Heal Yourself—Heal the World Archives

Stay on Track: A Personal Healing Action Plan

November 5, 2019

by Deborah King Energy Healing Featured Heal Yourself—Heal the World Health

Healing is a marathon, not a sprint. Whether you are five minutes or five years into your healing journey, it’s easy to get distracted and wander off the path – especially when the world around you is in chaos.

In my book Heal Yourself—Heal the World, I dedicate an entire chapter to teaching you the basics of a Personal Healing Plan. Students often get bogged down with complex concepts, like chakras and mind/body types, and forget that simple lifestyle changes can make a big difference in their personal energy field.

Living a healthy and balanced life is one of the best things you can do to protect and heal yourself. Doing things like getting enough rest and dedicating time to process emotions, eating clean food that nourishes your body, and spending time with people who lift you up (rather than depress you and bring you down), are all things you can do give yourself a leg up on the healing ladder.

All of the practices I write about below will nourish your body, mind, and spirit…if you make them a habit in your self-care routine. Over the years, the number one thing that the majority of my students struggle with is dedicating time for their self-care; this is not surprising considering there are so many things competing for their time and attention. To keep your healing goals front and center (and to see your progress over time), think about adding a monthly activity tracker page to your journal. You can create your own (there is no shortage of fun designs and ideas on Pinterest) or download a copy of my Personal Healing Plan Tracker.

The activities that you include in your Personal Healing Plan Tracker will be unique to you, however, there are some universal basic practices that you should use as guidelines. Think about the practices below and think about how you can incorporate them into your self-care routine and Personal Healing Plan Tracker.

Download your free Personal Healing Habit Tracker today

Basic practices for personal healing

Good food

A new day, a new diet (or so it seems). As a general rule, diets are created by companies that want to sell you a product, be it supplements or shakes. The truth of the matter is that the foods that work best for you are completely dependent on your unique makeup.

We are all different, but there are a few basic rules to follow that will point you in a healthier direction:

Choose real food that is not processed whenever possible. Stick to the perimeter of the grocery store: fruits, vegetables, eggs, fish, poultry, dairy, and whole grain bread.

Drink plenty of pure water. You need about a quart a day just to replace the water that your body loses by breathing!

“Nonfoods” should be avoided at all costs. Think: processed foods in boxes or bags that have preservatives; canned items, especially tomatoes, that do not specifically say BPA is not used in the lining of the can; genetically modified and foods that are microwaved – your body doesn’t recognize these “nonfood” items and doesn’t know what to do with them.

Chemicals and pesticides are a problem. Whenever possible, opt for organic. (Note: you should also be mindful about the personal care products you put on your body. In the United States, lotions, fragrances, deodorants/antiperspirants, makeup, and hair styling products do not go through any regulatory approval process. Your body absorbs 60% of everything you put on it and I doubt you’d be okay with absorbing 60% of the lead in your signature red lipstick – no brands will be mentioned, but a quick Google search will reveal a Mother Jones investigation.)

Use of nicotine, alcohol, recreational and prescription drugs increase the body’s toxic load.

Opt for small frequent meals that contain protein if you are over 30 years old and/or are stressed; every two hours is ideal.

Exercise

Your body’s health is dependent on moving it. And you don’t need to start training for a marathon to get enough exercise: studies have shown that walking briskly every day can reduce a woman’s chance of getting diabetes breast cancer, and heart disease.

Here are some tips for exercising to support your body:

Exercise that requires focused and conscious movement (Quigong, T’ai chi, Pilates, yoga) give your muscles and brain a workout.

Go outdoors for part of your exercise. If you’re a gym or class fan, that’s fine but changing it up every once in a while (go to an outdoor yoga class or walk in the park instead of on the treadmill) will help you connect to nature.

Aim for a minimum of 20 minutes of exercise every day. Build it into your Personal Healing Plan Tracker and do your best to check off those boxes. Even a quick walk during your lunch break, taking the stairs, or parking further away from the building count.

Meditation

There are so many benefits to meditation that I’m always surprised that not everyone does it. It puts you in the present moment, relaxes your body and mind, washes away your stress, bolsters your intuitive abilities, and even makes you look and feel younger (take that expensive wrinkle creams!). Twenty minutes morning and evening are ideal.

