››P’nai Or's Healing Circle
Overview
We have been convening healing circles for P’nai Or members for many years for those who request ritual, communal support before surgery or during illness or the dying process. Each healing circle is a unique, creative expression of community love.
We assume that there are social, psychological, and spiritual factors that influence well-being. These factors include social support, the role of negative and positive emotions in healing, improved self-esteem, improved object relations, the relaxation response, and a sense of connectedness or unity with God.
The circles are designed in most cases to bring about an altered state of awareness for the ailing person that we are more than our encapsulated physical body, part of the universality of being, or, speaking Jewishly, we are always connected with God through our Divine soul sparks which never perish. The aims of the healing circles include reducing negative affect, such as anxiety and depression; increasing feelings of trust, acceptance, belongingness, and connection with God and community; and bringing about a sense of well-being, wholeness, harmony and balance, within and without. The projected image of the Divine that we use is of an infinitely compassionate, loving and merciful God.
Sacred Technologies. We use a variety of sacred songs, poems, chants, prayers and blessings as well as
musical instruments to achieve the following ends:
Benefits. For the ailing person, having a healing circle can provide many benefits. We have found that those using the healing circles feel a greatly increased sense of being loved by God and community and experience a general shift from negative to positive emotional states. We also intuit a shift in subtle energy patterns because of the healing circles.
Social Support. Social support is no small thing. It has been demonstrated in large scale studies to make a profound difference in whether we survive illness. In addition, a healing circle can provide informational support and physical assistance in the form of financial assistance, transportation, referrals, and/or nutritional and medical suggestions.
Shifting Negative Emotional States. The healing circle also works in other ways to assist those who need healing. Fundamentally, the healing circle is a means of being present to another person with love, compassion, and non-judgmental awareness. When we are present to one another, we act as purveyors of spiritual, psychological, and physical attunement for the ailing person. For example, compassion and love can bring about calming of fear and anxiety. The healing circle can also help to relieve despair and supplant it with hope, whether for physical wellness or for a spiritual state transcending physical wellness.
Subtle Energy. We employ the power of focused attention and intention as a group to provide a healing pattern of subtle energy for a person who is ill. Through this energy, we are often privileged to act as midwives for a person birthing a healthier self. The healing circle appears to harness the subtle energy of a group by bringing about a confluence of loving and compassionate intention and presence.
For more information, please call Karen Mitzner (503)
235-1812 or Linda Meretsky (503) 655-5799.
