What Is Spiritual Healing?

Outside of conventional medical practices are the ‘Alternative Therapies’. These include Reiki, massage, herbal or homeopathic remedies, and energy or touch point therapies. Any and all of these can be very effective; however, they are passive –meaning they are done for you or to you. They can restore well-being and help strengthen the body but may NOT maintain a healthy balance indefinitely without uncovering the patterns that triggered the imbalance. Spiritual healing is pro-active. It requires your participation and becomes a journey of empowerment and wholeness.  

Most dis-ease stems from a metaphysical base. When I use the term metaphysical, I mean beyond the physical.  We may want to blame stress, the environment, or our bodies; however, two people can experience the same stress or trauma with only one falling ‘victim’ to it. The weakness comes from what we believe about ourselves in our relationship to others, the world around us, or even our thoughts about life and death.

Growing scientific evidence states that toxic emotion can contribute to disease or destructive relationship habits. Awareness that emotions, feelings and the power of thought have a direct bearing upon our physical health becomes one of the first steps into spiritual healing. A willingness to consider that we are in some way co-creators of what has happened to us, begins the understanding that we have the power to be part of correcting it.

SPIRITUAL is not RELIGIOUS. Although many spiritual people are religious, there are just as many religious people that are not spiritual. Spiritual is recognition of how we are connected to all other life.  Our inability to understand this is the cause of most of the imbalances in our culture.

We are muti-dimensional beings. In ancient times there was a greater understanding that declines in health or happiness were a reflection of an emotional or mental (spiritual) imbalance. Priests or priestesses were the healers of the time. The popularity of the Hawaiian healing technique, Ho’o pono pono,  has brought a resurgence of this  awareness into the 20^th century. There is an ever increasing interest to learn how the mind influences the body for optimum health. Spiritual Healing work empowers people with the ability to remove and replace negative emotions, feelings, and thoughts with positive beneficial ones. 

People referred to as Spiritual Healers are simply guides, teaching techniques that offer others awareness.  Although I was working as an alternative healer, I felt I was within conventional procedures using my degrees as a Traditional  Naturopath (T.ND) and Master Herbalist. It was after I began to apply what I had learned and personally practiced from traditional elders and though Metaphysics studies that new referrals invariably would say “I was told you are a spiritual healer.”

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The Scents of the Holidays

Three of the things I enjoy most about winter holidays are: the music, lights and the aromas.  The strong aromatics of pine and rosemary, rich camphoraceous scents of frankincense and myrrh, all fill me with a sense of wellbeing. I bring in fresh greens to mix amongst my artificial pieces and burn incense in the afternoons.  The shorten daylight hours and lower temperatures of winter  leave me craving the warming fragrances (and taste) of cinnamon and clove added to the sunny sweet smell of orange. The best way I know to enjoy those is by making tea.



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            . Brewing pots of tea is another way I fill my home with aromas that bring pleasant memories of years gone while strengthening my immune system. Only part of this immune benefit comes from drinking the tea, the other comes from the influence its aroma has on the olfactory bulb of the brain and the psychological energetic plane.   The warm sunny aroma of orange conveys joy and positivity. You may wonder what a recipe for tea has to do with a blog about making changes but, sometimes it’s easier to change viewpoints by making simple changes in the environment.  

The instructions for making the tea are simple.
You’ll need a fresh orange ( I prefer organic) Wash and peel it. Eat the orange, save the peel.

2 clove buds

4 sticks of cinnamon

6 tea bags. I use black tea but the Lipton type blends of orange pekoe , even green tea will work.

 To make enough for a 1 liter pitcher put a quart and a half of water in a 2 qt. sauce pan. Place the orange peel, clove buds and cinnamon into a pot of water. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat, add the tea bags and cover so that the tea steeps for 20 minutes.  Remove the fruit peels, tea bags and spices. Sweeten to taste with your personal preference of sweeteners. I like agave nectar.

This can be drunk hot or cold and left-over can be stored in the refrigerator for about 5 days.  

 

Orange peel, especially dried, is an important part of Chinese medicine. It stimulates digestion and relieves spasms. In the early 18^th century sweet orange was reputed to alleviate nervous disorders, colic,  liver and stomach problems.  It helps in the digestion of fats. It was also used  to treat conditions such as coughing, arthritis and sore throats.

Adding clove and cinnamon to the tea expands the possibilities of health improvement. Modern research finds that cinnamon may lower blood sugar in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. It helps in cases of depression, the common cold, and can help fight against bacterial and fungal infections. Cloves are anti-fungal, antibacterial, and antiseptic. They’re a good source of some minerals especially manganese.  

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Intuitive Living

A recent LinkedIn thread began with the question: “Has Your Intuition Protected or Saved Your Life?” I always appreciate probing questions and this one definitely set my mind to musing as I began the search of memory files for specific experiences and circumstances that would fit the question. In the struggle to remember particulars, my mind presented its own question: When am I not being guided by intuition?

