Listening. The Heart of Healing

Did you ever hear the story of the angry bear that came across a young girl who was sleeping? Would you like to hear it?

Let me expand out the story for context. One day a young girl was walking through a forest when she came to a cottage. In she went and, on the table, she saw 3 bowels of porridge, umm she licked her lips greedily ate 2 of the bowels before getting sickly full ran upstairs and fell into bed unwell….

Context makes a difference, right?

When it comes to personal health, context is hugely important and is often overlooked. It is common to narrow down to the symptoms of the pain or low energy, yet it is our larger story that often guides us to the root cause and unlock our true healing potential.

Expanding our cultural story of medicine, we see why it has taken this shape.

Since the American Medical Association endorsed the Flexnor report in 1910, the traditional medicine practices of plants medicine, poultices, food medicines, deep listening, intuitions, healing circles, were sacrificed to allow for the emergence of the biomedical model (Western Medicine) that we see today. And indeed, this

SaoirsesProject

Individualised Holisti c Healing Modaliti es

Functional Medicine Practitioner, Dip. Craniosacral Therapy, BSc. Physiotherapy

• Individualised laboratory testi ng and analysis • Clear, guided individualised health programs • In-person, online or hybrid support off ered

Reoccuring injuries/ Chronic pain Digesti ve health Low energy Anxiety/depression Trauma recovery Concussion/ head injuries David McCauley (778) 5877996 I SaoirsesProject@gmail.com www.SaoirsesProject.com

model is employed worldwide to be the gold standard in emergency medicine care, for example if one has a traumatic broken leg requiring extensive care, they would seek an orthopedic surgeon rather than an acupuncturist.

With the major advances made in empirical medicine CT scans, real time MRI’s, individual laboratory testing techniques there have been certain areas left behind. Our care of preventive medicine, chronic disease, and our understanding of nature and the cultural influences on individual health are among some of our current difficulties.

It is now becoming clearer that a deep listening to the persons story is essential to understanding what is really going on for the person at the time. With this clarity the practitioner can set forward a specific plan, order tailored laboratory testing, create individualized wellness or make adequate referrals where necessary.

Bringing balance to the persons life through their relationship with nature, diet, movement, culture, community centered in their own unique purpose seems to be truly the new gold standard for health as we move together towards a common goal of deep understanding.

David McCauley lives in the Cowichan Valley. He is the lead healing facilitator at SaoirsesProject.