Healing...ON Purpose!

“…the enemy is strong natural servants who have the potential to lead but do not lead, or who choose to follow a non-servant. They suffer. Society suffers.” 
Robert Greenleaf from his 1970 essay, "The Servant as Leader."

​We continue our journey as we go into more detail for EACH SERVANT LEADERSHIP competency Robert Greenleaf  identified. This week we discuss HEALING.

Preamble: the events of past weeks have been horrific. The division in our country (and around the world) threatens the future of our society. Our society and different pockets of it are in deep turmoil...as evidenced by:

-    People continuing to be underemployed or "mis-employed". (Gallup)
-    The middle class is now the minority. (Pew)
-    Depression, addiction, and suicide are climbing to unhealthy numbers. (CDC)
-   We have some counties in the U.S. where MORE people are dying from drug over-doses than NATURAL causes. (CDC)
-    For those currently working, the numbers are also daunting:
      o    70%+ are disengaged - i.e they just show up. (Gallup)
      o    20% wish harm on the company they work - i.e they cause harm.  (Gallup)
-    "No religion" is the world's third-largest religious group after Christians and Muslims. (Pew)

We can't deny those truths (despite our personal ideology). No doubt, we or someone we know and love, can use some healing. So, let us delve deeper into a servant leadership competency that has significant promise to right our ship...and as a leader can / will make you stand out from your peers..HEALING.

Healing

People talented in healing seek wholeness in themselves and others. According to Larry Spears -  president and CEO of The Larry C. Spears Center for ServantLeadership - "The healing of relationships is a powerful force for transformation and integration. One of the great strengths of servant leadership is the potential for healing one’s self and one’s relationship to others. Many people have broken spirits and have suffered from a variety of emotional hurts. Although this is a part of being human, servant leaders recognize THEY have an opportunity to help make whole those with whom they come in contact."

In his essay, "The Servant as Leader", Greenleaf (1977/2002) writes, “There is something subtle communicated to one who is being served and led if, implicit in the compact between servant leader and follower, is the understanding that the search for wholeness is something they share.” 

To expand on the concept of healing, Lauren Geertsen - Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, author, and creator of Empowered Sustenance - adds "The sustained dance of true healing means negotiating self-compassion and self-endurance. Gather conviction in the face of uncertainty – know that courage feels like fear, and the strength of your body fails to reflect the strength of your spirit. When positive change appears daunting, channel your soul’s tenacity to patiently and persistently abide in the moment. Ardently express lavish gratitude to your body: unconditional love nurtures the healing journey. Converse gently with the Inner Critic, quieting the accusatory chatter with understanding compassion. Adamantly reject the enticing fantasy of perfection – perfectionism antagonizes transformation and obscures the clarity of your intuition."
 
Focus of healing

There are numerous areas WHERE healing can take place. Here are the major ones:

• Body - many times people get healed physically after they have dealt with an emotional wound. A person who is bitter and angry at someone has a much harder time healing physically. In fact, as long as the negative emotions exist - there will usually be negative physical symptoms that exist...(arrhythmia, high blood pressure, insomnia to name a few). The person often has "trust issues". IMPORTANT: Until someone can trust someone or some greater power to heal they will not be fully healed.
• Energy - a holistic practice that activates the body’s subtle energy systems to remove blocks. By breaking through the energetic blocks, the body’s inherent ability to heal itself is stimulated. Energy - also known as Chi, Ki, Qi, Prana, Force – is all around us. All living entities – birds, flowers, trees and humans – are manifestations of energy.  We are living in a world of energy and can tap on the various energy healing modalities to heal ourselves and others. Some examples:

1. Cosmic - in the ancient world of Egypt, people acquired the knowledge to harness cosmic energy through the pyramids for many purposes such as healing and the formation of rains for crops. 
2. Fengshui - an ancient Chinese art of harmonizing the energy of people and environment. 
3. Laying of hands - shamans or energy healers - able to heal people through "laying of hands". We are energy and it's possible to perform healing for ourselves as well as others. Regardless of your belief-system there are countless examples of this "supernatural" power in action.

• Mind - Soul - when we make bad choices, we feel guilt. Guilt is an emotional reaction. When somebody makes bad choices against us, we feel all kinds of emotions - anger, shame, bitterness, revenge etc. Emotional healing is when we no longer react with those emotions when we think about or remember what we or others did. 
• Spirit - the human spirit becomes damaged and ill from the effects of bad choices. When we make bad choices, we cause harm to our human spirit and cause spiritual illness. When you achieve healing of the spirit you realize renewal and restoration. No surprise, this is where the term "born again" originates! Part of the healing involves forgiveness and for those seeking forgiveness it requires acceptance...those well-suited for the healing competency accept someone's forgiveness/remorse and that, in turn, has the power to liberate and heal!

