Our Healing Tradition

The Influence of Spirituality

Naturally, being Avalonian Druids has a tremendous influence on our healing practice even as it defines our spiritual practice. This fact often raises concerns for people who fear having a foreign spirituality thrust upon them at a time when they are feeling particularly vulnerable. But there is no more need to fear this than there is need to fear it of the Buddhist or Amerindian who tends one in hospital. In fact, we are as invested in keeping you "in your own heaven" as we are remaining in our own. Since part of what creates this anxiety is a lack of understanding about how the influence of our spirituality on our healing tradition, let us dispel any misconceptions now.

Avalon's mythos centres on healing; it is a healing isle with a history reaching back millennia, but it is not a conventional (allopathic) system of healing. Avalonian healing encompasses the mind, body, and spirit as aspects the whole being. Whatever affects one aspect affects them all, and so any Avalonian healing intervention includes all three. Some approaches are reserved to  Avalonians because they require immersion in Avalonian spiritual work, however, we have devised alternative approaches for those on other spiritual paths that are more appropriate for their religious beliefs and callings.

Client-Healer "Bill of Rights"

Avalon has existed for millennia, and so we have a wide variety of healing systems from which to choose (see links at right). At the Sanctuary, we use whichever of these healing modalities seems best suited to meet the need. All of these systems and modalities share common philosophies and ethics, which are shared by Healer and Client alike and cover the gamut of healing from birth to death:
  • The Healer tells the Client the truth as they know it (i.e. their opinion on the likeliest foreseeable outcomes).
  • Healers are humans, and thus fallible. Client and Healer agree that Healers should not be penalized for making occasional mistakes; however, we must be held to account for frequent mistakes or mistakes arising out of negligence or incompetence.
  • The Healer is responsible for providing the information needed for the Client to effect the changes that will lead to healing. The Healer may also provide other resources, where lawful (herbal remedies, energy attunements, etc.)
  • The Healer keeps all Client information confidential, except where required to provide information by law.
  • The Healer uses the least invasive method that will likely be effective in addressing the issue(s).
  • Healers may not charge more than is necessary to maintain their healing practices, but may impose late fees or refuse services to Clients who fail to pay on delivery of services.
  • Where necessary or advisable, the Healer may refer Clients to outside specialists.
  • The Client is responsible for carrying out the steps that lead to healing. If the Client fails to follow-through consistently, the fault lies with the Client and not with the Healer.
  • Both the Client and the Healer may refuse approaches and/or methodologies that  conflict with their own spiritual beliefs or values.
  • Where the Healer is attending a birth, s/he may not act as spiritual midwife to mother and child without the prior written consent of both parents.
  • Where an illness is terminal, the Healer is responsible only to reduce suffering to the greatest extent within their power.
  • The Healer may not serve as spiritual midwife for the deceased's journey to the afterlife without the prior written consent of the deceased. The family is free to impose such services as they choose once the deceased's wishes have been met.
  • The Healer must use methods and resources that are sustainable and in harmony with Nature. It is the Healer who shall define these terms within the context of the Client-Healer relationship.
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Methodology

Allopathic medicine teaches us to expect immediate results in the form of reduction of symptoms, which we assume means we are in recovery, however, this is seldom the case. More often what is happening is that we are removing the discomfort and hoping that the body finds its own way to healing. When it doesn't, stronger and more invasive measures are taken to try to find and root out the problem. Many of us were taught that doctors have all the answers. They know what is wrong and how to 'fix it', and we should 'stay out of their way' by passively accepting their edicts without asking questions. Of course, doctors do know a lot. They study for years, memorizing symptoms and body parts in hopes of being able to match symptoms with medicines. But this is not the way Traditional Healers work.

The Traditional Healer is less concerned with your symptoms than with discovering and remedying what is causing them. On first visiting a Traditional Healer, the sufferer can expect a lengthy interview that will encompass all of their symptoms (whether they appear related or not) and their entire life history. The reason for this is that symptoms may have many causes, often in parts of the body that seem unrelated to the affected area. In fact, all body systems are connected and affect one another; in order to find the main cause one has to look at the whole picture, including all symptoms and every aspect of lifestyle. Once this baseline is established, the Healer works to identify the "root causes" (i.e. issues that are responsible for the most serious symptoms). The object of healing is to restore balance to these key areas first. Everything else follows.

Consequently, traditional healing approaches generally take longer to reach their full effect than do conventional medicines, so if you are looking for a "magic bullet" to make you feel better instantly without any effort on your part, you are in the wrong place. On the other hand, if you are looking to actually address the source of your health problems, and not just the symptoms, and if you are willing to make changes in your own lifestyle and habits, traditional healing might well be the system of choice for you. If so, we invite you to read on...

The Sanctuary offers many forms of Avalonian healing, and a few complementary methodologies (e.g. Reiki healing). Complementary approaches are selected based upon their philosophical and methodological compatibility with native Avalonian healing practices. Many valid approaches to healing lie outside these parameters and if these are of interest to you we encourage you to seek them out in places with different specializations from our own. Not all healing methods work well together, just as not all herbs work well in combination, and it is needful that we respect these natural correspondences.

We encourage you to read more about the main branches of Avalonian healing at the links above. Please do not hesitate to write with any questions you might have. We look forward to hearing from you!
Etymology: c.1380, from O.Fr. tradicion (1292), from L. traditionem (nom. traditio) "delivery, surrender, a handing down," from traditus, pp. of tradere "deliver, hand over," from trans- "over" + dare "to give" (see date (1)).

The word is a doublet of treason (q.v.). The notion in the modern sense of the word is of things "handed down" from generation to generation.

As defined by the Oxford English Dictionary: noun.
1  The transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation;
2  A long established custom or belief passed on in this way;
3  An artistic or literary method or style established by an artist, writer, or movement, and subsequently followed by others.
"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.  ~World Health Organization, 1948"

"The... patient should be made to understand that he or she must take charge of his own life.  Don't take your body to the doctor as if he were a repair shop."  ~Quentin Regestein

"Diseases of the soul are more dangerous and more numerous than those of the body."  ~Cicero

"From Balance, Harmony; from Harmony, Health; from Health, Well-Being."  ~Traditional
What is 'Tradition'?
What is 'Health'?