I have to admit – this has taken 4 months to write.
I’ve had the title for ages, but couldn’t work out the answer. I was so curious what was going to be revealed, but the blog was taking its sweet time.
But it seems, first, I had to process through each viewpoint.
I thought… well, the client does the healing then? The body heals itself, right?
But that didn’t sit quite right. Why would they come for a healing session then? Unless the body or another aspect of the being needed help starting the healing process.
And really, does the body heal… or does it only know to how maintain equilibrium and regenerate (replace)? Is this what healing is about?
I thought… ok, well then, the healer does the healing? I guess they do have techniques and processes that facilitates healing.
But what about spontaneous healing and self-healing? What about those rare clients where you’ve hardly done anything yet and they just start having insights and things happen by themselves. I just sit and witness.
I’ve had the title for ages, but couldn’t work out the answer. I was so curious what was going to be revealed, but the blog was taking its sweet time.
But it seems, first, I had to process through each viewpoint.
I thought… well, the client does the healing then? The body heals itself, right?
But that didn’t sit quite right. Why would they come for a healing session then? Unless the body or another aspect of the being needed help starting the healing process.
And really, does the body heal… or does it only know to how maintain equilibrium and regenerate (replace)? Is this what healing is about?
I thought… ok, well then, the healer does the healing? I guess they do have techniques and processes that facilitates healing.
But what about spontaneous healing and self-healing? What about those rare clients where you’ve hardly done anything yet and they just start having insights and things happen by themselves. I just sit and witness.
I thought about the various modalities where healing can be accessed – bodywork to energy healing to counselling and more. Some use influence (physical manipulation, energy channelling, etc) while others hold space, and many are combination of both.
I thought… Well, then it’s both? They both do the healing.
That didn’t sit quite right either. If it was both, to what degree does each person contribute to the healing? Does that differ for each healing modality? Some modalities or healing techniques don’t even require much input from either client or healer (for example, bioresonance machines or ozone therapy).
And then it came. My answer.
Who does the healing – the healer or the client?
Neither.
No one ‘does’ healing. Healing is the combination of ‘right’ key pieces coming together to create a positive transformational outcome, on the physical and non-physical.
This may be a reversing of symptoms. It may be an experience that all is right in the world again. An unravelling of whatever chaos has occurred. A returning to your true self.
That’s why healing is NOT a procedure or protocol.
That was my biggest mistake as a new kinesiologist. I thought, “they have this problem and this protocol is design for that type of problem – so if I follow the protocol, then that will fix their problem!” No… it didn’t always work out like that.
Yes, the healer may have a procedure or protocol they follow – but that isn’t healing. That’s a technique that allows the opportunity for healing in given circumstances. But if that particular person doesn’t require that technique, then the healing won’t ‘work’ for what ails them.
Yes, the body (& other aspects of the being) do work with principles of maintaining equilibrium/homeostasis. But that isn’t healing, although it can be made use of. The incessant need for the body to maintain equilibrium can also be part of the reason why things go wrong in the first place (especially if the body can’t see the spanner sitting in the works).
Defining healing
It seems that everyone’s definition of healing is different.
We all think we’re talking about the same thing, but there can be very different ideas of how that might come about or look like. For example:
We treat healing as some magical force that acts upon us, and it’s true – it is magical… but it’s not some force field that tickles its fancy on who it will bestow its gifts. It’s the coming together of the key ingredients needed to facilitate the health/healing outcome you desire.
That may be something simple & easy.
Or it may require working through many layers from various avenues over many years.
Because each situation is unique. The combination lock has its own unique code, even if it looks the same as any other. Each situation requires its own pathway of healing – there are often multiple choices of a path, but not all paths are equal or take you the whole journey that you require.
And not all paths will work.
But it’s not about finding the ‘one key’ healing session. Or the ‘one key’ healer or modality that is going to cure all that ails.
That’s not how true healing works.
Because we are diverse, multi-faceted beings – based on our genetic make-up, history, health habits, emotional intelligence, environment and more – so many things influence us, throw us off-kilter and prompt us to adapt & grow.
If I was to define healing, it would be that it is an ease of suffering.
It’s a transmuting out of suffering into a more neutral paradigm, where the promotion and creation of flourishing health can begin. Healing is not the end journey, but just the start. Health is the true end goal, and that is about developing a collaborative relationship with our ‘vehicle’ (body, emotions, energy, mind, etc).
But... is there even such a thing as ultimate healing? Ultimate health?
I don’t have the answer to that, but the journey doesn’t seem to ever end. And I don’t think I ever want it to.
The role of the healer
After talking to many healers, it seems that many are put off by the term ‘healer’.
The most common response to those who don’t identify with it (& yet work in the health & healing industry) is that they don’t do the healing.
