HEALING TOUCH

Today I had Healing Touch

Today I went to the hospital for a wonderful experience. Nurse Carol Hjersted-Smith greeted me when I came in. We sat and talked about what is going on with me. Then, I stretched out on the treatment table and closed my eyes. She covered me with a warm blanket and guided me through a relaxation exercise. Just yesterday, I wrote about the importance of intent, and that was something Carol asked me about.

The Healing Touch website says, "Healing Touch is a complementary (or integrative) energy therapy that can be used in conjunction with traditional therapies or as a stand-alone treatment." Healing Touch has many benefits, including pain relief, anxiety reduction, stengthening of the immune system, spiritual connection, diminishment of chemotherapy side effects, and lots more.

I am thrilled that Andi referred me to Carol for Healing Touch. Why I hadn't thought of it during the past few years, who knows! Carol also has a private practice. When I went back to graduate school at age 50 to change careers, I used to go to Carol before major exams. I've known her for a long time, and it is important to me that she has both extensive training and a good heart. Healing Touch is a body, mind, and soul treatment. I can't say enough good things about it.

Everyone's experience is different. I have meditated and taught meditation or decades, but during the past few years of cancer treatment, meditation hasn't always been as easy as it used to be. Today, I went into a very deep meditation. As soon as her hands floated above my body, I began to see images of beautiful flowers, mostly Easter lilies and a few jonquils and flowery tulips. Whites and pinks. Part of the time I drifted off, deeply relaxing. Part of the time I had images and prayerful thoughts. When her hands came to my hand and wrist, where I have a lot of pain that interfers with the use of my hand, I started getting more images relating to particular situations and people in my life. I just watched the images with curiosity and did not try to figure them out. The more I approach internal meditative experiences with that attitude, the more the images flow. Toward the end, I had internal pictures and sound that guided me to finish a painting I started for my dear friend Marcie, who also has cancer, and to call an artist who owes me a painting I paid for several years ago. When I "see" images" it is as though they come from particular parts of my body. The images today started out on the left, went to the right, and ended in the center.

For awhile, the pain in my hands and wrists was totally gone. That was great. What has lasted is diminished pain and a deep sense of calm. I took that throughout my day, with more clear thinking, and into this evening. I'm guessing I'm going to have a very good night's sleep.

Check it out. Healing Touch......now I'm going to hold my little dachsund Stewie on my lap and pass some of that good feeling on to him.