By Ivan Rados, author of the Namaste Publishing book, Health

Existence is an expression of universal consciousness, which naturally and automatically evolves. However, when consciousness arises in a human being, the automatic aspect ceases, as it has fulfilled its purpose.

Having transcended the natural process of collective evolution, humans are free to decide whether or not to evolve further—to enter into the fullness of consciousness, or to remain in their present state which is largely unconscious.

Evolution always takes place in the present moment, the Now. But the mind can't live in the Now. Hence the mind does anything it can to prevent us engaging in conscious evolution. The choice lies entirely with each individual whether to be ruled by the mind or to go beyond it and be free.

Since we can't see the mind, we aren't aware of our attachment to it. We can however see the body, which is all we really have in this reality—though it isn't forever. So we become attached to our body. The problem is that we are so attached to our body that we generate a lot of anxiety. We're afraid our body will experience pain, become diseased, or even die. We fight the fact that the body is part of the cycle of life and death.

Despite attachment to the body, you are not your body. You are beyond the body. You are bodiless consciousness. And consciousness is a characteristic of this moment, now. Under the intense light of consciousness, fear is transformed into love.

Love and fear are the same energy. One is a characteristic of consciousness, whereas the other is a characteristic of unconsciousness. Love can exist in an atmosphere of fear, but fear cannot exist in love. Where consciousness is present, love holds sway and fear is no more. Attachment becomes non-attachment. Disease becomes easiness.

We are talking about the ultimate acceptance of all that is. In this ultimate acceptance, there is no mind to control and thereby block the body's self-healing capabilites.

Suppose the influenza virus is present in your body, do you approach it with love or with fear? Do you welcome the virus, or do you have a hostile attitude toward it?

You may reason, "How can I accept a virus when it wants to invade me and kill me?" But consider. Don't you see that you are splitting existence into two by choosing to see the virus as negative?

When we think of the flu as something negative, we pit ourselves against it. Choosing to fight doesn't come from consciousness, but from the mind, which is at war with our desire to evolve consciously. With such a conflicted attitude, we have separated ourselves from the Wholeness of being.

The body is composed of about 100 trillion cells. Cells are being born, aging, and dying all the time. There are also more than 100 trillion bacteria in the body, not to mention 100 trillion possible "viruses." I put quotation marks around the word "viruses" because viruses don't actually exist.

Have you ever wondered why nobody has ever seen a virus? What contemporary medical science calls a virus is nothing but a reaction between bacteria and the host body, which releases certain chemical components from endocrine glands controlled by the mind with its preconceptions and anxiety.

The fact of the matter is, we are our own ecosystem. To thrive, we need both bacteria and "viruses," as they continually evolve. Like our cells, bacteria are constantly replicating, aging, and dying. This is part of the natural, automatic aspect of evolution. The cellular structure of the body needs evolved bacteria to learn and evolve with it, and the bacteria need evolved cells.

The different aspects of our natural existence are interrelated. But when thoughts control the process, fragmentation follows. Something perfectly natural becomes unnatural, to be attacked. Thinking is a hindrance to consciousness.

Under the direction of consciousness, the body thrives. But when the mind is in charge, it merely survives. Governed by a survival mentality, the body's chemistry becomes stressed and out of balance.

Since the mind is focused on survival, it seeks to prevent the flu. So it resorts to vaccinations, which aren't good for us. The flu might be prevented by a vaccine, but the body won't evolve—won't learn anything from the "virus." It will miss an opportunity to harmonize itself.

If the body remains in survival mode, it can't thrive. Determined to fight instead of flowing with consciousness, it exhausts itself. With the depletion of life's energy, the immune system goes out of whack and spirals down.

You cannot solve any situation with a hostile approach. This includes any disease. The aggressive, attacking attitude of the pharmaceutical industry keeps the body in survival mode instead of helping it thrive. Of course, the largely unconscious thinking mind just goes along obediently with the consensus, embracing the norms of society, since it doesn't want to take responsibility in the way consciousness is able to.

"Viruses" aren't the cause of disease. As part of the evolutionary process, they are essential aspects of the body's equilibrium, playing an important role in the healing process. If we perceive "viruses" as negative, we fight the way nature spontaneously harmonizes itself.

When we impose our mental conditioning on the body, it reflects this conditioning and can't adjust itself. It can't reboot itself in line with the new state of collective being, which inevitably leads to suffering.

My family and friends know I have never had flu for more than a couple of hours. Usually it lasts only a few minutes. In a state of acceptance, grateful for the "virus," I usually mediate or take a short nap—and the flu is over. It never ceases to amaze me watching others suffer from their own or other people's definitions of "flu."

When a "virus" forms in the body, consciousness immediately shifts into a mode of witnessing the process. Allowing, accepting, and going through any experience required is the key. In contrast, the mind doesn't like to allow. It likes to feel powerful, and consequently it tries to suppress the natural processes consciousness supports.

The suppression of anything natural is always stored in the body as blocked energy. Here, it hinders the flow of energy in the chakras, which affects the harmonious functioning of the glandular system and automatically impacts the immune system.

Next it fragments the natural flow of information through neurons and synapses in the brain, generating confusion and alarming our cells. This in turn triggers the defensive mechanisms of our lower instincts, which are stored in the primordial brain. Over a period of time, the stress that results leads to fatigue and depression, resulting in physical sickness.

The flu "virus" isn't out to kill you. It exists to help you heal and get in harmony with the ever-evolving Now. The body does this easily and effortlessly, since healing is just a matter of consciousness. To be a healer really means not to be identified with the mind. When we become conscious, we are all healers!