TO BE A HEALER

By Allison Maslan, CCH
Copyright © 2006

Should I join the Peace Corps? Volunteer in a soup kitchen? I was never quite sure how I would instill my healing abilities. While I always knew from a young age that I wanted to help people, in some capacity, I just never knew how. The method was a mystery for many years until I found my calling.

Many of you have the innate ability to be a healer. You heal your child’s wounds and wipe their tears. You lend your ear and your heart to a friend in need. You amazingly rise to the occasion in an emergency situation. Just having someone there to hold your hand when you are in pain, or to listen intently to your feelings of panic may seem very simple. However, these acts of giving are incredibly powerful, and truly healing.

I am a Homeopath. I have a private practice in Cardiff, California and I am also the Director of a Homeopathic school in Encinitas, California. And, this coming year, I am turning 40. Recently, I have been reflecting on the path that brought me to this milestone in my life. Until I finally found my calling, I was completely enslaved by my career. This was my history. I now feel very fortunate because it is my privilege to practice something that I deeply believe in and stand behind. My work is my passion. When asked the question, “What do you do?” I usually answer, “I practice Homeopathy.” And while Homeopathy is the science that I utilize, the truth is, first and foremost, I am a healer. So, in examining this purposeful journey, I have addressed the questions, “What is a healer and what has this role meant to me?”

Webster’s Dictionary defines:
Heal 1. to make healthy, whole or sound; restore to health; free from ailment. 2. to cleanse, purify: to heal the soul. 3. to effect a cure.

As a homeopath, healing is what I do on a daily basis. To make a profound difference on an individual’s physical and emotional health has taken years of commitment and determination in my study and practice. However, all of the technical and analytical skills that I have acquired in Homeopathy and patient management would not be nearly as valuable without the personal qualities that are so beneficial and effective in any healing field. To be a healer, one needs to build a report and a relationship of trust with their patient. The patient can often feel if you are sincere and taking their best interest into account. One of the most frequent comments I hear from my clients is that their practitioner spends more time looking at their chart than listening to their needs and complaints. The patient desires to be heard. For healing to take place, I believe these fundamental principles should exist: support, compassion, consistency and quality of care, respect, non- judgement, ethics and a determination to make a difference in an individual’s health.

The goal, always, is to remove pain and to reach a cure. I have witnessed countless success with Homeopathy, from the instant relief of an excruciating ear infection, healing of chronic insipid psoriasis, calming of rageful pms and menopausal symptoms to the balancing of deep depressive or anxiety ridden states. And sometimes, with the best of efforts, the presenting symptoms remain. Nevertheless, no one can discount the impact of this patient/ practitioner relationship. Just having someone there, listening and caring, is absolutely and undoubtedly healing. Many people do not experience this totality of care in their lifetime.

People often ask how I became a Professional Homeopath. What led me down this road? Was I always interested in Holistic Health? Like most people, prior to my introduction to Homeopathy, I did not even know what the word ‘holistic’ meant. Growing up in the mid-west, my mom dragged us to the doctor’s office any time we had the sniffles. Antibiotics, allergy shots, suppressants…you name it, we had them all. In fact, when I told my mother I was going to become a Homeopath, she thought I had joined a religious cult! (After years of evidence of the contrary, she has mellowed slightly.) So, when my clients come in feeling a bit skeptical, I do understand. Homeopathic Medicine is difficult to comprehend when you have been raised in a completely different mindset. It is something you just have to experience for yourself. And that is what I did.

At the time, I was the owner of a local advertising agency and mother of a beautiful young daughter. Working long hours, deadlines,,, number 10 on the stress meter. In marketing you are worth only as much as the success of your last campaign. This went on for years. As many of us do, I chose a career that brought monetary success and was accepted by my family and peers. But then why was I miserable? One morning on my way to work, I said to myself, “there has to be more to life.” I suddenly had the awareness that if I continued operating blindly in this manner, I would not be long for this world. That very day, a business associate/friend called and I shared my grief with her. She referred me to a very special husband and wife team who practiced Homeopathy. I had no idea that this would be the beginning of an entirely new path. Never experiencing holistic healing, I was a bit reluctant and pessimistic. In fact, when I approached their door, I almost turned around. My thinking was, “I will get over this. I can work through the rough spots on my own.” Then I thought, “what I am doing is obviously not working or I would not be standing here at this moment!” I really wanted to figure out how to get un-stuck and find the meaning and fulfillment that was missing in my life.

Well, needless to say, this became a regular stomping ground for me over the next year and half. At one time a complete foreign language, the words ‘holistic and Homeopathy’ soon became household terminology. Post-Homeopathic treatment, I was no longer afraid to make the transitions in my career and personal life. I realized that the “stuck” feeling had been a self-imposed burden. I finally grasped the freedom and courage to follow my heart. This experience was the turning point that led me to my destiny to study and eventually practice as a Professional Homeopath, and, more importantly, to feel whole again. (Whole is the essence of holistic. In balance on all levels: the mental, the physical and the emotional.)

Elizabeth Kubler- Ross quotes on finding work that resonates with your heart, “If you listen to your inner voice, your inner wisdom, you will not go wrong and you will know what to do with your life.”

So exactly what is Homeopathy? In the 1700’s, a German doctor, Samuel Hahnemann, discovered a different approach to medicine and healing which he called Homeopathy (from the Greek words meaning “similar suffering”). It is a natural system of medicine effective in treating many acute and chronic health problems. Hahnemann was frustrated with the treatment of disease during his time. He felt that the methods were often worse than the disease and that the essential care of the human being was not taken into account.

Hahnemann states in his treatise, Organon of the Medical Art ,“The physician’s highest and only calling is to make the sick healthy, to cure, as it is called. The highest ideal of cure is the rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health; that is, the lifting and annihilation of the disease in its entire extent in the shortest, most reliable and least disadvantageous way, according to clearly realizable principles.”

Homeopathy is based on the pharmacological law called the “Law of Similars”, which states that any substance that produces specific symptoms in a healthy person when given full strength will cure a sick person with the same symptoms when given in a very diluted form. For instance, exposure to a raw, cut onion may cause burning, itching lachrymation of the eyes and running of the nose. Homeopathically, Allium cepa, a remedy made from the onion, may be used for hay fever, watery eyes and discharge. Ipecac taken by a healthy person will cause vomiting, but if taken in tiny Homeopathic doses will cure vomiting. Truly a genius and a rebel of his time, Hahnemann managed to create a new path that has healed millions worldwide.

Healing in small ways can create a huge impact on someone’s life. A mere compliment or smile can turn someone’s bleak day into a hopeful one. They may go home to their family in a better mood which affects the entire dynamic in a positive way. Whether healing is your profession, yearning or simply a quality that you possess, the community as a whole will always benefit from your efforts.

To be a healer is a privilege and an honor to humankind. I take my role very seriously as the client is entrusting their care with me. And, as much as I give, I receive back tenfold through tears of joy, laughter and lots of hugs. The rewards are endless and the potential for healing is boundless.