Instead they feel the client heals themselves, and they only facilitate the healing.
Why is using the term ‘healer’ a problem? I’m not clear but it seems to imply to some that the healer heals and is fully responsible with the outcome, with the client as a passive receiver (or even victim).
Regardless of whether the term healer implies certain ideas about the healer’s role versus the client’s role, there seems to be insufficient open discussion of the roles and responsibilities between healer and client. Where’s the boundary?
And why does the term ‘healer’ evoke images of a mystical being, levitating as beams of light stream out of its hands?!
I’ll reiterate my personal thoughts about healing – neither the healer nor the client does the healing. But both facilitate the right key pieces to allow healing to occur.
So, what is the role of the healer?
They bring their expertise (through training, life experience, objective witnessing) to the mix, and in a way, can act as a catalyst for change. This can happen with bodywork, nutrition, emotional work, energy healing and more.
Sometimes they are effective, sometimes they aren’t.
Sometimes the technique is not what is needed, sometimes it is.
Sometimes the personalities clash, other times it’s a perfect match.
Sometimes the level of belief is enough, other times it’s not.
A better question to ask is…
What is NOT the role of the healer?
Here’s a quick summary I've collected in discussion with other healers, but there’s some good ones here:
Some weird things about healing
I didn’t know where to insert these thoughts into this article, so I’m just dot-pointing them here:
The key pieces for healing
What sets up the healing pieces to come together – if it’s not a particular healer or a particular healing modality?
When healing involves a healer, it really becomes a collaborative approach while that relationship exists.
Both healer & client bring knowledge – the healer with expertise & experience of the techniques they know and the client with their knowledge of their own history and what has worked or not worked in the past.
Both healer & client bring willingness – the healer brings willingness to witness and share knowledge and the client brings willingness to be witnessed and the vulnerability of being directed/held.
Both healer & client bring intention – for the health & well-being of the client.
And likewise, both healer & client can bring that which hinders the potential for healing – interruptions, resistances, old patterns of behaviour that deter from healing outcomes. The more self-awareness on both ends, the better the potential.
The healer and the client can come together and catalyse the transformation (experience of healing), but neither of them ‘do’ healing. Perhaps, it’s better to say that in them coming together collaboratively, they allow for the possibility of healing.
I thought… Well, then it’s both? They both do the healing.
That didn’t sit quite right either. If it was both, to what degree does each person contribute to the healing? Does that differ for each healing modality? Some modalities or healing techniques don’t even require much input from either client or healer (for example, bioresonance machines or ozone therapy).
And then it came. My answer.
Who does the healing – the healer or the client?
Neither.
No one ‘does’ healing. Healing is the combination of ‘right’ key pieces coming together to create a positive transformational outcome, on the physical and non-physical.
This may be a reversing of symptoms. It may be an experience that all is right in the world again. An unravelling of whatever chaos has occurred. A returning to your true self.
That’s why healing is NOT a procedure or protocol.
That was my biggest mistake as a new kinesiologist. I thought, “they have this problem and this protocol is design for that type of problem – so if I follow the protocol, then that will fix their problem!” No… it didn’t always work out like that.
Yes, the healer may have a procedure or protocol they follow – but that isn’t healing. That’s a technique that allows the opportunity for healing in given circumstances. But if that particular person doesn’t require that technique, then the healing won’t ‘work’ for what ails them.
Yes, the body (& other aspects of the being) do work with principles of maintaining equilibrium/homeostasis. But that isn’t healing, although it can be made use of. The incessant need for the body to maintain equilibrium can also be part of the reason why things go wrong in the first place (especially if the body can’t see the spanner sitting in the works).
Defining healing
It seems that everyone’s definition of healing is different.
We all think we’re talking about the same thing, but there can be very different ideas of how that might come about or look like. For example:
- Releasing what doesn’t serve
- Returning to your true self
- Sense of balance
- Removing blocks from the energy field
- Facing the past & being able to let it go
- Letting go of old wounds & unwanted emotions
- Fixing something that’s hurting
- Returning to wellness
We treat healing as some magical force that acts upon us, and it’s true – it is magical… but it’s not some force field that tickles its fancy on who it will bestow its gifts. It’s the coming together of the key ingredients needed to facilitate the health/healing outcome you desire.
That may be something simple & easy.
Or it may require working through many layers from various avenues over many years.
Because each situation is unique. The combination lock has its own unique code, even if it looks the same as any other. Each situation requires its own pathway of healing – there are often multiple choices of a path, but not all paths are equal or take you the whole journey that you require.
And not all paths will work.
But it’s not about finding the ‘one key’ healing session. Or the ‘one key’ healer or modality that is going to cure all that ails.
That’s not how true healing works.
