let's heal my knee!

[Queen of Wands]

I unfortunately managed to screw up my knee big-time. It was a freak accident but now I am currently in an immobilizer, waiting to get an MRI and undergoing physical therapy.


But the other night, I had a dream. A lovely, lovely dream in which I was able to use magic to heal myself and once again, my knee was fixed and all was right with the world! I woke up excited for a few moments until I really woke up and realized that it is not as simple to just wave a magic wand over my leg.


Or is it?

I've been so busy with getting my life back to work, school, to doctors' offices that I've really let my spiritual work slide completely off-track. And with Samhain coming up, why not try putting my spiritual practice towards healing my knee?

I have no experience with healing though. I don't know what deity would be best to ask (I usually work with Dionysus and Persephone) for guidance; what to offer up, what stones or tarot cards I should use. Does anyone in the Cauldron community have experience or thoughts regarding healing work?

[Queen of Wands]

Does anyone in the Cauldron community have experience or thoughts regarding healing work?

 
anyone?



Since this post, I took advantage of the full moon to change the stones in my wishing bowl (I usually do for every sabbat, occasionally for the esbats) and write out a rune "ehwaz" to mediate on.

The good news since then, is that my MRI was good and I'm out of the immobilizer! Now just the long process of letting physical therapy do the work.

I also did a tarot spread that's been lying out now for the past few days while I've been contemplating. This is probably better posted in the divination forum but I already have this thread made.

1. (querent) Five of Wands
2. (present) Temperance
3. (root) Lovers
4. (past) Eight of Swords
5. (crown) Queen of Pentacles
6. (future) Ace of Cups
7. (hidden truths) World
8. (outer world) High Priestess
9. (hopes/fears) Ten of Pentacles
10. (outcome) Three of Swords
clarifying cards: Sun, Death, Empress


Samhain is still coming up though, so if anyone has some thoughts...The clarifying cards reminded me of Persephone (who is my lady goddess!) so perhaps this would be the perfect time to work with her.

[RandallS]

Samhain is still coming up though, so if anyone has some thoughts...The clarifying cards reminded me of Persephone (who is my lady goddess!) so perhaps this would be the perfect time to work with her.

Part of the problem is that you haven't been very clear in what you are trying to do for your knee -- especially since you said you realize that waving a wand and healing it isn't possible.

[Queen of Wands]

Part of the problem is that you haven't been very clear in what you are trying to do for your knee -- especially since you said you realize that waving a wand and healing it isn't possible.

 

I'm not sure what to do for my knee - I'd thought I'd ask and see if anyone might have more experience or advice.

[Fionnbharr]

I'm not sure what to do for my knee - I'd thought I'd ask and see if anyone might have more experience or advice.

It really really is about the "level" of intention you put into it. The more you can see your knee completely healed the closer you are to the reality in which it is so. It basically is about letting go of the blocks that keep your knee imbalanced, though from your words it sounds like you are already doing that. Within the Greek Pantheon there is Asklepios. He might be worth asking for advice on this.

[Sophia C]

It really really is about the "level" of intention you put into it. The more you can see your knee completely healed the closer you are to the reality in which it is so. It basically is about letting go of the blocks that keep your knee imbalanced, though from your words it sounds like you are already doing that. Within the Greek Pantheon there is Asklepios. He might be worth asking for advice on this.

Or perhaps it's not spiritual at all, or about any kind of imbalance, but RoslynLibera has just injured her knee and it's taking her body some time to recover?

I have a genetic disabling condition, and no amount of intention, prayer or whatever is going to heal it. I get a bit frustrated with the victim-blaming approach of 'if you just wanted it hard enough/prayed hard enough/had good thoughts hard enough, it would be healed'.

[Fionnbharr]

Or perhaps it's not spiritual at all, or about any kind of imbalance, but RoslynLibera has just injured her knee and it's taking her body some time to recover?

I have a genetic disabling condition, and no amount of intention, prayer or whatever is going to heal it. I get a bit frustrated with the victim-blaming approach of 'if you just wanted it hard enough/prayed hard enough/had good thoughts hard enough, it would be healed'.

 
That is not what I am saying, I am not approaching it through spirituality. I approach it through a holistic view of energy and how it (energy) alters through how we interact with it. If she want her knee to be another way then there is an imbalance between how it is and how she wish it to be is there not?

