Is There a Difference between Healing and Spirituality?

Healing of the psyche and spirituality are intimately linked. I have heard it said that some Native American tribal people believe that the inner child is actually the high self. When a person completely heals this inner self, that being reaches enlightenment. This is very central to the way I view the process of enlightenment. Each step we make forward in our search for the truth heals our soul, and when we heal our soul, we experience the truth of the universe. Healing and spirituality are woven together inextricably as the warp and the woof in the loom of change.

Perhaps the very nature of the word "healing" is in the way of making the connection. The word healing can imply that something is broken. But then again, doesn't "searching for enlightenment" imply that we are not already enlightened? Perhaps both enlightenment and healing are processes of remembering our wholeness as Divine beings.

Have you even known a "deeply spiritual person" who did not treat people well, or whose life was a complete shambles? Didn't it make you wonder how advanced they were after all? I believe spiritual growth, emotional growth, and the ability to cope with the difficulties of incarnation are inextricably linked. It is not enough to be knowledgeable about spiritual practices, and know the workings of arcane rites. Perhaps it is even more precipitous to know the complex workings of your own psyche. This powerful self awareness can transform the relationship between the mind and the emotions, making it possible to be a person who radiates the beauty and power of a healed psyche. One of the great dangers of being "advanced" is spiritual ego. Once you think you've got it all figured out.... Then you are really in trouble. This is a place where a good dose of emotional intelligence really comes in handy.

I am often surprised when I hear people who are obviously interested in their spirituality say, "I'm not into doing "healing stuff."" The way I look at it, spirituality without the healing of the emotional body is a mental act. When I am having a deep spiritual experience, I am acutely aware of the relationship between my body, my mind, and my emotions... as well as my spirit.
They are synergistically linked. If any link in that chain is weak.. The whole thing is weaker for it. Every time I meditate, I experience a healing. More truth, power, energy and wholeness are created and maintained within the vehicle called "me." The meditation is an act of healing, whether I intend it that way or not. Similarly, when I am present for a powerful piece of healing work, I am constantly awed by the immense spiritual power present. Healing is a very direct way to participate the sacred play of the Gods.

Those on a shamanic path perform ceremony and inner work that recovers power and soul retrieval. For the shaman, once all the power from trauma and wrong thinking is fully recovered, it is possible for that person to have remarkable spiritual powers. The shaman's role in the tribe is as a healer on all levels of consciousness, assisting people to regain lost power, release intrusions that are in the way of that power, and to align with the spirit world. The path of the shaman is truly a path of healing spirituality.

The way I see it, the more enlightened we become, the more we are inclined towards a path of service. You are in such a state of abundance, that you want to give the gift to others. There is many ways to give the gift to help others. For me, the gift is wanting to help people to feel more whole on every level. In so doing, perhaps those people will reach out and help others. It is an exponential movement of transformation. Together, we can bring about the healing of consciousness and of the earth for all of us, not just create a personal experience of the Divine.

Sylvia Brallier
The Director of
The Tantric Shamanism, Institute

Added comments by readers:
The Hindu's use a great analogy to understand the process of having one grow spiritually and in turn become closer to the creator. Becoming closer to the creator brings more balance and harmony. As a result we become healthier and our vibrational quality more pure or more true to it's purpose. The Hindu analogy describes a carriage, horses, and driver. The carriage the physical self, the horses the emotional self, and the driver the intellectual self. Typically the horses are running out of control, the driver is asleep, and the carriage is falling apart. What one needs to develop is the passenger. Who directs the other three with direction and purpose. The spiritual self. At first, the passenger is as a small infant.
The voice is seldom heard. Through self observation and conscious thought we become stronger and the inner voice more readily heard. Then we become directed from within, as apposed to be subject to outside influence to determine our next step or course of action. As our inner self develops and becomes a constant director of harmonious inspiration and a conscious receptor of higher influence. We become healthier as a result of balance and a clear vibrational resonance.
John Earnest

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