Holistic vs. traditional healthcare is important to understand. Early in my nursing career, I observed simple, intuitive solutions. A gentle touch, patience, acceptance, and kindness could relieve suffering, pain, and stress. These experiences repeat over and over again. They informed me that more was going on than just a physical disease. And there are ways to heal beyond what science has shown us. The question as to why some people heal, while others do not would puzzle me? The answer to my inquiry led me to align with holistic versus traditional healthcare, and here is why.
Some Early Observations for Health and Well-being.
A heartfelt conversation with an elder about their family, their accomplishments, and dreams would bring tears of joy to their eyes. At that moment, a sense of ease would dissolve the ailments in their bodies. Elderly patients slept better after a foot and back rub with scented lotion. They slept like babies.
Patients who are content with their lives often seem to tolerate more pain, eat better, and need less encouragement to walk after surgery. Some of the nurses would say, “They have a good attitude, and attitude is everything.”
In the neonatal intensive care unit instinctively, I held my hand a few inches above the neonates’ abdomen. At the same time, I would set an intention to enhance nutrients to be easily absorbed. A few moments of healing energy resulted in less vomiting, cramping, and irritability so that their vital life force could focus on growth. Human connection is magic. I learned firsthand that loving touch to heals.
The Colors of the Earth.
As a child, colorful plates of fresh vegetables and fruits were harvested minutes before our dinner. The flavors were extraordinary. Family unity, prayer, exercise, and hard work were all part of my childhood. The vibrancy of fresh food from our organic garden nourished our growing bodies with love.
This simple connection to the earth was grounding. To this day, I eat fresh, local organic produce. It was not a mystery to me that what we eat, how we grow it, and prepare it affects health.
Laying on the Hands.
My first experiences as a nurse were in pediatrics. Their honesty and spontaneity drew me to work with children. Soon I learned that children get sick too. Leukemia was a death sentence in the seventies, and the families were scared and fragile. There was so little hope.
At a pediatric hospital, children taught me how to die with dignity. They spoke to me about heaven and described themselves as playing with angels and grandparents when they were in a deep restorative sleep. The children did not seem to fear death in general. They ate when they were hungry and slept when they needed to sleep. Quietly they would retreat into stillness even when the adults were coaxing them to eat, play and move.
From a place in the universe, words of comfort and clarity would just come to me. I seemed to know what to say to parents before their children left the physical world. The information or guidance was within me until a question, or a situation occurred. Where did this knowledge come? I wondered. A conscious decision to trust my inner guidance guided me during these end of life transitions. Medicine was inadequate to prepare the families. It required something more than the traditional model. A holistic vs. tradtional healthcare approach included the invisible world of spirit that offered comfort beyond a medical model could achieve.
The Plant Kingdom.
Board certification as an Aromatherapy Professional, through a nurse model from the United Kingdom, provided me with the knowledge to use plants to heal. Triple blind random control trials were too expensive in a traditional model. Ancient wisdom knew how to use the essential oil of plants. A perfect balance of earth and sky nourished the plant. The distillation process of a plant to its essence. Then its properties were condensed enough to be therapeutic.
This knowledge of the essence of the plant led me to understand the nature of a human being better. The properties of essential oil are dependent on climate, water, nutrients in the soil, the hands of the human that harvested the plant, and the distillation process. The law of interconnectedness applies to humans.
My Own Health Crisis.
Twelve days in the hospital without a diagnosis. Several medications resulted in severe complications. There were many signs along the way before my collapse. Such as headaches, fatigue, migraines, and lack of inspiration that the physicians were unable to alleviate. Medications were prescribed to manage symptoms with their problematic side effects.
There were no answers from the medical or behavioral health models. To heal, I knew I had to find a way to heal myself from the inside out. A vigilant daily exercise and meditation practice led me to mystical experiences. And after several weeks, the joy of being alive returned. The wisdom to heal is within us.
The Worried Well.
The worried well came in droves to the health center where I worked. Diagnostic tests and a clinical assessment were not sufficient to explain the complaints. There could be no remedies without a diagnosis. Many patients received the message, “You are fine. There is nothing wrong with you. It is all in your head.” Headaches, indigestion, fatigue, insomnia, frequent colds and flu, body aches, depression, and anxiety, are indications that the energy system is out of balance. The underlying cause is “stress.” My definition of stress is something in your life is not the way you want it. The western medicine recommendation is to relax and not be so uptight.
Easier said than done when you are freaking out about a situation in your life. When the medical model was insufficient, the next step was to refer to talk therapy or prescribe medications. Many patients said therapy was helpful, but for many, nothing changed. What was going on inside of people that neither medical nor behavioral health could cure?
The real distress in the eyes of patients panged at my heart. There had to be a way to heal. It became clear that the common denominator was the ability to access the soul, inner wisdom, and spiritual truths.
A Spiritual Crisis Is Not Healed By Traditional Medical Models.
Every living plant, animal, and human has a unique essence and skills to adapt to their environment and experiences. Your energy field around your body holds all the information about you. Intuition is a means to access this deep inner knowing. Illness of any kind, mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual can cause dis-ease.
Humans seek homeostasis, and it is our nature. Every cell in the body dies and is reborn. There is a continuous cycle of rebirth. The soul’s journey is played out in life and directly related to the energy system. Energy medicine such as acupuncture, reflexology, healing touch, and reiki can heal the energy disturbances in the body.
Transformation of Individuals.
In the nineties, I worked at a visiting nurse and hospice organization (VNA&H). The President strongly encouraged me to attend training in Therapeutic Touch, a nursing energy model. Skeptical, I arrived at the training session. Bewildered, my hands detected subtle changes in the energy body as though I had done it a thousand times.
The ability to sense physical illnesses and congested energy flow naturally came to me. How could this be? The concept of touch to relieve stress and provide comfort was familiar to me. But could I sense disruptions in the energy body and heal the flow of energy? I showed up, got dressed, and gave it a shot. My curiosity propelled me forward. I had nothing to lose.
Individuals at the end of life received energy healing in a way that surprised me. The most common comment was, “I feel more like myself.” During their transitions, I would observe the expression on their faces soften, and eyes light up. The light from the soul was shining brilliantly through the physical body that had deteriorated. The energy healing cleared energetic debris from the energy field so that their unique frequency could shine through. Caregivers watched in awe and would ask for a session for themselves. Clearly, Holistic vs Traditional Healthcare could not have done the same thing.
Holistic vs. Traditional Healthcare.
Holistic health treats all aspects of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies for optimal health and well-being. Many traditional models treat one organ or symptom at a time without considering the whole body, mind, and spirit. A fragmented attempt to heal a physical body can lead to complications that can be worse than the disease.
You can glean the best from both worlds. Quite honestly, the healthcare system in the United States does not support the time needed. Many physicians, nurses, and therapists would love to spend more time with their patients. The financial model does not allow such a luxury, to heal means to make whole — the mind, body, and spirit. Individuals find Holistic vs Traditional Healthcare to be effective.
My Role As An Energy Healing Practitioner
The healing energy work I do is to repair the energy system. It is to clear energy fields, and release stuck energy. And to either increase or decrease the flow of energy moving within and around the body. We all have a mechanical energy system. In that, we all have the same structure. Mostly, I reset and strengthen the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies so that you can better heal. For an energy assessment and healing, you can contact Kathi Pickett at www.kathipickett.com