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September/October 2007 Alternative Health
A Spiritual Understanding of Cancer

by Guy McCarthy

Western medicine is the only medical care system in the world that does not include the concept of energy bodies in its approach to health. All other systems recognize that growth and balance in the physical body is preceded or conditioned by growth and balance in the non-physical or energy bodies.

By applying the principles of anthroposophical medicine, Dr. Peter Hinderberger, medical director at Ruscombe Community Wellness Center in Baltimore, offers an explanation of cancer that includes both spiritual and physical aspects.

To gain a spiritual understanding of cancer, one must consider the complete human anatomy -- not just the dense physical body. The energy body most similar to the physical body is called the vital body or the etheric body. It surrounds and permeates the physical body. The vital body is the medium through which the life force flows, corresponding to flows of nutrients and fluids in the physical body. The vital body also contains the blueprint for physical growth that is required as new cells replace old ones. It has been estimated that each cell in the human body cycles through death and replacement several times in a single lifetime. Without a blueprint, how else could this work?

Next further removed from the physical body is the soul body or astral body and beyond that, the spiritual body or mental body. In these energy bodies our thoughts, aspirations, and emotions are formed and expressed.

To understand cancer, we must first examine what constitutes healthy growth in both the physical and non-physical realms. In the physical body, the conformance principle allows for healthy cellular growth. In the non-physical energy bodies, the freedom principle allows for healthy spiritual growth.

To begin with the physical, Dr. Hinderberger explains the rules of healthy cell growth as the conformance principle: First, each new cell created must be identical in form and function to the parent cell. Second, each new cell created must take its place within the local tissue.

For example, a cell formed by mitosis of a liver cell must become a liver cell. In addition, the new cell must remain in the liver, rather than traveling elsewhere in the body. Only then can the liver remain healthy and continue to function as its individual cells cycle through death and replacement.

In the physical body, cancer occurs when otherwise normal cells break the established pattern of the conformance principle by changing into something different than their parent cells, or by traveling around on their own.

What constitutes healthy growth in the non-physical realm? Based on the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner and others, Dr. Hinderberger explains four rules of healthy spiritual growth: 1) Incarnation of a human soul into a physical body is an intentional, guided process which precedes conception, pregnancy and birth. 2) The purpose of human incarnation is to experience physical life and to perform good deeds for oneself and for the community. 3) We are blessed with talent and support from the spiritual hierarchy to perform these good deeds in a unique and excellent way. 4) We forget all of the above very soon after birth.

The freedom principle occurs when we mature. While we are young, our thoughts, deeds and actions are shaped and guided by our parents. We strive to emulate them, and through the conformance principle we learn from their experiences. However, the older we get, the more we feel compelled to find our own path, to experience new things, to contribute to positive change in the world. In order to achieve our spiritual purpose, we must have freedom of thought and emotion. We must be willing to break away from established patterns of society and express our unique talents and abilities. The need for mental and emotional freedom is a paramount condition of healthy spiritual growth.

What happens when an individual passes through adult life while repressing the freedom principle? He may feel bound to roles and patterns defined by his parent's generation. He accepts the conditions and limitations that are encountered, rather than taking responsibility to press ahead and create new experiences. When major changes occur, he feels uncomfortable and tries to preserve old, familiar ways.

From a spiritual perspective, we might conclude that this individual is not allowing himself the freedom to find his unique path in life. Instead, this person remains bound by circumstances or old patterns. Progress toward his spiritual goal is much slower than it could be. The result is a frustration of his higher self, or spiritual consciousness.

After years of frustration, the freedom principle is forced down through his energy bodies and finds expression in his physical body. Otherwise healthy cells begin to express freedom by breaking the established patterns of their parent cells. Expression of freedom at the cellular level is the beginning of cancer. Over time, enough of these rebellious cells accumulate into a condition diagnosed as cancer.

What happens next can vary, depending on the choices and treatments available to individual patients. Many who survive cancer report that it changed their lives. Many survivors enjoy new levels of freedom and activity, breaking old patterns that previously confined them. Spiritual growth in these individuals is vibrant. In such cases, the higher self triumphed by using a physical disease to free the individual from restricting conditions in the spiritual, soul and vital bodies.

With the understanding that cancer is a condition of the energetic, non-physical bodies, as well as the physical, we can begin to look for treatments that are balanced in both realms.. Dr Hinderberger employs anthroposophic treatments for cancer that include homeopathy, eurhythmy (dance therapy), rhythmic massage, art and color therapy. This approach encompasses the whole individual, and can lead from a physical and spiritual diagnosis to healing at the source.

Guy McCarthy is a writer, philosopher and engineer who encountered cancer in a loved one. Visit www.twelvestar.com. Peter Hinderberger, M.D., Ph.D., is a leader in the field of alternative treatments for cancer. Visit ruscombe.org.