The Traberhof ‒ masses of people stream to Rosenheim
Almost 30,000 help-seekers gathered daily before Gröning in September, 1949
After the investigation in Heidelberg concluded, Bruno Gröning went to South Germany in August, 1949. He wanted to get away from the tumult surrounding his name and withdrew to a private estate near Rosenheim. At first he was able to keep his whereabouts a secret. However, once the first newspapers reported about his arrival in Bavaria, the masses started arriving.
Up to 30,000 people a day streamed to the “Traberhof” in Rosenheim. Press, radio and the weekly news program reported on events. Even a film was made, entitled “Gröning,” documenting the events taking place around him.
Biblical Scenes
In the second week of September, the newspaper Zeitungsblitz reported in a special issue: “Meanwhile, more than 10,000 people had gathered together in the blistering heat for hours, all waiting for the moment when Gröning would appear on the balcony to speak to the masses and radiate his healing energy. The crowd stood densely-packed together, in order to get the full benefit of his ‘healing rays.’ The most seriously ill in their wheelchairs and chairs, or those standing alone at the periphery were already beginning to feel the effects. Half-blind people began to see again, previously disabled people stood up, and paralyzed people began to move their stiffened limbs. Hundreds reported increased pain in the parts of their bodies affected by illness. They reported pulling, prickling sensations and tingling, the feeling of an indescribable ‘lightness of being,’ or of headaches suddenly disappearing.”
Not only at the “Traberhof” were there biblical scenes. Wherever Gröning appeared, he was immediately surrounded by innumerable sick people. Anita Höhne described the situation surrounding Gröning in her book Spiritual Healers Today. Pilgrimages started when Gröning merely announced his impending arrival. Scenes, such as the one journalist Rudolf Spitz observed at a visit of Gröning to Munich in September, 1949, were typical:
“At 7 p.m., thousands were standing in Sonnenstrasse (Sun Street.) At 10:30 p.m., they were still there. During five years of war I had experienced a great deal, but nothing as shattering as in those four hours in which I sat across from Bruno Gröning and experienced a shocking parade of misery and suffering. Epileptics, the blind, lame people on crutches pressed towards him. Mothers held their crippled children out to him. There were unconscious people. Cries rang out, desperate calls for help, pleas, wishes, sighs.”
Government officials recognize goodwill
Anita Höhne quotes the journalist Rudolf Spitz further: “The sick on stretchers, the lame, a huge mass of humanity were observed by another journalist from Munich, Dr Kurt Trampler, who was also at the ‘Traberhof’ in Rosenheim, where Gröning was living. Trampler came there as a reporter for the weekly newspaper Münchner Allgemeine - he was a cool headed journalist, who only recorded what he personally saw and heard. “We hear a voice from the balcony, but not Gröning’s, and hurry towards the window. Pitzer, the president of the Munich police force, speaks to the assembled crowd. He reports that sciatica, which had plagued him for years, has improved in Gröning’s presence. Pitzer is definitely not the sort of man given to hypersensitive imaginings, but can bear witness to that which he observed happen to himself. Here he was openly acknowledging Gröning, and the CSU Politician Hagen followed with a similar statement.”
The Bavarian authorities were also positively inclined toward Bruno Gröning. The daily newspaper Münchner Merkur reported on September 7, 1949, under the title “Goodwill toward Gröning,” “Minister President Dr. Ehard stated at a press conference on Monday, that the work of an exceptional occurence, such as Bruno Gröning, must not be allowed to be squandered because of legalities. In his opinion, no serious obstacles stood in the way of granting Gröning permission to work in Bavaria.”
The Bavarian Ministry for Internal Affairs, had, by copy deadline, announced that the initial examination of Gröning’s healing activities had led to the conclusion that they could be regarded as a free act of love, and as such did not require a permit under the Non-Medical Practitioners Act.
