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July/August 2010 Alternative Health
What is a Healer?

by Christine Upchurch

Many years ago as a young, physically fit vegetarian, I faced cancer. I healed myself without medical treatment, a process that required much effort and focus over two years. This personal journey illuminated a great deal about the nature of healing and eventually led me to a new path — working as a healer.

When a person is out of balance — physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually — there are many paths to wellness. These include using conventional medicine, altering your diet, exercise, new thought patterns, alternative medicine like acupuncture, chiropractic or naturopathy, psychotherapy or hypnotherapy and various spiritual practices. Some will choose to visit a person who is commonly referred to as a “healer.”

Should you see a healer and what role can a healer play in your life?

First, let’s define the word “healer.” Years ago, I received inner guidance that I was a healer, but I rejected the message because I mistakenly perceived it to be a fabrication of ego. I had been under the impression that healing power came from the practitioner and to be a good healer I would have to transcend the typical struggles of being human.

In reality this isn’t the case because the healing power doesn’t come from the practitioner but rather from the divine. So a healer isn’t one who heals but rather one who facilitates healing using energy or frequencies that are outside of the body.

Healing can be physical, emotional, mental and/or spiritual. It can mean eliminating an illness, becoming more energetic, letting go of emotional problems, releasing addictions, healing relationships, becoming more connected to your higher purpose, easing someone’s passing or feeling more in touch with the divine. The ways that healing can manifest are quite varied, but there is one common thread — an improvement in quality of life.

As a Reconnective Healing practitioner and instructor, I witness many amazing healings. The most fascinating ones have no belief involved. Like the man with advanced hepatitis C who, despite his skepticism, experienced complete pain relief and reduced swelling. Or the woman with life-long scoliosis whose spine unexpectedly straightened during a 10-minute exercise at a training seminar.

In these situations, the healer wasn’t attached to an outcome and the individuals didn’t believe that it was possible. So how did these healings occur?

In its highest form, a healing session initiates a dialogue between the client’s higher self and universal wisdom, often with the client neither observing the discourse nor controlling the direction of the healing. Through this dialogue, the person’s higher self and the divine choose the appropriate healing for the person and the person’s vibration shifts to attract that healing.

With energy healing, the healing generally is directed in a particular way to obtain a certain outcome. If a client desires a particular outcome, is it better for a healer to try to direct or otherwise try to control the result?

Many think so, but I believe the opposite is true. As a healer, I think it is unwise to decide what the appropriate healing should be, because no matter how intuitive, the healer cannot understand all of the aspects of that person’s health challenge and life path.

I have found that the less I try to control, the better the healings. Although there is no formal research supporting the benefits of letting go of attachment, there is analogous research done on prayer that may support this approach.

Spindrift is an organization that has scientifically evaluated the effect of prayer on the health of organisms, including plants. Scientists compared the health of plants divided into three groups: the first group received no prayer, the second group received prayer specifying the intent that the plants be taller with more leaves, and the third group received prayer that was non-directed by asking that the universe choose what was best for the plants.

The statistical evidence demonstrated that prayer was indeed effective at creating taller, bushier plants, but by far the healthiest plants were in the third group, in which no intention was specified. In other words, when someone offered prayerful focus without intent, the plants tended to be healthier than when someone held a specific intent.

As with prayer, I believe the same is true when facilitating healing — the most effective form is when the healer lets go of intention and comes from a place of accepting whatever plan the universe may choose. When the healing is left to the divine, people can receive gifts that go far beyond intention and expectation.

Christine Upchurch, M.S., a Reconnective Healing instructor, is the founder and director of the Northwest Reconnective Healing Center in Seattle. Visit www.thereconnection.com.