A circle to draw energies and focus for the purpose of healing.
This may or may not be in the context of a Wiccan circle, or any other type of
spiritual circle
THIS INFORMATION IS NOT INTENDED TO PRESCRIBE OR
CURE ANY AILMENT. FOR SPECIFIC HEALTH CONCERNS, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR
PHYSICIAN.
This
page written by Rudrananda. http://www.samkhyawicca.org/
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The very basic healing circle is that gathering of two or more
persons for the purpose of healing. In such a circle, the person to be healed is
the focus of the circles. One of those doing the healing circle purifies themself or themselves, casts a simple circle, uses candle colors, altar decorations, herbs, and
incense useful in the type of healing needed. The healer or healers then focus
healing intent or energy, formally
or informally, toward a person, animal, or situation in need of healing.
Such a healing need may be for physical healing, emotional healing, mental
healing, or spiritual healing. The method does not differ.
Healing may
also be directed toward onesself, or even toward something that has happened in
one's own past, although this is a rather advanced method of
working.
The person, animal, etc. may be there within the circle. For
simplification, I will call the one to be healed "person". That person may be
many miles away or at an unknown location. In such an instance, some object link
to the person is in order. Such an object link may be a photograph of the
person, a piece of their hair, a piece of their clothing, bedding, or jewelry, a
paper letter, or may be any object they have used. If none is available, it can
be done without.
Healing energy may be sent to a person or issue which
is not directly close to any of the participants. It can be for the healing of a
celebrity or for an issue such as peace between nations, or for a global issue
such as global warming. While the ethics
may differ on what you can or cannot do, the method remains identical.
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There are many formal methods of healing. Some are discussed on
this page, such as Reiki, whereas many
more are not, such as Jorei or Pranic healing.
To use any formal method
of energy healing, merely set up the circle according to the Basics above, and
follow the chosen method of directing healing energy at the person needing
healing.
Informal methods may be used as well, with at least as good of
results in many cases. Such informal methods include Empathic
Healing or raising energy and directing it, prayer and energy
healing or asking whatever divine being or divine beings one believes in and
seem appropriate for Their assistance.
Note too that the asking for
divine assistance in any healing is morally, ethically, and practically
identical to praying for a person or situation. In truth, the difference between
offering a prayer or good wish in time of need for a situation and holding a
healing circle is the same as the difference between a Christian praying in time
of need, and offering a similar prayer in a church.
Many religion, Pagan
as well as non-Pagan religions have formal and informal methods of healing. The
methods used in those vary from simply offering prayer to whatever dieties are
worshipped, to holding very elaborate rituals in churches or temples, to having
various ad-hoc ceremonies in times of need. An example of such an ad-hoc ritual
is a Hindu ritual to Lord Hanuman for healing. I
personally have seen sensational results using this method when faced with
unanticipated problems, especially pains and bleeding.
Note that all
types of energy healing work very well in conjunction with mundane, practical
methods of healing. In the above example, when faced with someone who is
bleeding and losing large quantities of blood, it would be irresponsible to not
use other methods available, such as calling for emergency medical assistance,
such as calling 911 from anywhere in the US, and use first aid methods such are
taught by the American
Red Cross or internationally by the Red
Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It is very important to call such
emergency medical assistance. Summoning the medical assistance should be done by
another person if such a person is available, or the person giving energy
healing should call for assistance before giving the energy healing. Of
course, that is assuming you are in an area served by emergency services, that
they are available. This is generally the case anywhere in the US, Canada, or
Europe, but sometimes one is in a location where help may not be available, such
as in a remote location without a telephone or cell phone service, visiting a
third-world country, or during a major disaster.
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If the condition is long-term, or chronic, a single action of
energy healing such as one above is unlikely to give a total cure of the
condition. The condition has been there for a long time, and reversal or
elimination of it is likely to also take a long time. There are several options.
One is to continue to give such energy healing at regular intervals.
Whether these intervals should be daily, multiple times each day, weekly,
monthly, or some other interval must be decided case by case, depending upon
numerous factors including but not limited to severity of the condition,
availability of those attempting the healing, availability of the one being
healed, time constraints, urgency, and many other factors. This determination is
very much an art and is extremely individual.
