Natural Healing: A Journey to the Mayan World of Atitlan
Ann Comtois
Once again, Richard J. Morgan Szybist enthralls us with his knowledge of and love for Lake Atitlan in the third part of his Atitlan Trilogy: Natural Healing: A Journey to the Mayan World of Atitlan.
His first two offerings, The Lake Atitlan Reference Guide and Fables & Other Mayan Tales of Atitlan, furnish us with the geography, history, culture and folklore of the lake, while Natural Healing delves more deeply into the religious and shamanistic facets of Mayan culture; particularly the healing aspects.
Natural Healing is largely a collection of essays, “...that roam the chapters of... relevant experience of the subject of personal well-being,” an intense voyage of self-discovery to find a “...sense of inner resolution.” Morgan assures us that he has found here the marriage of mind, body and spirit, the totality and balance of which is mostly ignored by Western culture in its fragmentation and underlying vested interest.
From Vietnam to Atitlan
He takes us on his own life’s journey from his earliest encounters with death to the nightmare of the Vietnam War, where he, hopelessly wounded and alone, learned that the human spirit can impose its will to survive over all else. Thus began his interest in the “...the power of the mind [that] had enabled people to tap ‘superhuman’ potential.”
Quest for a Shaman
We next accompany Morgan on his quest to experience and understand the many types of healing and of healers, of the role of belief, of spiritual guidance, of shamanism, of the efficacy of ritual and ceremony, and yes, even of the wonders of modern Western medicine. “All is one.”
Morgan asserts that in faith healing we have “...managed to exploit human powers that we don’t yet fully understand to maintain health and to generate healing.” We can avail ourselves of the knowledge of all civilizations in order to have the best health and longest life possible: at 66, Morgan runs, bikes and enters marathons each year.
Atitlan Herbs that Heal
Having convinced us of the worth of natural healing, Morgan provides helpful appendices, listing a host of herbs, explaining their properties and giving directions for their growth and use. There are over 2,000 medicinal plants on the Earth, 120 of which can be found in Guatemala. His own garden at Los Encuentros, Panajachel, boasts 53 species.
For those of us unfamiliar with plants, the illustrations are an eye-opener. The passion flower that grows in my own garden is not just beautiful, but made into tea, becomes a tranquilizer. Lovely echinacea stimulates the immune system and treats everything from tonsillitis to venereal disease. Marigold eases gastro-intestinal problems and is effective for healing wounds.
Tea Time at the Lake
Tea made of sage can help that nasty diarrhea suffered by many at the lake, and it can alleviate depression, while rosemary can make your bath a “healing experience.” All you need is a bath tub.
The list is almost endless, but suffice it to say that, in Guatemala, you hardly need to go out your door to find relief from countless ailments. Yet Morgan would likely agree that the person who “...is his own doctor has a fool for a patient.” And that’s why there are healers, spiritual guides and doctors. What is necessary is balance.
A study in balance, Natural Healing: A Journey to the Mayan World of Atitlan is autobiographical in nature, giving us the full benefit of his vast experience. We are fortunate that we can draw on this and on the entire history of medicine.
Natural Healing and the other books in this trilogy, Fables and Other Mayan Tales of Atitlan and The Lake Atitlan Reference Guide, are both entertaining and informative. Posada de los Encuentros and Bus Stop Bookstore in Panajachel offer discounts if you buy both books.
For more information, see Richard Morgan's Web sites about Educational Adventure at Lake Atitlan and Posada los Encuentros, both in Panajachel. Natural Healing is also available as a digital book on Amazon's Kindle.