Spiritual healing is generally considered to be something very positive.
I mean, what could be more uplifting than putting the two words “spiritual” and “healing” together? It’s like watching a puppy cuddle a kitten … or eating a triple-chocolate cake doused in melting caramel. It just feels wonderful and enchanting.
And don’t get me wrong. I love spiritual healing. I think it is absolutely essential on our inner journeys. In fact, if every single person in this world underwent spiritual healing, I think humanity and planet earth would be transformed forever. I believe that we could finally achieve the ideal of world peace.
But if you have been reading my work for a while, you’ll know that I’m not interested in focusing solely on the ‘love and light’ side of spirituality. I am a shadow worker. I love to plunge into the darkness and expose what is hidden. And today, we need to shine that torch on the dark side of spiritual healing.
But firstly …
What is Spiritual Healing?
Spiritual healing is the practice (and experience) of restoring, harmonizing and balancing our Spirit or Soul. There are many different approaches to spiritual healing. For example, some new age healing practitioners focus only on bringing balance to the etheric or non-physical energy field of the human body.
Shamanic healers focus on restoring the soul and curing soul loss. And other holistic healers focus on unifying the body, heart, mind, and soul. Even psychologists and therapists are starting to incorporate spiritual healing into their work such as those operating in the depth and transpersonal fields of psychology.
Spiritual healing is also seen as a transcendental experience of reconnecting with our true nature. As author and teacher Shakti Gawain writes:
Spiritual healing occurs as we begin to consciously reconnect with our essential being – the wise, loving, powerful, creative entity that we are at our core.
The Dark Side of Spiritual Healing That No One Talks About
There’s a reason why no one talks about the dark side of spiritual healing. Number one, most people aren’t even aware that there’s a dark side. And if they are aware then number two: they are uncomfortable to face or confront it.
Here’s where I come in: your friendly neighborhood shadow worker. I will help to outline exactly how seeking for spiritual healing can be self-destructive and why. Sounds paradoxical, doesn’t it? Well here’s the thing, it is! Spiritual healing can feel like an enigma wrapped in a riddle, and I’ll explain why.
To be as short and succinct as possible, there are two dark twins of spiritual healing:
Spiritualized Resistance
The first dark twin is what I call spiritualized resistance.
What does spiritualized resistance mean? Basically, it means that sometimes we can use spiritual healing as an excuse to “get rid of” certain feelings, memories, and experiences that we’ve had.
What’s wrong with trying to banish or get rid of what we go through? It’s a form of resistance. And resistance leads to tremendous suffering. I’m talking anxiety, depression, anger, resentment, bitterness, the whole shebang.
I believe that everyone in the spiritual community needs to understand that trying to “heal” is not always about healing. In fact, often, healing is used as an excuse to deny, suppress, disown, or reject what we’re going through.
It is completely understandable to want to try and get rid of our suffering – particularly if we are exhausted and deeply wounded. But here’s the thing: desperately trying to heal can actually exacerbate your unhappiness and deepen your resistance to what’s happening, thereby preventing you from actually healing!
I will repeat that sentence again (read it slowly): desperately trying to heal can intensify your unhappiness and deepen your resistance to what’s happening, thereby preventing you from actually healing!
It is important for us to understand that true spiritual healing is about facing, acknowledging, exploring, and integrating what we are going through. It’s not about trying to escape our reality!
Dark Spiritual Teachers
The second dark twin is perpetrated by spiritual “healers” and practitioners who are aware – either on a conscious or unconscious level – of the first dark twin of spiritual healing. These teachers are aware of the addictive quality of the push-and-pull game of eternal self-improvement and they use it for their own self-gain.
I see this literally everywhere. It’s a sad thing to behold. It’s prevalent in people who believe they must pay big bucks to “manifest their desires,” keep their vibration high, and basically accumulate more and be more (as if who they are and what they have isn’t already enough).
When does this getting and being more actually end? It’s an eternal cycle that leads to suffering (which I wrote about in my thought-provoking self-improvement article).
Then, of course, you have the more sinister breed of spiritual teachers who appear divine and enlightened on the surface but are raging megalomaniacs underneath. A true spiritual teacher will always give your power back to you, but a false spiritual teacher will not only parade around wearing your codependency like a crown but will also actively encourage it.
They will purport to have the power to “heal” all your issues and provide you with the “one true path” towards enlightenment, illumination, or Oneness. And if you believe them, you will be ensnared in a dangerous web of believing that someone outside of you can offer you salvation. (Read more about dodgy spiritual teachers.)
What is Authentic Spiritual Healing?
Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives. – Akshay Dubey
I hope that during the course of this article, I have communicated myself clearly. Spiritual healing itself isn’t to blame, it is our mental approach towards spiritual healing.
When spiritual healing is used as a way to avoid, deny, suppress, and disown our issues through “spiritualized resistance” we are abusing its potential. And when spiritual healing is used as a dangling carrot by unethical and unwise spiritual teachers, then it is being desecrated.
What is authentic spiritual healing? True spiritual healing is about facing, acknowledging, exploring, and integrating what we are going through. It’s not about trying to escape our reality! It’s really as simple as that.
Just think of it this way: if you had a blistering sore oozing blood and puss … would you really achieve much by covering your eyes and pretending to ignore it? No. The pain and infection would still be there. Would you really heal by pretending the sore wasn’t yours or by making it someone else’s responsibility to look after? No. You’d still carry that sore with you everywhere.