Other methods may be of
use here as well. Such methods include herbal cures, including European, Native
American, Chinese and Ayurvedic methods. Other means include nutrition, which is
not at all at odds with modern Western medicine: Certified nutritionalists work
in conjunction with and sometimes are employed by clinics and hospitals. For
instance, in a case where someone has a deficiency disease such as scurvey, it
is of use to give foods with the deficient nutrient; vitamin C in the case of
scurvey. If the issue is more emotional and energy-driven, balancing those
energies through various means including food may be of use, such as those
described at gunafood.com. This site only
gives an overview of some of the practical methods. In many or most cases,
experts in the methods should be consulted. If you are using several methods
at once, including but not limited to conventional Western medicine, it is
important to let all know what else you are doing, as some of the methods may be
at odds with one another. For instance, some prescription drugs may be
harmful or fatal when used in conjunction with particular herbs. Likewise, herbs
used by a Native American herbalist may be harmful in conjunction with herbs
used for the same condition by a Chinese herbalist. However, the energy methods
or the methods relying upon divine aid are completely safe used in conjunction
with any method that changes what is or is not put into the body, or involves
modification of the body in some way, such as through surgery of conventional
medicine.
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Regardless of what type of healing someone is doing or having
done to them to cure, maintain, prevent, or alleviate any condition, certainly
wellness must be the primary issue. It does no good to cure a disease,
injury, or other condition and then go on to repeat it. If nothing changes after
the condition is resolved or healed, the problem will come back, as a repeat of
the same problem or present itself in some other way. Wellness is to reduce the
liklihood of such recurrences.
Whereas conventional Western medicine is
very good at resolving immediate issues that present, including traumatic
injuries or issues such as strokes which occur suddenly as a result of long-term
unwellness, holistic healing is better suited to preventing such conditions from
happening in the first place. Indeed, much of all medicine, whether western,
eastern, tribal, holistic, or conventional focuses on wellness or prevention of
disease. Holistic, whether western, eastern, or tribal is very focused on
preventing maladies through all causes, and at various levels. For instance,
suppose someone is "accident prone". Of course, the immediate concern is to heal
the injury from the current crisis. Holistically, the focus is what caused the
accident or the person being prone to accidents? It could be because the person
lacks coordination in some way which is a different problem to heal, it could be
because the person believes, consciously or unconsciously, that they for some
reason "deserve" to be hurt, which requires healing on the mental level as well.
Or, it could be some sort of supernatural reason for the accidents, such as
something from a past life, activities of ghosts or various disturbed nature
spirits, actions of malevolent entities, or various other causes. The trick is
to find the root cause of the problem, heal, shield, or solve that
problem, and the mundane problem (of getting hurt repeatedly in this case) will
be solved.
Likewise, it is utterly pointless to work on holistic healing
if the person does not really want to be healed. Some of this is covered in the
ethics
section below, but it goes beyond the ethics of a given situation. For instance,
if someone's problem is diabetic ulcers, caused by excess sugar in their diet to
be metabolized properly with a given dose of insulin, as was prescribed using a
diet designed with the patient by a certified nutritionist; simply put, the
person "cheats" regularly on their diet, there is nothing that can be done to
ensure wellness until the patient is willing to ensure his or her own wellness
by properly maintaining their diet, insullin, and blood sugar levels. Of course,
if the patient so desires, energy work can be used to help enable such a person
to have the strength, fortitude, wisdom, or other things blocking their
willingness to follow the prescribed diet and medication regimen. It would be
utterly silly though to work on such things as "evil spirits" causing the skin
eruptions when the problem is the person themself not an external "evil spirit".
I have found many times, no matter what the problem seems to be or how
it manifests, the problem is that the person does not love themself sufficiently
to take adequate care of themself. We can, or others can love that person
immeasurably. It will have a benefit for the person to understand that they are
indeed a person who is worthy of love. As it is a small step from feeling
unloved to unlovable, it is a small step from feeling loved to lovable. The
person needs love in their life, whether from others who are grateful to them or
happy with them in some way, or from a loving significant other, or a crowd of
adoring fans. A person who is feeling unloved, unlovable, and unworthy of loved
surely can love to a point, and can take care of others who are dependent upon
them for care, such as their young children, plants, animals, or their home.
