What is Healing? - by Asha Hawkesworth

What is healing? by Asha Hawkesworth
To heal is to make happy. —A Course in Miracles When people talk about healing, they assume that it means someone has a disease or illness. In other words, you don't need healing without a diagnosis of some kind. A diagnosis means you're "sick," and therefore you need healing. But this isn't really what healing means at all. Everyone needs healing. Even children need healing. We are often born needing healing, because our bodies still carry the traumas of past lives. And once we start to heal, we'll keep on healing, for years, perhaps for eternity. So then, what exactly are we healing? Why do we need it, and why does it keep going on? When will we ever be completely healed? If it takes forever, what's the point? These are all valid questions. Let's start with the first one. What am I healing? All illness, all disease, arises from energy imbalances or distortion in any of our four bodies: Spiritual body Mental body Emotional body Physical body Frequently, the imbalance starts in one of the higher bodies and "trickles down" until it affects the others. When it affects the physical body, we get physical illness or disease. Spiritual body Imbalances in the spiritual body essentially mean broken, distorted, or intermittent connections with spirit. Understand that everyone has trouble here, so don't judge yourself or others. It's difficult to maintain a connection with spirit in the old 3rd-dimensional world. It's the chief challenge of 3-D: we don't feel connected to the Universe without choosing to. It's part of free will. It's why we came here, and how we grow. Remember, being spiritual isn't a contest. Everyone's path is different. Those who appear to be lagging may actually be ahead of you. So it's best not to judge, because we cannot see the big picture. Mental body Because we probably don't always feel connected with spirit, our mental body can create distortions and illness. This occurs through our thoughts and beliefs. If you believe that something is impossible, then it will always be so for you. If you believe that only bad things keep happening to you, they will. If you believe that there is only one way of doing things, you will be challenged in that belief by others. How you handle that challenge will determine whether you heal from it or create blockages. Think of someone you know who has stubbornly held to a narrow way of thinking all of their life. Think about how this has limited them, how it may have created anger in them, or frustration. See how those emotions have crippled them and possibly manifested as physical illness. We all have our beliefs and thoughts. To heal in our mental bodies, we must train ourselves to think in more positive ways. Focusing on negative outcomes creates negative things. More positive thoughts, however, create good things for us. It is also important not to put too many restrictions on our positive thoughts. The Universe will help us to create good things, but probably not in the ways we expect. If you expect good fortune to come to you in one way, and in one way only, then you are blocking the Universe from assisting you, and you may never get it. Be open to all possibilities, and you will achieve more. Emotional body The biggest culprit of illness is frequently the emotional body. This isn't because emotions are "bad" or should be avoided. On the contrary, all emotions are valid, and should be expressed appropriately. It's when we start to repress emotions—or refuse to let go of them—that the trouble begins. The following examples describe commonly repressed feelings, or feelings that we need to express and let go of in order to heal: Grief for the passing of a loved one This is a tough emotion, but to move past it and heal from it, you have to feel it. This means being sad and feeling your grief, so you can get to the bottom of it. Grief for not feeling loved or not being yourself The passing of a loved one triggers ALL of our grief, and this one is the basic grief for some people. Were you afraid your parents or others wouldn't love you if you were yourself? Did you hide your true self? This sets up your own grief for not feeling safe enough to be yourself. We all need to be ourselves and not someone else's idea of who we are. Anger at your parents Even with the best parents in the world, you're likely to feel angry with them about something. Did they give you what you needed? Did you feel loved for yourself? Did you feel safe? Find out what your feelings are. Anger at yourself Sometimes it's harder to forgive yourself than to forgive others. Do you feel like you were stupid? That you wasted a number of years? That you made a terrible mistake? You can change the past by changing how you think about the past. Guilt This covers a lot of territory. Some people feel guilty for being born. Do you feel guilt because you feel like you caused your parents to divorce? Or maybe you feel guilty because you can't make other people happy (tip: you can't, and it's not your fault). These emotions are just the tip of the iceberg, and no single emotion applies. We are human beings, and that means we have complex relationships, emotions, and issues. If we were aware of all of our emotions and issues, it wouldn't be so hard. But we often repress them and carry them unconsciously, without knowing it. So the first step in dealing with our emotional baggage is to become conscious of it. Physical body Of course, injury can happen directly to the physical body. Cut us, and we bleed. We can catch the flu. But disease, or dis-ease, usually originates in the other bodies and descends to the physical because we are avoiding our issues instead of dealing with them. Cancer and heart disease, for example, both arise because of imbalances in our bodies, from this lifetime and previous ones. (If not dealt with, issues and trauma can stay with us throughout each of our lifetimes, so some of your "stuff" comes from previous lifetimes, in addition to this one.) Cancer appears where the old, negative energy is held. Obviously, it can be held anywhere in the body, for any number of reasons. Heart disease is usually associated with heart chakra issues, of course, and anger. (In fact, a recent study shows that heart disease patients tend to be less likely to recognize humor or use it in difficult situations. In addition, they displayed more anger and hostility.) It's important to understand, however, that people who contract a disease did not "screw up." They are not being punished, either. Nor does it mean that they have more "stuff," or are less willing to heal than you are. It's just part of their path. A physical illness is a learning experience in itself, not just for the person who has it, but for their friends and family, too. If someone has cancer, it is an opportunity for growth and learning for everyone involved, even if the person dies from it. For more perspective on this, read about Ken Page's journey with cancer. Also, in some cases, people chose to endure an illness when they incarnated into this lifetime, for precisely these reasons. In other words, having a disease can be part of the healing process for many people, and we should never judge someone for having a disease. Why do I need healing? Another way of defining healing is "evolution." Healing is how we evolve. Without it, we stagnate. Our lives get stuck, and we keep repeating the same patterns, over and over again, until we learn from them and can move on. This is the healing process. So, to answer the question: we need healing because without it, we won't move forward. And better yet: healing is the path to happiness. Just ask yourself: are you really happy carrying the weight of these burdens? Do you want to keep repeating old patterns? Let's say one of your big problems is anger at your parents for the way they treated you. If you don't acknowledge that within yourself, and work on letting that go, you may very well end up doing the same thing to your children. It's unconscious—you'll do it without even realizing it or meaning to. Simply put, healing is the way we move forward in our lives and make ourselves happy and fulfilled. It is also how we come into our own personal power. When will I ever be completely healed? In truth, we are all perfectly healed right now. We just have to recognize it. At the same time, healing is a process that is ongoing. In this sense, healing means the evolution of our soul. We constantly learn and grow, so healing continues forever, because we keep evolving forever. Think of it this way: God is not satisfied without new challenges. This is why we create. We are all part of the Ultimate Mind, and we love to challenge ourselves. There will always be new challenges, new mountains to climb. We graduate from elementary school, we proceed to middle school, then high school, then college, and we keep going. There will always be ways for us to heal and grow. This is part of the beauty of Creation. True healing is on the horizon for us all. When the veil is removed, when the world ascends, when we finally and irrevocably remember who we are, we will remember our natural state of Oneness and boundless joy. How do I begin to heal? To begin, start with your intent to heal. The rest will follow. Say to the Universe, "I am ready to start healing right now. Please help me to heal." And it will. You will find that the Universe guides you to people who can help you on this journey. They may not be healers, per se, either, but they are there to help you all the same. You will also find yourself facing tougher challenges. This is part of healing. The challenges are there to help you confront the issues you have been avoiding—the ones that you need to heal. When this happens, recognize these challenges for what they are: answers to your prayers. Embrace the challenge and walk through the fire. Your healed self awaits you on the other side. Spend some time each day in meditation. Ask the Universe what you need to work on right now to heal. Listen. Allow your emotions to flow. Express yourself, and feel what you need to feel in order to heal. This can be hard. You may cry, and not be sure why. You may feel angry, and the cause may elude you for awhile. But talk to yourself. Talk to your child self, the one who perhaps never had a voice of his or her own. What does your child self need in order to heal? Healing is a personal journey, and no two journeys are the same. Find your path and walk upon it. Listen to what your heart, not your head, says. The heart's voice is soft and quiet, and your head may try to shout it down. Don't let it. Listen. Who is responsible for your healing? You are. No one else is to blame for how you are, who you are, right now. Bad things may have happened to you in the past. But today, right now, it is your choice to heal, or remain unhealed. It is your choice to keep all of the sadness or anger about the past, or to let it go. Understand that you are responsible for your own healing, and you are well on the way. What happens when you start to heal When you begin to heal, your life will change. That may sound really scary, but remember, that this is change for your good. This is your journey. This is that part of healing that will help you become a happy and fulfilled person. It's part of becoming "unstuck." As things in your life unstick, they will move and change for the better. Trust the process and know that everything will work out for the best in the end. As we heal, we learn to drop our masks and be ourselves, and express ourselves. We gain confidence, we begin to learn how to love ourselves, bit by bit. This change does have an effect on others in our lives. Some people will embrace the changes and walk with you. Others will feel frightened and insecure, because they are not ready to heal. They may decide to leave your life. Allow them to go, without anger or judgement. That is their path, too. But when you feel sad about this, remember that while some people may leave, your healing will attract new people into your life. Be joyous about that. Remind yourself that everything happens for the highest good of all. Additional resources Healing your inner child It may sound corny, but this really is an important part of your healing journey. Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer's web site They channel Orin and DaBen and have written several helpful books. In particular, check out Personal Power through Awareness and Living with Joy. Reiki and energy healing Learn Reiki or visit a practitioner. If you open the Reiki door, many others will fly open. The healer becomes healed, too. It has been part of our journey, and we recommend it. Just remember that anyone can do it, and your teacher doesn't need fancy credentials—Reiki and other healing energy comes from the Universe, not an organization. Your teacher should, however, be someone you like and are comfortable with. Your teacher should also be working actively on their own healing. This also goes for any healer you encounter. Ken Page's Heart and Soul Healing Ken is a healer who has written a lot on the subject. There's lots of good stuff at his site.

