Transformation of the Healer

"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself." Lawrence George says that this is an old saying, but I have never heard it before. However, I have heard this same concept voiced in different ways. He feels this is the most important part of integral health and practice, that it is most important for the healer to experience what Wilber's model represents in order to be able to truly help another heal themselves. Although this seems a wise thought, I tend to disagree with it. I believe that one can practice without actually experiencing integral health themselves. Many practice allopathic medicine without ever having been ill themselves, and they do it very well. The point to remember here is that we already know that allopathy falls short of providing the lasting and ultimate health one can attain. Even if an oncologist has had cancer himself, the treatment will be the same regardless, and there are no guarantees. But if the integral healer reaches a high level of functioning and has a good understanding of how they got there, it may be easier for them to teach others how to get there as well. The only limitation is the individual they are attempting to help: as we have already studied, each individual must be responsible for their own development. If the patient is uncooperative, everything that we attempt to help them with will fail.
Every healthcare practitioner does have an obligation to develop their own health in all aspects. If we are not healthy in mind and body, we cannot focus on helping another. We become so focused on our own issues that it leaves nothing for the one we are attempting to help. A well developed mind can handle any kind of stressor without a resultant effect on the biology, and so will remain strong to help others. As a nurse, patients rely on my ability to handle emergencies and to support their suffering. If I am not strong enough in any way, including physically, I will be useless to them. I took the Nightengale Pledge when I graduated nursing school in which I promised to assist in the healing of others. I think I should be able to provide my skills to those who are less fortunate than I am, and do it with a strong mind and body.
Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., and Micozzi, M. (2005).Consciousness and Healing: Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine. St. Louis: Elsevier/Churchill/Livingstone.