From defamation to medical documentation of the healings
At the Traberhof there a great deal of hustle and bustle around Gröning. There were many business people who wanted to capitalize on his abilities. They damaged his reputation and standing, which resulted in the authorities distancing themselves. When the circumstances became intolerable, Gröning retreated to the mountains of Bavaria. He wanted to look into some of the offers to build healing centers. His goal was to create facilities where help seekers could be healed in an organized way. Doctors would carry out pre- and post-healing examinations along the lines of the Heidelberg model, and document the healings that occurred.
The “Gröning Phenomenon” and science
Medical scrutiny in Heidelberg promises written certificate
In this time period in Herford medical specialist contributors of the magazine Revue, began studying Gröning’s healing success. Professor Dr. H.G. Fischer, a psychologist from Marburg, traveled to Herford with a special staff of correspondents. There he held interviews with healed people and had to confirm, much to his own astonishment, that Gröning’s “method” was truly a success. As a result, the Revue, decided to help attain a scientific explanation for the “Gröning Phenomenon.” The “healing method” of the “Miracle Doctor” was to be researched at the University Clinic of Heidelberg.
Bruno Gröning agreed to Fischer's proposals because Fischer promised to give him a positive expert testimonial, should things go well. Gröning hoped that he had found a way to work in freedom.
Healings before the doctor’s eyes - "Bruno Gröning is no charlatan"
The investigations began on July 27. The people on whom he was to prove his skills were selected from the over 80,000 sick people who had written to him for help. In addition, there were several patients from the Ludolf Krehl Clinik in Heidelberg. They were all given thorough examinations, and exact diagnoses were established. They then came to Gröning, who used his ‘method’ on them. Doctors were present the whole time. They were witnesses to the fact that some illnesses spontaneously disappeared. Afterwards, examinations in the clinic confirmed the healings. Even incurable illnesses such as ankylosing spondylitis were healed.
In a report, reproduced in the Revue, Dr. Fischer states emphatically that Bruno Gröning is no charlatan, rather a naturally gifted doctor of the soul. In so doing, he tried to explain the “Gröning Phenomenon” from his point of view, without really doing him justice.
Gröning forbids profiteering
The final certificate granting Gröning permission to heal, was to be issued after all the results were evaluated. Bruno Gröning was assured that the way would be cleared for him once and for all to continue with his work. In the meantime, Dr. Professor Fischer and Professor Weizäcker (who were responsible for the whole exercise) made Bruno Gröning the following proposal: they wanted to build healing centers, in which he would work side by side with doctors. The doctors, however, were to be responsible for managing and selecting patients.
To this Bruno Gröning responded, “The financial matters proposed to me in connection with this proposal were such that they were unacceptable to me. Naturally, there were several discussions about this, including with people who wanted to finance this work. I was not able to agree to the proposal from Dr. Professor F. and turned them down because firstly, I do not have a penny to my name, and so I cannot accept any financial commitment which I am unable to fulfill. And secondly, I have never considered making a business out of the entire undertaking. For me it was an impossible request. Besides, I wanted to do only that which belongs to my calling; to help the help seekers and therefore make myself available to doctors such as psychotherapists, but on no account to make a business out of the whole matter.”
Absence of the certificate and potential conflict with the law
Bruno Gröning’s contrary attitude led the professors to lose interest in him. The certificate they had promised was never issued. Instead of providing him with the freedom to continue his work, new obstacles were placed in his way. As a result of the research being carried out, his “healing method” was referred to using words such as “treatment,” “patient” and so on, and thus was judged to be medical practice. A conflict with the law relating to Non-Medical Practitioners Act was thereby inevitable.
1949 – In the spotlight
Bruno Gröning's work in Herford
Thousands of sick people and those seeking help besiege Gröning
Nine-year-old Dieter Hülsmann had been bedridden for some time. He was suffering from progressive muscular dystrophy, and none of the doctors or professors who had been consulted had been able to help. After Bruno Gröning began working with the boy, he was suddenly able to walk again. Mr Hülsmann, an engineer, astounded by the sudden healing of his son, asked Bruno Gröning to stay. He wanted to invite other sick people ‒ this “miracle man” should help them as well ‒ said Hülsmann.
