The Meaning of Healing   

The Meaning of Healing

I would like to explore with you the meaning of the word ‘healing’. For most people it probably means recovering from an illness. I prefer to use the word ‘curing’ instead of ‘healing’ for that specific meaning.
People use the word ‘healing’ more and more frequently these days. Many join organizations, which embrace causes dedicated to healing diseases like cancer, aids or TB, healing domestic violence, the violence between countries, racial or religious groups; causes dedicated to saving the planet, the environment, endangered species…The list is endless. People come together to look for local or global solutions for the world’s seemingly intractable problems and suffering. Their work is invaluable and the incredible stories of a few individuals doing some good in the face of amazing odds is a great example of the power of the spirit of healing.
But very few start by looking within to recognize the source of all the ills. When we look outside, we can fix things temporarily but healing needs to start with our selves. Deep within, everyone wants what’s good and right; so why do we go so wrong and astray? All the values we are taught as children seem to vanish so easily when we are confronted with difficult situations. Besides, children learn, not from what they are told, but from the examples they see around them. They learn from a tender age, that violence, lies and deceit are what get you ahead, not peace, truth and honesty. Politicians and all kinds of famous or infamous people make the headlines in the media, not people who advocate peace and love. The satisfaction of our senses and cravings seem to be what drives the world.
When I talk about healing, it does not mean that the body will not be dealing with diseases or be in pain and won’t eventually pass away. And even if we give the body the best care possible, its nature is to come and go. We are all born with a certain genetic make-up, which makes us susceptible to specific diseases. In the course of a lifetime, we will be exposed to all kinds of stressors, ranging from the weather, to deep emotional wounds.
The feeling that I am a small, finite, insignificant and separate entity brings the fear of death and annihilation and is the root cause of all fears and of all suffering.
To see what is essentially one and the same in all of us opens the heart. When the heart is open, we know our oneness with the universe and greed and fear drop away and so does the cutthroat competition amongst each other. We can come together when we focus on our similarities. The heart sees no difference between the essential nature of a beggar and the greatest emperor.
Healing is about
drastically expanding
our perception of the universe
from our usual selfish,
ego-centered and
narrow-minded standpoints.
Our bodies are born, grow, flourish for a while, start declining and finally return to the same source they came from. Everything in nature follows these cycles, from a blade of grass to the most distant galaxy. All bodies are forever recycled in the big cosmic universal play.
The tree is not afraid to lose all its foliage in the winter because spring comes again. All bodies must die so that new bodies can come forth and this cycle never ends. Names and forms keep changing but life is eternal. When we identify solely with our name and form and get attached to this identity, we suffer. When we let go of the personal and embrace our universal identity, we belong everywhere. This whole universe is our home.
To be a healthy human being does not necessarily mean that the body is not dealing with any illnesses. When the body is sick, we simply need to go see a doctor, take some medicines or maybe change some things in our lifestyle and habits. Health is a state of being, inclusive of the body and its inevitable breakdowns.

Spiritual Education

Spiritual education leads us back to the understanding and the experience of our holistic existence as human beings, to the knowledge that we are spiritual, as well as physical, mental and emotional beings.

A true spiritual education could be described as:
• learning from others
• growing through others
• integrating with others
• contributing to others

When we are genuinely learning, only then can we experience spiritual growth. When we grow, we integrate with others and it is in that integration that there is a natural and mutual contribution to nature and other souls. These four processes of education are constantly at work, but only happen in a way that is enjoyable and meaningful when the spiritual resources of the self like peace, joy and love are activated and creatively used.

These resources, along with the mind and intellect, enrich the way we see the world, the way we interact with it and the way we individually create our place in it. These resources are the original qualities of the self, which we have not properly used for a long time. By become spiritually aware, we start to harness and use these positive energies.