What is healing?
by Asha Hawkesworth

To heal is to make happy.
—A Course in Miracles

When people talk about healing, they assume that it means someone has a disease or illness. In other words, you don't need healing without a diagnosis of some kind. A diagnosis means you're "sick," and therefore you need healing. But this isn't really what healing means at all.

Everyone needs healing. Even children need healing. We are often born needing healing, because our bodies still carry the traumas of past lives. And once we start to heal, we'll keep on healing, for years, perhaps for eternity.

So then, what exactly are we healing? Why do we need it, and why does it keep going on? When will we ever be completely healed? If it takes forever, what's the point? These are all valid questions. Let's start with the first one.

What am I healing?

All illness, all disease, arises from energy imbalances or distortion in any of our four bodies:

Spiritual body
Mental body
Emotional body
Physical body

Frequently, the imbalance starts in one of the higher bodies and "trickles down" until it affects the others. When it affects the physical body, we get physical illness or disease.

Spiritual body

Imbalances in the spiritual body essentially mean broken, distorted, or intermittent connections with spirit. Understand that everyone has trouble here, so don't judge yourself or others. It's difficult to maintain a connection with spirit in the old 3rd-dimensional world. It's the chief challenge of 3-D: we don't feel connected to the Universe without choosing to. It's part of free will. It's why we came here, and how we grow.

Remember, being spiritual isn't a contest. Everyone's path is different. Those who appear to be lagging may actually be ahead of you. So it's best not to judge, because we cannot see the big picture.

Mental body

Because we probably don't always feel connected with spirit, our mental body can create distortions and illness. This occurs through our thoughts and beliefs. If you believe that something is impossible, then it will always be so for you. If you believe that only bad things keep happening to you, they will. If you believe that there is only one way of doing things, you will be challenged in that belief by others. How you handle that challenge will determine whether you heal from it or create blockages.

Think of someone you know who has stubbornly held to a narrow way of thinking all of their life. Think about how this has limited them, how it may have created anger in them, or frustration. See how those emotions have crippled them and possibly manifested as physical illness.

