Spiritual Healing
For people looking to more fully understand themselves and their place in the world, spiritual counseling might be an attractive alternative. A spiritual counselor can help provide support, encouragement and advice regarding human nature and how humans relate to the greater world around them. Generally this type of counseling will delve deeper than more traditional counseling, and is based more on emotions than a psychological or analytical approach to counseling. Many people might want to take advantage of the services of a spiritual counselor, but don’t have much money to spare. Fortunately, it is fairly easy to find a spiritual counselor who does not charge a fee.
There is a wide range of topics that spirit counseling covers and most counselors specialize in a particular area. So before you choose a counselor, consider what it is that you are interested in learning. Some will work with you on personal growth or relationship issues. Others may offer their expertise in modern or classical philosophy or psychotherapy. Still others can offer insight into meditation, visualization and energy therapies.
Most counselors will be happy to provide information on their area of expertise before you begin the counseling sessions. To find a spiritual counselor who is willing to work for free, start by asking around your local community. Many religious organizations have loose networks of spiritual counselors, and some even offer this service as part of their own pastoral counseling. Ask friends for recommendations, and check the local business directories too. You will also be likely to find a spiritual counselor offers free services by doing an online search. Many counselors have local offices, and will offer personal, face-to-face consultations. Still others offer “distance counseling,” working with people either via email or phone. The Internet has opened up a whole new way of networking, and spiritual counselors have a significant presence on the Web.
Spiritual counseling can be useful in a wide variety of areas in a person’s life. A good spiritual counselor can help you understand the things that are going on around you in an often confusing world. By utilizing spiritual counseling, you may find yourself able to make better choices in life, and they can help you realize your full potential by encouraging personal growth.
Some people use spiritual counseling to help chart their path for the future, by envisioning themselves as they wish to be. The uses for spiritual counseling are vast indeed. And so is the background, education and philosophy of the huge numbers of spiritual counselors available. It’s important that you find a counselor to whom you can relate, honestly and openly, as this is a requirement for a positive counseling session. Some spiritual counselors will list specific skills, including clairvoyance, clairaudience, and other psychic abilities. But these traits are not necessarily the crux of a spiritual counseling session. There are a number of good resources available to help you find a free spiritual counselor. In addition to private websites, there are also forums, message boards, national organizations and a host of other resources out there. You might also search for this type of counseling under similar terms like “pastoral counseling,” “self-help,” “humanistic guidance,” “personal counseling,” and other similar phrases.
Many spiritual counselors do believe that their gift for healing and counseling comes from a divine source, and they are therefore uncomfortable charging for their services. Others will charge a small fee, and still others make a good living by providing this service. Whatever level you are comfortable with, remember that the ultimate goal is to know and understand yourself, so be sure you are getting what you need out of the experience.
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Prayer is very complex, diverse and personal. It can be verbal or silent, done solo or with a group. One thing most would agree is that it can be a powerful tool when used to heal. Throughout the ages, prayer has been used to appeal to a higher being. And among the appeals are frequently requests for healing of the mind, body and spirit.
Myriad studies have been done to document the effectiveness of prayer. Most concluded that prayer did in fact assist in healing, but a surprising double-blind study administered by cardiologist Randolph Byrd at San Francisco General Hospital found that prayer helped in the recovery of patients who didn’t even know they were being prayed for.
Perhaps even more unbelievably, studies have shown that prayer can assist nonhumans as well – in one study, it was found that rye grass grew faster when prayed for. The studies are convincing, but most who engage in prayer don’t need data to tell them how calming and soothing it can be. So, how can prayer be combined with other types of spiritual healing for a more effective outcome?
In Mark Dahle’s book, “How to Pray for Healing (And What to Do if Nothing Happens)”, he suggests that as you pray for someone, you should ask if you can touch them on the head or shoulders, mimicking the way Jesus and his disciples healed by touch. Even if the subject of your prayer does not want to be touched, he asserts, God’s spirit can flow through them and heal them. This theory is very similar to many of the spiritual techniques that are used to heal ailments of the body and mind.
Prayer can also be used as an aid to spiritual healing on an individual level. There are many books and resources available on the subject of prayer and healing. Start by visiting your local public library and reading up on the various types of prayer and meditation healing. Many people report significant, if not nearly miraculous, results from prayer, and many health care providers are also becoming increasingly aware of the power of prayer and meditative reflection to improve healing. For example, the traditional Reiki method uses a person as a healer to conduct energy through the body of another by using his hands. That energy flows through the body and finds the areas in the body that need healing. Another is Therapeutic Touch therapy, which similarly uses energy that flows through the hands into the body, but without physical touch.
Healing Touch therapy uses a light touch to regulate the body’s energies. This method has found its way into various hospitals around the United States, used in conjunction with conventional medicine. Many healthcare facilities now have practitioners available; you may want to ask your health care provider if healing touch therapy may be appropriate for you. Some spiritual healing methods, in fact, involve sending healing energies from the practitioner’s consciousness over long distances to their recipient. In this way, it may be argued that spiritual healing and prayer are one in the same. In fact, in the United Kingdom and some surrounding areas, the term “spiritual healing” is used to describe prayer and other means of healing, both in secular and non-secular contexts. Prayer is also sometimes used as a synonym for meditation. The goal of most methods of spiritual healing therapies is to ensure that the body, mind and soul are working together to promote health and wellbeing. Therefore it follows that if prayer encourages the health of the soul, it can only help further the cause of other methods of healing.
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