Dis-ease and Healing: Where’s My Magic Bullet?

Recently, I listened with interest as my friend described to a small group how she had experienced serious back problems for 35 years. She shared with gratitude that she was now free from these back problems after one year of treatment with an alternative care provider. I was surprised when one of the women in the group expressed dismay that it had taken a whole year to heal.

In our quick-fix culture we are constantly being told that instant healing is a pill or a surgery away—or even a diet or an alternative treatment away. But how many times have you (or someone you know) actually experienced an instant, permanent cure?

Contrary to appearances, everyone has some healing work to do in this life. Illness and healing are simply a part of the school of life.

Learning and Growing

One of the most important aspects of healing is the learning and growth that accompanies this process. But often we see healing as a final goal, a destination that we will arrive at and be “done.”

In high school and college, good grades and the prospect of being “done” were my primary motivators. Happily, I rediscovered my love of learning when I began homeschooling my children. Now, the idea of being “done” with learning and education sounds terrible to me.

I find strong parallels between education and healing. Both are all about learning and growth. We can try to cheat and skip past the learning and growth, but in the long run that really doesn’t serve our best interests.

As a homeschooler, one of my favorite philosophers is Charlotte Mason, an English educator who lived about one hundred years ago. I recognize much wisdom in her teaching methods, and my children (and I) have benefited greatly from her work. Mason advocated “living books” for children and her primary philosophy was: “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.”

In other words, education is something you live and do every day. It’s never finished; it’s a way of life.

Perhaps illness and dis-ease is a part of our education in this life? Healing is a part of life that brings learning and growth, if we are open to it.

I have worked with a number of people who expect miraculous results from just one session of Healing Touch or EFT. I guess that comes from the quick-fix culture that is promoted in self-help books and the media. In my experience, though, real healing takes time and active engagement in the process on all levels: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

Think back to a time in your life when you were experiencing dis-ease (illness or emotional pain). Did you learn more about your strengths and weaknesses, and do you appreciate your good health more now? Now that you are on the other side of that experience, would you give up the lessons you learned?

The Magic Bullet

According to Arnold Mindell in his book, The Quantum Mind and Healing, symptoms are our allies, helping us on our path of learning and growth. He calls symptoms “awareness indicators” that, when attended to on a subtle level, are key to healing.

Our bodies are so amazing. We are truly creations of the Divine. Your body knows how to heal itself—you have experienced this anytime you’ve had a cold, a cut or a bruise, or a broken bone. Sometimes it needs some help with that process. Your job is to clear the path to healing and create optimal conditions for healing. Your body will do the rest!

So, here’s the big secret in healing: Your body *is* the Magic Bullet.

Instead of looking outside yourself for healing, pay attention to those “awareness indicators,” AKA symptoms. Set the stage for healing by clearing your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual blocks and supporting yourself on all of these levels.

Yes, this takes time but you will learn and grow tremendously in the process. Now I admit that I am as impatient as anyone. But I recognize that I have come a long way in my own healing and that helps me keep moving forward.

Be patient with yourself and honor your own progress. You may even come to a point when you no longer need to be “done” with healing and find that you are comfortable just moving through the process.

“[Healing] is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.”