Bruno Gröning accepted the offer, and from one day to the next, more and more help-seekers arrived. Increasing numbers of people learned of the miraculous events surrounding Gröning. It wasn't long before everyone was talking about him. The newspapers reported about the "Miracle Doctor," and in the British Zone he became the subject of daily conversation. Thousands of people poured into Wilhelmsplatz, and throngs of people besieged the house.
Manfred Lütgenhorst, from a daily newspaper, the Münchner Merkur wrote on June 24, 1949, "When I arrived in Herford at about 10.30 a.m., there were almost one thousand people standing in front of the two-story house in Wilhelmsplatz. It was an indescribable picture of suffering. Countless numbers of people in wheelchairs, others brought there by their relatives, blind, deaf and dumb, mothers with mentally and physically disabled children, old women and young men, were crowded together and groaning. Almost one hundred cars, trucks and busses were parked around the square, and all had come from far away."
Paralysis, ulcers, blindness: “Mr Gröning looked at me, and now I am totally healthy.”
Manfred Lütgenhorst continues, “‘Do you believe you’ll be healed?’ I asked one of the sick people. She nodded. One of the people said to me, ‘You should have been here yesterday. Bruno Gröning was not here, but in Viersen in the Rhineland, and here, in the square, five crippled people stood up and went home healed. Distance healing - the yard healed them.’ The other sick people confirmed what had been said.
I made my way further through the throng and recorded their amazing stories. These alone are enough to fill a book. As I lit a cigarette, a young man near me said, ‘Please, sell me one!’ He was wearing a uniform jacket and looked like a serviceman who had returned from Russia. I gave him a cigarette. He lit it and said boisterously, ‘See, I can do everything myself.’ He moved his right arm, his fingers, and his right leg. ‘Did Bruno Gröning heal you, too?’ I asked him. ‘Yes, my right side was paralyzed in Russia. Bruno Gröning looked at me and now I am totally healthy. I still can't fully grasp it.’ Happily, he swung his limbs.
I headed for a group of people surrounding a white-haired woman of about 40 years of age. ‘Of course,’ I heard the woman say, ‘I have been healed by Bruno Gröning. I had huge stomach ulcers, was getting thinner and thinner and couldn't sleep any more because of the pain. There were twelve of us with Gröning. He looked at me, and it seemed to me as if the ulcers fell like a stone to the ground. Since then, I don't have any pain. I'm putting on weight, and the X-Rays I had done show indisputably that the ulcers have vanished. I put myself at the disposal of the Medical Review Commission. I can tell you, they were astonished!’
The woman continued, ‘But that's not all. Last week there was a blind man here in the square. He waited several days and nights without a break. Because I’m often here, I noticed him. I felt sorry for him, and I invited him for a meal. ‘No,’ he declined, ‘I mustn't miss the moment when Bruno Gröning comes out.’ I brought him some rolls and said to him that I would make sure that someone would take him to the railway station. ‘I don't need anyone, because I will be able to walk to the station alone.’ And then I saw it with my own eyes. Bruno Gröning came, and the young man cried out, ‘I can see again!’ Truly, the veil was wiped from his eyes. He described the handbag I was carrying. He said, ‘There goes a car, and that’s the license plate number,’ and he found his way to the station alone. Everyone who was standing nearby was weeping for joy.’
Healing prohibition by city officials and the medical community
It wasn't long before the authorities also concerned themselves with the events. A board of inquiry was formed, and Bruno Gröning was banned from healing. A few influential doctors were his declared enemies. They used every means at their disposal to prevent his activity and demanded that his healing ability be scientifically tested. The real reason for the healing prohibition, however, is clear from the following statement by influential medical people who were involved. “Gröning can prove whatever he wants, but he will not be given permission to heal.” “It offends the professional honor of the doctors to associate with Gröning.” At the end of June, he had to leave Herford permanently. All efforts to obtain permission to carry out healing had failed.
