We live in a community where everyone thinks they are an empath or a healer but few of us actually are. Social media allows us to send 'healing', 'good juju', or 'thoughts and prayers' to everyone we come across, if they ask for it, however, is this type of helping a good thing?
I bet your first reaction was, "Of course! How could you even doubt it?" Well, I do doubt it for several reasons and, realistically, some of these doubts are why I rarely send energy and if I do I send it with a very specific intent. (Though, until a conversation came up last week, I couldn't actually tell you why I had these doubts until I was shown a different perspective by a complete stranger.)
First, let's get the 'thoughts and prayers' out of the way. This is a big one on social media. I could be looking at your situation and thinking that you got what you deserved and praying that you get more of the same. I could be thinking that you don't deserve whatever you're getting and praying that it stops soon. They both can sound altruistic, sure, a person deserves/ doesn't deserve a break in life, or deserves/doesn't deserve death/poverty/illness/winning the lotto. Whatever.
Now, let's talk about all of that healing we send out. What are we sending when we send 'healing'? Some of us send Reiki. Others send healing energy, which is different but achieves a similar end. This difference can be significant.
As a Reiki practitioner, I can attest to the fact that Reiki is different from healing energy in two ways. First, Reiki is a blessing. Being a type of love energy, it is very highly vibrational and will get through any shields, wards, or other protections due to its very energetic nature. The spirit or higher self is not going to deflect this type of energy unless specifically instructed by the Self to do so and if we are asking for healing, we aren't going to turn 'good' energy away.
Healing energy achieves a similar end to Reiki, but it often comes from the Self or is drawn up from the earth (or down from the heavens), charged, and sent to the person in need. This energy is often tainted with our own energy signature and can be deflected, rejected, or sent back if the receiver wants to, but again, often doesn't because of being 'open' to that intent.
So, then, what happens when someone is having an illness and they ask for healing? Depends. If it is a broken leg or post-surgery request, boosting up the healing for them will, hopefully, get them up and about quickly. It should keep the infection down or knit the bone, and in general, be a big help.
What happens, though, if this person has cancer or an autoimmune illness? The cancer is growing because the body does not recognize it as an invader or as an out of control growth of cells. What is 'healing' doing? Does it knock down the side effects of the chemo/biotherapy? Does it do its best to flush the chemo/biotherapy from the sick person's system? (In an effort to make them 'well' from the therapy?) Does it simply help the person along to die because their body is simply too worn out? Autoimmune illnesses already deal with an out of control immune system. Why would one want to boost an already overworked immune system with 'healing' when it is likely that suppression is likely what is needed? Another excellent example of 'healing' gone wrong is the flu.
How does the body 'heal' the flu? High. Fucking. Fevers. Now, why would you want to boost someone's immune system with 'healing energy' when the only way to beat something like that is a fever? Those fevers lead to things like dehydration if they aren't monitored. Sure, I know you're thinking that I'm missing the obvious to get the fever down, acetaminophen or ibuprofen, however, keeping one's fever down is inhibiting the body's ability to fight that infection. Fevers are good, at least to a point (and then we go back to the hydration/dehydration fever cycle.) Also, I'm not going to do more than mention things like seizures, deafness, and other things caused by an out of control fever.
Finally, I want to discuss pain as a growth factor. For some people, what they are going through is 'growing pains'. Do we really want to wish pain (or more pain) on someone who is already hurting? There are times when we, as human beings, are required by this life to find a new perspective through pain. Whether it is physical, mental, or emotional, the pain gives us what we need to grow. I know that I certainly don't unless I know very explicitly that I am giving this person pain in order to find a new perspective.
These are just a few examples of how our ideas of healing can go awry. When we send energy, Reiki or otherwise, it must be with the complete understanding that what we are doing may not have the results we expect. While we often sympathize or empathize with the person asking for help, sometimes their pain is both deserved and needed to help them along in this life. We must also understand that our helping can kill them if it is their time to die or their body is just too weak to keep going.
