I talk quite a bit about the alignment of Mind, Body and Spirit being essential for healing.  What I mean by that is there is an innate all knowing part of us that can be of tremendous help in our own healing process.  This is how I got introduced to this idea:  In 2009 I left my job as a Software Engineer to be a full time mom.  I was excited about the possibility of staying home with my son but once I made the leap I felt like I had lost my identity and purpose in life.  I considered being a mother one of the most important roles of my life, but at the same time I felt completely unprepared for the tasks.

There is no schooling or education for motherhood.  We are expected to learn as we go.  I was lost, but ironically found my way once my children were sick.  First my oldest and then my youngest.  With no medical protocol to help my oldest, we found many new and alternative avenues.  The most intriguing to me was Energy Medicine.  I was so amazed by it that I decided to explore and learn some energy healing modalities for myself.  I felt very empowered to be able to help myself and my children to heal.

I used to believe that doctors/healers knew best and were the ones who performed the healing.  Patients had no idea why they were sick or how they could heal themselves.  I believed teachers knew best and were the only ones that could teach.  Students should be able to assimilate knowledge no matter how it was taught.  I also believed parents were the ones that knew what was best for their children.  Children couldn’t possibly know what was best for them.  Turns out, neither of those beliefs were accurate or helpful.  Students play a major role in their learning process.  When teachers are open to this idea, they are more successful in helping their students learn.  Parents can best support their children when they recognize children know how to get their needs met.  A similar process occurs with healing.  As teachers support students in their learning process and parents support their children in getting their needs met, doctors/healers can support people in their healing process.  The individual looking to heal plays a major role in that process since healing happens from the inside out.  There is an innate part of us that is all knowing.  I call it the “Inner Wisdom”.  It knows why we are ill and exactly how it can heal.  With this post, I would like to introduce the topic of Energy Medicine.  The story below exemplified how important it is for teachers, doctors, healers, care givers, and especially children, to recognize this “Inner Wisdom” in themselves and others.  My belief is that this recognition empowers human beings to take charge of their own healing, allowing their bodies to experience vibrant health once again.

Inner Wisdom – Empowering the Body to Heal, by Karen Knox

The word “education” comes from the Latin word educare, which means “to lead forth,” and this came from the Greek belief that knowledge was already within the student and the teacher’s role was to bring it out. Working in education for forty years, twenty-six of those years in special education, I am guided by the belief that the child has an inner knowing which when recognized and honored, transforms the student.   I do not see the student as someone who has to be taught and then demonstrate knowledge and skills mastered. I seek to inspire students to overcome resistances: fear and lack of confidence, motivation and stamina. My role is to provide a structure so the child experiences the joy of discovery, learning, and accomplishment. Children have an innate knowingness (a child’s inner knowing) that when tapped, can actually lead adults to the best way to educate. Often adults fall into a rut thinking they are solely responsible for teaching the child all this required knowledge and do not recognize the child as an equal partner. Then adults’ expectations can easily turn into frustration and anger. Children need structure, an adult who leads, and the opportunity to share what they know, their innate understanding.

I felt most successful in the classroom when the child experienced my respect for their unique learning style
and their courage to try new, challenging tasks. When I could see from their perspective, truly see through their eyes, how a learning task made sense to them, how they approached new material, I could then structure activities in such a way so they could access the information with greater ease. This is not new information; every teacher today is trained in individuation of instruction. What I did not often observe was recognition of the student as a whole complete person and equal partner worthy of the highest respect regardless of challenges they presented.   This is a tall order indeed with the typical student/ teacher ratio. When I reached that critical moment in which a student trusted me as a worthy partner in their education process rather than a just taskmaster and source of criticism, I felt invigorated and excited.

This year I started working with twelve-year-old boy who had so many sensitivities (allergies) he was unable to attend school and the pain he experienced caused him to walk bent over. The lightest touch caused him pain. While Dr. Dorothy Emery provided NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques) I would share Attunement with ‘John’. Attunement is an energy therapy which “restores, renews, and enlivens the body’s health and healing energies” (Attunement Love Made Visible, Chris Jorgensen). John’s parents were exploring all possible options as the traditional allopathic medical approaches provided no significant results. Sharing attunement with John was an opportune time to access his inner knowingness (“Inner Wisdom”). I asked John if I could talk to the true, true John, the inner John (his Inner Wisdom). After receiving his permission, I asked questions like “Why are you sick?” “What do you need to heal John’s body?” “Do you have to be sick?” These unorthodox questions provided valuable insight into how John viewed his healing and illness. I then structured and added visualizations and exercises to his other healing therapies. A subtle shift in John’s attitude occurred; he went from being helpless and a victim to illness to an attitude of strength and purpose. John began to walk upright unassisted, he could lie down without nausea, his pain disappeared, and a most rewarding change was the return of his charming smile. These changes surely are a combination of all the healing therapies and nutritional approaches. Accessing John’s inner knowing (“Inner Wisdom”) as well as recognizing what he gains from meeting these challenges continue to be critical and empowering elements.

Karen Knox – Karen has worked as an educator with special needs children for over 30 years and currently practices Energy Healing as an Advanced Attunment Practitioner.