I often get asked about my journey to becoming a healer: "How did you become a healer? What kind of training did you participate in? If I wanted to follow a path of healing, where do I start?"
Today, I'm going to walk you through my unique process into becoming an energy healer and diviner and share some advice for anyone looking to walk down the path of healing arts.
Heal Yourself First
This is the most important advice I can give to anyone wanting to become a healer, teacher, coach, or spiritual leader. You can't expect to heal or help another person from a place of brokenness or unhealed wounds. This doesn't mean you have to be perfectly healed and whole, as we're never fully healed. But it does mean that you must have a strong commitment to your own inner healing and personal growth before you can assist others.
You must understand that the path of healing others often comes through your own trials and struggles. Healers are often good at what they do because they have a lot of personal experiences to draw from.
For example, in my life I've suffered through years of depression and overwhelming anxiety. I've experienced death and loss. I've been through my fair share of abuse, manipulation, trauma, and persecution. I come from a long line of family abusers, unhealthy relationships, narcissists, and addicts. I've suffered a major health crisis and have lived through years of intense physical pain and even disability. I've been through the Dark Night of the Soul. A couple of times, actually!
I'm not demonstrating all of this for pity or attention. But I have had to overcome a lot. I've spent the last fifteen years of my life dedicated to healing myself - physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It wasn't until I reached a certain level of acceptance and wholeness within myself that my healing abilities started to come online for me.
A good healer must understand how to work with ancestral wounds, trauma, grief, mental health issues, inner child healing, and our darker or shadow aspects. You can read all the books in the world and go through all the trainings, but until you apply the healing lessons to your own life, you will struggle to assist others because you won't truly understand how these processes work.
First things first - do the inner work and show up for yourself. And, if healing others is meant to be a part of your journey, then it will present itself when you're truly ready.
Spiritual Development
Your spiritual development should be a priority in your life if you want to become a healer, teacher, or light worker. The best healers that I know are always adopting a growth mindset. They're always learning, studying, and perfecting their skills. A good healer is committed to personal growth and development and is always embracing the seasons of change. Essentially what I'm saying is that if you want to be a healer, you need to be comfortable with always being uncomfortable. Because spiritual evolution is a full-time job!
A big part of spiritual evolution is developing your intuition. This may include psychic development or advancing your intuitive abilities. A good healer needs to be able to sense the subtle and esoteric parts of our world. Does that mean you have to be an amazing medium or be able to clearly speak to Spirit? No, of course not. But you do want to spend time discovering your intuitive strengths and advancing your spiritual abilities as much as you can.
Another aspect of spiritual development is maintaining impeccable spiritual hygiene. This means that you're ensuring that your spiritual or energetic body is as clean and clear as possible. Good spiritual hygiene includes daily practices designed to ground your energy, cleanse your energetic field, and invoke impermeable protection around you and your home. Grounding, clearing, and protection are fundamental for all self-healers and those who work with energy, which is why I've created this online course.
Follow the Breadcrumbs
There are many methods and modalities of healing. Some of the most popular kinds of energy healing are Reiki, crystal healing, Qigong therapy, Shamanism, sound healing, and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). I also consider yoga teachers, acupuncturists, chiropractors, breath work facilitators, masseuses, healing touch practitioners, herbalists, and other alternative practitioners as healers, too.
When you feel that call to assist others, it can feel a bit overwhelming at first. There's so many choices and options. My advice for you is to "follow the breadcrumbs." What does that mean? It means you should allow yourself to get curious about the topics that excite and interest you the most.
I think that it's very natural for people who are committed to healing themselves to begin to get very excited about specific spiritual or metaphysical topics. Indulge in these interests as much as you can. Read about anything and everything that excites you.
My own path began with an obsession with yoga and meditation. I even completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training knowing full well I'd probably never want to pursue a career in yoga. I gave myself permission to dive deep into the ancient yogic traditions simply because they filled me up with so much joy and wisdom. Later, I studied essential oils and took a few aromatherapy classes online. Soon after that I felt called to pick up multiple books on Shamanism and ancient healing techniques. And eventually I landed myself here!
The path forward looks like a teeny, tiny little breadcrumb laying right in front of your feet. It might not make sense to you in the beginning. But I dare you to pick it up. Ask yourself, "What makes my heart expand and tingle with excitement when I think about learning more?" And then go and do that!
Sometimes the breadcrumb topic that you decide to study or learn more about eventually becomes a dead end. Sometimes, that topic eventually fades away and becomes less interesting over time. That's not a bad thing! It's just a sign that it's time to move on to another thing. The best healers I know have lots of breadcrumbs in their basket, so don't be afraid to dip your toe in the water and try several things out until you find your own unique path.
