healing ethics, and healing those without faith to be healed

A good, good question from the amazing guy behind DouglasErnstBlog! :o)

I know this is a weird question, but say you had a friend who did not have faith, but you wanted to help them with "problem x." Say they had back pain and you found they had all sorts of trapped emotions that were causing it. Would it be unethical to "release" those emotions, and would it even do any good (i.e., they would just build up again because the person wasn't confronting the issues that manifested the emotions to begin with).

Sometimes people with zero faith come into my life, and I wonder if my purpose it to try and reach them somehow. However, it just seems like we're on two completely different planes of existence. Nothing I say or do seems to make a dent in their "religion of non-faith" (or whatever you want to call it).

I've actually started blogging about this multiple times and just haven't finished that particular essay. 

Choose the right! Agency, yeah! From lds.org.

Here is my experience with it, greatly abridged.

Agency

It all comes down to agency. The power to choose. As children of God, we all have the power to choose. A healing can only work if a person chooses it to apply to them. If you do a healing that a person isn't aware of, in my experience, it doesn't go through. I did this a few times in the beginning of my healing journey--doing well-meant remote work for people who were having a hard time who I felt could benefit from some extra help.

It didn't help.

I learned that a lot of it is because of agency, and the rest of it is like the question pointed out--it's our choices, so many times, that lead to our current circumstances.

For example, in recent weeks I saw a friend fall under the influence of drugs. When you use drugs, in my personal observation, you open yourself up to unclean spirits. I saw two of them enter this friend's space. I meant well, but ignorantly commanded the bad guys to go, not understanding the reality of the situation.

The reality was this: My friend still had agency, and she wasn't asking them to go. She was actively inviting them in. I could make them leave for a moment, but they were welcome to come right on back and help ruin her life from the inside out.

It's the same thing with other healing work. You can do this or that for a person, and maybe it might stick, or maybe not, but in the end it all comes down to their agency and if they are spiritually prepared to accept such a healing. This preparedness can be conscious or subconscious, but it has to be there.

In my research I came across a scripture, D&C 24:14, which includes the admonition: "And these things ye shall not do, except it be required of you by them who desire it." It is in reference to the use of spiritual gifts of healing (among other gifts). To me, this means that I can offer to help someone, but if they don't want something done, then there we go. I'm not supposed to help them. It is the most important thing to never violate agency. 

Parallels with the Atonement

The whole thing has made me understand the Atonement much more deeply. We've probably all seen the pictures of Jesus knocking on the door with no doorknob. It has no doorknob because He can't let himself in. Only you can let Him in. Jesus already did all the remote healing we will ever need. ALL of it. So why do we still suffer?

Why do we still ache?

Why do we still hurt so much? Spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally?

Jesus did all the suffering for us, but we still need to accept it. His healing energy is in us--I believe it is literally in every atom--fodder for another post--but clearly we are not all 100% whole and healed. This healing energy is in our queues, waiting for us to access it.

It's the same thing with healing work. You can certainly do well-meant healing work for someone who isn't ready for it. I've done it plenty (before I knew what I know now)! But don't be surprised if you see no effects. C. S. Lewis has a great quote out there about how it is the goal of Christianity for us all to become "little Christs." I love the hymn Lord, I Would Follow Thee for its line: "I would learn the healer's art." As Christians we are called upon to wreak miracles of healing in all its forms: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual--we are called upon to share the healing miracle of the Atonement with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

But just because we do the work doesn't mean they will accept it. When we preach, plenty of people don't listen. When we do thoughtful things, sometimes our efforts go unnoticed or even reviled. But we are willing to do the work!

Ethics

The book The Emotion Code has a great section on ethics. Basically, it comes own to: it's an invasion and violation of privacy for a person to assume another person's energy system without their knowledge and permission (as would be the case in remote theta work, or Emotion Code work). So if your work is going to involve you muscle testing on another person's behalf, you should not do that without their permission! That would be an abuse of the ability. This is because when you assume a person's energy as a proxy, you can learn things about them that they may not want you to know.

Of course, when you start using your spiritual eyes, you start seeing all sorts of things about people they may prefer you not to know! But that's not intentional--intentionally assuming a person's energy without permission is a whole other thing. It's the difference between overhearing a person talking about their life story while you happen to be in the area, and sneaking into their room to read their diary.

As long as you're not assuming their energy, I believe remote work is fair game. I send "good vibes" to people without their permission. It's fancy prayer and doesn't violate their agency. But I don't do theta or belief work without permission.

Basically, if you would say it in a "normal" prayer, I believe it's something that you can do without permission. For example, since I was a kid I have always prayed for people to have good days. It's not unethical to pray for someone to have a nice day. Similarly, it's not unethical to consciously send people you pray for beams of unconditional love, or whatever kind of healing you do. But it would be unethical to go into a theta state and alter their perceptions of the world without their permission. Also, I don't think it would work (although I haven't tried, and won't, so I can't say for sure).

So: would it be unethical to release a person's emotions behind their back and would it even work? Yes,
it would be unethical, and I don't know if it would even work. But let's not find out.

Reaching out to those without faith

Sometimes people with zero faith come into my life, and I wonder if my purpose it to try and reach them somehow. However, it just seems like we're on two completely different planes of existence. Nothing I say or do seems to make a dent in their "religion of non-faith" (or whatever you want to call it).

Just the other day I had this trial where I was dealing with some serious stuff, and no one would take it seriously. We were on "two completely different planes of existence," even though the people I asked to help me technically shared all the same beliefs as me!

I called my aunt for advice and she stated that as those who can see clearly, we have a job to bring matters of the spirit to the attention of those who do not see.

That does not make it easy!

I believe this falls under the category of--follow the Spirit. Follow your intuitions. You won't go wrong if you follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Even if things look bad in the short term. You can always trust God. So if you know how to discern His voice from all the other voices, just do that and follow it 100%.

The other day, when no one would listen, I was at first discouraged and worried. But I decided to just turn to God 100%, and He heard my prayers. And the way He took care of the problem answered not just my prayer, but the prayer of the person who had asked me to help. And that person's prayer had been prayed years before.

From here. Leap of faith!

It turned out that it was a beautiful thing that no one around me was a believer, because in the end, I and the person I helped witnessed an incredible miracle that would not have been possible if we had not had to exercise such faith in God. But because no one else would help, out of necessity we turned to Him completely, and it was beautiful.

The difference between believers and non-believers is vast. There is a gulf between the faithful and the faithless, in every religion and belief system. I believe we just have to trust that at the right time, those who need us will find us! And that we will find the people who are ready for our help! And that as we are good examples of Christlike love and healing, those who doubt will eventually come around. And even if they don't, like I learned the other day--God has miracles in store for those who believe and call on His name. It doesn't matter if your neighbors believe. Your faith is the important thing.

Thanks to Doug for the good question! I need to finish all my other posts on this topic... because I've started a bunch! Haha!