[Darkhawk]

If she want her knee to be another way then there is an imbalance between how it is and how she wish it to be is there not?

 
You know, ever since I was a small child there's been an imbalance between how things are and how I wished I could fly, turn invisible, and teleport.  I haven't had much luck with manifesting that reality, though.  Perhaps you have some tips?

It is, after all, exactly as plausible as curing my disabilities by the same method.

[veggiewolf]

That is not what I am saying, I am not approaching it through spirituality. I approach it through a holistic view of energy and how it (energy) alters through how we interact with it. If she want her knee to be another way then there is an imbalance between how it is and how she wish it to be is there not?

 
But it is what you said:

It really really is about the "level" of intention you put into it. The more you can see your knee completely healed the closer you are to the reality in which it is so. It basically is about letting go of the blocks that keep your knee imbalanced, though from your words it sounds like you are already doing that.

I have multiple chronic conditions that will not go away regardless of how much intent I put toward it and how much I "visualize" them being healed.  Intent is no substitute for medical treatment, and we do not live in a world where clapping loudly enough will keep Tinkerbell alive.

[Fionnbharr]

You know, ever since I was a small child there's been an imbalance between how things are and how I wished I could fly, turn invisible, and teleport. I haven't had much luck with manifesting that reality, though.  Perhaps you have some tips?

It is, after all, exactly as plausible as curing my disabilities by the same method.

 

I have multiple chronic conditions that will not go away regardless of how much intent I put toward it and how much I "visualize" them being healed.  Intent is no substitute for medical treatment, and we do not live in a world where clapping loudly enough will keep Tinkerbell alive.

 
I do not recall this to be an argument on belief. There was asked about experience (as far as I understood it) and I answered how I understand my experiences.

[Darkhawk]

I do not recall this to be an argument on belief. There was asked about experience (as far as I understood it) and I answered how I understand my experiences.

 
If your experiences lead you to make comments that read like "If you have injuries and disabilities you really just need to pray harder and visualise yourself healthy", people whose experiences are that disability SUCKS and requires actual medical treatment for even partial mitigation will respond accordingly.  Especially since "pray and magic yourself healthy" is one of the more tediously horrible things that people who want to pretend to be well-meaning often trot out.

[Sophia C]

That is not what I am saying, I am not approaching it through spirituality. I approach it through a holistic view of energy and how it (energy) alters through how we interact with it. If she want her knee to be another way then there is an imbalance between how it is and how she wish it to be is there not?

 
What I mean by victim-blaming is an attitude that individuals are responsible for their own recovery (as made famous by 'The Secret' and other, um, interesting approaches to health). It's an oppressive attitude that leads to exclusion. My own experience includes being too afraid to go to Pagan moots when I'm not well and having to use my wheelchair, because previously I've been told at those moots that I'm not trying hard enough. Well, specifically, I've bombarded with suggestions for things I should do (usually expensive things like reiki), and when I say that I've either tried it, or can't afford it at the moment, the response certainly *suggests* that my state of health is therefore my own fault.

Now - obviously, to some extent I am responsible for my own health. If I drink a bottle of whiskey a day, my liver will eventually shut down, and I will be responsible for that. However, that personal responsibility is complex, and comes with limits. There are many factors that individuals simply can't control, and never will be able to, when it comes to their health. Those can include environmental, social and genetic factors.

Furthermore, health is at least to some extent a social construction. (This is part of what I study.) That means that there's no 'ideal' or 'perfect' state of health. Since the nineteenth century, human beings in the Western world have been obsessed with the statistical 'norm', and achieving it. (This never used to be the case.) So now we have the BMI (which so many people are not average enough to fit into, but are still perfectly healthy), and lots of other measures of how 'normal' our 'health' is. But here's the thing - the human race is full of variation. And that includes in function and health.

None of this is to say that people should be happy being unwell, or shouldn't look for help when they're sick. I'm not going to get rid of my medication or my mobility scooter anytime soon - and if I could afford my acupuncture at the moment, I'd be having a lot of it. But some of us are pushed into accepting the idea that our life should be all about looking for ways to 'get better', instead of focusing on living life as well as we can, as ourselves, in whatever state of health or function we are in.

