The Value of Alternative Healing Methods
by Starcat

One of my close family members has a planned surgery coming up next month. Besides educating herself about what to expect during and after the procedure, she’s also setting up a schedule of alternative treatments. In the week leading up to the surgery, she has already scheduled massage, Reiki, and acupuncture sessions. I’m creating a medicine bag of rocks and crystals, to be charged on the Full Moon, for her to take along.

For those who are open to them, alternative healing methods are a wonderful complement to the offerings of modern Western medicine. Hospitals are now offering things like Reiki sessions to their patients, seeing how it helps them to relax and heal more quickly. If you or a loved one are dealing with health issues, it would be well worth your time to do some research on which treatments you could add that would help your healing.

Often when we are in the midst of a health crisis, we are so consumed by our experience of pain or suffering that we forget that we have many options. Even if we believe in the healing power of crystals, herbal remedies, or our other favorite alternatives, we seem to fall under the spell of Western medicine, to the exclusion of those other modes. This is understandable. We want to feel better, and often the doctors are offering pills or treatments that work quickly.

However, if we can, perhaps with the help of family members or friends, add alternative healing methods to the modern ones, the total effect can be powerful. If we are taking pills with significant side effects, for example, we can perhaps offset some of those with Reiki or Bach flower remedies. Massage and polarity therapy can help us to relax when pain has us feeling tense and stressed out.

Sometimes there is fear surrounding the process, and we have been taught that it’s “safer” to rely on doctors and other authority figures. Yet I’m not suggesting we forgo modern treatment. Rather, the inclusion of alternative healing modalities can nicely complement what our health practitioners have recommended. There are experts in the alternative medicine fields, too. You don’t have to do all the research from scratch. Seek out respected sources, or ask your doctor to recommend some. Then, follow your intuition. If you feel drawn to use crystals or to consult a local herbalist, follow through. If you’re too sick, ask a loved one for their help. Let your heart be your guide.