We all have our beliefs and thoughts. To heal in our mental bodies, we must train ourselves to think in more positive ways. Focusing on negative outcomes creates negative things. More positive thoughts, however, create good things for us.

It is also important not to put too many restrictions on our positive thoughts. The Universe will help us to create good things, but probably not in the ways we expect. If you expect good fortune to come to you in one way, and in one way only, then you are blocking the Universe from assisting you, and you may never get it. Be open to all possibilities, and you will achieve more.

Emotional body

The biggest culprit of illness is frequently the emotional body. This isn't because emotions are "bad" or should be avoided. On the contrary, all emotions are valid, and should be expressed appropriately. It's when we start to repress emotions—or refuse to let go of them—that the trouble begins.

The following examples describe commonly repressed feelings, or feelings that we need to express and let go of in order to heal:

Grief for the passing of a loved one
This is a tough emotion, but to move past it and heal from it, you have to feel it. This means being sad and feeling your grief, so you can get to the bottom of it.
Grief for not feeling loved or not being yourself
The passing of a loved one triggers ALL of our grief, and this one is the basic grief for some people. Were you afraid your parents or others wouldn't love you if you were yourself? Did you hide your true self? This sets up your own grief for not feeling safe enough to be yourself. We all need to be ourselves and not someone else's idea of who we are.
Anger at your parents
Even with the best parents in the world, you're likely to feel angry with them about something. Did they give you what you needed? Did you feel loved for yourself? Did you feel safe? Find out what your feelings are.
Anger at yourself
Sometimes it's harder to forgive yourself than to forgive others. Do you feel like you were stupid? That you wasted a number of years? That you made a terrible mistake? You can change the past by changing how you think about the past.
Guilt
This covers a lot of territory. Some people feel guilty for being born. Do you feel guilt because you feel like you caused your parents to divorce? Or maybe you feel guilty because you can't make other people happy (tip: you can't, and it's not your fault).

These emotions are just the tip of the iceberg, and no single emotion applies. We are human beings, and that means we have complex relationships, emotions, and issues.

If we were aware of all of our emotions and issues, it wouldn't be so hard. But we often repress them and carry them unconsciously, without knowing it. So the first step in dealing with our emotional baggage is to become conscious of it.

Physical body

Of course, injury can happen directly to the physical body. Cut us, and we bleed. We can catch the flu. But disease, or dis-ease, usually originates in the other bodies and descends to the physical because we are avoiding our issues instead of dealing with them. Cancer and heart disease, for example, both arise because of imbalances in our bodies, from this lifetime and previous ones. (If not dealt with, issues and trauma can stay with us throughout each of our lifetimes, so some of your "stuff" comes from previous lifetimes, in addition to this one.)

Cancer appears where the old, negative energy is held. Obviously, it can be held anywhere in the body, for any number of reasons. Heart disease is usually associated with heart chakra issues, of course, and anger. (In fact, a recent study shows that heart disease patients tend to be less likely to recognize humor or use it in difficult situations. In addition, they displayed more anger and hostility.)

It's important to understand, however, that people who contract a disease did not "screw up." They are not being punished, either. Nor does it mean that they have more "stuff," or are less willing to heal than you are. It's just part of their path. A physical illness is a learning experience in itself, not just for the person who has it, but for their friends and family, too. If someone has cancer, it is an opportunity for growth and learning for everyone involved, even if the person dies from it. For more perspective on this, read about Ken Page's journey with cancer.

Also, in some cases, people chose to endure an illness when they incarnated into this lifetime, for precisely these reasons. In other words, having a disease can be part of the healing process for many people, and we should never judge someone for having a disease.

Why do I need healing?

Another way of defining healing is "evolution." Healing is how we evolve. Without it, we stagnate. Our lives get stuck, and we keep repeating the same patterns, over and over again, until we learn from them and can move on. This is the healing process.

So, to answer the question: we need healing because without it, we won't move forward. And better yet: healing is the path to happiness. Just ask yourself: are you really happy carrying the weight of these burdens? Do you want to keep repeating old patterns?

