Terry Paul Choyce
August 12, 2007, Brunswick Street United Church
For the last few months CBC radio has had a program on every week day at 11 called This I Believe. These were short essays written by Canadians about something they are passionate about. One of the best ones was by Dr. Balfour Mount who is Professor Emeritus of Oncology and Palliative Care Medicine at McGill University. He wrote:
"I believe in healing. I am not speaking of physical healing, a person can die healed: what I mean by "healing" is a shift away from anguish and suffering, toward an experience of integrity, wholeness and inner peace. The ultimate goal of healing is to enable us to be of greater service to others and to the global village of which we are temporary trustees.
My thoughts have been shaped by multiple personal brushes with death - a plane crash; three cancers and all that followed those diagnoses; a heart attack; the deaths of loved ones; my work as a cancer surgeon; the privilege of caring for the dying over the last three decades. Paradoxically, the message emerging from these experiences has been about living, not dying. The psyche, it would seem, has an intrinsic tendency toward healing.
I believe healing, like love, celebration, awe and ecstasy, happens in the present moment, free from ruminations about the past and fears for the future. It involves letting go, a leap of faith, "diving not drowning" as Carl Jung expressed it. ALS patient Phil Simmons called it "learning to fall." We fall from head, to heart; from egoism and defense mechanisms, to forgiveness of ourselves and others. We may thus come to glimpse the staggering potential of our essential selves and experience an awareness of the healing connections that provide meaning, hope and a sense of an inner peace.
I believe healing connections happen at four levels: a sense of connection to self; connection to others; connection to the world perceived through our senses (as with music, or the grandeur of nature); and connection to ultimate meaning, however perceived (God, the More, the Cosmos). While my experience of the first of these - connection to self - is slowly unfolding, I have, throughout life, been enriched beyond measure through each of the other domains. In spite of this, I have too often felt trapped by circumstances - stuck with the 'Why me?' 'Why now?' 'What if?' questions of life.
I believe my challenge is to open to each moment with acceptance; to listen to my intuition; to develop self-reflective skills; to be more gentle with myself; to think small; to give up illusions of control.
I believe healing involves a process of opening, slowing, centering, trusting and accepting. This process leads us away from preoccupation with all that is been lost to a clearer recognition of the potential that remains.
Finally, I believe that I must take up the journey toward healing anew each day. The renowned Jewish scholar, Hillel, put it succinctly, "If I don't do it, who will do it? If I don't do it now, when will I do it?"
Dr. Mount's essay blends in with the now popular theory that our physical problems are closely linked to our psychological, emotional, and spiritual states. Carolyn Myss, in her book Anatomy of the Spirit says (p.47):
"I am responsible for the creation of my health. I therefore participated, at some level, in the creation of this illness. I can participate in the healing of this illness by healing myself, which means simultaneously healing my emotional, psychological, physical and spiritual being. Healing and curing are not the same thing. A "cure" occurs when one has successfully controlled or abated the physical progression of an illness. Curing a physical illness, however, does not necessarily mean that the emotional and psychological stresses that were a part of the illness were also alleviated. In this case it is highly possible, and often probable, that an illness will recur."
Every doctor now admits that many conditions are related to stress and to anger. From heart conditions to back aches to asthma to laryngitis, our bodies create problems as a way of expressing deep, personal issues. Therefore to truly heal a sore back, it may be necessary to find the real cause of the problem. You may hate your job, so having a bad back will keep you home from work. You may be extremely angry at one of your children, but not be able to safely verbalise that anger, so you loose your voice altogether. You may not be living a life that reflects your values, so you end up with a constant headache, or pains in your heart. Medicine may cure the pain, but until the real problem is addressed, you will continue to be plagued by some physical problem.
In our reading from Matthew today (9:18-26) Jesus says to the bleeding woman "your faith has made you well." For many people , their faith does make them well. A few years ago I went to St. Joseph's Basilica in Montreal, and the entrance was full of crutches from people who came unable to walk, and left that sacred place on their feet. They received spiritual healing. Many people have gone to psychologists and counsellors to talk about their personal problems, and in the process are cured of their physical ailments. We are all very complicated beings. We are body and we are spirit. Very often the health of the body depends on the health of the spirit, and vice versa.
So the next time you have an illness or injury, please take the time to think about a possible reason that caused this condition. Have you been angry, stressed out, bored, or living a life you think is morally wrong? Do you need to make changes in what you do, who you are with, where you live, or what you believe? Are your habits killing you? Do you have a negative attitude that sabotages everything you do? Are you happy or content? How can you be happier? Is your faith sustaining you and making you feel peaceful and whole? Do you feel loved? Do you love yourself?
All of these questions are necessary to be asked if you are to be fully healthy. We are physical beings and spiritual beings combined. As Dr. Mount said, we need to experience "integrity, wholeness, and inner peace." Medications and physiotherapy will not provide them. Prayer, self-reflection, and faith will. There are many ways to be healed.
Reading of "Healing" by Danna Faulds:
There is healing in the laying on of hands, in the letting go of fear,
in asking for help, in silence, celebration, prayer.
There is healing in speaking the truth and in keeping still,
in seeking sunlight and not shunning struggle.
Laughter and the affirmation of wholeness hold their own healing.
When the soul dances, when the day begins in delight,
when love grows and cannot be contained, when life flows from moment to moment,
healing happens in the space between thoughts,
and the breath before the first sung note.
Healing is a birthright and a grace. When we dare to be open to the unknown,
when we welcome in the vast expanse of life,
healing comes from the heart, and blossoms from the inside out.
(From Go In and In - yogapoems@aol.com)
