XIII. On the Essential Nature of Illness and Healing

In every age of life, to every organ of the human body a certain intensity of etheric activity is properly assigned and corresponds moreover to a certain intensity of the astral. It depends upon these relationships whether or not the astral body can properly engage itself with the etheric. If through a lowering of etheric activity it is unable to do so, pain ensues, if on the other hand the etheric body becomes active beyond its normal measure, the mutual penetration of astral and etheric activities becomes unusually intense. Pleasure and comfort ensue. We must however bear in mind that pleasure enhanced beyond a certain point passes over into pain, likewise pain into pleasure. If this were not borne in mind what is here said might seem in contradiction with some former explanations.