ON HEALERS AND HEALING

The most important part of the work I do doesn't lie in my skill with any of the modalities I employ in my therapeutic practice. The most important quality I have is my willingness to hold the "terrible secret" and to keep them, my client; safe and secure on all levels while their body releases this to their mind.

Many people use terms like "healer", "hands on healer", "psychic healer" and so on. They even talk about the "healer within" without understanding what they are talking about. The truth about being a healer is that we don't really heal anyone. An individual has to do their own healing.

Many people want to believe that they can go to a healer and that person can "fix" them. As though they are broken. This is patently untrue. A healer is merely a highly skilled or gifted individual who can hold a space open for you and guide you through your own healing process.

Many individuals come to me with the first question being "How long?". When I tell them that it depends on their response and how much work they want to do, they feel that I am hedging. In all honesty, I tell them that, on the average, they will notice a change after the first session and most clients will need 15 sessions. Sometimes an individual needs fewer, and sometimes many more, depending on the case. There are many people these days who seem to want microwave therapy. No work, no inconvenience, nothing icky or uncomfortable. It's a form of magical thinking that they can have someone do all the work for them and they will be magically healed. My role as therapist isn't to do all the work or "fix" them or take away the pain for them, but to help guide them back to a place of wholeness within. I merely facilitate, open the space, guide you, support you, and keep you safe, thereby allowing your spirit, or "healer within", to heal you. That's how true healing takes place. It's about allowing it to happen.

My most important skills are in knowing where to look, where to touch, how to ask the body to release the memories or experiences that are creating the problems you have been xperiencing as blocks to leading a happy and healthy life, then presenting this to the conscious mind through talk to complete the process. Therein lies my ability through my training that you actually consciously see.

My ability to channel energy is also talked about. Yes, I can and do pass energy through me to my client to shore things up and clean things out while my client is going through their process. I can even use it to help repair their energy field, but the key here is channeling energy though me. I don't give anybody my energy, I channel it from the universal source. All I do is tap into it. I'm a go-between. It's a wonderful gift and privilege to be allowed to exercise, but the energy isn't personally mine.

A term I hear often is "false hope." There are many out there who believe that if a person seeks
out an alternative healer this person gives to them is false hope. Especially if their opinion or prognosis for the individual differs. There is no such thing as "false" hope. Hope is something that you either have or not. Hope is what supports us as human beings, especially in times of great need, such as while experiencing a critical illness or spiritual or moral crisis. It supports our will to live. Without it, no healing can take place no matter which type is chosen be it alternative or traditional medicine. If you want to watch a person collapse totally, just tell them "There is no hope". Watch first hand as the life force drains out of them and hopelessness sets in. Hopelessness leads to collapse of the spirit and then to death.

If anybody tells you that if you pay them a certain amount of money and they will then do some magical thing that will instantly heal you, run away fast. There is no such thing as instant healing. Short term therapy, yes. Instant, no. If they tell you that there is a curse on you and that that if you don't pay them a lot of money to lift it for you, you will be cursed forever, run away very fast and don't look back. All they want is your money.

The other important thing to remember is to choose a therapist who matches with your personality, your needs, and who you trust. I have found that if a person trusts their practitioner, believes in the work being done and feels supported by the practitioner, healing can take place. One of the best ways to find a practitioner is to get a referral from a friend or family member. Or you can find one from listings on a web directory, publications that carry listings, or the phone .book. Once you have decided to call, talk with the practitioner about your needs and get a feel for whether or not you feel you can work with them. Have they helped others with this problem before? Successfully? Then move onto pertinent details like price, duration of the first appointment, and other details. Don't ask how long it will take or how many sessions until after the first visit. Healers need to see you first in order to have enough information to go by. And don't ask for guarantees. There are no guarantees in life except maybe on kitchen appliances and other such things.