An act of healing is a process that can take many forms. Some hardly explored, others so common they are not even recognized as an act at all. Healing can take the form of medicine, surgery, movement therapy, psychology and, of course, Spirit. Healing can be as complicated as the treatment and recovery of a major illness involving many schools of practice. Or it can be as simple as giving a friend a good hug to remind them they are not alone. The discussion to follow centers on healing through energy-working and channeling.
What is energy-working? Particularly in healing?
Energy-working in this context is the act of wilfully directing intent and effort towards the improved health and well-being of yourself or another person. It can be achieved through a variety of practices and techniques, but in the end it all boils down to this one concept. There is someone who is in a less than ideal state, and you have the desire and goal to help them get closer to health. Healing genuinely begins with first having personal concern over someone's well-being. Including your own. Then is followed by some technique or practice involving meditation, focused intent, and usually visualization of something related to that goal.
So, How does one go about all of that?
Well that varies a bit, depending on the practice you want to follow. To that I can only really speak about my own, which is an amalgam of the basic principles shared among the many methods out there. So take of it what you will, and of course follow any source of new information you can find at any opportunity it comes as finding your own best practice will always be an individual journey. Make your own method. Or find one that suits your predispositions and feels effective and right. In the end it all boils down to you and where you dedicate yourself.
That said, I find it all begins with permission. If the person you want to help doesn't want to receive it, no matter your efforts they will be rejected or denied. I find it best to allow those who are looking for help to come to you and ask for it. Allow it to happen on its own. Because it will. All you need to do is let it be known what you do and those who are receptive to the idea will let you know. Allow those who aren't to do their own thing.
Next is to find a location (and time if in-the-moment is less than ideal), where both parties can be relaxed and comfortable. I find it helps to have the person talk about the issue you are wanting to work on. If there is pain, where is it? What shape is it? What kind of pain? When does it happen? It gets both of you to bring your attention to the issue at hand in a directed and purposeful way. It can give an idea on what you should visualize when you begin working. It can also help you develop additional things to do to help the issue heal as you become more experienced and educated. There are times, after-all, when going to the Doctor is indeed the correct and best action.
Now it is time to open yourself up, and begin channeling.
Great! So. What's channeling?
Well, here is where we get into the actually meaty 'doing' bit of healing as I practice it. A channel, in any form, is a path or route designed to move or direct the flow of something through it. And that is what you do during energy-working. It is the practice of allowing (not pulling or pushing or shaping, allowing) an energy to flow through you. Coming to you from an outside source, moving through you, and then outwards in a new direction.
Begin by taking a slow breath in. Take a short moment to become aware of the tensions in your body. Then let the breath fall out of you. Relax your body, your diaphragm, and your chest. Your breath will escape on its own. As it does, imagine the tensions of your body blowing out with that breath. You don't need to melt to the floor or reach any sort of trance state. Just let yourself relax so you can concentrate on a single idea for a while.
Now imagine the top of your head as a glowing swirl of light. Your energy open and present. Relaxed like your body. Remember your intent of beginning this process. The desire to bring comfort, healing, and warmth to the person you are with. To wash off or draw away the pain, tension, or hurt within the person. As you consider these goals, imagine light coming down to you from an unknown, distant 'above'. Like a pillar from the sky but also from the intangible places of spirit. That light is energy of healing drawn to you and your intent (goal). Energy of the highest vibration you could possibly reach. The most good, most healing. Comforting, warm, peaceful, relaxing. Don't worry about what colour it is; The colour the person needs will flow on its own. Don't worry about the specific quality or action of the energy; It will naturally flow to where it is needed and in the form it needs to take.
Imagine the feeling of what that energy would be like to you. A wave of warmth, perhaps. Or a tickling/tingling sensation under your skin (and deeper). Maybe as a feeling of emotion like compassion that settles into you like a wave. Let the energy fill you with its presence from head to toe, inside and radiating outside around you. And then from here, contemplate the idea of this energy moving from yourself to the other person, wherever it is needed.
Reaching this point might take a few minutes when you are new to this sort of idea, but it gets faster and easier the more you practice until it becomes a matter of muscle memory and just happens on its own as soon as you begin to focus with purpose; holding each idea and image for perhaps a few seconds before moving on to the next. Think of it like opening a barrier at the edge of a pool of water, and letting it rush in and through you. Open, build intent, feel the energy flowing to you, into you, filling you so full it radiates outward from you.
Right about now you might feel an instinct or pull to do something. Take some sort of physical action or movement to affirm the process with something 'real'. It isn't necessary, but once again it does help bring both parties (yourself and the one you are performing the healing for) into the same line of thought and goal. You giving/projecting healing while the other person receives/takes in the energy. The person can sit or lay back, whatever is comfortable and easiest to allow you to move about or place your hands.