Disability comes with daily oppression. Part of that oppression is the idea that we should bankrupt ourselves and make ourselves horribly unhappy because we're not TRYING hard enough to be as 'normal' as other people are lucky enough to be. (Trust me on this. I was once advised to have several months' worth of daily physiotherapy, so that I wouldn't be able to work or do anything meaningful with my life, with the sole purpose of getting me out of my wheelchair. Not even with the aim of reducing pain - they didn't think it would help with that. Oh, and they couldn't guarantee it would get me out of the wheelchair either. But I was supposed to TRY! Because that's what good, compliant patients do! I went back to school instead. That made me much happier than daily physiotherapy would have done.)

And to go back to the main topic: OP, I do hope you find the relief you're looking for. I've always had more luck with alternative health professionals than with just trying to focus on getting better on my own. But, as I mentioned above, that's dependent on you being able to afford it.

[Fionnbharr]

If your experiences lead you to make comments that read like "If you have injuries and disabilities you really just need to pray harder and visualise yourself healthy", people whose experiences are that disability SUCKS and requires actual medical treatment for even partial mitigation will respond accordingly.  Especially since "pray and magic yourself healthy" is one of the more tediously horrible things that people who want to pretend to be well-meaning often trot out.

And when did I ever say that? At no point have we reached a point of deeper understanding of the words I used. I might simply perceive things quite differently than some. To me reality is very fluid and I like to push the boundaries of reality and see where they get me. My view of reality changes as I change or is it the other way around (I can't ever seem to figure that one out :p). Today I see things differently than I did just a couple of month ago. You can argue that I am wrong, yes? However does that make my experiences less real?

What I mean by victim-blaming is an attitude that individuals are responsible for their own recovery (as made famous by 'The Secret' and other, um, interesting approaches to health). It's an oppressive attitude that leads to exclusion. My own experience includes being too afraid to go to Pagan moots when I'm not well and having to use my wheelchair, because previously I've been told at those moots that I'm not trying hard enough. Well, specifically, I've bombarded with suggestions for things I should do (usually expensive things like reiki), and when I say that I've either tried it, or can't afford it at the moment, the response certainly *suggests* that my state of health is therefore my own fault.

Now - obviously, to some extent I am responsible for my own health. If I drink a bottle of whiskey a day, my liver will eventually shut down, and I will be responsible for that. However, that personal responsibility is complex, and comes with limits. There are many factors that individuals simply can't control, and never will be able to, when it comes to their health. Those can include environmental, social and genetic factors.

Furthermore, health is at least to some extent a social construction. (This is part of what I study.) That means that there's no 'ideal' or 'perfect' state of health. Since the nineteenth century, human beings in the Western world have been obsessed with the statistical 'norm', and achieving it. (This never used to be the case.) So now we have the BMI (which so many people are not average enough to fit into, but are still perfectly healthy), and lots of other measures of how 'normal' our 'health' is. But here's the thing - the human race is full of variation. And that includes in function and health.

None of this is to say that people should be happy being unwell, or shouldn't look for help when they're sick. I'm not going to get rid of my medication or my mobility scooter anytime soon - and if I could afford my acupuncture at the moment, I'd be having a lot of it. But some of us are pushed into accepting the idea that our life should be all about looking for ways to 'get better', instead of focusing on living life as well as we can, as ourselves, in whatever state of health or function we are in.

Disability comes with daily oppression. Part of that oppression is the idea that we should bankrupt ourselves and make ourselves horribly unhappy because we're not TRYING hard enough to be as 'normal' as other people are lucky enough to be. (Trust me on this. I was once advised to have several months' worth of daily physiotherapy, so that I wouldn't be able to work or do anything meaningful with my life, with the sole purpose of getting me out of my wheelchair. Not even with the aim of reducing pain - they didn't think it would help with that. Oh, and they couldn't guarantee it would get me out of the wheelchair either. But I was supposed to TRY! Because that's what good, compliant patients do! I went back to school instead. That made me much happier than daily physiotherapy would have done.)

 
However that does not mean that is how I see it. There was no judgment in my words. I think each of us should learn to accept the beauty we are inside out (and be accepted for exactly that), this is something I have struggled a lot with and still have moments where I do. Though they get less and less (at least it seem that way). I simply shared a few words, that I might not see like others, about how my experience of healing is (or can be).

[Darkhawk]

You can argue that I am wrong, yes? However does that make my experiences less real?

 
I don't care whether your experiences are real.

I am objecting to your actions in this thread.

[Fionnbharr]

I don't care whether your experiences are real.

I am objecting to your actions in this thread.

Because I shared my experiences?