Everybody needs some healing at some point in their lives.  Healing for the body, healing for the heart, and healing for the spirit.  We can’t always handle the healing for ourselves so we have to turn to someone else to help us examine things from a fresh perspective.  And, to be totally realistic, sometimes when we’re ill or in some kind of pain, we aren’t in a place where we can really handle our healing.  It’s the responsible thing to seek out help when we need it because it means we’re honoring our bodies and our spirit.  But here’s the rub; sometimes we just can’t find someone locally or someone we like who’s local for us to work with in person.  This is where absent or distance healing can become a wonderful and helpful healing partner for us.

As much as I love giving and receiving distant healing there are some pretty strong ethical issues that come up with this.  Should we heal someone or send healing to someone who hasn’t specifically asked for it?  Do we have to always ask someone for their permission before we send them healing energy?  I have some fairly strong opinions about ethics and healing and I’ll share those, but before we even get into the methods of absent healing, it’s something to keep in the back of your mind.

So first, the basics.  Absent healing is exactly what it sounds like, healing for someone that isn’t physically present.  A lot of people call this distance healing as well and it’s a very common practice within Reiki.  My traditional Reiki degrees and attunements are in Usui Reiki and there we are attuned to symbols that aid in healing those at a distance, most specifically the second degree or level two symbol of Hon-Sha-Ze-Sho-Nen {as seen over on the right}.  The shape is said to be designed to resemble both a temple or house as well as the human body.  This symbol is used for other things too, including viewing the Akashic Records and past, present, future healing.  It can be used for channeling energy into a past life or past situation for healing, working on someone in the present at a distance, and working to send healing to a situation that is expected in the future {I’ve used this for a friend who had an impending divorce among other things}.

The general idea with working with absent healing is that, regardless of space and time, energy can go anywhere, including the past and the future.  If someone is half way around the world you can still work healing on them by directing your energy, charged with your intent, and have it work on them just as though they were present in your own room.  While I believe very strongly in the idea of energy has no bounds, I am also still a bit of a cynic and a skeptic at times.  When I do healing work on someone at a distance I always wonder what is or isn’t going to happen for them when they have that experience.  And I’m often amazed at the things friends or clients will tell me.

 

Those Pesky Ethics

Let’s talk about the ethics part.  This is the part that I’m really big on because healing isn’t always the positive thing that people often think it is.  The first and most important part of doing healing is getting the person’s permission.  Healing and illness/dis-ease/injury is about far more than the obvious on the physical level.  These are healing and transformation opportunities for the individual.  If the person is magical or spiritual or someone they most likely know this and they may be able to tell why the illness or injury has manifested.  They may also not be completely sure and may like some help figuring out from an objective third party.  If you ask someone like this for permission to work on them they will often be very specific about what they want in their answer.  However if you’re looking at someone who is not aware of  things on this level but you see them suffering and you want to help, again, ask for permission.  Most people will say yes, but on the off chance that someone said no, depending on your ethics in general with healing, you’re going against their free will.  Even though you may think what you’re offering is going to be a good and positive thing, if they don’t want it done, don’t do it.

My reasons for being so big on this is that there are lessons to be had in sickness and healing.  Some people are not meant to be healed from an illness or injury; this may be their last trial before making their transition into spirit.  It may also be that there is something for them to learn in this experience that they might otherwise not learn or encounter.  I have likened this to the workaholic who ends up getting carpal tunnel and can’t work for a month because of treatment, surgery, and recovery.  This person may have been so addicted to work that they hadn’t taken a day off in a year and their family was feeling neglected.  By having this month where they can’t work, or at least not to the extent that normally do, they are put in a position where they are able to focus on other things.  This can lead to a huge turn around in how they view their work/home life balance.

We could also be dealing with someone who has fallen suddenly ill and is in the hospital with a bad prognosis and it doesn’t look like they’ll make it.  Just because you will miss them or you’re not ready for them to go doesn’t mean they aren’t.  Doing healing or even magical work try and prevent someone’s transition into spirit is more about us than them and our fears about what happens after that person leaves this plane of existence.

This also brings me to a question that I get asked often {and many, many years ago asked one of my teachers myself}.  “What about if the person is in a coma or otherwise unresponsive?”  If you’re advanced enough in your psychic skills you can do a journey to have your Higher Self meet with that person’s Higher Self and ask for permission that way.  You will always get some sort of answer.  But I do make this caution, if the person is able to respond you must ask them first and then do as they have instructed, even if you disagree.  Just because someone turns down your offer for help doesn’t mean you should run to their Higher Self for a “double check”.

 

Working With Absent Healing

Working on someone who is absent is not terribly difficult.  There are many different tools and techniques at our disposal for this, many of which do not require things like attunements to Reiki healing or advanced energy techniques.  If you have Reiki skills then by all means, use them as part of your magic!  But you don’t have to feel that you can’t work absent healing if you are not a Reiki initiate.

The first thing you will need is the person’s name, location, age, and a synopsis of the situation.  You want to know what is wrong with them, how they fell ill, any medical diagnosis, and any projected prognosis.  Remember that energy healing and magic is not a substitute for medicine!  Always work healing magic with someone who is getting the proper medical treatment too.  Of course, if you’re working on healing someone with a cold, that’s a little different, but if the person is telling you they have a major illness like cancer and they aren’t seeing a doctor and coming you to instead, advise them on seeing a medical doctor first and then come back to you after they are getting the proper treatment.  Knowing the prognosis will also help you work more effectively.

