HealI heal, you heal, she heals…Obviously, this isn’t a grammar lesson.

The Buddha’s first noble truth is: There is suffering. My modern version of it is: You’re born, you get wounded.

A healer’s first responsibility is to heal self. “Healer” is a noun but to truly fulfill that role, it has to become a verb. (Okay, maybe it is a grammar lesson.)

Since wounding is inevitable, a healer also starts there. The verb comes in when s/he chooses not to stop there, but plunges into the opportunity to transform self from wounded to healed.

For instance, Reiki is by its nature first an internal discipline for the practitioner and moves out from that cultivated center.

Healing is a relationship. If the healing relationship is stripped to its essential substance, what emerges is trust.

Trusting the possibility of healing.

Trusting the inner Healer.

Trusting the outer healing facilitator.

Once the inner self feels trust, cooperation is freely given and healing begins and progresses. This is true for self-healing, or going to a healer (which is ultimately also self-healing).

A healer has a unique orientation.

Healers are receptacles of stories. Healers hold for individuals, and by accumulation for everyone, the shared story of the human journey. It’s a great privilege to receive first-hand the details of a person’s life, their triumphs and defeats.

In the silent, compassionate and deeply connected space of the healing relationship, the mystery of being human is revealed bit by bit, and the healer also gains insight about her/his own process. This is richly satisfying and fulfills the edicts of rightful living. Everyone is helped and the global human experience is also transformed as all things are connected.

Healers become an ally only in proportion to the embracing qualities of attentiveness, true listening and understanding. People go to healers because they don’t feel heard or understood by spouses, family, friends, doctors, therapists, coaches or clergy.

True listening happens from a still inner environment of non-agenda and non-judgment, where ego isn’t involved. This model can be employed by anyone in daily living too. For instance, imagine what relationships would be like if both parties embraced this orientation.

Being truly seen is vital. People show you their best if you truly see and hear them. Whether you’re a healer or not, honor the person in front of you.

Seeing and hearing others starts with seeing and hearing yourself. If you don’t know yourself, how can you know anyone else?

Seeing and hearing go hand in hand. When you look at someone, do you see a personality or the self under it? Do you see the pain, or the healing possibility? The healing potential always exists, it’s a constant, but it’s up to each person to choose it.

Here’s a keyword: Acknowledge. It means ‘to know,’ ‘to recognize.’ Recognize the people around you. This has an enormous place in the corporate world for example and is often missed.

Recognize the power of healing inherent within you.

“Acknowledge” also means mutual honor and thanks. Does that exist in your marriage, your company’s mission statement, is it your personal orientation?

A healer is a story-holder. Being a story-holder is sacred. It’s an entrusted role.

Not everyone is called to be a healer. The world needs people is a great variety of roles. However, everyone can cultivate a healing worldview.

Ruminate, then journal, draw, and dance this prompt:

What are the ways in which I can activate the healing that’s buried but available in the layers of my suffering?


Related:

Healing aphorisms: A template for awakening

An interview about Self-Transformation

The Healer

The Healer II