Because we are diverse, multi-faceted beings – based on our genetic make-up, history, health habits, emotional intelligence, environment and more – so many things influence us, throw us off-kilter and prompt us to adapt & grow.
If I was to define healing, it would be that it is an ease of suffering.
It’s a transmuting out of suffering into a more neutral paradigm, where the promotion and creation of flourishing health can begin. Healing is not the end journey, but just the start. Health is the true end goal, and that is about developing a collaborative relationship with our ‘vehicle’ (body, emotions, energy, mind, etc).
But... is there even such a thing as ultimate healing? Ultimate health?
I don’t have the answer to that, but the journey doesn’t seem to ever end. And I don’t think I ever want it to.
The role of the healer
After talking to many healers, it seems that many are put off by the term ‘healer’.
The most common response to those who don’t identify with it (& yet work in the health & healing industry) is that they don’t do the healing.
Instead they feel the client heals themselves, and they only facilitate the healing.
Why is using the term ‘healer’ a problem? I’m not clear but it seems to imply to some that the healer heals and is fully responsible with the outcome, with the client as a passive receiver (or even victim).
Regardless of whether the term healer implies certain ideas about the healer’s role versus the client’s role, there seems to be insufficient open discussion of the roles and responsibilities between healer and client. Where’s the boundary?
And why does the term ‘healer’ evoke images of a mystical being, levitating as beams of light stream out of its hands?!
I’ll reiterate my personal thoughts about healing – neither the healer nor the client does the healing. But both facilitate the right key pieces to allow healing to occur.
So, what is the role of the healer?
They bring their expertise (through training, life experience, objective witnessing) to the mix, and in a way, can act as a catalyst for change. This can happen with bodywork, nutrition, emotional work, energy healing and more.
Sometimes they are effective, sometimes they aren’t.
Sometimes the technique is not what is needed, sometimes it is.
Sometimes the personalities clash, other times it’s a perfect match.
Sometimes the level of belief is enough, other times it’s not.
A better question to ask is…
What is NOT the role of the healer?
Here’s a quick summary I've collected in discussion with other healers, but there’s some good ones here:
- To NOT be the saviour, the one & only that will solve all their client’s issues. Healers are human too, and therefore can’t be an expert in everything. They make mistakes too. It’s far more effective when the client can input their discernment as an empowered being, as well.
- To NOT impose their way as the only way. There are multiple healing paths.
- To NOT micro-manage the healing process (where it ain’t ‘broke’, just let it be).
- To NOT take away their client’s power of choice, or cross any ethical boundaries.
- To NOT be overly responsible for their client’s choices, well-being – it is their body & their life. The healer only offers a different outlook, a different technique, new opportunities – that adds flavour into the overall kaleidoscope of life and possibility of healing.
Some weird things about healing
I didn’t know where to insert these thoughts into this article, so I’m just dot-pointing them here:
- Healing can have a compounding effect – where all the energy and intention builds up to meet the long-held resistance and promote the healing process. People think they need to find the modality that will be the single cure, but they don’t realise that previous work could also be effective in the overall journey but may have shown no symptoms (or worsening of symptoms). This doesn’t mean all healing is effective, though. And that in itself is a blessing.
- Yes, people can resist healing… even though they want it consciously. But it’s rare that they resist it consciously.
- Healing can occur out of session, before the session has begun! Many people report (not just some of my clients) that as soon as they book in for the session, things start occurring – both good and bad. As if everything is leading up to culminate into a tremendous finale, if executed successfully.
- Timing is not critical, even though people would like for you to believe that. The vital parts for transformation are critical, and timing may be required for the last pieces to come together. It’s the key pieces… not the timing.
- Healing isn’t personal. We may feel it is, especially if we feel particularly powerless to the presenting symptoms – but it’s not. You are not being denied or oppressed by some greater force that supplies healing. As our collective society opens up to a better understanding of health & healing, it will be easier to understand the real cause & effects.
The key pieces for healing
What sets up the healing pieces to come together – if it’s not a particular healer or a particular healing modality?
When healing involves a healer, it really becomes a collaborative approach while that relationship exists.
Both healer & client bring knowledge – the healer with expertise & experience of the techniques they know and the client with their knowledge of their own history and what has worked or not worked in the past.
Both healer & client bring willingness – the healer brings willingness to witness and share knowledge and the client brings willingness to be witnessed and the vulnerability of being directed/held.
Both healer & client bring intention – for the health & well-being of the client.
And likewise, both healer & client can bring that which hinders the potential for healing – interruptions, resistances, old patterns of behaviour that deter from healing outcomes. The more self-awareness on both ends, the better the potential.
The healer and the client can come together and catalyse the transformation (experience of healing), but neither of them ‘do’ healing. Perhaps, it’s better to say that in them coming together collaboratively, they allow for the possibility of healing.
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