Sleep

Sleep is one of those things that everyone struggles with at some point in their lives, be it getting too much or too little.
How much sleep do you need? Just like your diet, this also depends on your individual makeup. If you wake to an alarm clock, try going to bed ten minutes earlier each night until you wake up before the alarm rings.

You should also be conscious about using light-emitting devices before bed (sorry, turning on the dimming feature on your iPhone doesn’t make it an exception). Electronic devices have a higher concentration of blue light vs. natural light – and this impacts the levels of melatonin that your body produces. In short, you’re playing Russian roulette with your body’s natural circadian rhythm clock – and this can have devastating health effects beyond just not being able to fall asleep.

Connect with other people and creaturesContemporary Western culture – especially American culture – is extremely isolating. In contrast to American culture where children are expected to move out at 18 (and if they don’t, are considered unsuccessful), in many other parts of the world, such as Southeast Asia and Russia, it’s normal for entire families to live together, even when children are grown.

And while technology has allowed us to connect with family and friends that live far away, when you are out with family and friends put the phone down! How many times have you watched two people sit at dinner completely absorbed in their phone? It’s no surprise that we feel disconnected, alone, lonely, and isolated; we are social creatures and have an innate desire to be part of a community.

If you live alone (as many people do these days), consider adding a pet to your life. We need physical contact as well as social, and I’ve never met a dog that didn’t jump at the chance to sit on their owner’s lap.

Laugh

The world we live in is extremely chaotic, which results in instability and stress on society. Don’t ignore atrocities, but don’t be consumed by them either. For example, watch Seinfeld or The Big Bang Theory instead of the six o’clock news when you come home from a long day. Laughter is good for the body and the soul; it relieves stress and boosts immune functioning.
As much as possible, go to bed happy.

Challenge yourself

We all have bucket lists – and if you don’t, whip out that journal of yours and get planning! Keep in mind that your bucket list doesn’t have to be exotic and crazy, like skydiving or hiking Machu Picchu. Some of my students have confided that their number one bucket list item was to overcome an eating disorder or free themselves from a particular medication.

Essentially a bucket list is a set of goals you would like to achieve in your lifetime. By identifying long-term goals, you can begin identifying obstacles that sit in the middle of your path (either right now or in the future). A bucket list that you plan and work toward will challenge you and magnify your own personal healing power many times over.

For a complete guide to building out your Personal Healing Action Plan, check out Chapter 15 of my new book Heal Yourself—Heal the World. If you haven’t ordered your copy yet, you can pick a copy up at your favorite bookseller (or Amazon). The book also contains detailed guidelines and ideas about journaling, an activity that is crucial to healing. And you don’t have to put pen to paper to benefit from journaling — there are many other options available too.

You can set up a blog on your computer or tablet that can be purely for you, or if you are brave about sharing your journey, make it available for others to read. Another powerful way to record your thoughts and feelings is by vlogging: making a video of yourself speaking. Many people are more comfortable talking than writing. You can set up your smartphone or computer to video yourself speaking.

Raising an Energetically Healthy Pet

January 8, 2018

by Deborah King Energy Healing Featured Heal Yourself—Heal the World Pets

When you aim energy healing in the direction of your loving pets, much of that healing mojo will come right back to you. All you have to do is show a little love for an animal by merely petting it on the head and it will automatically produce a hormone in you that activates your nurturing abilities. And this is just the tip of the iceberg—innumerable studies are now being conducted on the powerful connection between owners and their pets.

You’d be amazed to learn at how much making a conscious effort to heal and connect with your pets will benefit you in return.

An example of how helping a pet can heal you: Elizabeth and Miracle Millie

A student of mine (who I’ll call Elizabeth) recently shared a story with me that demonstrates how animals and people can have powerful healing impacts on each other, both physically and emotionally. A few years ago, Elizabeth’s’ world was turned upside down when she suddenly lost her job. In addition to the devastating blow to her confidence and self-esteem, Elizabeth immediately lost her health insurance and was unable to continue working with the therapist who had been treating her for the debilitating anxiety and depression she had struggled with since childhood.

It didn’t take Elizabeth long to retreat to the dark places of her mind: she was spending days in bed, ignoring texts from concerned friends, and phone calls from family asking her to come visit so she could rest and reset in a safe environment.

