Healing Shakti

Yesterday I was taking care of one of my regular chiropractic patients, an elderly man who is totally deaf without his hearing aid. His wife always stays close by to be of help. I knew how much of a challenge it always was to have him follow directions and to answer questions, so shortly after beginning my routine I said to his wife, “I’m going to do things differently today.” Because I am intimately aware of how healing energy works, I decided that I would let my intentions do the work.

I invoked the Reiki energy, and I asked it to guide my hands. My educated diagnostic criteria then became secondary as I followed the direction of the Shakti running through me. When I was finished, and after my patient stood up and walked, we were all pleased to see how much more stable his gait was, finally free of the chronic pains that kept him from walking very far. That is when I decided that it was time to take my practice to the next level. This is the approach that needs to be taken with each and every patient from now on, not just in special cases as I had with this patient.

The power to make such changes is in one’s intention. I intended for my patient to be well, and I called upon the “higher” power to do this. The other component of this healing approach is surrender. The meaning of “surrender” is not to be confused with giving up or becoming insignificant. It means to let go and let God. Once you intend on something to happen, you have to let it happen, on God’s terms, without your own expectations (ego) getting in the way.

In the previous paragraph, I referred to the “higher” power and not becoming insignificant. As the healing practitioner, it’s not that there is a “higher” power; it is the power that exists everywhere equally that is flowing. There is no “higher” or “lower”. The divine energy that heals, the power of God, is never high or low, weak or strong. It knows no degrees, no limitations, no gradients. It just is. The other thing is that you, the healing practitioner, are very significant indeed in the entire process. You are the channel of God’s peace, the instrument through which this energy flows. Because you are the Light of God, you are blessed with the ability to be of service to people in this way.

There is yet a third component of this approach. In addition to intention and surrender, there is the vehicle of delivery. The conduit through which healing energy is delivered is not only through touch. It is also through communication, whether it be the written word, our spoken words, or our actions. When I have a patient on my table, especially one who is sensitive or has deeply-rooted issues, I always share words of strength and encouragement with them. It’s not that I want to merely sound like I care. People tend to respond more to the spoken word. When the word is divinely inspired, healing is imminent.

The power of the spoken word is known as matrikashakti. Since God can speak only love, the power of the words spoken with intention and without ego is immense to a person’s healing journey. For words to have affect, the person needs to identify with them. When there is a patient on my table, the words I speak are intended to bring the person from a state of darkness to a state of light. I first acknowledge the darkness, the illness, the pain. Then I speak words of direction on how to find the light. The words are never from a self-help script. They are very specific to the individual’s situation. In this way, the person identifies completely and finds nuggets of gold in what is being said.

The key is this: the invoking of the divine Reiki energy, the Shakti that flows from the Guru, the blessings that come from God. To say that you are the “healer” is ego. To surrender is paramount. And there is yet another point to be made, which I recently shared with a reluctant group of self-proclaimed New Age healers, “Structure and discipline are mandatory.” Formal training in a healing art is required. The practice of healing is never a whimsical hodgepodge. I want to see certificates and know your methods. If you say you are “gifted”, I will ask, “What healing discipline gives structure to your gift?” This is something that every person should ask of their prospective healing practitioner.

There is always room for learning, no matter what healing arts you practice or how long you’ve been practicing. With intention, surrender, and with a vehicle through which the Divine can be expressed, you will be presented at the right time and in the right way with what you need to know to become a powerful instrument of God’s work. St. Francis of Assisi prayed, “Lord, make me a channel of your peace.” A channel, the conduit through which the divine power of God flows. This we can all be for each other.