Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68178
is something that bothers me about the [alternative health] profession. I'm really against people saying that you have this problem because you created it, or you're drawing bad experiences to you because of something that's unresolved in you," Batliner says. "I think that can be a really negative and mean thing to say to people … It's incredibly judgmental. And I think that there's been, unfortunately, acceptance of these judgments. Some of them aren't seen as judgments at all. They're seen as, 'Oh, well everyone believes this.'" Dillard says this can be detrimental. "For any one of us, [as] an outside observer, to try to evaluate [the cause of pain] for somebody else and say, 'Oh, they're missing the real lesson of their suffering,' is outrageous and arrogant," Dillard adds. "On the one hand, we do have a lot of potential responsibility and viability for our situation and for changing our situation," May says. "However, at the same time, we are in an inextricably interwoven, dynamic, living relationship with all that is around us." DreamHealer says positive thoughts, intentions, and visualizations related to healing do not guarantee their manifestation. They do, however, increase our chances of healing, and the art of healing is all about increasing the odds in our favor. "You have to use everything at your disposal and just keep plugging away at the problem," he says. But, he adds, "You can't get into the mentality of blaming things—'I'm sick because of this.' It doesn't matter. It's irrelevant. You're focusing on getting it better." This pure focus, I find, is a place where self-healing intersects with personal and political activism. For chronic pain patients throughout America, the social structures in place to support our healing (medicine, insurance, law) instead subject us to an onslaught of suspicion, accusation, and isolation. We are treated as hypochondriacs with nothing better to do than make up symptoms, as crazy, lonely people looking for attention, or as swindlers try to make a quick buck. When we don't get the support we need, and our lives spin out of control as a result, we are then blamed for the situation we have "caused." And so we spiral downward to a physical, emotional, and financial nightmare that only serves to exacerbate our pain, create suffering, and leave us feeling powerless. In order to truly focus on getting better, we have to ensure, to the best of our abilities, that everything around us is validating and supporting our healing process—the food in our bodies, the people in our lives, the practitioners in our healthcare team. We have to similarly ensure that anything in the way of our healing is ousted from our bodies, our minds, and our lives. When the healing process is supported in this way, the gateway is evident and the path toward wellness becomes clear. editor, and blogger. She also is the director of Dancing with Pain (www.dancingwithpain. com), through which she blogs about and offers workshops on natural pain relief for both chronic pain patients and the healthcare professionals who treat them. For more information, visit www.loolwa.com. Loolwa Khazzoom is a professional writer, connect with your colleagues on massageprofessionals.com 55