Re: Universal medicine
Date: April 13, 2012 01:36PM
Hi, my name is Rod Harvey from the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and I’ve been a Universal Medicine student for just over five years.
Recently I came across this forum and I noticed that many comments are quite scathing about Universal Medicine, so for the sake of balance I decided to present a student’s viewpoint. I should point out that this is my decision and I didn’t require anyone’s permission to do so.
I must mention that I certainly don’t have an issue with scepticism as I was initially sceptical myself about some of the concepts presented by Unimed (Universal Medicine).
For the ‘record’ I work as a freelance copywriter and photographer. I’m married and have two adult children, four step children, eight chooks and am a step grandfather to Ralph, a fluffy white dog. I’m down to earth and have a good sense of humour…well at least I think so.
About four and a half decades ago I left school and I didn’t consider becoming a student again. Yet after five years I’m really enjoying my esoteric education…and see it as ongoing. The ‘esoteric’ is not something mystical, it’s simply living from within.
In January 2007 my wife attended a couple of Unimed presentations and I’d ask her lots of questions when she returned. One of the things that appealed to me at the time was when she explained that much of what was presented was about self responsibility.
So I decided to attend a Unimed presentation… somewhat hesitantly, after all what was I going to see? Dreadlocks, hippies, weirdo’s? Yet the people I saw were quite ‘ordinary’ (actually, I later realised they were quite ‘extraordinary’… along with everyone else in this world).
Serge, the presenter, was unassuming and spoke fluently. Much of what he said was both revealing and challenging. He presented knowledge I had never heard before (yet was somehow familiar). Even though a lot made sense there were still concepts that didn’t gel. So I sat on the fence for a couple of years until I gradually realised that my preconceptions and scepticism had been shutting me down from being open to truth.
One of those was the concept of reincarnation. Initially I was uncertain…after all where’s the proof? But I realised there was also no proof of heaven or hell, angels, life after death and many of the other beliefs around what happens to us after we die.
Reincarnation began to make sense to me, particularly when I considered karma (what goes round comes around). In other words if I do the wrong thing, somewhere there’s payback and I’ll cop it either in this life or next time around. Conversely by living with integrity I have the opportunity in this life to clear karma and move forward next time around.
Another concept I struggled through was the ‘God thing’. As a fence-sitting agnostic, my concept of God was pre-determined through my observations of various religions. After all how could there be an all loving God if the world was so screwed up, or how could a God allow women to be second class citizens within religious bodies, or wars fought over religious ideals, or inquisitions and so on…it didn’t make sense.
But through Unimed I gradually came to realise that within the great religions there are fundamental truths which had been altered by men to suit their needs. I embraced the concept that God is Love…an energy or Light that is equal within each of us (and it doesn’t need a building or a set of readings, scriptures or rituals to access). And it’s my choice to access that light or to keep it as a dull flicker inside. In other words, God is not there to save me – that’s up to me, and it’s not for me to use God as an excuse.
So that’s my take on it and the first time I have expressed it publicly. However I certainly don’t expect anyone to subscribe to how I feel about life, or Universal Medicine.
Over these five years Serge has never faltered; he has been totally consistent in the way he engages and relates lovingly to each and every person. Even if I had not accepted the teachings, I could never have questioned his integrity or any need for self gain or recognition…and he has a great sense of humour (probably even better than mine). Not once has Serge instructed or asked of anyone, he simple presents energetic truths and the choices are ours to make or not.
There have been many changes to my life. No more pubs, clubs, alcohol, junk food, biscuits, cake, chocolate and coffee. I now enjoy a gluten and dairy free diet. I have been asked how I did that. “Gradually” was my answer. Some were surprised to hear that meat, chicken and fish is still on the menu.
Initially I saw some of those changes as sacrifices or things that I was missing out on, until the penny dropped when I realised I wasn’t giving anything up - it was all about what I was gaining. I gained understanding from Unimed presentations about the energetic affects of various foods on my body. The information was presented and it was purely my choice to eat or drink whatever I wanted; so I opted for a healthier lifestyle.
I realised that I was eating for taste and comfort rather than nutrition and that some foods were ‘glugging’ me up and some were over stimulating.
As a result of the choices I made, there is now not as much of me as before. I feel more vibrant without needing grog, chocolate or coffee to give me a temporary high. I even discovered how to add extra hours to my week by eliminating hangovers. It took some time, but I’m damn pleased I stuck to it. However…each to their own and I tend to keep my new lifestyle habits to myself and only bring it up if someone who I haven’t seen for some time asks me why I look better or younger (which is pretty neat).
I’ve also learned what compassion and true responsibility really is and how to live in a way that does not harm anyone. I find that I don’t take on other’s emotional issues as before and that life flows when I’m in flow. It’s awesome!
From recognising that life is about serving others and not about me, I am also discovering what love truly is.
The students are from a cross-section of society. There are doctors, surgeons and specialists (including lung, vascular, organ transplant, eye, rheumatology), solicitors, barristers, academics, teachers, naturopaths, esoteric healers, white collar and blue collar workers…a host of occupations including university and school students. Overall the people I have met are level headed, intelligent and certainly not ‘followers’. There is no adoration of Serge…and if there was it would be quickly discouraged.
I’ve met a great bunch of people from all walks of life and I appreciate that there is not a need for students to live in each other’s pockets; yet it is a pleasure to catch up. And when we get together occasionally for a celebration and dance, as a fellow student said, “It’s fantastic to be surrounded by a bunch of happy sober fun loving people”.
The students are a group of people who are learning lessons about life and energetic integrity – yet still have their ‘stuff’ and issues like anyone else does.
I’ve seen many changes for the better within students. Many of the women have become more grace-full and feminine as a result of self-love and nurturing. Likewise, many of the male students are gentler yet still retain their male essence.
However as we know, when someone changes their life, it can be difficult for partners, relatives or friends to adapt to. Similarly, it can be difficult for the person who is making the choices to change their life when there is resistance from others.
And I should point out that Unimed does not encourage students to disassociate from other people – in fact, it’s quite the opposite. The fact is that many students decide, through free-will, to make changes to their life styles and that can affect personal relationships.
In my case there was some resistance from a couple of relatives but after a while they got over it and we all got on with it. We also noticed that party invitations dropped off when some realised we had stopped drinking (grog). That’s life.
Serge consistently encourages freedom of choice to make our own decisions…and the contention that Universal Medicine is a cult is completely false.
I respect we have our differences and naturally there will be disagreement about some (or perhaps all) of the concepts I have presented. That’s OK.
But I do appreciate the opportunity to provide some perspective to this forum.
With love, Rod