Rev. Monica McDowell - Healer, Mystic, Author
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The Body Politic

9/12/2020

2 Comments

 
​politic /ˈpäləˌtik/
adjective
1. (of an action) seeming sensible and judicious under the circumstances
2. synonyms: wise, sensible, astute
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One thing I believe most of us have learned during this time of our collective pandemic staycation is the beauty of physical connection, of the gift of the body for relationships of all kinds. We can still connect virtually over the phone, social media, or zoom, or even in person—masked and at a minimum of six feet apart—but mental health and emotional intimacy require physical touch, physical closeness. I would add that for spiritual well-being and even energy healing, the body is also a vital gift.
 
As an energy healer who has done over-the-phone distance sessions for many years, I can affirm that over-the-phone sessions offer their own unique aspects that are different than in-person sessions. In energy healing, there is no distance. That’s why phone and virtual sessions are even possible. Everything exists in a field of unity, of oneness, of energy consciousness. When an energy healer works in this field, it really doesn’t matter where the other person is located, since the field is essentially functioning as one mind, one heart, one soul, one being.
 
However, for today, I’m going to focus on what unique aspects in-person energy sessions offer and why they are important, too. 
 
The body has a conflicted history in spirituality. Most religions and spiritualties have at some time or in some sects deemed the body “less than” spirit. Embracing the body fully has been an Achilles heel, of sorts, to a healthy spirituality. Even recently, I’ve read alternative wellness articles and books that suggest that being “in body” is a spiritual “addiction” we need to overcome in order to be our true, unfettered powerful souls in the universe. Now there may be a level of detachment to our body that’s needed, just as a level of detachment is needed to every aspect of life that is impermanent. I agree there. But to consider being “in body” as something to “overcome” falls victim to the ever-recurring theme of considering the body “less than” spirit.
 
For example, one author that I think is quite wise generally (but will remain unnamed), uses out-of-body experience as their spiritual practice quite effectively and has done so for decades. This author has excellent ethics and guidance about such practice. However, this author feels the addiction to the body is what we need to overcome because there’s a whole universe out there that doesn’t require a body. Once you’re “free” from the body, you can explore the infinite.
 
Well, as it happened, this author got cancer a few years back. The author did everything they could to get well and did. And I question, Why? Why did this author battle to stay in body if the body is an addiction to be overcome? You see the obvious contradiction between said beliefs and actions.
 
What is really happening here is falling victim to dualism. In oneness, both body and spirit are held in unity in a balanced way. One is neither better than or less than. Both are important and vital to the other. In dualism, they are separate and therefore, more easily divisible and thus, comparable. In religious and spiritual history, the body is associated with feminine or yin energy, and the spirit with masculine or yang energy. And what has been denigrated throughout known history? The sacred feminine. The earth. Thus, the body, the offspring of the earth, follows as being “less than” spirit/masculine/yang.
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So due to my feminist theology training, I am more alert to when spiritualities—even alternative ones—make the body less desirable to spirit and spirituality, and even to energy work.
 
We are all getting a big lesson on how beloved, how miraculous the body and the earth are. How we want our bodies to be well, how we want to support one another in body, person-to-person, face-to-face, hand-to-hand, hug-to-hug. How we want our earth to thrive rather than be polluted with fires and viruses. We are getting a hard lesson on the vital importance of the sacred feminine, the yin, the body, to our well-being and that includes spiritual and energetic well-being, individually and collectively.

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​So, energy healing sessions in person fully embrace that the body is crucial. Sometimes the touch of a healing hand, or the heat from a Reiki symbol drawn right over the body, or the felt energy from someone else’s presence and energy field cannot be duplicated energetically. The body has its own consciousness and wisdom. I can hear a client’s body better in person. I can hear a person’s energy better over the phone. That’s what it comes down to. Both/And. Dualism in unity.
 
And now with all that said, while in-body sessions/classes are not optimal or even possible for most people right now, I offer everything I can online: sessions and classes. 
 
Blessed be the body politic, the ever-wise earthling, the vehicle of our soul’s existence on this miraculous Mother Earth. 
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If you are so moved and are able, please consider supporting my writing by making a donation (PayPal Donate button in the right hand column) or buying one of my books. Thank you!
 
Monica McDowell is a dynamic speaker, author, and practitioner in alternative wellness and spirituality. Find her on Thought Catalog here. She is the author of The Oracle of Devor, The Girl with a Gift, Confessions of a Mystic Soccer Mom, You are Light (internationally published by 6th Books in over 14 countries) and My Karma Ran Over My Dogma, and has the distinction of being the first ordained minister in America granted civil rights by a federal ruling. She lives in Seattle, Washington, USA, and can be reached here.
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    Monica is a healer, author, ordained minister and spiritual director. She lives in Seattle, the land of prehistoric-sized dandelions, with her family.

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