One week after Elizabeth’s life shattered, she was scrolling mindlessly through Facebook on her phone from bed. Suddenly, she stopped at a post from an animal rescue organization about a disabled dachshund in need of a foster home. The rescue called her “Miracle Millie” because they didn’t think she would survive the night; a staff member at Animal Care and Control had found Millie in a cardboard box outside of the employee entrance to the shelter. In addition to surviving the severe August heat, the on-duty vet recognized symptoms that pointed to poisoning. Upon further evaluating Millie, the doctor realized that she had “gone down” and likely had IVDD (a common—but devastating and lifelong—back disease in dachshunds). We’ll never know the exact events that took place to Millie arriving at Animal Care and Control, but most likely whoever had Millie before she arrived at the shelter didn’t want to deal with a dog that couldn’t use their back legs, so they poisoned her. When Millie didn’t die, they left her outside the shelter.

By the grace of higher powers, the dachshund rescue group that Elizabeth followed on Facebook pulled Millie from the shelter and got her into an animal hospital nearby. Over the course of weeks, Millie made an amazing recovery and—on that one day when Elizabeth was on Facebook—needed a foster home where she could gain back her strength, put on the weight she had lost, and begin to trust again.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Millie made an amazing recovery, and on the day she was scheduled to be released to a foster home, Elizabeth checked out the shelter’s Facebook page, and the rest is history. She took Millie and for a month, they kept each other company on the couch…each healing in their own way: Millie from her physical trauma (Elizabeth assisted her in eating, drinking, and physical therapy exercises designed to build up her back muscles again) and Elizabeth from her job loss that compounded her depression and anxiety (Millie sat there right next to Elizabeth while she responded to job post after job post, listened to recruiters wax and wane about their wonderful client…only to never be heard from again, and gave her the extra confidence she needed when a hiring manager wanted to talk on the phone).

The story of Elizabeth and Miracle Millie has a happy ending: Elizabeth landed a job that was a step up from her previous one and Millie now lives in the countryside with a newly retired couple who are avid sports fans (and spend a lot of time hanging out on the couch together). When you hear Elizabeth speak of Millie, she doesn’t consider it an act of charity or a “nice thing” that she did for an animal in need—rather, she speaks of how Millie saved her. Millie gave Elizabeth a reason to get out of bed each morning and helped her work through what could have been a much more difficult time.

Any pet lover will immediately understand the bond between Elizabeth and Millie. As someone who has worked with both people and pets, I can attest to the shared and exchanged energy between both parties. And as a pet owner, you want to keep that energy healthy, happy, and balanced all around—so you both are able to thrive and live your best lives.

how pets heal us — Millie's preferred activity: snoozin' next to Elizabeth on the couch.

pets and healing — Elizabeth helping Millie at a physical therapy session.

Ways to care for your pets that keep you both feeling good:

Feed your pets natural foods

Animals are as sensitive as humans to the unnatural additives, colorings, and preservatives that are used in many brands of commercial pet food. They may be allergic to some of these harmful chemicals, which could lead to behavior problems, excess weight gain, or dental issues. Holistic vets recommend natural diets, like raw foods, for cats and dogs.

Give your pets pure water

If your pets are not drinking enough pure water, it will affect both their health and their energy field. The smell or taste of tap water may not be appealing to them, so try filtered water or still (non-bubbly) mineral water. Beef broth or other meat broths, which you can cool down for them, are another way to get your pets to drink more.

Let the sun shine on your pets

Pets need sunshine for health as much as we do. They need to go outside for at least an hour a day to prevent depression, lethargy, and illness. Full-spectrum lighting has been used to prolong the lives of hamsters with heart disease. Keep both you and your pet healthy by going outdoors in the sunshine for a walk. If you have indoor pets, make sure they can access a place in the sun by a window.

Be a friend to your pets

Just like us, pets need companionship. Animals get lonely, so they love being around people and sometimes even other pets. I actually got a mini—a small horse—to keep my big horse, Influence, company when his pet goat passed on. Some pets, such as rabbits, gerbils, birds, fish, guinea pigs, and even rats, do best in same-sex pairs. Hamsters, on the other hand, are happiest by themselves in their own little world. Some pets, like llamas, will really become despondent if they don’t have the companionship of another llama; you’ll want to be informed about their needs before you choose an exotic pet.

