Joseph Michael Contrada has studied and practiced Eastern and Western approaches to the spiritual life, healing and medicine for five decades.
Over the past 25 years, increasingly deep engagement with Dr. Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophical teachings and the associated system of medicine he inaugurated, in cooperation with Dr. Ita Wegman, have provided clear direction to Joseph’s path as a teacher and healer.
Joseph is also a Heilpraktiker (Lic. German Healthcare & Psychotherapy Provider) who has been trained in, and has clinical experience working with, a broad spectrum of complementary and alternative therapies.
Combining perceptual insights into the subtle aspects of the human being with his state-of-the-art knowledge of healing and medicine, Joseph is open to insights from within. He tailors the consultations, therapeutic conversations and healing treatments he provides to the perceived deep healing requirements of the individual at that point in her or his life.
German Heilpraktiker
In the mid-1990s, Joseph entered upon a course of training in anatomy, physiology, pathology, diagnostics and therapeutics at the Thalamus Heilpraktikerschule and the Zentrum für Naturheilkunde. He was admitted to the Heilpraktiker profession in 2001. In subsequent years, he continued his professional training at the Isolde Richter Heilpraktikerschule, further expanding his knowledge of Western Alchemical Medicines, Anthroposophic Medicine, Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Joseph has also deepened his understanding of Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine in the United States through courses with David Crow, Jai Dev Singh, Dr. David Frawley, Robert Peng, Bruce Frantzis, Damo Mitchell, Dr. Roger Jahnke, and Dr. Jerry Alan Johnson.
Spiritual Healer and Energy Therapist
As a young adult, Joseph began to investigate the subtle aspects of ourselves and of our environment through studying European, Indian and Chinese philosophies. He also explored the Mystery traditions of the East and West. His own interest in multidimensional health and healing led him to experiment with spiritual, mental and physical practices originating from those traditions.
East-West Esoteric Healing
While a student in the Arcane School and a member of the Lucis Trust headquarters group in the early 1990s, Joseph studied and implemented the extensive teaching on the Seven Rays as the basis for a unique system of esoteric psychology, astrology and healing.
Yogic Pranic Healing
Over the same time period, Joseph trained as a pranic healing practitioner and teacher with Del Pe and Master Choa Kok Sui. He then served as Vice President at the Center for Pranic Healing in New York. His wife Petra and he were subsequently chosen to train pranic healing practitioners and teachers in Germany and the Netherlands.
Once established in Germany, Joseph and Petra founded an institute to promote spiritual studies, meditation and healing. They travelled throughout the country lecturing, facilitating workshops, and providing spiritual and energy healing treatments.
Qigong, Neigong, Shengong | Daoist Internal Alchemy | Medical Qigong Therapy
Periodically throughout his adult life, Joseph studied and practiced Neigong, Qigong and Shengong to maintain his own good health, increase his energy skill, and deepen his understanding of clinical applications of Chinese energetic medicine.
Christian Esoteric Healing
In the late 1980s, Joseph encountered The Magus of Stravolos, an account of the Christian mystic and healer Dr. Stylianos Atteshlis (“Daskalos”). He then went on to work with the spiritual teachings and exercises in Daskalos’ The Esoteric Teachings and The Esoteric Practices. Over the intervening years he has returned again and again to re-engage with Daskalos’ teachings.
Anthroposophic Medicine
Joseph’s level of competence has been acquired through close study of foundational texts of Anthroposophical Medicine, beginning with the work of Dr. Rudolf Steiner, Dr. Ita Wegman and their closest associates. In our time, the publications of the German Anthroposophical medical doctor Volker Fintelmann have been found particularly helpful. Prayer, meditation and direct work with patients have proven indispensable for expanding and deepening his wisdom and knowledge, thus facilitating effective practice.
Mentor
Joseph encourages patients and students to implement beneficial, self-chosen health, lifestyle and right livelihood changes. This can significantly amplify the Life-enhancing effects of our medical consultations and healing treatments.
In the Final Analysis…
In summarizing five decades of studies, practical application of spiritual teachings, and teaching and healing experience, Joseph affirms:
“The right patients and students appear when the healing and teaching that flow through us will benefit them most.”
His adventure as an inquisitive, joyful human being continues to unfold as he teaches and learns, as he transmits healing to others and is healed.