Career and decisive stations in his life
Preparation for his later activities
Compulsory and discontinued apprenticeships
After going to school until the fifth grade, Bruno Gröning started a business apprenticeship. He had to give this up after two and a half years, due to pressure from his father, a bricklayer foreman, who wanted his son to learn a trade. He apprenticed to become a carpenter, but this apprenticeship was also never completed. The business turmoil of the post-war period prevented this. Three months before the end of his apprenticeship, the firm at which he was apprenticed closed, due to lack of orders. In the ensuing period, he earned a living at various jobs. Regarding this period Egon Arthur Schmidt wrote:
“He was a success at any work he turned his hand to.”
“Various workmates of his told me that a noticeable feature was that whatever he turned his hand to, he was able to do, whether it was repairing clocks or radios, or whether he was working as a locksmith. He was especially suited to technical things. Also, he was never shy about taking on the roughest and physically most strenuous work. As a dockworker, he pulled his weight. He made no secret of the fact that doing all this was connected to the path which led him through the depths, in order to reach the heights. An old chinese proverb says, ‘He who has never been through the swamp, cannot become holy.’ There are plenty of reports from among his early compatriots, one of which reached me recently. In it the writer says plainly and simply and without reservation, that having worked with him for a year, he was the best and most decent comrad he ever had, and holds fond memories of him.”
Marriage and family misfortunes
He married at 21. However, his wife did not understand him. She wanted to confine him to the narrow role of a respectable family man and dismissed the healings as "vagaries." Both sons, Harald and Günter, born 1931 and 1939, respectively, died at the age of nine. Although countless people had already experienced healing through Bruno Gröning, Gertrud Gröning did not believe in her husband’s healing power. She entrusted the children not to him, but rather to the doctors. Traditional medicine was, however, unable to help them. Both boys died in the hospital, Harald in 1940 in Gdansk, and Günter in 1949 in Dillenburg. For Bruno Gröning, these were heavy blows of fate. Years later, when he spoke about his sons, tears still flowed.
The time between the two World Wars was thus preparation for his later work. He had to undergo these bitter experiences in order to appreciate and understand the feelings and the deep need of people in all life situations.
Helping instead of shooting – at the Russian front and as prisoner of war
In World War II, Bruno Gröning was called up to the armed forces in 1943. Here he came into conflict with his military superiors. Because of his refusal to shoot at people, he was threatened with a court martial. In the end however, he was sent to the front anyway. He was wounded, became a Russian prisoner of war and returned to West Germany in 1945 as a refugee.
Bruno Gröning’s conduct during the war was dictated by his desire to help. Even at the front, he used every opportunity to help his comrades or the civilian population.
In a Russian village, he was able to arrange for the people, who were dying of starvation, to gain access to the army's food reserves. As a prisoner, he fought for better clothing, better food and better shelter for his fellow prisoners. Innumerable men suffering from starvation edema were helped back to health by Gröning. Amidst the horror of the war, he had killed no one, but helped countless numbers of people.
Marital separation and dedication to humanity
In December of 1945, he was freed and built a new life for himself in Dillenburg in Hessen, where he brought his family. After his second son died and his wife tried to prevent all his charitable activities, he separated from her. He felt compelled to allow the healing power at his disposal to flow to all people. He said, "I don't belong to individuals. I belong to humanity."
Early in 1949, his path led him to the Ruhr District. As a result of the reports of a few healed individuals, increasing numbers of people became aware of Bruno Gröning. He went from house to house, always to where he was needed, where the sick people asked him for help. And so he worked in small circles, until, in March, 1949, he accepted the invitation from an engineer in Herford to visit his son.
Childhood and Youth
Beaten, ridiculed, misunderstood, accepted – a child different from the others
Escape into nature from his hard-hearted surroundings: "Here I experienced God"
Bruno Gröning was born on 30 May 1906, in Gdansk-Oliwa, the fourth of seven children of August and Margarethe Gröning. His parents soon became aware of their son's extraordinary abilities. For example, animals normally considered shy, such as rabbits and deer, spontaneously came to him without fear, to be petted.
As Bruno Gröning grew up, his environment seemed more and more alien to him. Gröning explained that sometimes he was beaten black and blue at home. The beatings, as he said, did not hurt his body, but he felt misunderstood.
