The Pros and Cons of a Million Online Healers

Many people who have done work on themselves (in terms of personal and spiritual growth) feel a great desire to help others, and share what they've learned. The presence of the web has allowed them to do so much easier than ever before. They (myself included) are able to share inspirational posts, blog, make videos, and interact directly with those who are looking for ways to heal.

Although many still hope for the appearance (or return) of a singular Messiah figure, it makes sense that it will take millions of lightworkers to help change the world. Eckhart Tolle has spoken of how one of the downsides of becoming famous is that he can no longer respond to everyone who contacts him. He simply doesn't have the time. So unless some new Messiah has Santa Claus-esque abilities to visit millions of people simultaneously, the world will require an enormous number of healers.

I used to work as a therapist, during which my spiritual awakening emerged. It was fascinating to attempt to blend the realms of psychology and spirituality. Psychology is largely linear, diagnosis-oriented, and stems from the Western medicine model, while spiritual healing can (and does) include almost any teaching one can imagine. The former is highly regulated, the latter is open to everyone. After participating in at least one of these two realms for fifteen years, I would like to explore the pros and cons of there being so many people on the web who feel called to serve others. I'll begin with the negatives, so that I may end with the positives...

Cons

Prophets for Profit

Many healers would rather serve others in exchange for money than do traditional work. Healers tend to be sensitive to energy, and find most work environments abrasive. I personally don't think it's "wrong" to charge money for your services, but I do believe that it can lead to problems.

If someone is motivated by income they may be less likely to re-examine their beliefs, or continue to work on themselves. If you feel as though you have to be "on top of things" to be worthy of your fee, you might proselytize your perspectives a little bit louder, and suppress any difficulties you experience for fear that people might not pay you if you're also suffering. This can lead to an increase in the prevalence of "wounded healers" who would benefit from more personal healing before they're ready to help others.

Personally, I've been able to create work that allows me the free time to help others without charging them money. I prefer this approach because I believe people find it more healing to know that I'm helping them because I want to be of service, and am not just doing it for the money. I also feel it allows me to more easily "let go" if someone I'm trying to assist and I don't experience flow. If I had financial problems and charged for my assistance, I might be more likely to continue on with people with whom I don't have a connection when it would be better for both of us to let them find another healer.

Striving for Influence

It is easy to slip into an ego-based attachment to the quantitative impact of one's influence. I've had many interactions online that are quite non-contactful because myself and the other healer are not really interested in each other as human beings so much as "mutual opportunities to spread influence."

The web, in its infancy, seemed like an exciting place to meet new people from all over the world. However, if one is attached to creating more influence, the people we meet can become simply a means to an end. This feels rather sterile and leads us to have a thousand "friends" while feeling isolated due to not enough authentic contact. The key, I believe, is to not care so much about how many people know who we are, but whether or not we are interacting genuinely with whatever number of people are in our lives.

Pros

Diversity is a Many Splendored Thing

With a million or more people in the world who are consciously helping others, it increases the likelihood of a seeker finding a good "match." In the pre-web era, you may have been limited to a handful of local counselors, and might not have had a good connection with any of them. When you look around online you find a cornucopia of perspectives, and have a much easier time finding someone who "speaks to you."

There may be an egotistical side to healers in that we want to believe we can help absolutely anyone who contacts us, but wise teachers know there is an alchemy between what someone is looking for and what we have to offer. Healing is not a matter of "one size fits all" (though many may attempt to present their ideas in such a light). There are many ways we can suffer, and being able to search through a variety of healers allows us to find someone who truly "gets" what we're going through.

Emerging Fresh Ideas

There may be a tendency within us to want to find some "book of truth" that will answer all of our questions, and give us clear guidance no matter what challenges arise. Nevertheless, life is rather complex, and our diverse issues require many different solutions. Although there are some who believe that the solutions to all of the world's problems were solved thousands of years ago and recorded in infallible books, the world and the problems of its inhabitants are always changing. A variety of people with new ideas entering the healer realm allows for fresh perspectives that are needed in an ever-evolving world.

I have heard it said that a true teacher wants their student to surpass them. You can identify a teacher who is stuck in ego by their lack of willingness to hear the opinions of others. If you think you have it all figured out, there is a good chance that your ego is in control. When I see the perspectives of other healers, I want to be challenged to look at life in a new light. I usually don't want to hear cliched or archaic perspectives. I want my mind to be expanded. The wide world of web healers, through its lack of "traditional testing and standards" allows for greater quantum leaps in understanding. By comparison, counseling programs tend to teach material that is at least one or two decades old because it is "accepted" and non-threatening. The web may offer a lot of dirt through which we need to dig...but it also allows for the occasional gems to shine through.

Peace,
Chris

Check out Chris’s (pen name, Mystic Life’s) book Spiritual Polyamory

Intuitive Guidance — Ethical Sites at LiveReaders.com