“They who have not been instructed concerning the regeneration of man think that man can be regenerated without temptation.  But it is to be known that no one is regenerated without temptation; and that many temptations succeed, one after another.  The reason is that regeneration is effected for an end, in order that the life of the old man may die, and the new life which is heavenly be insinuated.  It is evident, therefore, that there must be a conflict [healing crisis—­author’s note ]; for the life of the old man resists and determines not to be extinguished; and the life of the new man can only enter where the life of the old is extinct.

“Whoever thinks from an enlightened rationale, may see and perceive from this that a man cannot be regenerated without combat, that is, without spiritual temptations; and further, that he is not regenerated by one temptation, but by many.  For there are very many kinds of evil which formed the delight of his former life, that is, of the old life.  These evils cannot all be subdued at once and together; for they cleave tenaciously, since they have been inrooted in the parents for many ages back [the scrofula of the soul—­author’s note ] and are therefore innate in man, and are confirmed by actual evils from himself from infancy.  All these evils are diametrically opposite to the celestial good [perfect health—­author’s note ] that is to be insinuated and which is to constitute the New Life.”

Thus the inspired Seer of the North draws a vivid picture of what we call healing crises in their relation to moral regeneration.

We cannot help recognizing the close agreement of physical and spiritual crises; this, again, demonstrates the continuity and exact correspondence of Natural Law on the different planes of being. [The Law of Hermes:  As above, so below; as in the inner, so in the outer; as in the lesser, so in the greater.]

We of the Nature Cure school know that this great Law of Crises dominates the cure of chronic disease.  Every case is another verification of it; in fact, every decided advance on the road to perfect health is marked by acute reactions.

The cure invariably proceeds through the darkness and chaos of the crises to the light and beauty of perfect health, periods of marked improvement alternating with acute eliminating activity (the “spiritual temptations” and “combats” of Swedenborg), until perfect regeneration has taken place.

Chapter XXI

Periodicity

In many forms of acute disease, crises develop with marked regularity and in well-defined periodicity.  This phenomenon has been observed and described by many physicians.

It is not so well known, however, that in the cure of chronic diseases also, crises develop in accordance with certain laws of periodicity.

Periodicity is governed by the Septimal Law or Law of Sevens, which seems to be the basic law governing the vibratory activities of the planetary universe.