Repelled by the hard-heartedness of his surroundings, the young Bruno took refuge in nature. He felt more drawn to animals, trees and bushes, than to some people. He often disappeared into the nearby forest for hours.
"Here I experienced God, in every bush, in every tree, in every animal, yes even in the stones. I could stand and take it all in for hours – time seemed to have no meaning – and it seemed to me as if my inner being expanded into infinity."
He never participated in the wild brawls of his peers. Therefore, he was often ridiculed for being different and was beaten and punished.
Welcome healings of people and animals
With time, an aspect of Bruno Gröning which would later bring him into the limelight became known. In his presence, people and animals would become well. Especially during the first World War, he often visited the military hospitals, where people were happy to see him. The wounded felt good in his presence, and many became healthy. Also, sick people would send for his mother, requesting that she visit them with little Bruno. In the family and among acquaintances, the boy's healing ability was willingly accepted.
Striving for independence
Bruno Gröning wrote in his biography: “Even as a small child, sick people were freed of their symptoms in my presence, and when they were worked up or quarreling, children and grown-ups alike would become calm and peaceful as a result of a few words from me. Also, as a child, I noticed that animals, which normally are considered shy or even dangerous, were good-willed and tame around me. My relationship to my family home, in contrast, was strange and tense. I strove very early for complete independence, in order to free myself from this environment of ‘misunderstanding’ within my family.”
Bruno Gröning (1906-1959)
An extraordinary, yet controversial person
In 1949, the name Bruno Gröning became a household word in Germany overnight. Reports about him appeared in the press, in newsreels and on the radio. Events surrounding the “Miracle Doctor” as he soon came to be called, kept the whole country in suspense. A film was made about him, scientific investigation committees were set up and government authorities at the highest level gave the Bruno Gröning matter their attention. The Minister for Social Affairs in North-Rhine-Westphalia had him prosecuted for violating the Non-Medical Practitioners Act, while the Minister President of Bavaria declared that one could not let such an “exceptional occurrence” as Gröning be squandered because of a few legalities on paper. The Bavarian Interior Ministry described his work as “a labor of love, free of charge”.
The case was intensely and controversially debated at all levels of society. Emotions ran high. Clergymen, physicians, journalists, politicians and psychologists were all talking about Gröning. Some considered his miraculous healings a gift of grace from a Higher Power; others believed he was a charlatan. But the healings were fact, confirmed by medical examinations.
Worldwide interest in an unassuming worker
Bruno Gröning, born in 1906 in Gdansk, was an unassuming worker who relocated to Western Germany as a refugee after World War II. Before the war, he had worked in various capacities: as a carpenter, a factory and dock laborer. Then, suddenly, he was the center of public attention. The news of his miraculous healings spread all around the world. Sick people, petitions and proposals came from every country. Tens of thousands of people made the pilgrimage to the places where he was active. A revolution in medicine was on the horizon.
In the strangle-hold of prohibitions, court cases and profiteering assistants
But counter-forces were at work. They did their utmost to foil Gröning’s activities. He was dogged by court cases and healing prohibitions. All efforts to incorporate his work into the existing social structure failed. On the one hand, there was the resistance of those in authority at various levels of the social order, and on the other, the his assistants’ greed for financial profit. When he died in Paris in 1959, the last court case was well under way. The proceedings were halted and a final verdict was never pronounced. But many questions remained unanswered.
God is the greatest physician
There is no “incurable”
Trust and faith - prerequisites for healing
Only God can truly heal, not man. God is the greatest physician. For Him, there is no “incurable”; nothing is impossible. Time and again Bruno Gröning said, “Trust and believe that the divine power helps and heals!”
All he expects from someone seeking help is the willingness to trust him and to adopt a belief in God, in His healing energy and in his own recovery. If a person can fulfill this pre-condition, Bruno Gröning can help him. And even if the individual’s belief is too weak, he offers his help: “If today you still cannot believe, I want to believe for you, until you truly believe. And if today you still cannot ask, you still cannot pray, I want to also do that for you.”
