Healing Sanctuary
A new paradigm for understanding health and wellness
Healing has happened
Healing is less about fixing or improving or trying to change — and more about revealing the health that is already there. In truth, no matter how things look — on our highest level we are always balanced, centred and in our power — and what people call healing is about aligning with this truth.
Why healing is not about thinking
Despite people talking about the power of the mind — our overthinking intellect is not the healer. Healing arises when you find a way to drop out of the thinking mind, not drive further into it. By dropping out of the mind, I mean dropping out of what is called the ego — that constant stream of mind chatter which is the source of so many of our problems. As we relax our way out of the mind, we connect with who we truly are.
In truth, healing has happened, now. And our job is to tune ourselves into this state of being where we can reveal the healing that’s already there, behind the illusion of whatever problem we think is going on. This is easier said than done and requires practice. But it is doable for everyone when you know what to do.
There is no one way to healing
Through my research, I discovered that the common denominator in effective healings were less about the specific actions the person took, for example the particular healing approach or the specific diet— but started when they found something that relaxed them and gave them peace of mind. It all depends on the person — and that is why there is no one effective way to healing, physically speaking, although some methods are more successful than others. What you’re looking for is a practitioner that you trust whose approach causes you to relax; to drop out of the intellect and awaken to the healing that is already here. I am not against any method, or a combination, be it medication or meditation, while you are doing the inner work.
Through meditation or a similar approach which gets you to listen to your intuition or inner guidance — you will discover the right path for you.
Opening to support
For over 15 years, I have known about the healing art of Jin Shin Jyutsu®. I myself experienced the power of this hands-on modality when I couldn’t walk from a severe back issue.
Previously, at age 17, I had been told that my back could only be healed with a surgery which would give me pain relief but put an end to playing sport and “quite posssibly” put me in a wheelchair. Feeling despondant, a friend of a friend recommended a Chiropractor who was amazing, alleviated my fear and after a few sessions I was trouble-free for several years.
Looking to practice a healing modality myself having being made aware I was a natural healer, a well-known spiritual teacher I was interviewing recommended that I look into Jin Shin Jyutsu® — something I’d never heard of before. Trusting this guidance, I promptly signed up for the teacher training course.
I remember a day before the course was supposed to start, I had a relapse of my back problem so much so that I could hardly walk. My ten minute walk to the station took over an hour. I remember holding onto the handrails on the train for the whole hour’s journey, holding myself up and hardly able to move. Luckily the venue was nearby to the station at the other end.
Over the initial five-day course, we learned the theory including physiology and it all seemed very complex and made sense, something the scientist in me appreciated. And then we moved onto giving and receiving practical sessions — which involved hands going on certain points of the body and holding through specific sets (think more non-invasive accupuncture and less Reiki). When giving the treatments, I was a natural — and I was surprised at the accuracy of the insights about the patients coming to me. When it was my turn to receive treatment, I was curious about the colours and shapes I saw in my mind’s eye, and the sensations that moved through my body even though the touch was so light and it didn’t seem to be “doing anything”. But then something more amazing happened — after several sessions in the first weekend I was totally and instantly healed. I was sold on Jin Shin Jyutsu®.
I’ve since learned that both these modalities, Chiropractric and Jin Shin Jyutsu®, have similarities so my journey was a natural and guided one— the Chiropractric approach is more down to earth, moving things into place physically whereas Jin Shin Jyutsu® is an energy alignment though you can rather amazingly still feel things moving into place. In this way Jin Shin Jyutsu® resonates with me more, and I’ve heard at least one story (from one of my tutors) of Chiropractic doctors sending their more challenging patients to the Jin Shin Jyutsu® practitioner next door and getting incredible results. I have witnessed similar results — and it was key to me taking the next steps into my current healing practice. With my Jin Shin Jyutsu® experience and then using my own work to deal with feeling unsupported — I’ve barely had a problem with my back since. And if I do, I know what to do about it.
There are so many physical avenues that support healing, and I don’t push any of them. However for me I recommend the more gentle ones. Like homeopathy, where the more diluted the more powerful — I’ve found it’s the same with sometimes the more subtle treatments being the most powerful. You want to find the one that resonates with you and makes sense to you — one which facilitates relaxation and awakening to the reality that all is well. Jin Shin Jyutsu® ticks all these boxes as it’s gentle and aligns with my work, offering a practical version of it . For me, it’s in a different league to the other alternative methods I looked into. More to the point, it’s just the method that I was most drawn to and therefore out of traditional or alternative approaches it was the one I chose to focus on and practice for the a decade although current approach doesn’t require hands-on.
“Miracle” healings do exist
I have seen what others would call miracles in healing. Not once or twice, either. And again, these healing happened when someone found a way to surrender; to let go of that fog that was in the way (often fear) and receive the healing that is already there. (Surrender in this context means releasing the mind chatter into something greater, not admitting defeat).
There has never been an illness that was 100% harmful to everyone it affected — not ever. I’ve seen success where the mainstream said it wasn’t possible. And with the internet, people can go researching those people who did come through whatever condition it is — and find out what they did. Rather than using the internet to scare yourself into more overthinking — which is OK and understandable initially — instead I’d highly recommend you research success stories.
First steps: Beginning the inner work
The healing modalities can support you — but what’s essential for long lasting healing is that you do the inner work.
Firstly — and often before you can “just relax” — the first step is to make peace with your feelings about whatever is going on. So you begin to embrace whatever you are feeling and welcoming it rather than fighting against it. Suggestions such as “I should be feeling this becuase I am” and “It’s OK to feel how I feel” are good places to start, moving onto “this feeling is a sign that I am releasing these negative feelings, and they are helping to evolve a solution”.
Make friends with where you are
Next, it’s making peace with the condition itself, which sounds like a ridiculous thing to do especially in a society that teaches us to battle everything. Going to war with a condition may give us a temporary surge of empowerment and may be a necessary first step, but ultimately a shift in perception must take place. Although it seems understandable and even logical why we would resist a condition we don’t want — it just isn’t the most effective tool in healing.
Your job is to find as many things as you can that are good, such as “this condition is evolving me to more wellness”, or as one client said to me “I met my husband through a retreat I went on to heal this condition,” as that was true for her. This can be difficult, as our mind is so used to resisting everything and looking at what isn’t working. Another suggestion for a positive way of looking at dis-eases is that they appear as gifts to show us where we are out of line with our perspective or way of life — and to give us an opportunity to change and therefore live a better life.
Gratitude is powerful. And Gratitude— and I’m including Self-love in this too — is about what I’ve just explained: finding the good in whatever we are focused on, not just the things we deem “good”. As we do this consistently we can let go of our struggles, conditions are given the space to transform or we are guided to the perfect healing modalities for us, whatever they may be.
I share the above approach in my book Feel Better, No Matter What — and there’s a whole chapter on my approach to healing and wellness which includes an empowering meditation/guided journey.
How to help others
When there’s something or someone in need of healing, our best response is to see them as healed. We don’t do this by pretending, but to take the time to tune into the wavelength of where they are indeed already healed.
First, we want to take time to relax ourselves out of the overthinking and anxiety, and find peace ourselves. Then, we can find peace out there.
Then we may offer a soothing word, if necessary. We speak if guided to. But the healing is done — and it’s not our job to do this.
We share this planet with others for a reason and sometimes it’s good to open to the support of others.
Healing Sanctuary
You can discover my guided audio Healing Sanctuary in my book Feel Better, No Matter What (Watkins Publishing) along with more of these ideas. For details about my appointments to support you on your healing journey visit www.michaeljames.be/consultations.
