Hello, and welcome to the fourth edition of the newsletter. Four months going strong! Thanks for sticking with me.

***** News Flash! *****

New pages are proceeding, but still slower than I'd like. I've found ways of moving things around so they should be faster. Thanks for your patience.

***** This edition's topic: Letting Go, Keeping Detachment *****

Let me start off by saying a few things you already know: Healers are, by nature, compassionate, empathic, very in touch with their feelings, and cannot stand to see another in pain. That's all wonderful. The problem is that it can also be the ruin of us as healers.

Now, I'm not saying that we should be uncaring, or unfeeling, or indifferent to the person we would be trying to help. Far from it.

It's been well-noted in modern Western medicine that when people of "importance" become medical patients, they can actually receive care substandard to what Joe and Mary off the street receive. Why? The medical staff know of this person, and the person is Important. And therefore, it is Important that they will ignore solid medical training, and take unneeded actions here, or skip vital steps there in a mad dash.

(For a pretty good write-up on this, check out the PDF here: http://www.psychiatrist.com/pcc/pccpdf/v04n06/v04n0602.pdf.)

Some even suspect that if President Lincoln fell victim to this after he was shot, and that if he'd gotten the standard of medical care in the day, he may have lived. Imagine the course history might have taken.

This is the same kind of emotional attachment that makes it against the rules for them to work on relatives. Once the emotions take over, they aren't in charge anymore. Then it becomes unsafe.

Granted, we aren't cutting people open, or giving them drugs, but the principle still holds. As long as we are attached to the outcome our ability to help is greatly diminished. As long as we have expectations, we limit the Universe in how it can respond. Compassion, caring, emotional sensitivity, these are great. But when you're working with somebody, find your stillness. Stop thinking in words if you can, as that'll help.

Remember that no matter what healing discipline you follow, that although we call ourselves healers, it's not us that does the healing. It's really between the person we're with and the Universe. All we do is act as a catalyst. We do so, and are happy for the privilege, but to impose our will beyond our purview in this process will only mess things up.

This is one of the reasons that many healers have a hard time using their techniques on themselves. They know what they can do, and they set up expectations and requirements in their mind, and in so doing they sabotage their own efforts. (There are other reasons why healers tend to have a hard time healing themselves, but that's for another time.)

So next time you find yourself going to do healing work for somebody, take a few moments to remember that you are a catalyst, a conduit of the love of the Universe (God, the Force, the Source, etc.), but not directly responsible for that person. Use the compassion and emotional sensitivity to do your very best.... and then let it all go. You may find you serve people better, when you can keep your detachment.

***** Q&A Section *****

No questions just yet, so send some in! Doesn't even have to be topical, just ask away!

***** Other Errata ***** Not only am I open to questions, but also to pointers. What do you like, and what do you want to see more of? What works for you and what doesn't? I write for you, so let me know how I'm doing :-)