God is not a punishing judge
And so, through Bruno Gröning, every person, who takes up the belief in health, may receive God's help. Every person is meant to receive help. Man is meant to experience God not as a judge meting out punishment, but as a loving Father. All people are His children and He is their Friend and Redeemer.
Through Bruno Gröning, the human being can once again experience God's miracles. God is the greatest physician and helper for every. Nothing is impossible for Him. Bruno Gröning said, “There is much that cannot be explained, but nothing that cannot happen.”
Man is spirit
The body is only an earthly shell for spirit and soul
Bruno Gröning spoke to his audiences about the intrinsic nature of man. “Who are you?” he asked them. Some of them answered by giving their names, for none of them knew what to say. He tried again. “Are you your body?” he asked further. There was no answer. He explained that man has always been spirit, never the body. At birth, God loaned him a body for his life on earth, and when he returned home, he would have to relinquish it again. His soul was the connecting link between the spirit and the body, and it would take both the good and the bad experiences from here into the world beyond. The soul is the bearer of the divine spark, and the instant a person attunes himself to faith in God, the connection to God is established. But if the soul closes in disbelief, the contact with God is severed.
The body is, therefore, not the essential part of man, but merely the earthly shell for the spirit and soul. So when the body dies, this is not the end, as many people nowadays believe. Life continues. It is not bound to the body.
Man is not evil - he succumbs to evil when he neglects himself
Man is spirit, and his body is a gift that God gives him as a tool for his life on earth. A man’s actual assignment is to use his body for good deeds and, with its help, transform good thoughts into actions. Through free will, a person can also misuse his body for evil ends, by stealing, killing and destroying. Through a person’s actions, one can see with whom they are connected, in whose service they stand, in the service of God or in the service of Satan. This does not mean that man as such is either good or bad, but rather, that,
“Man is and remains divine; he is never devilish, never satanic, never evil. But when he withdraws from God and neglects himself, he can be afflicted by evil. Evil takes hold of him, and he is forced into allegiance with it. It is not man who commits evil, but rather the evil. We cannot expect anything good from evil! Likewise, we cannot expect anything evil from God!”
"When he (the person) is too weak, he falls victim to evil. He plunges downwards and lacks the strength to regain the upward path. He falls into the clutches of evil and is at its mercy. If no helping hand comes to drag him out of this situation, he is lost for a considerable time and will have to serve evil.”
Every thought has its effect
It is each person’s duty to keep his body in order. But every negative thought, every angry word and every evil deed has a damaging effect upon the body, which means that if the spirit is not linked to God and yields to negative energy, this can result in illness in the body.
But once the soul opens again to receive the incoming stream of divine energy and connects with the spirit, the body recovers. This is why the individual's mental attitude is so decisive. A healing can never be promised. Everything depends upon the individual himself, on the way he attunes to goodness and takes the teaching of Bruno Gröning to heart. Treating the body can only combat the consequences, but cannot remove the cause. Only the person himself can do this, in that he “turns around”.
Thoughts are forces
A positive thought builds up, a negative thought destroys
Bruno Gröning frequently called on his listeners to check their own thoughts and only accept the good ones. God and Satan are not only sources of energy, but also of thought. They constantly send out thoughts, God the good, Satan the bad. According to Bruno Gröning, man is unable to produce thoughts; he has merely the capacity to receive them.
“It is so important which thoughts a person accepts, for thoughts are energy. If a person seeks what is good, then God will help him. If he wants what is bad, then Satan will help him.”
Man is not submissively subjected to whatever comes into his mind. He himself can decide which thoughts he will tolerate and which not. But he must make this choice carefully, not superficially. There is an energy behind every thought; a positive thought is constructive, a negative one, destructive. A joyful message inspires, a sad one discourages! Thoughts are spiritual energies. They embody a power; a power which humanity today is barely aware of. A thought born of love can inspire a person to lay down his life for another. A thought spawned from hatred can drive him to kill another. “Beware of every evil thought!”
“Everything you take in, you must pass on.”
“By now, you must have realized that if you accept one single nasty thought, more nasty thoughts crowd in, and after that, you speak nasty words. Whatever you take in, you must to pass on.”
