Healing

I was looking forward to a day of no massages. As activities director for a private club, I also manage the spa. I don't have to staff a massage therapist because I can jump in and give massages, but I like to have a 24 hour booking notice. This one came in as I was finishing teaching a barre class. He is a pastor. Not my typical massage client at a golf course. He's a guest of a club member hosting an International conference for Christian leaders for the next couple of days. We typically steer clear of hosting any religious type of events at the club. As the massage started and he said he was so happy to get to zone out for an hour for the massage, I chuckled to myself, "that means he doesn't want to talk during the massage." I try to take cues from the client if they want to have a conversation or fall asleep, and generally, it's somewhere in the middle. I'm not sure I have a preference, really. I enjoy connecting with others through conversation, yet a massage is meditative to me if I am silent. Needless to say, I was surprised while he engaged in conversation throughout the massage.

He explained how he started a new church in Virginia to be welcoming of all people- especially those who have felt turned away from organized religions. He told me his background and how he never would have thought this would be his life's path. He didn't grow up going to church. He thought he'd be a banker or big wig on Wall Street. He has known the club member for 25 years, and while the member is incredibly successful as a former CEO of a major corporation, the club member has been incredibly generous in giving, as well. The conversation flowed easily from one thing to the next.

He was telling me a story of flying from Virginia to Denver. He had a magazine in front of his face hoping not to have to have a conversation with the person next to him. The magazine didn't slow the woman next to him as she asked if he was flying home or away from home that evening. She shared she was leaving a healing conference she had just attended in Boulder. When he shared that he is a pastor, he said she shifted in her seat a bit. "You know, I've always had a hard time with the word 'saved'," she said. The pastor went on to tell me that he perked up and asked the woman, "Did you know that the word 'save' translated from Greek means 'to heal'? If you use 'to be made whole', 'to be healed', 'to be preserved' or 'to be well', does that speak to you in a different way?"

As my hands continued the massage, I said, "Ahhh, healing," and I smiled. I consider myself to be a healer through massage therapy, crystal healing, teaching yoga and meditation. I knew this man was sent to get a massage from me one this day. Tuning in more to my surroundings and acknowledging what is put in front of me, I see more and more unraveling, more unfolding occurring all around me. I said, "That's interesting. Before I went to bed last night I turned on the TV...which I don't do much of anymore...and it was on Rocky Mountain PBS. A documentary called "Your Health: A Sacred Matter" was just starting. It was about the importance of spirituality in healing and how they train medical students at Mt Sinai to be present in care and inquire about spirituality or spiritual concerns as part of the healing practice and what other doctors have found helpful in their own medical practices."

The documentary opens with a doctor stating, "Religious beliefs and practices are good for your health. They promote greater well-being, greater happiness, better mental health, healthier lifestyles, greater social support and ultimately better physical health and faster recovery." The documentary shared that there are over 300 hundred studies looking at the relationship between religion and well-being and happiness. Of those studies, 80% show that religious people are significantly happier. I found it interesting that research shows that those who attend religious services once a week or more will live, on average, 8 years longer than those who do not attend religious service.
Meditation was included in the studies of religious practices. As we focus our mind on meditation or prayer, we are activating the area of the brain that helps us focus attention, the frontal lobes. During these practices, blood flow to the frontal lobe is substantially increased- ultimately linking back to the psychological and physiological changes in the body that are associated from the practices.
Then I went for it and I asked his personal view on connecting with spirit. He asked for some clarification and said he was honestly unsure because he hasn't personally experienced it, but knows there are probably others more sensitive to picking up those energies or connections. He complimented me on asking thought provoking questions, but also challenged me in his openness, "Why wouldn't you just spend the time connecting with God? You said you started learning these practices during a difficult time in your life, so were you relying on past loved ones for help rather than going straight to God?" Good question. I answered, "They are there to help us and they want to help. I guess I feel that when I connect, I am connecting with God at the same time because we all have the God particle within us."

I didn't feel judged at all and I felt very comfortable having a conversation about religion across the globe, across time spans and lifestyles and what it means. As the hour massage neared the 90 minute mark, I joked that he'll need to announce to his congregation that they are now paying for weekly massages and wrapped it up with gratitude for sharing the time together.

We are here to care for others, to heal...to save.

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footnote: translation of save to heal- found this reference.