Types of healing

When we use the term "healing" we may sometimes miss the nuance that healing can take numerous forms. Below are the main categories of HOW healing can occur:

Source: ihealedmyself.com

• Alternative - some form of healing where he or she has confidence. (E.G.s self-counseling, defense programs, meditation, shamanism, the use of jewelry, gemstones, colors, horoscopes, divinations or self-created programs not related to a specific organized healing discipline.)
• At-A-Distance - action is taken by others, an individual or a group, through prayer, meditation or using “treatments” either known or unknown to the person being healed.
• Dietary / Food Based - use of specific diet, foods, vitamin-mineral supplements or other nutrients which are used either in normal amounts or extreme dosages such as mega-vitamin therapy.
• Divine Grace - for those who are part of a faith, this is a fundamental premise present in many religions. Its been defined as the "Divine influence which operates in humans to regenerate and sanctify, to inspire virtuous impulses, and to impart strength to endure trial and resist temptation; and as an individual virtue or excellence of divine origin."
• Educational/Intellectual - based on knowledge and wisdom, intellect and seeking information, rather than a specific medical or religious doctrine or set of beliefs.
• Group - can be simple as a support group or complex such as an organized process with specific assignments and rules. (e.g. Alcoholics Anonymous, Allan-on, Cancer Support Groups, group therapy / counseling 
• Hybrid -  one technique or method of healing blended with any number of other types and techniques listed here.
• Instant/Spontaneous - healing appears to occur suddenly with or without cause, with or without preparation, work, reason, logic, planning or a specific healing program. Often this is an illusion as the individual has usually been consciously or unconsciously thinking about or taking action toward solving unresolved conflicts or problems for some period of time prior to the “healing.”
• Integrative (Combined) - a combination of strategies, disciplines, teachings and techniques which embody elements, in whole or in part, of all other forms of healing (i.e. those listed here).
• Medical - sought the help of a medical source or is undergoing a medical treatment program with the intention of “getting better,” “returning to wellness,” of being healed” or “receiving healing.”
• Prayer - based on a religious or non-religious higher power, higher intelligence, nature or family spirit(s). Either local, immediate or centralized, such as a church, home, group, or at a distance (decentralized) such as a loosely organized prayer group praying for a sick friend or parishioner.
• Problem Solving - recognition that certain problems or unresolved conflicts are causing and or exacerbating illness, stress or emotional, mental or spiritual turmoil leading to illness.
• Ritual - any series of actions interpreted by the patient and the healer as having meaning and facilitating healing. May be religious or non religious in nature.
• Self - accomplished by the individual, with or without help.  
• Shaman -  an individual or group which acts as an intermediary between the “real” or “visible” world and the “spirit” or unseen world.
• Touch -  an "energy therapy," which embraces a group of non-invasive techniques that utilize the hands to clear, energize, and balance the human and environmental energy fields. 

What's needed to be a healer

• Authentically Listen
• Demonstrate a healing approach - struggles may indeed be the direct result of a bad choices, the servant leader attempts to remedy (i.e. heal) before dismissal.
• Empathy
• Patience - healing takes times since the turn of events leading up the bad choice(s) may have been building for days, weeks, months, or years. 
• Seek wholeness - more likely to be achieved by demonstrating collaboration, empathy, trust, and the ethical use of power. 

What's needed to be a healed

This is important! In order for someone to be healed they usually need THREE things:

1. Permission (i.e. trust) for the healing process to take place;
2. Desire to be healed; and 
3. Do whatever is necessary to facilitate healing (e.g. be vulnerable).
​
Does that mean NO ONE can / will be healed if they don't meet all three criteria?

Nope! Complete spontaneous healing can occur without permission. It can also take place when the person resists healing, the healing process, the efforts of others, the use of objects, sacred or not sacred.

Healing AND Servant Leadership

The value those who have capacity for healing bring:

- Acceptance
- Engagement
- Enthusiasm
- Health
- Hope
- Love
- Loyalty
- Peace
- Positive Attitude
- Positive Business Outcomes
- Respect
- Trust
- Wholeness

The difference between healing and curing...

Another nuance around this healing concept is that healing does not necessarily mean a cure! To help unravel that, it's helpful to identify both for what they are...

Healing - As we've learned it's a restoration of wholeness — not the level of wholeness before the diagnosis but a restoration of wholeness that is new, different, and comparatively better than before the onset of a disease. 

Curing - A restoration of health, an absence of symptoms, and a remedy of disease.

So, in other words, healing is not the removal or end of symptoms,. Rather, it's a process that transcends the physical and includes mental, emotional, and spiritual vitality and wellness. 

According to Maria Mooney - licensed social worker, certified holistic health coach, social media and editorial assistant at KrisCarr.com and freelance writer - "Where we tend to go wrong is that our Western medical model stops at curing when healing is necessary to address the root causes of many of our ailments. Negative thought patterns, toxic relationships, poor diets, sedentary lifestyles, and poor stress management each are little drops in the raging waterfall that becomes the dis-ease that will drown your life. Committing to the healing process, even if a cure is available for you, is wonderful insurance for a healthy future." 

Healing May be the Cure!

Healing brings health, peace, and wholeness. Negative symptoms may never go away, yet, that doesn’t mean we'll never be whole again. Often times we limit ourselves to what others predict for our future. Someone with ability to heal / help others can help us break free and blaze a trail toward wholeness no one expected to see. Servant leaders demonstrating healing direct all of their attention / intentions on the healing that CAN happen. And sometimes, once healed, the cure (although different than what we expect) WILL follow!

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

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