From the misty distance of the years, I see my young and enthusiastic self devouring books by spiritual healers from many traditions.
Having absorbed as much as I felt I could from the printed page, I enrolled together with Dr. Marcel in naturopathic medical school.
I imagined that the primary emphasis would be on healing with the tools of nature and spirit. After all, the word “physician” is from the Latin physica, meaning “things relating to nature.”
Naturopathic medicine honors the idea that nature has tremendous power to heal. Naturopathic texts refer to the vix medicatrix naturae – the healing power that flows in all living things. I was confident that naturopathic medicine would give me a wonderful blend of spiritual and natural tools.
Sadly, it was not to be. At the time, the naturopathic medical schools were striving for professional respectability. There was a heavy scientific emphasis in most of our classes, although we also had courses in more traditional naturopathic methods. But to my mind, there was far too little mention of the healing ways of Spirit.
We received rare hints – mere tidbits, really – in a class called “Physician, Heal Thyself.” But the insistent emphasis on scientific respectability was hardly what I’d been hoping for when I opted out of conventional medical school to follow a more appealing path.
I remember how one of our professors invited our responses to a deeply meaningful question: “How does healing happen?”
With perfect confidence, I replied that healing happens through the transmission of light and love.
Today, several decades later, I would give essentially the same answer, though I would expand it slightly. I would say that healing happens when the healer has developed the ability to share the healing power of God with receptive patients.
Of course, I was very naïve to imagine that my teachers would be receptive to such an esoteric answer.
On the other hand, my education was not without moments of inspiration – as when I witnessed a renowned naturopathic physician, Dr. John Bastyr, walk into a room, touch a patient on the shoulder and inquire about her need, only to find that the illness had left the patient at his touch.
In the Bible, we read the story of the woman who had suffered for many years with terrible hemorrhaging, and who was instantly healed when she touched the hem of Christ’s garment with great faith.
To this day, I continue to believe that Spirit is the source that empowers every true healer and healing modality.
Which is not to say that strong medicine cannot effect a cure. Responsible doctors and physicians must understand the physiology of the human body and the pharmacology of the medicines they administer, whether natural or not. But cures accomplished by mechanical means alone are not necessarily complete healings.
This is why I distinguish between doctors and physicians, and healers. I’ve enjoyed tracking the evolving insights that medical research has given us, and that empower me to offer increasingly accurate diagnoses and treatments. But they haven’t made me a better healer.
As a healer, it has been my deepening spiritual practice that has helped me most of all, by helping me learn to step aside and be present with the patient, while channeling spiritual qualities that promote healing of a more all-encompassing, lasting kind.
A common saying among healers is: “The channel is blessed by that which flows through it.” The experience of serving as a channel for the all-embracing power of God’s love has blessed me greatly in my healer’s journey.
Read more about the medical services Dr. Connie offers: http://www.naturopathichealthconsultations.com