The focus of your work should always be on the final outcome and not a generic “feel better” sort of thing.  You may very well help them feel better and that may just mean they feel a bit better than yesterday but they’re still sick.  This is perfectly fine because ultimately we’re working to help heal not cure.  This is important; you aren’t going to do a Reiki session and suddenly their cancer is gone!  You’re working to help ease pain, discomfort and bring balance back to the body and spirit.  We do this in our work in part by seeing them 100% healthy, relieved of all their medical issues, up and walking about, doing the things they love with ease.  How the energy we work with and the magic we do affects them right away is dependent on how the energy is received and how their Higher Self works with it.  We just want to make sure we’re sending the best, most positive and uplifting energy we can so there’s lots for them to work with.

Long term illnesses need long term healing and magic.  Whatever method you decide to use, know that you may need to repeat what you do.  Be sure to take notes and keep records, and determine ahead of time if your work will need to be repeated daily, weekly, monthly, etc.

Aside from Reiki, there are three other ways of doing absent healing that I do; one of these actually applies to how I work my Reiki healing as well.  These are sending light, working with candles, and working with poppets or proxies.

 

Sending Light

This is a simple method that anyone with a basic level of meditation and visualization skill can do.  Begin by picking a color most appropriate to the healing that is needed.  You can use a general healing color such as green, blue, gold, or white.  You can pick a color that is related to the chakra that is either located in the area of the injury or that is related to the organs that may be affected by the illness.  In some traditions of healing work certain colors are associated with certain types of healing, like blue begin used to cool something or red because used add energy or vitality.  Use your intuition when you aren’t sure what to use.

Get into a meditative state and visualize the person standing in front of you.  See them completely and see them as they are now with whatever illness or issue you are going to be addressing.  Then begin to visualize a light above them, like a sun that is sitting about two or three feet above their head.  See this ball of light glow in your chosen color and see it get bigger and bigger with each breath as you exhale.  When you get to the point where the ball is big enough that it is width wise as large as the person visualize it springing a leak.  As it leaks it rains down light in the color you have chosen onto the person.  See this light absorb into their bodies and their aura.  Begin to see their aura starts to glow and reflect this color as well.  See it become part of them.  When you get to the point that they are completely surrounded in this color, see the rain stop.  Watch them for a few moments and visualize the color of their aura and the healing light becoming one.  The healing light absorbs into their body and starts to work on the inside.  See them begin to look happier, healthier.  See any physical signs of their issues dissolve {for example, if they are currently in a wheel chair, see them standing up and moving around with out and the chair just disappearing from their space}.  When you feel ready you can ask for a reassurance from the person’s Higher Self  and then you can release your visualization with a prayer or blessing.

I use this method a lot and it’s one of my absolute favorites.  Simple, easy to do anywhere or any time, and ideal for absent healing work.  If you’re working healing on someone over a period of days, weeks, or months and you know that you want to send a little energy to them each day, this is a great way to do it.

 

Candles

This is a favorite method with many different kinds of people for healing work; we do so love our candles!  You can get quite elaborate with this if you wish or you can keep it simple.  I like to use a figure candle in either green or blue and mark X’s on the spots affected by whatever is happening.  I’ll then carve their name in the base, anoint in a healing oil, and burn over time, usually about 20 minutes a day until it burns down.

Another way to do this is to use just a votive or taper candle, carve the person’s name in it and what needs healing, and then anoint with some healing oil.  Here I like to add a picture of the person as well. I then use a blend of herbs, usually designed for the specific illness or problem, and create a circle of herbs around the whole thing.  This I let burn straight down.

 

Working With A Proxy

This is one of the more popular ways to send absent healing for magical practitioners.  We often need something to see or touch to do our work and using a proxy is the best way to do this.  One form of magical proxy that many are familiar with are poppets or  Voodoo dolls.  Despite what horror films of the 1960s tried to teach the world about Voodoo, these dolls were not created with the intention of causing harm to anyone.  They were originally used for this very purpose, for helping to heal the sick.  The idea is that the doll is crafted to represent the person that needs healing and then through the use of sympathetic magic the healing work performed on the doll will have an effect the person the doll represents.

Making a poppet requires a little sewing skill {though you can also use wax, clay, dough, or other molding mediums to create one if you’re not so good with a needle and thread}.  Sew together a generic gingerbread man figure cut out of fabric in a color for healing such as green, blue, or white.  Stuff with a cotton stuffing and then add herbs for healing {I have a doll someone made for me that is ONLY stuffed with herbs; you can try this too but it can get a little costly depending on the herbs and quality of herbs you choose}.  Then you should add “personal concerns” to the doll.  These are also sometimes called tags or taglocks and are things belonging to the person the doll is designed to represent which carry their energy such as hair, nail clippings, or a piece of handwriting or clothing.  Place these into the doll and sew it closed.

The poppet can then be used in a great number of ways.  The most popular and probably most common is to stick blessed and charged pins in the areas of the body that need healing.  These pins are meant to send a very direct and purposeful dose of healing energy to the absent party right where they need it.  When placing the pins do it with power, intent, and love.  When I do this I often have an open bottle of healing oil on my workspace and before inserting the pins I dip them in a bit of the oil as well.

You can also use these poppets in a proxy form for Reiki or sending light.  I have also used stuffed animals for proxies because their size can be a little easier to work with than a small poppet.  I knew someone who used a four foot tall teddy bear as her Reiki proxy when doing distance Reiki sessions for people.  You would name the proxy for the person, visualize them and the proxy as one, and then work the Reiki hand positions and healing work on the proxy with the intention of affecting the actual person.

Absent healing is a wonderful skill that can be really useful.  You can expand on these too by adding crystals and herbs to proxy sessions.  Absent healing can be used on people, pets, situations, and places.  But again, I can’t help but stress the need to get permission before doing work.  By connecting with your Higher Self you can also connect with the spirits of a place, of an animal, and of a situation or people in the situation, so you can get guidance as to how you should proceed, or if you shouldn’t do anything at all.  Always take those permissions as sacred orders.

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