Page 126 - EBOOK_Jamu: The Ancient Indonesian Art of Herbal Healing

School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Indonesia,

acknowledges that while supernatural powers exist, he cannot offer any
explanation. Such instances are categorized under Metaphysics, and scientists
currently understand less than ten per cent of the subject.

In 1985, the journal Social Science and medicine published a study by Mark
Woodward on three contemporary healers in Central Java who were aware of
their limitations and referred patients with infectious diseases to orthodox
doctors. In terminal cases, they suggested only prayer and meditation. These
healers utilized a set of shamanistic beliefs and practices, based on kesakten, or
power that can be used for good or evil. This power is thought to be very
dangerous in the hands of unskilled healers. Nonetheless, healers must possess
kesakten to overcome evil spirits; thus, they command as much fear as they
inspire respect. “Indonesian culture is built on secrets,” reveals one of
Indonesia’s best known healers. “Sharing knowledge is foreign to most Asians,

and to Indonesians in particular. For instance, it’s difficult for foreigners to
marry Indonesians because if problems arise in a marriage the Indonesians
always insist everything is fine. It isn’t an issue for me because I can enter my
husband’s subconsciousness!” This healer further remarked that many people do
not have the patience to train for this work as it can take around 30 years to
become competent.
With the subject (or his photograph) in front of her, this he aler matches the
vibrations of her mind with those of the patient. She is then literally on the same

wavelength as the patient, and can send vibrations or read his thoughts (relayed
through a soft whispering in the ear). The crucial spot is the ‘third eye’ at the
centre of the forehead, she says. The all-powerful instrument is the mind, and
because it controls the body, healers believe that many illnesses are created by
mental imbalance. In the same way that meditation works by increasing energy