Let's say one of your big problems is anger at your parents for the way they treated you. If you don't acknowledge that within yourself, and work on letting that go, you may very well end up doing the same thing to your children. It's unconscious—you'll do it without even realizing it or meaning to.

Simply put, healing is the way we move forward in our lives and make ourselves happy and fulfilled. It is also how we come into our own personal power.

When will I ever be completely healed?

In truth, we are all perfectly healed right now. We just have to recognize it.

At the same time, healing is a process that is ongoing. In this sense, healing means the evolution of our soul. We constantly learn and grow, so healing continues forever, because we keep evolving forever. Think of it this way: God is not satisfied without new challenges. This is why we create. We are all part of the Ultimate Mind, and we love to challenge ourselves.

There will always be new challenges, new mountains to climb. We graduate from elementary school, we proceed to middle school, then high school, then college, and we keep going. There will always be ways for us to heal and grow. This is part of the beauty of Creation.

True healing is on the horizon for us all. When the veil is removed, when the world ascends, when we finally and irrevocably remember who we are, we will remember our natural state of Oneness and boundless joy.

How do I begin to heal?

To begin, start with your intent to heal. The rest will follow. Say to the Universe, "I am ready to start healing right now. Please help me to heal." And it will.

You will find that the Universe guides you to people who can help you on this journey. They may not be healers, per se, either, but they are there to help you all the same. You will also find yourself facing tougher challenges. This is part of healing. The challenges are there to help you confront the issues you have been avoiding—the ones that you need to heal. When this happens, recognize these challenges for what they are: answers to your prayers. Embrace the challenge and walk through the fire. Your healed self awaits you on the other side.

Spend some time each day in meditation. Ask the Universe what you need to work on right now to heal. Listen. Allow your emotions to flow. Express yourself, and feel what you need to feel in order to heal. This can be hard. You may cry, and not be sure why. You may feel angry, and the cause may elude you for awhile. But talk to yourself. Talk to your child self, the one who perhaps never had a voice of his or her own. What does your child self need in order to heal?

Healing is a personal journey, and no two journeys are the same. Find your path and walk upon it. Listen to what your heart, not your head, says. The heart's voice is soft and quiet, and your head may try to shout it down. Don't let it. Listen.

Who is responsible for your healing?

You are. No one else is to blame for how you are, who you are, right now. Bad things may have happened to you in the past. But today, right now, it is your choice to heal, or remain unhealed. It is your choice to keep all of the sadness or anger about the past, or to let it go.

Understand that you are responsible for your own healing, and you are well on the way.

What happens when you start to heal

When you begin to heal, your life will change. That may sound really scary, but remember, that this is change for your good. This is your journey. This is that part of healing that will help you become a happy and fulfilled person. It's part of becoming "unstuck." As things in your life unstick, they will move and change for the better. Trust the process and know that everything will work out for the best in the end.

As we heal, we learn to drop our masks and be ourselves, and express ourselves. We gain confidence, we begin to learn how to love ourselves, bit by bit. This change does have an effect on others in our lives. Some people will embrace the changes and walk with you. Others will feel frightened and insecure, because they are not ready to heal. They may decide to leave your life. Allow them to go, without anger or judgement. That is their path, too. But when you feel sad about this, remember that while some people may leave, your healing will attract new people into your life. Be joyous about that. Remind yourself that everything happens for the highest good of all.

Additional resources

Healing your inner child
It may sound corny, but this really is an important part of your healing journey.
Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer's web site
They channel Orin and DaBen and have written several helpful books. In particular, check out Personal Power through Awareness and Living with Joy.
Reiki and energy healing
Learn Reiki or visit a practitioner. If you open the Reiki door, many others will fly open. The healer becomes healed, too. It has been part of our journey, and we recommend it. Just remember that anyone can do it, and your teacher doesn't need fancy credentials—Reiki and other healing energy comes from the Universe, not an organization. Your teacher should, however, be someone you like and are comfortable with. Your teacher should also be working actively on their own healing. This also goes for any healer you encounter.
Ken Page's Heart and Soul Healing
Ken is a healer who has written a lot on the subject. There's lots of good stuff at his site.