A version of this post also appears in the October “Beyond Mastery” newsletter.
If you have been following Debra’s and my attendance at various conferences and meetings this year, you already know that we’ve been hanging out with some of the best healers in the country. This article describes the interventions I have received along the way, primarily for my principal presenting problem of hearing loss. My hearing had been declining for at least the last 10 years.
One of the things about hearing loss is that it is subtle. When your vision gets blurry, you can see it. When you lose hearing, you can’t tell what you are not hearing. You just find yourself saying, “What?” more often. The standard medical model for hearing loss associated with aging is primarily the result of damage to the hairs or nerve cells in the cochlea responsible for sending sound signals to the brain. Because the little hairs can’t be repaired through any known method at this time (stem cells might make a difference), many with hearing loss are told to get hearing aids and learn to live with the associated problems. And there are problems: a majority of those who buy hearing aids stop wearing them within a month or two, saying that they are more trouble than they are worth.
For each of the interventions I describe here, my “presenting problem” was hearing loss. The interventions described here are all “holistic,” in that the whole body and energy field are evaluated and treated rather than just the hearing loss. The theory behind holistic interventions is that problems, including hearing loss, are a result of total system compromises. If only the one symptom is addressed, the problem will recur. The problem will be corrected when the system as a whole is restored to normal functioning.
Although I had been “hanging out” with energy workers for a number of years and receive acupuncture regularly, my experiences this past spring and summer introduced me to a much broader range of holistic therapies, including both osteopathy and chiropractic. At the ICIM meeting in Lexington, Kentucky, I was introduced to Mesotherapy. See Adventures in Mesotherapy for details.
The Mesotherapy consisted of a number of injections of a homeopathic remedy. In addition to focusing on old (high school) injuries to my liver (Hepatitis A from an infected water supply) and left kidney (a football injury), in response to my presenting problem of “hearing loss,” one of the attending physicians addressed a trauma-induced lipoma on my head (if you have seen me in person, you’ve probably noticed it). Following that intervention, the lipoma is smaller than it was, and Debra became aware that my hearing had improved. I also just plain felt better. In general, I found the Mesotherapy a powerful intervention. It is hard to say what overall effect it has had on my hearing, as I have received several additional interventions since, and each has made a difference.
At a wellness conference in the Chicago area (see Wellness for All for details), I received two interventions in response to a comment I made about hearing loss in my presentation about stimulus-response conditioning as a therapeutic intervention. First, I experienced an energetic intervention called “Crystal Consciousness,” which I found very powerful and actually needed assistance walking afterwards). The women who did this intervention. Jane Frey and Pam James, worked with my energy field as a whole. I did not test my hearing afterwards, primarily because I went to sleep soon thereafter and, in the morning, needed to be ready for the activities of the following day.
The next day, I had the opportunity to receive an intervention from a person licensed in acupuncture, Chiropractic, and Applied Kinesiology who also happens to be a Master Practitioner of NLP and a licensed hypnotherapist. Danny McLane is from the Chicago area (see Balance Natural Health Care). He did some of everything from his arsenal of interventions on me (and used some hypnotic language patterns I found interesting) and made many comments similar to those made by the person who did most of the Mesotherapy while she was working on me. After Danny’s intervention, I tested my hearing and found it much improved.
Later, when I was walking from the hotel to the conference center, another person from my presentation group asked me if he could do a spiritual intervention for me. I said yes. Later, I had another intervention from a well-known trance medium at a gathering in Jackson, Michigan, so the interventions were beginning to add up.
The following month, when Debra and I attended the Healing Touch Program Worldwide Conference in San Antonio, Texas, I had an intervention from a well-known writer and speaker (Deborah King—you can see her books on Amazon.com). I also had an intervention from Mary Jo Bulbrook, a long-time practitioner of Energy Medicine and the principal developer of the Crystal Consciousness system of energy-based healing.
Although both my hearing and my general health have improved, it is hard to say which modality had the greatest impact. My hearing continues to have ups and downs, but in general, it continues to be much improved from what it was—and sometimes it is astonishingly good. I cannot account for its ups and downs, but I am increasingly convinced that the standard medical model of hearing loss is at best a partial truth. If nothing else, the interventions I received confirmed my belief in holistic approaches to health.
The bottom line is that the standard medical model, which relies on pharmaceuticals and surgery, is not complete, and holistic therapies may prove better—a lot better—for many common conditions. Whatever your condition, explore your options. Remember that both allopathic and holistic therapists are a lot like plumbers and mechanics: some are better than others. You may need to try more than one to find one who produces really good results for you.