Classes and Workshops
While you can learn quite a lot through books, podcasts, and YouTube lectures, I think a little face-to-face instruction or formal training can be very helpful. I attended many trainings and workshops when I first began getting curious about healing. I studied all levels of Reiki. I went to many weekend workshops taught by the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. I participated in spiritual initiations, healing rituals, and weeklong intensives with Malidoma.
I also participated in my fair share of online courses. At one point, I was curious in learning about Angel Healing, Tarot Readings, and Crystal Therapy, so I enrolled in a few online classes about each of those topics. I completed an Aromatherapy program online. I enlisted in several spiritual mentoring programs and took courses aimed at developing my intuition. I worked with many teachers who helped me to sharpen my intuitive abilities and taught me to work with compassionate, benevolent Spirits.
When I look back at all the "little things" that I've accomplished, I realize that they've all helped to shape me into becoming a very well-rounded and successful healer. So, if you can, sign up for a weekend workshop or online class!
If you're not sure in the path of healing that you're going to take, do what I did. Start small! In the beginning, I invested a little bit of my time and money before going "all in" to the bigger courses. I also made sure that I invested in myself and my growth, by setting aside money and budgeting for the experiences that would help me to grow. It doesn't matter how or where you start, as long as you start somewhere. You're going to have to take some risks and step out of your comfort zone to find your way.
A final note that I'll add here is that all your training shouldn't be just online. There is a lot of value in face-to-face trainings, especially when it comes to healing practices. For example, in my Reiki and Shamanic workshops, we learned to practice our hands-on approaches with each other. It was a safe space to feel comfortable in testing out new techniques and abilities with like-minded people. And, that kind of experience just simply can't be achieved over a computer.
Certification
Many energy healers don't have a standard college degree or certificate that says, "I'm a qualified healer!" and that's mostly because many of the paths towards esoteric healing aren't ordinary. I once had a teacher tell me that nobody is going to come into your life and simply say, "Okay! You're ready now. You're now a healer." (Although there are many times I wish that would have been the case.)
This is great news in that you get to create a path of study that is 100% unique and authentic to you. You also get to choose a training plan that works for your schedule. For example, I didn't realize I was going to become a healer until after I became a mother. At the time, I had two very young children at home, and so I chose a path that was flexible with my priorities and lifestyle. And, because of this, I was also able to choose my own pace of learning that allowed me to stay close to and prioritize my children.
The downside of creating your own path though is that we still live in a society that has accepted that some kind of degree or certificate grants you special authority to practice. So, I do believe that some formal training might be helpful. At the very least, you'll want to be able to clearly articulate the kind of training or experience you've had that qualifies you to do what you do.
When it comes to my personal journey, I have a Reiki Master certification and an African Cowry Shell Diviner certification. On top of that, I'm able to articulate the many hours I've dedicated to completing various Shamanic trainings and healing workshops.
Experience and Practice
Every time I learned a new skill, I would ask my family and friends if I could practice on them. For years, I operated a small, private practice in my living room that was only available for those in my inner circle. I practiced healing work in my home for close to two years before I opened my own office and started taking public appointments.
I think that this was important for two reasons. First, it helped me gain some confidence and experience in a safe way with people who I felt comfortable around. They were able to give me valuable feedback that helped shape who I was becoming as a healer. Second, it helped me gain realistic expectations around healing and working with others. Those two years helped me learn a lot about the healer that I wanted to be and how I wanted to setup my business. Because I didn't rush into it, I was able to feel very safe and confident in my skillset before moving forward. I'm really glad that I took things slow.
I also want to talk about the value of business experience because many healers end up starting their own businesses because they offer such unique and important services. Fortunately for me, I had a college degree in business leadership and a background in running a restaurant biz with my husband. However, when I left that chapter of my life, I made sure that I took some time to study online marketing. I taught myself how to create a basic website (yes! I made this myself) and learned the ins and outs of social media. If this part of your career makes your head spin or your skin crawl, then don't worry - you'll just want to make sure you find people who can help you set up a business and run your website!
In addition, I have a team of financial experts, bankers, lawyers, and accountants who assist me with the weekly and monthly business necessities. A new business requires a lot of work. There is a great amount of legal and financial requirements that must happen "behind the scenes" and this can be extremely overwhelming if you're trying to do it by yourself. So, having a "team of experts" can make owning your own business easier and less intimidating.
Eventually, you must take some big leaps and begin to put yourself out there. I suggest you start small and begin sharing your skills and services with those closest to you. Then, slowly, start to share online or expand your circle. Find friends and communities who support your work, such as yoga studios, massage studios, or alternative wellness circles. And, let the world know that you're ready to begin!
With Love,
Kelsey
