We are told that we have problems that need something outside of us to help us. Most of medicine is like this. Something isn’t right. Go to the doctor to get a diagnosis. And a treatment. And thank god for this because now you should start feeling better. And it does happen. Except that often it doesn’t.
What if the first questions that were asked in the doctor’s office were along the lines of: what in your life isn’t going as you wish?
Where are you feeling less than or small?
Where do you feel disempowered or without choice?
What are you carrying from past wrongdoings and traumas?
What is your opinion of yourself?
Do you harbor more judgment than gratitude? More vengeance than hope? More negativity than joy?
Do you ever even think about these things or tune into your inner state to gather this information first hand?
Are you connected within yourself? Are you attuned to your inner state? Aware of how you’re feeling? Can you hear what you’re thinking?
If all medical appointments started with these types of questions, our diagnoses might be more like “lacks self trust”, “disconnected from feelings”, “unreleased anger”, or “receptacle for negative self talk”. So far no ICD-10 codes exist for human states of being like these which deeply impact where one lies on the wellness-illness spectrum.
Being a doctor I sometimes feel caught in the middle of this paradigm. Doing ‘stuff’ to help people – being the expert or knowledgeable one vs. encouraging people to practice introspection, change their mind, view their own empowerment differently, or open to feeling what’s going on inside of them.
I feel my best most impactful work is when I help people connect more within themselves. I call these sessions “mind-body counseling” but really it’s far less about counsel and far more about taking their hand and guiding them on a path into their very center.
Thus I have been feeling less and less comfortable with the designation of “doctor” lately. Even when I translate doctor into the latin “docere” which means to teach and thus implies less doing and more leading, it still doesn’t feel quite accurate. Teacher is better, but it still maintains that the knowing is held within the doctor.
I tried viewing myself as a healer for awhile, but still that implies that I am doing or imparting something to or for the other person. How about “coach”, which involves making a gameplan and cheering people on? Nah. What am I anyway?
Currently I am trying out “guide”, which rings more true. A guide can be a leader, but also a facilitator. Also a witness. Even a vessel or a channel. A guide is more like a holder (of space, of energy, of information). More of a BE-ER, rather than a DO-ER. Because I cannot affect change in another person. Slow to the game, I realized this after years of thinking my role of doctor was more powerful than it actually is. This idea comes from our culture, but I certainly took it up willingly for quite awhile.
I don’t espouse to know what another truly needs. But I CAN hold space and be present and ask questions and guide and offer new perspective and possibilities on where that person is. I can listen and reflect. I can suggest. My role is to empower the other to find the answers within themselves. I can REMIND someone that seeking change or healing from outside of oneself is not the way - they have that capacity within.
I don’t mean to say that we must go it alone. When we need healing, we can certainly utilize support from others (including medicinal substances) and we can enter spaces or practices that allow us to unwind and respond in new ways (e.g. Harmonic Egg, yoga, reiki), but the actual healing is coming from within us via the flow of the vital force (a.k.a. life force energy, chi, prana, etc.) through us.
The most profound thing we can do to facilitate our own healing is to get out of our own way. Remove the obstacles that inhibit the flow of the vital force. This might be a-vital foods. This might be an emotional state like apathy, anger, or fear. This might be beliefs and mindset. Or this might be disengagement from our souls.
As we use medicinal substances, reading, praying, talking with others (counseling), nature immersion, change in lifestyle, etc. to move around, through, and beyond the things that are blocking us, we will experience an increased energy flow and healing. This is the way to an enhanced level of health and well-being.
So what is the next step for your healing?
Step in and step up. You are responsible for your state of wellness. Be honest and humble. Honest about what you are doing or not doing to contribute to you being where you are right now. And humble about asking for help in unraveling it all so that you CAN make the changes to enable your own healing.
Also know that there is nothing wrong with you! Deep in your core, your essence is pure, beautiful, whole, and full of light. In the space of your sheer existence, you are good…divine. If that is what you are just because you are (i.e. “I am”), then there is nothing wrong with you. All the problems are a construct and an impermanent state.
Healing is possible. Just be careful that you are aware of what actually needs to be healed – because it’s not always what we think it is or the thing that is most obvious from the outside.
Close your eyes and say the words “I am”. Tune into how that feels in your body. Do this frequently and notice what shifts. By stating and celebrating that you simply ARE can be a profound internal experience.
I am. You are. Yes!
Amazing post