So, this morning, I was on this live YouTube session where a small group listens to the study of Torah and Zohar and spiritual stuff. And this morning the concept of “healing” came up and the “teacher” shared that we must get to the spiritual aspect or cause or root of the aliment or dis-ease before we could heal that which ails us.

And I wrote in the chat….”What do we do when we get to the spiritual root.?” And the response in the chat was “energy., frequency and vibration” And, after the session, I talked to Nedra a bit and she said, “”Yeah, we must first become aware of and get into agreement or sync with the energy/frequency/vibration and then,, and only then, can we begin to change/transform/heal/cure…..

Ok, then I decided to search my blog post for anything I wrote about “healing” and I have written a lot about healing, as you might imagine.

This post is an attempt to bring current my thinking, perspective and experience of the healing path. As you will see, it is evolving.

To boot, I found a really cool video I had embedded in a post on healing I wrote 10 years ago. It is 23 minutes long. Suggest you find a time when you won’t be disturbed. Also suggest wearing headphones. The link will be down at the end of the post.

Yoga, from the Sanskrit root “Yuj” gives us our word “union.”  

Returning to wholeness is the essential meaning of Yoga.  The heart of Yoga lives in realizing the path by which we unite our finite self with Infinite Being.  The vision of Yoga is an unbroken (unceasing) awareness of our oneness with Spirit.  This new level of consciousness evolves through yogic practices aimed at developing an ever-increasing awareness of the various levels of our experience : physical, energetic, emotional, spiritual, and so forth.

Keeping us from experiencing ourselves as truth, bliss and consciousness are obstructions, both obvious and subtle.  These obstructions create disharmony within us and are considered the root causes of our dis-eases.    In response to this alienation from Self, the practice of Yoga assists us in holding these unconscious patterns of obstruction and disturbance up to the light of our awareness.  

Swami Kripalu described it this way………

“The purpose of Yoga is the attainment of happiness, peace and bliss.  The meaning of Yoga is the union of individual consciousness with Shiva consciousness; with God (Source, Creator).  Yoga is the meeting of the drop and the ocean.The ultimate result of all Yoga is purity of mind and body.”

Ok, with that said, most of you know that I acquired Type 1 Diabetes at age 14.  This dis-ease has been my “cross to bear.”  My deepest desire is to heal it.  It is a very challenging and uncomfortable obstruction to deal with albeit all the medical advancements.  Prior to the invention of injectable insulin in 1922 a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes ended quickly (not quickly enough).  Without insulin the body is not capable of metabolizing food.  Without insulin the body starves and is drained of all water.  My awareness that this life was a path of healing hit me square between the eyes in November of 1976.

I teach Yoga in the context of understanding that we are inquiring into how to become whole; how to heal.  This attitude is the foundation of my passion.  Yoga is but one map that I have studied and engaged in.  Some of the other maps are Vipassana Meditation, Kabbalah, Mystical Christianity, Spiral Dynamics, Integral Theory, Cranio – Sacral Therapy, Light Therapy, Bio-feedback, Acupuncture, Chakra balancing and others.  I love having Yoga as the backbone because it is such a dynamic map.

I don’t think the word “Healing” is working for us nowadays. I believe it has become corrupted and, therefore, is highly misunderstood. 

I think that, at the core, is a battle over who are the healers. Western Medicine is predominant in our society/culture. Every other approach has been labeled “Alternative.” In Western Medicine healing is usually not the objective but rather a potential outcome. In many of the strong alternative approaches healing is the objective. 

I have been in several volunteer group efforts within the Type One Diabetes community. Often times there will be a mix of perspectives from Doctors, Nurses, Certified Diabetes Educators, Parents and People who have the dis-ease. On more than one occasion I have been cautioned by a health care provider within the Western Medicine Model not to talk about healing or curing. We are here to offer ways to “manage the condition.”

I have had extensive experience with Alternative approaches to health and wellness as well as being fully ensconced in The Western Model. 

What I would like to do in this post is to explore dropping the word healing as description of what the goal is and replace it with another word.

Before I do that, allow me to suggest a few governing assumptions for our inquiry. All you need to do is adopt these for as long as it takes you to read the rest of this post.  OK?

First Assumption

The Buddha identified “The Root of Suffering.” This was part of his quest. Once found, he went on to explore the path to take in order to eliminate suffering.

Any dis-ease equals suffering.

According to The Buddha, the root of suffering is Ignorance of the nature of impermanence. The Buddha saw that everything that arises in our reality is bound to pass away. Nothing is permanent.

Because we are not aware of the nature of impermanence (Annica in Sanskrit) we choose (most of the time unconsciously) to react with liking and disliking. We quickly learn what we like and dislike and we react physically, mentally and emotionally to every sensation we experience in this milieu of impermanence we are swimming in.

These momentary reactions of liking and disliking form into cravings and aversions. These cravings and aversions become stronger and stronger as we continue to react. These formations are called Sankharah in Sanskrit. Think of them as like “ruts of reactivity.” Over time and with repeated circuitry these ruts of reactivity become deeper and more pronounced. It is in these ruts where dis-ease forms. And when you have Sankarah you have Attachment. Something that is impermanent becomes, apparently, permanent. Or, at least there is an attempt to make it permanent.

Second Assumption

Existence, Creation, this Universe is a Spiritual Gig. Your essence is not your body and it is not your mind. Your essence is not even your soul. The soul is the vessel for your essence. The mind is the body for the soul and, you guessed it….the body is the vessel for the mind.

Your essence is Spirit itself. Your essence is Source. REMEMBER, even if you are not religious or spiritual you can assume this for the purpose of inquiry. Or not. And if not then stop reading because it won’t make any sense to you from here on out.

Third Assumption

Before Creation there was no body and no mind. There was no space and no time. Before Creation there was only Spirit; Essence. Essence emanated one “Soul” to be the “Vessel” This Vessel was the perfect desire to receive The Light of The Creator. 

So, what is the new word to replace Healing? In Hebrew it is called Tikkun. Translated it means Correction. 

It is why we are here. It is our purpose to correct that which is in need of repair. Why is it need of repair is another subject for another blog….

For those of us with Type One Diabetes this word has significance. We are always Correcting when managing our blood glucose level. In fact, one of the “doses” of insulin we ‘inject’ is called a “Correction Dose.”

But, I want to go deeper than managing……….

We know (assume) that before Creation there was a perfect circuit between Fulfillment and Desire and therefore there was no lack, unhappiness, want for, dis-ease. So, why Creation of this universe where suffering is rampant? 

We also know (assume) that this life is a spiritual gig. Most of the metaphysical/spiritual/religious maps describe it as a journey from Source/hOMe out into the wilderness of darkness and back home. The story of the prodigal son? : The Hero’s journey?

And furthermore, we know (assume) that everything here in Creation is impermanent. Everything is arising and passing away.

At the quantum level this arising and passing away is happening at great rapidity creating a vibration like a hummmm. Our attachments have arisen because of the Sankarahs of craving and aversion which have formed because of continual momentary reactions of liking and disliking. And the reason we react is because we are ignorant of Annica!

Sure, we can describe the process as healing but the more accurate word is Correction. We need to heal the ruts of reactivity by bringing correction to our understanding of how things really work. 

I mention the Hebrew word Tikkun because The Kabbalists tell us that this is the purpose of Creation itself. Humanity as a whole has a Tikkun and so does each individual.  It is called The Final Correction –

So, in conclusion, let’s replace healing with correction. What do you think?