However, this care when really observed is often rather mechanistic in how it's
given. For, truly, one cannot love another more than they love themself. Such
love given from a person truly feeling worthy of love and secure in love that
they are getting, from others and the divine as they understand the
divine, brings great happiness and benefit to all involved.
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Indeed, there are many types of healing, both holistic
and conventional. I will name some of the holistic and spiritual methods which I
have used, practiced, or know of. There are many more which I have not heard of.
This is certainly not an exhaustive list. I will list the formal and informal
methods. Almost all of these methods can be done within a healing circle, or a
group of healers using the method, or using similar methods, as well as they can
be used by a single healer. Having a group of several healers almost always
enhances the effectiveness.
Formal Methods:
Additionally, there are a great deal of informal methods of
healing, which are as varied as there are people who are doing or receiving the
healing. I will list some of the methods which I have heard of or used here.
There are probably an infinte number of possibilities though!
Informal
Methods:
As previously stated, this is FAR from an exhaustive list!
Notations above are as follows:
* - These items are listed in formal and
informal healing methods, because by different methods they can be used either
formally or informally.
** - Items noted with a double astrisk are
popularly done in some religions, are not done or are not done to any extent in
others, yet are done by practitioners and believers in many religions throughout
the world. Do not assume that a religion you are familliar with, whether you
like or dislike that religion, is necessarily the one being referenced in all
cases of using the method.
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A major consideration in healing of any kind is ethics.
Healing may not be ethical under some specific sets of conditions. The primary
contraindication for healing is refusal of such healing by the recipient. The
right to refuse medical care is recognized by the conventional medical
establishment, as well as the legal establishment. This can be anywhere from
refusing a particular medication or treatment in the course of a routine doctor
visit to a Do Not Resuscitate order, available in all states in the United
States as well as in many countries. Acting against a refusal or a Do Not
Resuscitate order can make a conventional healer guilty of the crime of assault
and battery. Of course, there are some instances where the patient's refusal is
not sufficient, as in the case of forcing medications, especially psychiatric
medications, but that is outside of the scope of this webpage.
Healers
using the metaphysical layer, while not as legally restrained, are equally if
not more, ethically restrained in their actions or non-actions. If someone does
not want healing, or does not want what they know to be YOUR type of healing,
that is their right. You may not give it, and regardless of the result of such
healing, there are negative karmic consequences for the healer.
In a
practical sense, it is not required that the person being healed knows or
understands all of the methods and principles being used in the healing. They
can know that it's a psychic or metaphysical healing, that the healer is using
energy obtained from themself, from their environment, from use of objects,
whether object links such as photographs or hair, or using such items as
crystals in their healing work. It is very important to some people on what
outside deities or entities you are using. Some people may have strong beliefs
against calling on such things. YOU may know these entities are good and right
and helpful, but someone else may have a different opinion. The person being
healed must have their beliefs and opinions adhered to, otherwise ethics have
been violated.
As I mentioned before, there are formal and informal
methods of healing, as well as some which involve the physical. Sometimes,
someone will mention an condition in their life or the life of someone they care
about, and ask me to "pray" for that person's wellness. In the case of that type
of request, I feel totally free to pray to the divinities I worship and
understand, as well as to use energies and myself from nature. In MY
understanding, this falls under the umbrella of praying too. Usually, they will
not ask about the form of my prayer, but if they do, I am obligated to tell them
the truth about it. If they ask for a specific sort of prayer, such as "Pray to
Jesus", I will most likely NOT agree since Jesus is not a significant part of my
understanding of the divine, nor do I associate him particularly with healing.
This is just MY opinion, and I recognize there are other opinions which are
backed up with things in writing. The bottom line here is to do what is asked,
if and only if you are comfortable with what the person being healed, or others
acting on that person's behalf, are asking. If you cannot do that, do not do
anything.
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For a great deal more discussion of different types of healing
methods, and a different perspective on their use, please see the Energy and
Prayer page on this site.
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