“By having accepted one bad thought, you will become the servant of evil. You really become the servant of Satan! Let it be a warning to you!”
A person acts according to his will
But what can a person do to counteract depressing, doubting, fearful or compulsive negative thoughts? How can he defend himself? They suddenly materialize out of nothing and assail him, trying to dominate him emotionally. What should he do?
Satan wants to mislead a person with negative thoughts, no matter how small, how unimportant. He wants to pull the person off the divine path. He wants him to be anxious, angry, in doubt about what is good, and he wants him to violate God's laws. To accomplish this, he fools him into believing that man is a plaything at the mercy of bad thoughts and feelings. But this is a lie.
God has created man in such a way that he can decide what he thinks, says and does. When a bad thought passes in front of his inner eye, he can quietly but firmly reject it. If he remains resolute, the evil thought has to yield and cannot ensnare him. Man determines his own destiny with his own free will. “Man acts according to his will. As the will, so the thought. The thought moves the person to action.”
Firstly, the will for health must be present
Using a simple example, Bruno Gröning made it very clear what great significance thoughts have. When building a house, the first impetus is the wish to build it. The thought becomes more concrete, until an exact plan is drawn up. Up until this point, the building exists only in the future owner’s imagination. The actual construction is the final step on a path of countless decisions and preparations.
It is exactly the same with healing. First the wish for health has to be there. Then come the mental detachment from the illness and the belief in recovery. The final stage is the physical healing of the body. But this is not a human act. It is an act of grace from God. Man cannot earn it, but he may attain it.
The Poles, “Good” and “Evil”
Humanity lives between them and always has the choice
If man, through free will, can make his own decisions, the question arises: what are the alternatives he can choose between? Bruno Gröning comments as follows: “Never forget, my friends, that a person lives between good and evil. He lives between the two. Here is the good, here is the evil. In between is the person. He decides."
The person has the choice. He can do good or evil. If his neighbor is in trouble he can help him, he can ignore him, and he can even exploit the situation for his own benefit. He is free to do as he wishes. Throughout his life, consciously or unconsciously, man is at crossroads and has to choose either the good or the bad path. Most of the time, the events that shape his life are ordinary, everyday matters.
Take, for example, a friendship that is severed because an honest word spoken by a friend has unleashed momentary rage; or a job is given up because of problems with the boss; or a once-in-a-lifetime offer is passed up because of wounded pride. How often are spontaneous decisions made, which are later regretted, but cannot be reversed? A brief moment can decide the course for the rest of the life, for better or for worse.
Constructive and destructive forces
But how does this come about? What do the concepts “good” and “evil” symbolize? Isn’t life a chain of coincidences to which man is helplessly exposed?
Goodness, explains Bruno Gröning, emanates from God. Evil emanates from his opponent, from Satan. Satan really exists and has made it his goal to destroy everything good, everything divine. Bruno Gröning said, “Who is it, who leaves no stone unturned in his efforts to destroy that which is good, that which is divine? Where does illness come from, the illness that attacks everything that grows here on earth? Take what you will, a fruit or another living thing, and again and again Satan tries to destroy everything. He even manages to gnaw on humanity.”
“Satan, who exists on earth, tries by every means to destroy the good and the divine.”
“Where God is, there is love. Where Satan, there is war.”
In the spiritual world, God and Satan are the opposing poles. God is life itself; Satan seeks to destroy it. Both have hosts of spiritual beings at their sides, and the battle rages relentlessly. Both sides command immense energies. Bruno Gröning described them in simple words: “Divine energy is constructive, and the evil, devilish and satanic is destructive.”
Man can absorb them both and allow them both to influence his body, as well as his soul. The one will strengthen him and build him up; the other will weaken and debase him. Positive energy is the carrier of health, negative energy the carrier of sickness.
Illness is not a punishment from God, but rather the result of false thoughts and deeds
Sickness comes from evil, said Bruno Gröning, and is not – as is frequently claimed – a punishment from God. He called such ideas lies and resolutely repudiated them. God does not punish! Sickness comes from wrong thinking and wrong deeds. Once the cause is removed, the effect will also vanish, and this is God's will.