Give your pet(s) space

All pets need lots of room to move around easily. We cannot imprison our pets in cages, pens, or runs that are too small. However, some dogs feel safest in a “den,” like a crate or kennel for sleeping. Listen to your animal’s needs and act accordingly.

Learn more about energy healing for pets

Pets have always been an important part of my life and I have experienced their amazing healing capabilities firsthand. So, when I started working with Simon & Schuster on my latest book, Heal Yourself—Heal the World, I planned for an entire section of it to be dedicated to energy healing for pets.

As an energy healer (and animal lover), I’ve spent many years studying and practicing a variety of mindfulness methods and healing techniques specifically for animals. This helped me to be there when any of my own loving animal companions were in pain and in need of my healing hands. In Heal Yourself—Heal the World, I share these methods with you so you can be equipped for any animal that might live with you (or come through the doors of your new practice as an energy healer).

Buy Book on Amazon

Worldwide Healing Day

October 15, 2017

by Deborah King Energy Healing Events Featured Heal Yourself—Heal the World

Mother Earth is ill, and she is approaching a breaking point. She has been extremely kind, nurturing, and merciful to her inhabitants: she has given us nutrition through her fertile grounds, quenched our thirst with cool water from her rivers and springs, and provided shelter in her forests and caves. Somewhere along the way, we lost the vision of her benevolence and began to treat her as our prey rather than as our respected and honored parent.

First came the dig economy: the reckless extraction of resources from the earth, which enabled a small number of countries, corporations, and c-suite executives to amass great wealth while leaving the majority of earth’s inhabitants in poverty and causing permanent damage to the environment.¹ After years of abuse, Mother Earth is simply doing what she must to survive, which is to remove our ever-expanding population from the equation.

Just as we greedily take raw materials from the earth without considering the impact on future generations, we also apply the same philosophy to the gig economy: paying workers as little as possible with little or no benefits, and when the inevitable happens, cutting them loose and moving on to the next warm body. Is it really any surprise that violence, hate, and fear permeate every aspect of our society? And fear begets terrorism—from the mass shootings in the United States to the brutal killings by ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

For too long we have been treating the earth and all living beings as resources that can be thrown away once their purpose is served. Right now, we have the opportunity to join together and make a vital decision about our collective future: change our greed-based ways or be changed by the consequences: floods, caused by rising sea levels and extreme weather, sweep away entire cities; storms of epic size and strength decimate entire regions; uncontrollable fires leave behind ashes and death; and droughts make water, the basis of life, hard to come by.

Religions around the world have shown how integral water is to us: Native American oral traditions reference a flood that cleansed the Earth and re-purified it, just like the account of Noah and the Ark in the Christian Bible. Ritual washing for purification is used in all three Abrahamic religions, as well as in the dharmic traditions of the East and in the Pagan and Earth religions.

When I began to think about Worldwide Healing Day, over three years ago, the world was on a very different trajectory. Yes, we were leaning towards the edge, but we still had hope: major emission offenders were beginning to be held accountable; science provided facts about climate change that were not ignored or disbelieved; immigrants worked openly and embraced the American Dream; when catastrophe struck, communities banded together and governments provided aid. Fast forward three years and we are living in frightening times; it has become impossible to detangle one crisis from the next. Climate and cultural crises have overwhelmed our empathic ability to give and receive compassion and love.

There is a silver lining—a once-in-a-lifetime chance to build anew a society based on caring for the health and well-being of the planet and one another. When we integrate our knowledge of what must be done with what we are experiencing in these ongoing natural disasters, wisdom emerges. When you share your wisdom in conversation with others, it acts as a catalyst for them to go out into the world and become part of the solution.

Mother Teresa once said, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” So many movements have been built around the concept that global change must start locally, with each one of us. If you are feeling lost and alone, Worldwide Healing Day will help you resolve your personal turmoil and find your way again. If you’re already involved in the process of healing and have started to absorb the spiritual teaching of “heal yourself/heal the world,” join us for Worldwide Healing Day. Connect your bright light to that of others to create a superstorm of healing and love.