Next time, when a friend asks for healing, Reiki, or juju of any kind, remember to send it with the knowledge that it will help, but it may not be helpful in the way you expect or want it to.
Brightest Blessings,
River
I bet your first reaction was, "Of course! How could you even doubt it?" Well, I do doubt it for several reasons and, realistically, some of these doubts are why I rarely send energy and if I do I send it with a very specific intent. (Though, until a conversation came up last week, I couldn't actually tell you why I had these doubts until I was shown a different perspective by a complete stranger.)
First, let's get the 'thoughts and prayers' out of the way. This is a big one on social media. I could be looking at your situation and thinking that you got what you deserved and praying that you get more of the same. I could be thinking that you don't deserve whatever you're getting and praying that it stops soon. They both can sound altruistic, sure, a person deserves/ doesn't deserve a break in life, or deserves/doesn't deserve death/poverty/illness/winning the lotto. Whatever.
Now, let's talk about all of that healing we send out. What are we sending when we send 'healing'? Some of us send Reiki. Others send healing energy, which is different but achieves a similar end. This difference can be significant.
As a Reiki practitioner, I can attest to the fact that Reiki is different from healing energy in two ways. First, Reiki is a blessing. Being a type of love energy, it is very highly vibrational and will get through any shields, wards, or other protections due to its very energetic nature. The spirit or higher self is not going to deflect this type of energy unless specifically instructed by the Self to do so and if we are asking for healing, we aren't going to turn 'good' energy away.
Healing energy achieves a similar end to Reiki, but it often comes from the Self or is drawn up from the earth (or down from the heavens), charged, and sent to the person in need. This energy is often tainted with our own energy signature and can be deflected, rejected, or sent back if the receiver wants to, but again, often doesn't because of being 'open' to that intent.
So, then, what happens when someone is having an illness and they ask for healing? Depends. If it is a broken leg or post-surgery request, boosting up the healing for them will, hopefully, get them up and about quickly. It should keep the infection down or knit the bone, and in general, be a big help.
What happens, though, if this person has cancer or an autoimmune illness? The cancer is growing because the body does not recognize it as an invader or as an out of control growth of cells. What is 'healing' doing? Does it knock down the side effects of the chemo/biotherapy? Does it do its best to flush the chemo/biotherapy from the sick person's system? (In an effort to make them 'well' from the therapy?) Does it simply help the person along to die because their body is simply too worn out? Autoimmune illnesses already deal with an out of control immune system. Why would one want to boost an already overworked immune system with 'healing' when it is likely that suppression is likely what is needed? Another excellent example of 'healing' gone wrong is the flu.
How does the body 'heal' the flu? High. Fucking. Fevers. Now, why would you want to boost someone's immune system with 'healing energy' when the only way to beat something like that is a fever? Those fevers lead to things like dehydration if they aren't monitored. Sure, I know you're thinking that I'm missing the obvious to get the fever down, acetaminophen or ibuprofen, however, keeping one's fever down is inhibiting the body's ability to fight that infection. Fevers are good, at least to a point (and then we go back to the hydration/dehydration fever cycle.) Also, I'm not going to do more than mention things like seizures, deafness, and other things caused by an out of control fever.
Finally, I want to discuss pain as a growth factor. For some people, what they are going through is 'growing pains'. Do we really want to wish pain (or more pain) on someone who is already hurting? There are times when we, as human beings, are required by this life to find a new perspective through pain. Whether it is physical, mental, or emotional, the pain gives us what we need to grow. I know that I certainly don't unless I know very explicitly that I am giving this person pain in order to find a new perspective.
These are just a few examples of how our ideas of healing can go awry. When we send energy, Reiki or otherwise, it must be with the complete understanding that what we are doing may not have the results we expect. While we often sympathize or empathize with the person asking for help, sometimes their pain is both deserved and needed to help them along in this life. We must also understand that our helping can kill them if it is their time to die or their body is just too weak to keep going.
Next time, when a friend asks for healing, Reiki, or juju of any kind, remember to send it with the knowledge that it will help, but it may not be helpful in the way you expect or want it to.
Brightest Blessings,
River
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