Luke 12:27 [NIV]
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A couple of days ago, as I was doing my books in preparation for our annual visit to our tax accountant, I realized once again how much of the healer's time and energy is spent around running a business. Then, the next day, a student in one of the new college-level complimentary/alternative medicine programs interviewed me about what it was like to be in the healing world. One of his questions was quite telling - if you could change one thing about that world, what would it be?
Curious, I asked him what kind of answers he got. He replied that many of the healers simply wished that money never existed. For someone trained and nurtured as an intuitive, a healer, heart-centered, etc., it is hard to think in terms of money. To grossly misquote a famous puppet, it ain't easy being green - especially the other green. It isn't easy to think in terms of business and money.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could all just practice our craft? What if you could just be a healer? What if you could simply do your thing and you didn't have to care where the money came from? Wouldn't it be nice if we could all do what it is we love - work our passions without having to sell it to others? This is one of the comments I get from many healers, and I sometimes feel it myself. Yet it is also one of the biggest fallacies of the professional world - that the process of marketing and the work you are marketing are separate things.
One thing I discovered a couple of years ago, as I was setting out into this brave new world, was that marketing and networking were really quite enjoyable. I got to meet people from all walks of life - professionals of many stripes, in health and wellness, business, technology, and so much more. I found it a wonderful opportunity to get my message across. And even more, I got to learn about people in aspects of life I had never known much about. The world is a fascinating place, and now I got to see more of it. And at the same time, I get to share the message, share my own passion with others in the world around me.
One common theme among entrepreneurs - and especially among healers - is the polarity between abundance/prosperity consciousness and the feeling of lack and vulnerability. It's hard to motivate yourself to practice your craft when you feel pressed to make enough money to keep the lights on. Believe me, I understand that feeling. Yet I have also seen the opposite...
The parable of the Lilies of the Field (Luke 12:27) holds special meaning at times like this. The message is that if you act out your faith, then somehow God will extend a hand to support you. More than one personal and/or business coach has told me (with varying degrees of success) to simply relax, to "let go, let God." Rather than trying to make it happen, just let it happen.
In the midst of marketing, updating my website with new content and search engine optimization (SEO), the lesson has been - send out the right prayers. Put out the right intentions to the Universe. See yourself being successful. Yet that advice nearly always feels counter-intuitive. It's hard to trust that the hand of God is there. Yet when I listen to that little piece of advice, I find it works every time (though often in ways I wouldn't have expected).
Yes, even if you send out your affirmations to the universe, you still have to do your marketing. Even if you meditate and visualize success, you still need to advertize, go to networking events, trade shows, etc. Yes, it would be awfully nice if we could just be healers and the right clients would somehow find their way to our doors. Yet perhaps the paradox is the message - life is a balance between intentions and actions. For something to happen, we often need do something to make it happen.
Sometimes as healers, we do indeed need to think green - the other green.