Sign up for Worldwide Healing Day >>

About Worldwide Healing Day

Worldwide Healing Day is an annual event led by NY Times best-seller and Spiritual Teacher Deborah King. Every year on October 21st, people from around the globe will unite as one to collectively focus their intentions and create a unified field of healing energy. Each individual healing thought is magnified by the thousands of other simultaneous intentions, creating a vortex of love and compassion that helps us heal ourselves and the world.

Heal Yourself – Heal the World

Deborah conceptualized Worldwide Healing Day while writing her fourth book, Heal Yourself—Heal the World and she dedicates an entire chapter to this special day. Go on an energy journey of a lifetime withHeal Yourself—Heal the World and embracing your inner healing powers. Deborah explains how your energy shifts and expresses itself through your chakras and shows you that you really do have the power to heal. Filled with meditations and profound techniques, it’s a do-it-yourself guide to healing yourself and to sharing your newfound skills with others, including your pets. Along the way, you’ll meet your spiritual guides, learn about meditation and mind/body types (a handy tool indeed), and understand how to stay healthy and in love with your life. Get your copy >>

Citations:

The concept of “Gig and Dig Economies” is from a speech by Naomi Klein, a Canadian author, social activist, and filmmaker. Her 2014 book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate, was a NY Times best-seller.

Communicate with Your Pets through Energy Healing

September 23, 2017

by Deborah King Energy Healing Featured Heal Yourself—Heal the World

animal energy healing courses I love animals with all my heart, and I know many of you share this same deep passion.

At any given time, I have had a menagerie of pets at home in all sizes and shapes.

When my husband, Eric and I lived near Lake Tahoe, we eventually found our way to a great piece of ranch property in the mountains that was perfect for raising animals. The place was like Noah’s Ark, complete with llamas, a playful pig, Mr. Goat (who traipsed along freely when my beloved horse, Influence, and I went riding up the steep mountain trails), peacocks, Bessie the cow, plenty of chickens pecking their way around the barn, and even a pond of fish. These animals were some of my finest teachers; they taught me so much about how to listen to what they had to say below the level of human speech, how to lovingly treat those we live with, and how to heal with touch, and later, with intentionality.

There are no shortage of health benefits that come with pet parenthood. From elevated serotonin and dopamine levels to lower blood pressure, the medical community agrees: your pet is always actively healing you. In fact, animal therapy has become so popular that it is now regularly used in hospitals, children’s recovery centers, and long-term care facilities for the elderly.

When you open your home to an animal, be it a teacup poodle or a tortoise, you realize how receptive they are to energy. Although invisible to the naked eye, your energy field blends with the energy field of others, including that of your pet.

People that struggle with depression, anxiety, and other mental health diseases understand the role that a pet can play in alleviating disabling symptoms so that healing at a deeper level can take place. Conversely, when you heal your own energy system, you are also caring for the energy field of your furbaby. In fact, clearing and balancing your own energy system positively impacts your pets. Your pet is always actively healing you. Especially your cat! You can do the same thing for them!

As an energy healer, I spent many years studying and practicing a variety of methods and techniques specifically for animals. This helped me to be there when any of my own loving animal companions were in pain and in need of my healing hands. Below, I’d like to share a few of these methods so you can be equipped for any animal that might live with you or come through your doors as a practitioner. By the way, many of these methods can cross over into the human realm as well.

You may not be able to chat out loud with your animals, like in animated movies, but don’t underestimate an animal’s keen ability to communicate. Animals respond and connect with you in many ways, such as through body language, tone, speech, and appearance. When you listen to your pets, especially in a quiet state, you may receive subtle thoughts, feelings, or images from them. By having a positive, open, and honest state of awareness, and by noting their body language and their expressive faces, it is possible to communicate with them. After all, that’s how animals communicate with each other in nature, by sensing intuitively what is happening in their environment and with other beings. You can trust that they will be honest with you.

There are four ways you can activate your intuitive power to communicate with your pets:

1. Sending and receiving feelings (clairsentience)

One of the easiest senses to develop when communicating with an animal (or person) is called “clairsentience” (clear sensing); it is a great way of “feeling into” another living being.

To use this communication method, you will tap into the energy centers of your second, third, and fourth chakras. Next, tune into your pet and simply receive the information you need about him. As with everything related to energy, it might take a bit of practice. However, the payoff will be well worth the effort: you will be able to sense what your pet is feeling.