It wouldn’t go away any time soon. The only way to heal that blistering sore is to face it, accept it, and find ways of alleviating your suffering – not as a way of trying to escape your reality – but as a form of self-love. This, to me, is true spiritual healing.
So when it comes to spiritual healing, please be mindful of these traps and practice healthy caution. Critical thinking skills and radical self-honesty are so vital in this day and age.
I’ve been guilty of using spiritual healing as a way to try and escape my suffering before. As a person who has wrestled with anxiety for years, I have often fallen into the trap of trying to spiritually bypass my suffering through fluffy feel-good thinking or methods that promise to instantly “get rid” of anxiety.
It doesn’t work. Trying to put a band-aid on a festering sore will only make it worse. Resisting your reality, even in a “spiritual” way, will only serve to deepen your suffering. The only way out is through. You need to go to the core and roots of your issues in order to heal them.
Please reflect on what I have written in this article because it might save you years of pointless struggle.
Love and peace to all.
Recommended:
- Five Powerful and Fast Self-Healing Techniques You Need To Use
- Healing Yourself By Thought Alone
- How A Cancer Diagnosis Made Me Totally Hooked With These Spiritual Practices
This was written by Aletheia Luna for LonerWolf.
Aletheia Luna is an influential psychospiritual writer whose work has changed the lives of thousands of people worldwide. After escaping the religious sect she was raised in, Luna experienced a profound existential crisis that led to her spiritual awakening.
As a spiritual counselor, diviner, and author, Luna’s mission is to help others become conscious of their entrapment and find joy, empowerment, and liberation in any circumstance.
buy generic speman online – cheap generic speman finasteride for sale online
오공 슬롯
“생각 없이 배우면 죽음에 이르고, 배우지 않고 생각하면 위험에 이르게 된다…”
슬롯 커뮤
오랜 시간이 흐른 후 마침내 그는 “잘라내면 할 수 있는 건… 맞죠?”라고 말했다.
슬롯 게임
모두가 위험을 감수하고 큰 기여를 했으니 상을 줄 이유가 없다고 하셨습니다.적에게 많은 탈북이 그를 조금 당황하게 만들었고, 그는 더 의심스러워졌습니다.
럭키 네코
Fang Jifan은 너무 무서워서 소변을 보며 서둘러 말했습니다. “폐하를 봤습니다. 황제 만세!”
사다리 타기 도박 사이트
“다른 의도가 있든 없든 그런 무리한 방법은 절대 불가능합니다.”
I’m amazed, I must say. Rarely do I come across a blog that’s both educative and interesting, and without a doubt, you’ve hit the nail on the head. The issue is something which not enough people are speaking intelligently about. I am very happy I found this in my hunt for something regarding this.
슬롯 무료 사이트
마치 내가 명성과 명성을 얻고 싶고 내가 직접 연출하고 연기하는 것 같다.
finax without prescription – where can i buy finax order uroxatral pills
슬롯 나라 에그 벳
이때 그는 의례부 간부들에게 빙그레 웃었다.
토토 슬롯
이거.. 어쩜 부끄럽지 않니? 자신이 부끄러울 것입니다.
You need to take part in a contest for one of the highest quality websites online. I am going to highly recommend this web site!
플레이 슬롯
Zhou Yi는 잠시 침묵했고 서둘러 돌아 왔다고 말할 수 없어서 고개를 끄덕였습니다.
온라인 슬롯 머신
전하의 경우 약속은 했지만 왕진위안은 여전히 조금 걱정스러웠다.전체 사기 사건의 결과에 대해 Liu Jian 등은 잘 알고 있습니다.
산타스 스택
그러나 당신은 당신이 옳다고 생각합니까, 그렇게 할 수 있습니까?
Saved as a favorite, I love your site.
Greetings! Very helpful advice within this post! It is the little changes which will make the biggest changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
I’m impressed, I must say. Rarely do I come across a blog that’s both equally educative and interesting, and without a doubt, you have hit the nail on the head. The problem is an issue that too few people are speaking intelligently about. I’m very happy that I found this in my search for something relating to this.
I’m extremely pleased to discover this page. I need to to thank you for ones time for this particularly fantastic read!! I definitely appreciated every little bit of it and I have you saved as a favorite to check out new information on your web site.
Hi, I do believe this is a great blog. I stumbledupon it 😉 I’m going to come back yet again since I bookmarked it. Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide others.
슬롯 무료
두 사람은 서로 다른 감정의 눈빛으로 서로를 바라보았다.
I needed to thank you for this great read!! I absolutely loved every little bit of it. I have got you bookmarked to look at new stuff you post…
Everything is very open with a very clear clarification of the challenges. It was truly informative. Your site is very useful. Thank you for sharing!
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular article! It’s the little changes that make the biggest changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
You’re so cool! I do not believe I have read anything like that before. So good to find someone with unique thoughts on this subject matter. Really.. thanks for starting this up. This site is something that is required on the internet, someone with a little originality.
Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon on a daily basis. It will always be helpful to read articles from other writers and practice something from their web sites.
Each post is a journey, and The words are the map. Thanks for leading the way.
The dedication to high quality content is evident. Keep up the great work!
There is definately a great deal to learn about this topic. I love all of the points you made.
포츈 래빗
그런데 이때 한 내시가 달려들었다. “폐하…폐하…”