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September/October 2002 Spirituality
The heART of Healing

by Russ Reina

Countless modalities have been developed over the course of time to help people regain, attain or maintain health. So much attention has been given to the nuts and bolts of therapies, treatments, substances and actions that the relationship between the "healer" and the "patient" has often been set aside. The power of personal connection to help the practitioner make appropriate choices, follow intuitive paths, and open the door to true healing may not have been completely bred out of the various systems, but it certainly appears to have taken a back seat to the bells and whistles of technique.

Most of us in the healing professions have had to figure out the "connection" aspect of our relations with our patients on our own. We were given neither the tools, nor the permission to establish and maintain connection with patients in ways that open up an intuitive link between us and them. Nor were we taught how to keep ourselves, or them, physically and energetically safe while doing so.

In sixteen years involved in allopathic medicine, twelve of which were spent as a Mobile Intensive Care Unit Paramedic, I learned the importance of every moment of contact between myself and my patient. The last years of my experience as a medic were largely about learning how to empty myself of any obstructions that might prevent me from dealing with the moment exactly as it presented itself. As long as I kept myself focused on my intent and current with the nuts and bolts of my profession, everything else took care of itself and a path towards healing was established for my patients.

Within that clear space, I found myself making connections, combining therapies, utilizing resources, moving people, communicating with and touching the patient and others, and choosing courses of action that logic would not necessarily dictate. I found myself pulling tricks out of the bag of my experience that I didn’t even know I had, while, oddly enough, I began to sense what was just enough and ceased overtreating. By learning to have my focus always on my patient and the moment, I became an instrument in cooperation with natural laws. The best way to do that was getting out of the way; and the best way to do that was to learn to focus my total being In the present moment. Additionally, when I had compassion living inside of me as I worked, I discovered that my effectiveness increased exponentially.

I spent another fifteen or so years in one or another form of alternative medicine ranging from AMA rejected physician-driven cancer cures in Tijuana, to working with a Lakota medicine family on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, along with extensive work in personal growth workshops helping people (and myself) move from their history of damage of one sort or another into a more clear pursuit of their vision. Each of my experiences confirmed what I had learned by being a medic: The common denominator of all true healing is connection.

At the same time I was pursuing the arts as a writer and performer. The various approaches to improvisation and acting that I studied had a few things in common: "What you do depends upon the person you’re working with"; "Prepare"; "Use everything"; and "Be truthful, moment to moment." The techniques I learned were designed to help me prepare my internal emotional life, put me into the moment and help me respond honestly to it rather than manufacturing a response to fit the text. These methods were sequential—-each exercise built upon and expanded on the one before it--essentially strengthening my muscles of observation and responsiveness. The same principles of establishing and maintaining connection that I had learned over years in the field were in operation within these exercises, which were engaging, fun and felt more like play than effort. One of my major discoveries, as applied to healing, was that it was possible to learn to summon compassion at will.

My experiences have taught me that connection--to others, to one’s self, to some sort of a higher power--is the cornerstone of healing; and the beginning place of a healer’s role is to become an instrument of connection. I now see how, by utilizing tools developed to make actors more open, honest and real in their work, health practitioners of all orientations can enhance their abilities to connect, therefore heal.

Russ "Firetender" Reina lives at Lost Valley Educational Center, a 13 year old Intentional Community in the Willamette Valley exploring sustainable living. See the Resource Guide for details of his unique workshop for the healing professions to be held at Lost Valley, September 20-22, 2002. Russ can be reached at russ@lostvalley.org, 541-937-3351 ext.118. Lost Valley’s website is www.lostvalley.org