If an animal is in pain, you may even be able to tell where that pain is and what’s causing it. But remember, this is intuition, not an expert medical diagnosis. Always bring your pet to the vet to verify what’s going on and to be advised if medical treatment is recommended.

2. Sending and receiving through the auditory channel (clairaudience)

In the same manner that you use clairsentience, you can also send thoughts mentally to your pet – and receive them back. We call this method “clairaudience” (clear hearing) because you can hear words and phrases from your pet in your mind.

By listening and being in-tune with the vibrations of your pet, you’ll be able to hear them loud and clear.

Recently, a student of mine (Ellen) was telling me about a health scare her beloved standard poodle went through. One day, Ellen noticed that Joujou (French for “toy” and “play”…because that’s all he ever wanted to do) was a little off; he was still energetic, but she felt that Joujou was telling her something wasn’t right – because she kept hearing the words “stomach”– and she immediately took him to the vet. It’s very good she listened because Joujou had a twisted stomach (a breed-specific problem that can strike dogs with big narrow chests, like standard poodles and German shepherds) and had to have emergency surgery.

While Ellen was using clairaudience, she did not understand what drove her to act that day. She was worried her reaction was simply a freak accident…what if something like this happened again and she did not recognize it?

To demonstrate the power of clairaudience, I told her about how I would always hear my horse, Influence, tell me when he needed to stop and take a break from the hot weather on rides through the desert. Your pet is always speaking – be sure to listen!

3. Sending and receiving visual images (clairvoyance)

When you can send and receive mental pictures and images between you and your pet, this type of communication is called “clairvoyance” (clear sight). This type of communication is extremely helpful when you are physically separated from your pet and searching for them. Tune in deep within your energy field and you’ll be able to “see” the approximate area to which your pet has wandered.

Clairvoyance is also helpful if you adopted your pet and want to discover what happened to them in the past. All you have to do is establish a connection and ask this pet to show you images of previous experiences. When using clairvoyance, remember to go beyond the scope of logic as you process the information. Also, keep in mind that sometimes the images you receive are symbolic.

It’s important to remember, especially when a pet had a different owner prior to you, that the things you see may be upsetting. Sadly, just as people abuse other people, they also abuse animals. If you do discover your pet has past trauma, it is 100% within your power to help them heal. I dedicate an entire chapter to healing your pets in my book Heal Yourself – Heal the World.

4. Knowings

As your eighth and higher chakras open, you may find that you begin to receive information that is commonly referred to as “knowings.” With this ability, you can immediately receive the information you need to help your pet. However, for now, assume that this isn’t the channel you are working on, as it’s more likely that you are receiving information from a pet or a person in one of the three ways described above.

If you think you’re receiving knowings, be suspicious that the information is instead coming from your personality; if it is, that information is not coming from a place of trustworthiness and should be questioned. I often find that newer practitioners incorrectly believe they are receiving knowings, when it’s actually their personality doing the speaking.

But for future reference, when you have been initiated to above the third initiatory level (which is pretty high), you may well begin to receive knowings. This is the method that I use the most in obtaining information. In this case, the information simply flows into your mind without you even asking for it, and you are given all the information you need to help that pet or person.

Which method you start using with your pets depends on your individual intuitive power. If you’re one of the 40 percent who are kinesthetic learners and do best when you’re “hands on” and can feel or sense information, then you’ll use clairsentience. If you are one of the 20 percent who prefer processing information by hearing it, clairaudience will be the way to go. If you are one of the approximately 40 percent who learn best by seeing, you will most likely lean toward clairvoyance in your communication with your pet. Finally, if you’re in that 1 percent group of people who have knowings, you’ll get the information that way. As you work with your pets and other animals, always remember that each of these beautiful creatures wants to be understood in the same way as humans.

What better reason to develop these intuitive healing skills than to help a pet?

With all that our pets do to keep us happy and healthy, it’s important that we do the same for them whenever we can.

If you’re interested in taking a deeper dive into energy healing for your pet, be sure to join me in my course Energy Healing for Pets and Animals.

Deborah King

Posts in category: Heal Yourself—Heal the World

Stay on Track: A Personal Healing Action Plan

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