What is "Healing?"
The word healing is often used to describe the movement towards a greater sense of health and wellbeing. Alternative therapists of all types use it to describe a better alignment of body, mind, and spirit.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary gives the following definitions of healing:
to make sound or whole
to restore to health
to cause (an undesirable condition) to be overcome
to restore to original purity or integrity
to return to a sound state
I believe healing is the awareness of moving to a greater state of wholeness, on whatever level you are working on (i.e. body, mind, emotions, etc.). It is inviting things to move up and out of your system that were put there through the process of living that are no longer serving you. It is also bringing a greater awareness to what you want there instead.
Think of it like a splinter in your finger. It will have to work its way out of the skin, then the skin will have to heal and an awareness of things that cause splinters and how to avoid them will be gained.
Undesired states
Our relationship with the state of being unwell is often so uncomfortable that we can’t accept it. We criticize and blame ourselves and/or our conditions for making us unwell and focus all of our energy on understanding the problem. As we focus on the problem, we expand it. This expansion actually clarifies our desires through the reflection of what we don’t want. Sometimes we get stuck there.
Healing is taking place all the time. We are healing even when we are moving further into an undesirable condition. But we don’t focus on the kind of healing, that happens in the background while we are busy suffering and trying hard.
By focusing all of our attention on the problem, we spin deeper and deeper into a relationship with that problem. This process can go on for weeks, months and even years until we are worn out; we often just surrender or say “forget it "why do I even try?” At that point real healing can begin because our focus softens and our natural state begins to restore itself.
The mystery of cure
Spontaneous healing takes place all the time – it is the basis of great books and movies. One story I would highly recommend is “Dying To Be Me” by Anita Moorjani.
From the moment we are born until the moment we die we are renewing cells, refining beliefs, and witnessing ourselves on greater and greater levels that are bringing us into our whole selves. The interesting part of healing is it actually works better if we don’t try so hard.
What can you do to heal?
Sometimes a physical ailment requires a physical treatment. But often a physical ailment also requires emotional, mental or spiritual treatment as well. Sometimes healing comes from a new awareness or understanding and it allows you to pop through to the other side of the unwell state.
Sometimes healing comes from learning you can only eat certain kinds of food or exercise in a certain way. Sometimes you don't know what healed you but you are just better and sometimes, you never escape the unwell state and die trying.
For those people who end up leaving the physical plane, never finding resolution for their symptoms, this is often a more complicated healing journey than can be completed in one life time. If you aren’t a believer in reincarnation, you might have a hard time believing this, but most of us are on a much grander journey of self-awareness and expansion that can be completed with one life. Not everything will or is meant to be solved.
The best thing you can do to facilitate your own healing is to love and accept yourself just where you are. Learn to listen to your undesired state and ask to understand the benefits of your present condition. It is hard to look at your suffering as a benefit, but it is in there and the sooner you start to give space to that benefit, the sooner you can give a voice to the benefit and not just the suffering.
What can help you?
There is not one, magical answer for bringing in healing. There is not one, magical person or technique for everyone.
There is, however, a whole group of people on this planet who came to be of service to this suffering. They are exploring ideas of wellness and pain in order to help others find a way to heal.
The technique of the healer often isn’t the “magic bullet” but the healer’s intention to bring their client into a state of healing and the clients ability to receive that intention that works. It is a combination of trust, understanding, intentions and soul connection that initiates the work and allows it to move into a healing state.
The healers who will be able to help you most are those you can trust, and be open and honest with in your journey. If you can’t be honest, you are likely to block the benefits of working with them.
Healing Crisis
A healing crisis is when someone is pushed so far into the process of shifting their current condition to a different state that it causes resonance flair. The person cannot resonate with the process and begins to move into a deeper state of discomfort and a fractured self. It can often hinder or even halt true healing and cause people to back off from treatments prematurely – when they need them the most.
Some healers subscribe to Hering’s Law of Cure which describes an order of healing that involves a detoxing period when the patient may actually feel worse before getting better. I found this article helpful in regard to understanding suppressing symptoms vs. healing them. http://thefalknerschool.com/2013/07/01/suppression-vs-healing/
As an energy healer, I don’t think this process is completely necessary, but most humans I know are better learners if the process is hard and uncomfortable. When things are easy we often forget to pay attention to ourselves or learn from situations so we don’t do them again.
I think it is wise to help people avoid extreme states of discomfort when trying to encourage healing. I have found that pushing too hard can often cause the body, mind and spirit to drive unwanted things deeper in rather than up and out. But some discomfort in the process is inevitable and a good learning experience. It often helps us understand that healing is in fact taking place.
Bottom line - you are always healing. Everything you do is healing. The choice is in how you focus on it and whom you choose to help you on your journey. There are many ways and many people who can help. If you don’t focus solely on the struggle, but rather on the journey and the gifts along the way, you might find a new way of enhancing your own sense of healing.