Healing Yourself, Heals the World

Image Source: Garrett Jackson

The Medicine for the Earth work is sacred work. 

In this work, brought out to a wide audience by world-renowned psychotherapist and shamanic teacher Sandra Ingerman, MA, we look at transforming personal and environmental pollution using spiritual methods. And while that can sound a bit woo-woo even to a spiritually-oriented person, not only has this work been found to accomplish that task (a portion of evidence is linked below), but it is actually founded on basic esoteric principles. 

For one, we know that as we change our inner world, the outer world changes. This is the philosophy of "As within, so without." 

However, when we also learn how to "upgrade," if you will, our consciousness, transform the energies that we put into the world, relate to nature in a different way, and embody our own divine light - and work with other beautiful practices - then we are in a position where we can help the planet by way of who we become, rather than solely what we do, being a force of change the world. And that is a fundamental principle of the Medicine for the Earth work. 

Sit with me for just a moment as I walk us through the practices that I just mentioned, so that we may gain a greater understanding of how it is that healing ourselves, heals the world:

- Thoughts and emotions produce energies, and those energies can either be helpful or harmful.

We want to nurture, or garden, beautiful energy for the collective web of life, and for ourselves. Thus, we want to mitigate the amount of power that our "negative" (or what I would prefer to call "challenging") states of consciousness, such as anger, guilt, fear, judgement, and so on, hold for us. 

This can involve transmuting (or transforming) the harmful energies that we generate into love and light, so that we are feeding the world on an energetic level with blessings and beauty. We can do this simply by way of a several-second prayer - “Thank you for transmuting this energy into love and light” - or another sacred practice given to us directly by our helping spirits.

But, it can also involve shifting your own state of being or consciousness - heightening it - in the physical world, too, so that not only do you produce less of those harmful energies to begin with, but you produce more helpful energies, as well, that benefit your health and all of life. Just a couple of simple ways to do this include taking a serene walk in nature, listening to joyful or uplifting music, and exercising.

By becoming someone who heightens their state of consciousness, you heal the world. 

- Reverence, respect, and gratitude have vibrations. And what healing vibrations these can be.

By cultivating greater respect and thankfulness towards the natural world - for those forces that contribute to our medicines, grow our food, give us warmth, cleanse the land, offer us timeless wisdom, inspire us, and keep us alive on a moment-to-moment basis - we generate frequencies that uplift us, can improve our physical and mental health, and add blessed energy to the collective for all of us to benefit from.

By recognizing forces of nature as alive, as not being below us, and as integral parts of a number of vital aspects of our life experience, we can move into greater reverence and harmony with them - which, beyond heightening our own consciousness, offering us the big and little healings that these states can make, and improving the way that we interact with what keeps us alive, we also gift energies that benefit our collective.

By becoming someone who experiences respect, reverence, and gratitude for nature, you heal the world. 

- And, no conversation about Medicine for the Earth would be complete without a mention of transfiguration.

To “transfigure” means to “shape-shift.” And in this context, what we are shape-shifting into is our inner divine light; that part of us that is a reflection of the creative force or forces of the universe.

When you shape-shift into that incredible healing light, and experience the world around you in its own light, that stimulates healing for all of life. In fact, transfiguration has created demonstrable changes in both those considered animate and inanimate by Western standards. That energy that you are embodying uplifts your consciousness, brings you to a more centered and loving place, and, when you perceive the world through those eyes - the eyes of your own spirit - it can heal the way that you perceive and relate to other people, approach the challenges of daily life, and interact with the world around you.

Transfiguration, as a practice of being a walking presence of healing in the world, is incredible medicine for the earth.

By becoming someone who embodies their light, you heal the world. 

These are a few practices that come from the Medicine for the Earth work, and we will be discussing many more as we dive deeper into it in the sacred, four-session online course, Shamanic Medicine for the Self and for the Earth, starting on April 3rd. This gathering will give you the space to explore the transmutation of personal and environmental toxins in a rich container, as well as give you a prerequisite for Sandra Ingerman's 2025-2026 Two-Year Teacher Training in Shamanism and Shamanic Healing. So if you're looking to work with the environment and help to change the world on a spiritual level, or if you have the ambition to sign up for the Teacher Training and teach shamanic work in your own communities ethically and effectively, this online Medicine for the Earth training is a really wonderful one to take. 

May who you become, change the world.