‘Thinking’ and ‘feeling’ are two very different human abilities. Both are obviously essential, though many people struggle with listening to their innate, gut instincts. Donna Murray, energy healer of Body and Soul Healing, can help with that. In a holistic sense, she’s a kind of part-therapist, part-doctor who works through conversation and energy-sensing techniques. We chatted with Murray about what her job entails and why a person’s intuition is so important.
What exactly is “healing”? The words “healing,” “health” and “holiness” are rooted in the word “whole.” Healing is a dynamic process of positive inner-change and transformation that restores harmony and balance within. As human beings, our essential wholeness expresses through our minds, our emotions, our physical body and our spiritual nature. These aspects are completely interconnected and they continuously influence each other. Challenges, struggles, disharmony or disease in your life are signals for you to look within and pay attention. These experiences are sending you a message that some aspects of your being are out of balance and requiring your immediate consideration. The bigger the problem, the stronger this need becomes.
For example, physical symptoms are outward expressions of psychological or spiritual inner conflicts, and we can use them as guides for inner change and transformation. When someone is healing a physical problem, it will always call for emotional healing and always relate to mental beliefs and thinking patterns. Everything you put into your physical body such as the food, supplements, water, therapies, etc., are being digested and broken down into an energy form that your body will use to carry out all of the necessary functions. If you don’t take care of your body, over time it will probably compromise your health.
How have you seen public attitudes about these healing techniques shift over time?Intuitive healing and other types of energy medicine are definitely becoming more well-known and accepted as an important avenue for healing in mainstream culture. This field has come a long way since 1989, when I started working professionally as an intuitive healer. In the mid-to-late ’80s, scientists in quantum physics began to prove that energy creates matter and scientific results offered an understanding about how the power of energy could be used to stimulate healing and transformation in people. There were certainly people who knew and wrote about these principles, but it wasn’t until the advent of the internet for personal home use in the late ’90s that the information and ideas became accessible to everyone. I noticed a big change in the level of awareness soon after that.
How are you different from a traditional therapist or doctor? The services and therapies we provide are different, yet very complimentary. For instance, many people who are dealing with a major health issue or illness will form a “health care team” of professionals, and I often assist therapists and doctors as part of this team. I work at Namaste Health Center where they offer integrative cancer support. People will come to Durango from all over the country to receive these natural treatments and therapies. As they receive the physical treatments, I help them resolve the deeper mental, emotional and spiritual conflicts and teach them how to use the power of their minds to super-charge their treatments.
What is “intuition”? Are some people, like yourself, just more intuitive than others? Intuition is a state of instant pure knowing that comes through the spiritual senses and is independent of reasoning and conscious thinking. The more you listen to and follow your intuitive guidance, the stronger and more reliable it becomes. If you neglect or reject your intuition, it will move into the background and become dormant. This is what happens to so many people, as they rely solely on their rational thinking and their five physical senses. People may get an intuitive “hit” that something is right or wrong for them, and then their analytical mind will talk them out of it. This is such a mistake because the rational mind makes decisions from what it already knows, and the intuitive senses give you input and information about what you do not or cannot know intellectually.
I have always had a strong and sensitive intuitive and empathic nature. I’ve never questioned it, and I honestly thought everyone was like that. I had a very difficult childhood, and I used to sit in nature and commune with the spiritual world. It was my safe place. I also innately knew about healing and I would rescue animals caught by my cats and hold them in my hands to heal them. It was very natural to me. It was many years before I became aware that everyone didn’t have these abilities.
‑— Anya Jaremko-Greenwold