For most people, movement and engagement would involve the use of your hands. Throughout human history we have used them in every interaction we have with the world. To lift, carry, build, break, move, invent, they are the literal keys to interacting with everything around us. So it only comes naturally for them to do the same in the intangible as well. So use your hands now if you wish. Let them rest near, on, or over the place you feel is centered on where the healing is needed; Or if you feel a pull to place your hands elsewhere, trust in the instinct/intuition. Just keep it appropriate, this is not an excuse for indecency. If all else fails, run your hands over the middle of the person's back or at the level of the solar plexus.
Whether you engage your hands or simply sit and talk while being mindful of your goal and process, you will likely form a sensation of flow. Encourage it gently, imagine that energy that is coming down from above moving into you, through you guided by your goal of healing, then out of you towards the other person. If you are engaging your hands, let them guide the movement of the energy. Run the energy down your arm and to your palms. Remember the feelings of moving energy you felt at the beginning. That tingle or warmth or sense of compassion. Imagine it flowing out of your hands and towards the other person to settle wherever it is needed. To bring health, release tension and pain, and fuel regeneration.
From here, the process can have some variety depending on what imagery feels most significant or is most aligned with your predispositions. You can recognize the healing energy washing away the already present pain or harm like water rinsing dirt from a sponge, to fall to the ground. Or you can imagine a cycle of energy- the 'good' flowing down you into the person while the 'bad' (weak, harmed, pained) energy runs back to you where you ground it away yourself. Again, for those more ingrained with a physical action you can use one hand to pull away from the working every minute or so (or whenever you feel the need) to give your arm a swift firm shake towards the ground. As if shaking water from your hand.
During your session you may also notice that one arm/hand seems more favoured towards moving energy outward, while the other seems more predisposed to gathering, manipulating, or taking inward energy. This is quite normal. Like with many things, both hands are usually equally able to move energy in any direction. But the mind likes its associations. One hand grabs and holds or controls, (or catches) while the other feels more natural or predisposed to manipulate, turn, push, or throw. Usually this means that for most people the dominant 'active' hand tends to also be the dominant/manipulating, outward-flowing source of energy. Meanwhile the off-hand (the holding, grasping, catching side) tends towards the same in energy movement as well. ...Though, not always. So just pay attention to what you feel in the beginning of your practice and go with the proverbial (and literal) flow. In the end the key is to just let things happen. Provide a pathway for healing energies to reach the person you want to help, and a path for the displaced hurt (if any) to be washed or moved away -without- making that 'injured' energy your own. If in doubt, don't worry about it. Just use both hands equally and trust the flow will sort itself out all on its own.
All that is left is to continue this visualization and allowing this flow of energy to happen through and around you, until you start to feel like it is no longer needed and/or time to stop. The timing is impossible to actually predict, there is no 'set time' for a session. It takes as long s it takes. You get there when you get there. As to how it feels, like energy itself it can be different for every person. Even in every session. It is an intuition. A sense that you just feel like it is time to stop. Maybe you find your mind wandering to other topics, as if focus is no longer needed. Maybe you feel the presence of the energy but it isn't really moving about any more- like things are at an equilibrium and there's no more room for flow. Or maybe you will have a weakened or missing sensation of energy coming to you from outside. Akin to a running tap dribbling to a stop. Or you might get a signal from the other person like a sudden restlessness or urge to get up and walk around or stretch. Or a change in topic of conversation away from the task and onto other, more mundane things.
Just as when you allow things to begin and flow, allow things to stop as well. The session is done, don't bother trying to force more out of it. At best it will achieve a waste of energy and time to no further gain. At worst it might act to undo some portion of your effort and leave you tired or drained-feeling.
Let it rest.
Take a breath, shake off or ground down any lingering feelings of the other person's energy, and envision any lingering channeled energy lifting off and fading like mist from a lakeside sunrise. After-words it helps to chat a while with no specific topic in mind. Just let conversation resume to normal things. Perhaps the person you were working with had sensations they wanted to mention. Or suddenly you feel like bringing up an old funny movie you watched once. Or to take guesses on how well the local sports team will do this season. Doesn't matter. Just let the conversation return to grounded things for a while. It also helps to have a cup of water to sip on for a bit. Or some warm (but not overly hot) tea. If the weather is nice, go outside for a while and have a short walk in the sunshine. In essence, get your mind and body gently grounded back to the every-day and carry on back to your normal routine.
Your session is completed, repeat at a later time as needed. Just bear in mind that while some people who are very well practiced in healing can bring about some dramatic changes over just a single session for a person, this is more often than not related to the changes in a body gained from relief of stress, alleviation of pain, and finding mental/emotional peace for a while. Results that often fade over time as those conditions return. Issues more involved than aches and pains might call for repeated sessions across days or weeks while also addressing the roots of whatever the issue might be.