Lesson 1: Beginning

Beginning

Welcome, Healer. We begin this journey with a story. It is one I first heard from renowned healer and writer, Rachel Naomi Remen, and has its origin in Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition. It is an origin story:

In the beginning there was only sacred darkness. Our whole world, the world of a thousand, thousand things, emerged as a single beam of light from the heart of darkness. But then there was an accident. The beam of light burst open and the wholeness of the world shattered into a thousand, thousand tiny fragments of light. These fragments fell into every being, every place, every thing. And they remain hidden to this day. This accident is why we are here. We are born with a gift- the ability to see light in all beings, all places, all things. And we are here to find that light, to lift it up, and in doing so, restore wholeness to the world.

 We are born healers, in our lore, yes, and our biology as well. Thanks to special cells in our brains called mirror neurons, we feel the emotions of those around us as if they were our own. When we feel joy, it radiates out into the faces of others. And joy amplifies. When tears stream down the cheeks of our closest friend, their sadness ripples into us. They see the tears in our eyes and remember their sadness is held in the arms of many. Our tears remind them sadness is not theirs to bear alone. Fragmented light, seen. Lifted up. Made whole.

 We are made to restore wholeness to a fragmented world. But we have lost our way. Become fragmented ourselves. We mistake algorithms as friends. Greed as wealth. Solitude as strength. Oppression as power. Consumption as nourishment. We’ve turned away from our connection with the earth, our community, and our biology. We stand alone and compete against the people and resources that are our very sources of support and survival. And we wonder why we feel so sick. So overwhelmed. So alone.

 I have good news. There is a way forward. A path. And it begins with a single beam of light. One that, when it shattered, landed a small fragment of itself in you. Begin by remembering yourself to that light. To the you who was born to find it. Lift it up. And become the wholeness you restore to the world.