“Do not believe, as people do, that illness is a punishment from God. Compare it to a child who leaves its parents’ home. From then on, the parents can no longer shield him and protect him. We, too, have left our Father. We must never forget that we are simply and solely God's children. Only He can help us! And He will help us once we have found the path back to Him.”
Free will
A person decides for himself, whether he believes in the illness or health
An inner debate
If pain occurs during the healing process, it is not always easy to believe in Regelungen. Many people become uncertain. “Are these Regelung pains or symptoms of the illness?” Then begins an inner debate as to whether to give greater credence to illness or to health. This is the moment which determines whether the person is to receive healing or, alternatively, how long the healing process will take. It depends on which belief is stronger: their belief in their illness or their belief in their recovery. If they continue to believe in their illness, they will hold on to it. But if they decide to believe in health, the healing process will take place. The person decides himself.
Healing cannot be forced on anyone. Everyone must freely decide for themselves
This is a vital aspect of Bruno Gröning's teaching. He continually emphasized that man has a sacrosanct free will, the highest gift that God can bestow upon a living being. It raises the human from the level of a condemned creature to that of a free child who follows his Father’s laws, not through force, but voluntarily. Yet the free will also enables him to break the laws of God.
Bruno Gröning had the greatest respect for the individual's free will. This is why he can only help those who allow themselves to be helped, those who are prepared to separate themselves from their illness. He can take from them only what they give him of their own free will. Whoever clings to his illness and thinks and talks about it constantly, will wait in vain for healing. Bruno Gröning said, “I’m allowed to help a person find the good path, but I’m not allowed to make this decision for him, nor am I allowed to force him onto it. Everyone must find their path themselves.”
“Regelungen”
The cleansing of the body may at first cause pain
The Regelungen are a part of the cleansing process
Some people experience pain when they absorb the Heilstroms. Gröning called this “Regelungen.” It is an indication that a change is beginning to take place in the body. It is caused by the healing stream, and indicates that the sick organ is being cleansed. Kurt Trampler (a healed person, journalist and author, and occasional helper of Bruno Gröning) wrote about this as follows: “Those seeking help frequently are confused by the Regulung pains. But they are necessary. Some people fear they are having a relapse when the Regelung pain occurs and feel they must go to the doctor.” Gröning said, “This is why I draw your attention to this matter. When the Regelung pain begins, bear it patiently. Nothing bad is happening. It is an indication that the person is getting well.”
These Regelung pains can also vary. They may be similar to those of the illness, but more intense. They can also be quite different. Every case is different, as each person’s body reacts individually to the Heilstrom.
The person cannot be spared the Regelungen pain. It is part of the cleansing process, in which the dirt of the illness is removed from the body.
The process of Regelungen
Bruno Gröning explained the phenomenon of Regelung pains by comparing the body to a dirty milk jug. "What," he asked, "needs to be done when the sour, smelly milk in the jug was is to be replaced by fresh milk? First the bad milk must be poured out, and then the jug must be cleaned. It is much the same with the human body. The person must first separate himself mentally from the illness – pour out the bad milk – then the body must be cleansed of impurities - Regelung pains – and only when the vessel is clean can the fresh milk be poured in – health moves into the body.”
In another example, he compared the human being to a fruit bowl. “Take a bowl filled with anything, let's say fruit, which is left to stand for days, meaning, it was left there and no one bothered about it, and no one knew how to look after it, and it went bad. You can't enjoy this fruit anymore. And now someone comes along and wants to give you new, healthy fruit. It would be very stupid to put the new, healthy fruit on top of the rotten fruit, because the healthy fruit would soon be in the same condition as the rotten fruit. If you want to have healthy fruit, then you must first throw away the bad, the unhealthy, the inedible. But not only that: this fruit bowl as such has to be cleaned in order to receive the healthy fruit. Compare this fruit bowl to your body and the fruit to your sick organs. Health is what you wish for, but it is not possible if you can't throw the bad away, in this case meaning, if you dwell upon your illness.”
