present situation of the world this realization is more important than ever.
3. Purpose and tasks
The observations reviewed above gave rise to the plan of creating a special place where people can meet in mutual consideration, esteem, and interest in the respective foreign person, where it is possible to acquire new knowledge and to learn together and from each other. This centre will provide the opportunity for a broad interchange and the opening of many unexpected perspectives, and will be of great value for all persons involved. Meeting both on a physical and spiritual level, they will be able to overcome their historically determined cultural differences and boundaries, with mutual tolerance and respect.
We plan a meeting place and centre for healing and study in the middle of Asia, between the Far East and Europe, near to Mongolia’s capital Ulaan-Baatar. There we wish to further personal interactions and encounters between East and West. To facilitate these goals, we assign ourselves two main tasks, which are connected as well as complementary.
One of them is to reveal the extraordinarily rich culture of this country to interested people of the West, where already the interest in Eastern wisdom and ways of life has been increasing for a long time. The manner of thinking of the East, the ideas of its philosophy and religion, the body of thought of Buddhism and Shamanism, the traditional Mongolian-Tibetan medicine and its variety of treatments will be newly discovered and conveyed. For these purposes, Mongolia offers particularly good qualifications because one of the oldest and authentic sources of its cultural heritage is situated there, and many people are willing to contribute to the activities we have in mind. Taking all this into consideration, we plan to organize workshops, seminars and coaching courses in which this ancient but not obsolete knowledge is presented, passed on, and thus preserved, and translated into the first steps of practical exercises.
The other task is, as a countermove, to present Western perspectives and ways of thinking to an interested public of the East. Authorities from the West could convey important discoveries in the fields of psychology, psychotherapy, and educational theory. On the part of the Mongolian physicians, therapists, and pedagogues, there is a serious interest combined with an impressively marked desire for learning.
However, not only specialists are to be approached by us. In the planned building, all who wish to will receive competent advice, medical and therapeutic treatment, as well as counselling in personal emergencies. In Mongolia, where we met a noticeable number of physicians, healers, and artists with extraordinary abilities, and furthermore in the West and Far East, there are many qualified persons who are willing to pass on their knowledge and experiences to others whilst staying in Ulaan-Baatar. Study visits there, which are to be at the same time opportunities for quiet, concentration, and contemplation, seem to us to be very important for the long-term successful outcome of our entire project.
4. A place superbly appropiate
Situated between China and Russia, Mongolia is, in our estimation, an almost infinitely spacious country. The natural wonders of Mongolia - the world’s sunniest country - the enormous sky above it, and the inestimable richness of its Nature, leave the visitor amazed and awaken the interest of people from all over the world. With its landscape and its spiritual tradition, its Buddhistic and Shamanistic view of the world, Mongolia still presents a particularly wel-suited site for Traditional Eastern Medicine and Alternative Healing methods.
Formerly situated along the Silk Road, this State once extended from the Pacific to the Mediterranean. The empire’s capital Karakorum (now called Kharkhorin), and seat of government was, under Chinggis Khan, his son Ögdei, and his grandson Khublai Khan, in the 12th and 13th centuries, an important liberal and cosmopolitan centre. There, diverse cultures, the arts and handicrafts, sciences, and religions, were in active interchange, in peaceful and productive dialogue.
After historical Mongolia’s decline, its territory became part of the Chinese empire for more than 200 years. Not until 1911 did Mongolia finally separate from China. However, the new autonomy had to be paid for by taking on the Communistic structure of the Soviet Union, which had a devastating effect on Mongolia’s spiritual heritage: it was not only suppressed but, in some aspects, utterly destroyed.
With the collapse of Communism, parallel to the processes of dissolution and movements towards freedom in Eastern Europe, Mongolia opened up for a new era. Many people hoped for personal freedom, ecological development, and democratization. First, however, the living conditions worsened, and there is still a shortage of employment opportunities. The road towards a free enterprise society brought many radical changes in the everyday lives of the people and, at the same time, new structures within which not everyone could profit. Part of the population still exists at the poverty line.
It has proven to be very difficult for Mongolia to realize innovative plans out of just its own strength alone. This also refers to the projects concerning “The new development of the heritage in the fields of Medicine and Traditional Healing, as well as of the spiritual sources within this historical area for Western Culture” or “for the meeting of Eastern and Western Culture”. All the same, positive changes are becoming increasingly apparent. The old Mongolian knowledge, that precious treasure which, under Communist rule, was buried in its own ground and had to remain concealed for so long, can at last be made accessible again for many. Forms of belief suppressed for a long time can be practised once more, Traditional Medicine is being rediscovered and researched, and both are closely connected. The redevelopment of the cultural sources and practical help go hand in hand as well.
Numerous visitors from all over the world are coming into the country. Tourism is being established. Culture, History, and the natural resources of Mongolia, together with the medical, philosophic, and spiritual traditions, offer a wide variety of possibilities for encounters and contacts relevant for the future of all concerned.