Healing as a Path of Enlightenment

In this life I feel I am on a continuous exploration into what it means to heal. For all intensive purposes, I will leave out the details of what I actually thought being healthy was all about. I will say that only a few people that I have met since embarking on the path, actually resemble the goal. From what I understand, being healthy is not just about lifestyle, nor health practices. It is something that needs to be experienced.

What I have come to understand, that there is no objective healthy lifestyle, has not come easily. What led me to seek beyond the definition I was fed in schools, was a sense of a greater life for myself and my cleints. I did not feel healthy, though I was teaching others to find it themselves. A casual exploration into the health profession easily reveals that anyone can call themselves a healer. All they need is certification. There is no guideline that says only healthy people can deal out healing advice. What we are talking about here is integrity. It is one thing to profess change to others and another altogether to embody those changes ourselves.

It seems the trap most people fall into along the path of becoming healthy is not so obvious. Caroline Myss, author of "Why People Don't Heal And How They Can", suggests our spirits become contaminated when we are "plugged in" to negative belief systems. Much of mainstream health practices unfortunately leave this essential truth out. This is unfortunate because at the core of being healthy is a state of clarity, characterised by Yoga as the natural state of the true self. When we have successfully unplugged our spirits from entanglement with false beliefs, our true self is what remains.

This state of being, Sachidananda, exists behind the veil of illusion we create. It is there, seemingly waiting for our refined sense of reality. So where do we begin? How can we access Sachidananda and the natural state professed by the yogis of old. To arrive requires a re-examination of all that we know, including what we are.

Yoga is not the only teaching that professes what it means to be truly healthy. Any mystical teaching, that is worth its weight in gold, has union with the true self woven into the tapestry of its scriptures. You don't have to bend your legs like pretzels to become enlightened. That's right, I'm equating being healthy with being enlightened. Now you have the framework with which to understand the magnificence of the healing quest. It is one and the same as the quest into mastery. Words like vitality, wellness, holistic health, do not do justice to the supreme state of being.

There are no organizations that can promise enlightenment for dollars. It is only gifted to those who are genuine seekers. That which bestows such a gift does not provide certification. Likewise a clean bill of health does not equate to having accomplished this task.

The single most important step to take along the path is a commitment to healing. Think of "committing" oneself is like checking in to an addiction center. For the process to complete, it is required that our full commitment is given. Obviously the addictions to narcotic drugs and alcohol are very challenging, imagine breaking down the illusions of the mind as the same sort of thing.

When I set out to become healthy, there was not one person who could dictate to me the format my quest would take. Ultimately I had to confront the truth that my lifestyle alone was not making me happy. It seems I had exhausted my potential for fabricating a healthy existence. My mindset stood as a direct barrier to the freedom I so longed for. One by one the beliefs I held so dearly, needed to be removed.

I encourage you to begin facing yourself. Know that there is a power beyond, responding to a sincere desire for spiritual growth. Prayer is an invaluable tool. Being without familiar comforts once in a while can be effective. We have to be willing to "go there" in ourselves, confront the places in our lives where we do not want change to happen. We have to go there.