Female healers were an indispensable component of their communities. Steeped in knowledge of medicinal plants and herbs as well as spiritual practices, these women were put through rigorous testing during witch hunts in the 16th and 17th centuries.
These recipes included flight ointments and love potions containing psychoactive tropane alkaloids like Ephedrine to stimulate heartbeat and sweating.
Spirituality
Healers tend to have strong connections to Spirit and view life as sacred. You tend to be big-picture thinkers and adept at reading people’s emotions and physical ailments easily, drawing them toward you like magnets; animals and even plants seem drawn towards you for guidance; you are highly intuitive with dreams often acting as prophetic signs for them; most likely you have experienced major trauma such as the death of loved one(s), physical/sexual/emotional abuse or war in some capacity as well.
Are You Called to Heal Souls Around You? Feeling an Urgency to Do So
Healers understand the presence of Spirit as part of their healing work, as the Spirit works alongside them. They understand its influence in disease causes, which must be factored into diagnosis. Healers may even seek assistance from deceased spirits during their healing journeys.
Spirituality is also a crucial aspect of traditional healing systems such as Ayurveda, which views human body and environment as intertwined – with seasons impacting body and mind alike and any imbalance causing this balance to shift away.
Many healers incorporate spirituality into their practice by connecting to Nature, their own inner Spirit, and that of the patient’s spirit. Many also believe that illness is a reflection of an individual’s spiritual journey. A shaman in Native American traditions uses plant spirits to identify what needs healing within an individual – sometimes using hallucinogenic drugs like peyote to access this dimension more accurately and make accurate diagnoses.
Community
Becoming part of the International Natural Healers Association (INHA) can demonstrate to prospective clients that you adhere to a code of conduct and take your work seriously. INHA welcomes practitioners from all holistic healing modalities; our Natural Healer graduate program even offers discounted membership! Instructor Melissa is proud to call herself a member herself, so join with her today – it will open doors and connect you with like-minded lightworkers!
Diagnosis
Indigenous cultures view healing as an act of religion, with medicine men and women possessing profound religious conviction. Medicine men and women utilize their connection with spirit to bring visions for desired results for patients in an elaborate ritual setting, with songs and dances to bring life to its power.
Native American traditions place great faith in the supernatural as an element in disease causes, and healers known as shamans use spirit communication to aid diagnosis. Shamans may access spirits through dreams, animals, natural phenomena such as thunder and lightening storms or ceremonies as well as herbs or plants grown from roots; or by connecting to spirit guides residing within dreams; as well as reaching out for help via methods such as coal gazing (interpreting burnt embers from fireplace) or hallucinogens like peyote for diagnosis and healing purposes.
Healers see the body as part of an interdependent whole and diagnose disease by evaluating nine attributes such as psychosomatic constitution, disease susceptibility, tissue quality, disease karma, digestive power, exercise endurance, mental health status and appearance (prakriti). All these elements are affected by environmental influences; traditional healing therefore concentrates on nature as an influence for each individual to heal within it.
At an initial consultation, a healer will often assess a person’s family and community history to ascertain what caused their particular illness. He or she then prescribes treatment that addresses both the source of sickness as well as its symptoms.
Ayurved medicine recognizes the relationship between humans and nature as being mutually interdependent and constantly impactful on one another. Our bodies consist of combinations of five elements known as ether, air, fire, water and earth; their state of wellness can be assessed using these measurements (4). A healer might prescribe herbs or recommend specific food items in order to restore equilibrium to their system and restore harmony to it.
Treatment
Healing traditions often employ holistic practices that address psychosocial and spiritual dimensions of health along with the physical. By contrast, Western medicine tends to focus more on individual organs than on people; although this approach has made great strides in diagnosing and treating diseases effectively, its limitations cannot be discounted.
Some healing traditions, like Ayurveda, recognize the interdependency between body and nature. Our bodies consist of five elements from nature: Akash (ether), Vayu (air), Agni (fire), Jala (water) and Prithvi (earth). When these bioenergies become imbalanced, individuals may face health challenges.
Tradition healing often relies on community participation. For instance, Native American traditions employ shamans who lead healing ceremonies incorporating prayers and herbs for medicinal use. Healers typically show respect for the plants they use by making an offering such as tobacco before selecting an herb to heal with.
Healers are part of an emerging movement to support holistic, natural and energy healing methods to enhance our wellbeing. At Natural Healer Society we welcome practitioners of holistic, natural and energy healing modalities of all kinds; be they coaching combined with EMDR therapy or herbal remedies combined with energy work. Whether offering intuitive readings and movement sessions is your forte – with us as your ally – start today your membership using your exclusive discount code from your graduation email – Melissa herself belongs to International Natural Healers Association as she is approved as part of this Society! Melissa herself proudly belongs to International Natural Healers Association!
