Healing Starts with the Healer

     "There is symmetry between someone’s relationship with the outer world and his or her inner world. All the qualities of the inner relationship with the self will also be reflected in outer relationships. The inner relationship is the basic template for any encounter with the world, and as such is the starting point for all encounters. If one is able to acknowledge herself, she will also have the capacity to acknowledge others. If someone cannot accept himself as a whole and has to neglect some aspects of his personality, then he will not be able to accept others for what they completely are. I call this symmetry the mirror principle because it reflects in both directions. In transforming the attitudes toward the self, one can start to encounter the world in a different way. 

     I believe all healing relationships start in the person of the health care professional. To the Western mind this sounds unexpected because one of the basic assumptions of the Western medical philosophy is the idea that something has to be done for the patient. This often includes the idea that the health care professional has to hold back his or her own personality in a medical context because the patient comes first. The concept that every healing intention starts from a healthy attitude towards the self, or in other words, healing starts by healing the healer challenges that assumption. 

       Schmidt S. Mindfulness and healing intention: concepts, practice, and research evaluation. J Altern Complement Med 2004; 10 Suppl 1: S7-14.

     See also: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2013/11/432-i-try-and-i-try-but-i-cant-get-no.html
       and about self-acceptance: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/search?q=self-acceptance

 

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