I’ve been a practicing metaphysician for more than twenty years. Even before that I was delving into the mysteries, asking unusual questions and sitting for quiet periods allowing my mind to travel etheric highways of information. All of these habits brought long stares and the brand ‘eccentric’ from family members. However, those habits have also guided me to a way of living that brings me happiness. Whenever I look back at the decisions made, I can see where choosing another route might not have brought as satisfying a result. 

My years of counselingclients along with studies beside traditional elders have widened my  understanding in patterns relating to health, relationships and lifestyles of people that live guided by intuition and those who do not. First world cultures value reliance on academic or scientific information over the internal promptings that are the preference of the less economically developed societies.

My belief is that there are four areas where human beings draw decision making information. I list them from the most base to highest guidance:  

1.      Instincts (behavior performed without prior experience or learning)

2.       Cultural training or condition (belief systems, perceived safety and learned values)

3.       Gut reaction (an etheric DNA, sins of the fathers, attitudes or behavior before applied reason.

4.       Intuitive (knowledge beyond understanding of how or where; never harms another life form) 

Intuition is an inner voice available to all. It is a wordless language of the heart connection. Yet in cultures that rely on mental programming over feelings, 10% of the decisions are made instinctively, 50% from cultural training, 15% from gut reactions, and only 5% from intuitive guidance. That leaves 20% of the decisions being made from some chaotic distraction which often include influences from advertising. 

In traditional or aboriginal peoples, around 5% of the actions are instinctive, 15% from cultural training, 35% from gut Impressions, and 45% from intuition and a deep connection with the Earth. The reduced influence from cultural training is because the teaching in these cultures is to connect with nature and Spirit to find answers. 

Choosing to follow a more intuitive lifestyle helped me find my husband, guided us from Florida to Hawaii where I was accepted by Hawaiian teachers and family. It was through meditation and intuition that I received an invitation (and the funds) to travel on pilgrimage with Mayan elders through Guatemala. The same process of meditation and intuition led me to my beautiful home on the Caribbean coast of Honduras. I feel my life has been greatly blessed, and quite possibly saved from many painful lessons or uncomfortable situations in my choosing intuitive living. How have you followed your intuition?

Charity and Compassion

It was during the years I lived in Florida that I first began seeing men standing at intersections holding signs that read: Will Work For Food. At first, it was shocking in its newness; afterwards it became a personal conflict. I would often overhear groups of people talking about what a racket it was. They would say that limousines delivered the men to various corners. However, I had not seen this; could it be true or a lie? Then one day I was driving home from the grocery store. A man with a sign approached my car while I was stopped at the light. He was holding his sign to my window and looking in my eyes. I had to make a decision, it was no longer a matter for debate. It was there in that moment the world became silent. All the voices and arguments were gone. I had clarity. It was not my responsibility to decide if this man deserved my help or not. He was asking for food; I gave him a loaf of bread.  

What a relief and blessing it was once the decision was made. It is not my responsibility to judge whether someone else deserves to be helped.  When someone asks, give what they ask for. I did not give money, he asked for food. Where I live in Honduras, there is very little financial aid for those with physical limitations or the very ill. Often I’ll see a mother with a invalid child holding her hand out while standing outside a grocery store, a blind man with a brother or neighbor helping him request donations at a traffic light. There is generally some handicapped person in  a wheel chair holding out a jar at an intersection. People from other cultures can find these sights disturbing but within the culture here, there is a quiet understanding.

Those who have help those who cannot help themselves. I see it in so many levels here. If your life is blessed with a car then you financially aid those that are walking blind or in wheelchairs when they stand asking for help. If you live in a nicer house with a number of electric appliances, you pay the highest rate for electricity so that the poor who use little receive their electric free. The emotional benefit is a wonderful feel-good. There is also the added benefit of being free of guilt or shame in having while living amongst those who don’t. The benefit that comes on the energy or spiritual level is the highest reward. It is what is often referred to as The Golden Rule.

SING OUT A HAPPY SONG

It used to surprise me when  clients or guest from my Healing Vacations would complain that they cannot keep a happy positive focus. They start out with the best intentions; making commitments to personal practices, writing in journals and making lists. Then, once they leave the sanctity of their private space and reenter the everyday world, all their poise and peace vaporizes in the din.

It is easy enough to see how this might happen. I once read that the majority of the world lives in quiet desperation. Compound that fact with the stress levels of our culture and being drawn into the current of surrounding negativity probably feels more natural than the effort necessary to keep heads above the water. Those trapped within cycles of anxiety and depression or were raised using anger and resentment  as shields find staying positive especially difficult. 

The magic solution I use and teach is to have a happy song. During a time when you are feeling balanced and lighthearted, think of a song.  Practice singing your song so it becomes a ready tool. Thoughts can follow a downward spiral or an upward one. A day may be filled with events we didn’t choose, but only we decide how  to think  about the event. When something jolts your well-being or when negativity threatens your peace, sing aloud.  It is impossible to think of anything else when you are trying to recall the lyrics of a song. So, Listen to the Carpenters –Sing

Here are a couple more personal favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu7i0fnmW64

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A

photo courtesy of yahoo free photos