Photo by Dana Nollsch, www.PhotoZen.us
The archetypal path of the “wounded healer” may be painful and frightening, but the gifts when they come are always remarkable. I use “wounded” in quotes because I regard us all as naturally creative, resourceful and whole, regardless of circumstance. I use “healer” in quotes because I believe we are each responsible for our own healing. Nonetheless, the wounded healer archetype packs lots of power. What I have learned…
There’s something deep and soul-full happening just about every time a person receives a life-challenging or life-threatening diagnosis, or when his or her doctor suggests a medical mystery. Has your doctor ever told you: “Well, we’re not exactly sure what this is, but we’ll prescribe this and see what happens,” or “We’re not quite sure what to do to help you”? In such cases, there’s a call to deep discovery of the interior landscape, of perseverance, and of great wisdom and compassion wanting to be birthed. It’s also a darn good time to explore energy healing.
I know about these challenging and questioning verdicts from doctors, having been through several of them in the course of my life. Each one, even from the earliest encounter in childhood, taught me much about the art of healing from within, through surrender and will, and through consciousness. I also learned about the power of my thoughts and of focusing my awareness on positivity. Back then, as a child, we had no words for it that I knew of. Now, today, the Law of Attraction grows into a household, or mainstream, concept. I am a true believer in the Law of Attraction, and yet I’m not.
The Law of Attraction, a popular new age paradigm, states that like attracts like and thoughts become things. Positive thoughts are mirrored in the external world by positive experiences. Negative thoughts produce pain and suffering. Since we may only exert so much control in the random stream of thought we all experience as part of the human condition, creating a perfect life and perfect health can be challenging. So, often times, when someone goes through a challenging medical condition, well-meaning and/or new-agey family and friends blame negativity. Or worse, they create a myth about the “wrath of God” and justice. The latter example is perhaps more old-agey. Anyway, having a support team fall into pity and/or judgment really isn’t helpful. It’s much more powerful when their perception reflects “naturally creative, resourceful and whole” too.
Beyond this, the Law of Attraction certainly has power. Awareness of our thinking, and redirecting our thoughts to more positive and empowered ones, can certainly ease any suffering we may encounter. Our subconscious thoughts and beliefs will also be an influencing factor, as noted in last week’s post. However, when it comes to illness or dis-ease, often there’s much more than negative thinking involved.
I believe that we come into this world with a soul purpose or destiny outlined for us of our own making, and on a soul level we may choose a healing-learning path. We may even come into human form with illness already manifest, or blue-printed to emerge at a specific life cycle. If you subscribe to the theory of past lives, as I do, then you may also include karma in the greater scheme of human experiences, as a method of balancing learning and energies. We also have ancestral codes, leaving DNA imprints as well as energetic ones for eventual expression. All of these experiences could serve our evolutionary journey, offering us a range of experiences from which to choose and grow through. In our shamanic tradition, we also acknowledge certain randomness in the nature of the Universe, understanding that many occurrences defy rational explanation.
The wounded-healer archetype is a powerful one in our culture. We have so many beautiful people who, in spite of amazing health challenges, show us the true meaning of fearlessness, empowerment, truth and beauty. Many have learned to value energy medicine, like Reiki and shamanism, as part of their path to awareness, healing and enlightenment. I have had the honor of working with many such angels emerging into deeper awareness through the lens of such challenging diagnoses: depression, bi-polar, brain trauma, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and others. Their wisdom informs and inspires me daily, and I feel so very blessed to share the journey of “wounded healer.”
What I see emerging is the archetype of “healed healer.” Let’s think and imagine this into BEing together, shall we?
