My experience with pranic healing

Purpose of healing

Having degress in biology and law, I tend to view myself through the lens of a very skeptical, "logic oriented" person.  So, it would probably come as a pretty big surprise to many of my friends and colleagues that I had even pursued pranic healing in the first place.  I probably would not have done so, if it wasn't for a very strange set of circumstances.  In November 2018, I found myself involved in my fifth rear-collision, a startling event that left me with more than two thousand dollars worth of damage to my (brand new) vehicle.  I drive approximately thirty thousand miles per year, so while this seems ironic, it may simply be a product of likelihood over time (i.e. simple statistics over fate).  I had already had my brake wear patterns examined to see if I had a tendency to brake too hard, and I did not. 

I had a few prominent concerns and curiosities after this fifth accident (aside from the financial and physical implications, which were mildly unpleasant).  First, I had premonitions about the accident for about four weeks before it happened.  Out of nowhere, I had started to "hear" a car slamming into me from behind almost every time I stopped at a light or stop sign.  I tried to view them as a simple throw-back to an old case of PTSD, but they kept increasing in intensity instead of responding to my efforts. 

Second, for twenty-four hours after the accident, I couldn't so much as make a right turn out of a driveway without having an anxiety attack, always envisioning a massive freight truck slamming into my car on the drivers' side.  I had never caused an accident, nor been broad-sided, so this was actually a non-linear way for my brain to address the trauma.  Again, I tried to address this through deep breathing and other techniques, treating it as a flare of prior PTSD.  I wasn't getting very far.  For that first twenty-four hours, I was plagued with severe mood swings, anger and anxiety attacks strong enough to leave me in tears. 

Third, I had the feeling that there was something metaphysically "off" that kept bringing this experience into my life.  Many biologists and attorneys would stop reading at the word "metaphysical," but then again, most of them wouldn't explain this kind of event without reference to "bad luck" either.   Something told me to visit a local shop called The Mind's Eye, which offers aerial yoga classes and typical accouterments of the "New Age" lifestyle.  Something told me they might have a modality that would help.  I had responded well to things like yin yoga, EFT and acupuncture in the past, so my hopes were not misplaced. 

Method of healing

I have to admit that I expected pranic healing to be more like reiki or even massage, as in "I thought they would touch you."  I also thought that I would lie down.  I thought that I might receive intermittent instructions through the process.  None of this was true! 

I was guided to a reclining chair and offered a cloud-soft blanket and pillow.  Rita, my healer, told me that I should lie back and close my eyes, but try to keep my palms outstretched in a receptive posture.  She also told me that I would hear intermittent spritzing of salt water.  There was a bucket on the floor partially filled with saltwater.  She explained that this is where any negative energy would be disposed of.  I told her she should have brought a bigger bucket.  Finally, I leaned back, closed my eyes, let the soft music in the background lull me, and started to unwind. 

Curious, I peered at Rita from time to time, and saw her drawing shapes in the air, sometimes with a crystal.  At intervals, she would grasp something invisible from the air and throw it into the bucket.  Her motions were intentional and rhythmic, and left me with an inexplicable sense of ease.  I started to realize that I was essentially signed up for an hour of non-motion and meditation, and tried to embrace it, letting go of the sense that "something" should be happening, or that "someone" should be doing something physical.  For the next hour and fifteen minutes, I had nothing to do except sit and be, an act difficult enough for those that don't have PTSD. 

It got trippy.

As mentioned above, I was having powerful recurring imagery of a driver's side collision when I walked in.  These remained with me even after the session started.  PTSD "flashes" are experienced as reality, almost like a hallucination.  Although I knew that it was not happening, my body reacted as though it was in that present moment.  About thirty minutes into the session, the imagery became truly intense, to the point where I had to stifle a scream.  Then, I began to have a very realistic "daydream" about that particular accident, during which I experienced it with considerable detail...from the 1950s. 

My mind quickly transitioned to a funeral - my own - during which I was trying to comfort two teenage boys sitting in the front row - brothers.  During this moment, there was no question that they were my children, and the grief and guilt I felt in that moment was real.  I had an instant understanding: "You are afraid you will be killed in a car accident in this life, but you see?  It is the past you are fearing.  You were brought into this life so that you could heal."  When I saw the two boys in the my mind, they were instantly and irreparably tied to two people in my own present life (that I often have some level of conflict or difficulty with, if only because of our close relationships.)

After that moment, I couldn't recapture the thought of the car slamming into my driver's side window.  I could still recognize the thought, but I couldn't see details or bring any emotional currency to it.  Several moments after that, I was just overcome with sadness, grief, and disappointment.  Shortly thereafter, the negativity passed and I felt completely and utterly at ease.  This sense of ease didn't leave me for at least a week afterward, even through otherwise stressful or upsetting events (e.g. realizing that we had neglected to add rental insurance, realizing the repairs were going to take almost two weeks, and preparing for and cleaning up after the Thanksgiving Holiday.) I still can't recapture those powerful images of collision. 

My two cents.

There are almost always logical explanations for many types of New Age healing methodologies.  Perhaps I had a rapid improvement in my PTSD  purely because I had interrupted its development by with what was essentially a super long, relaxing, meditation session shortly after the accident.  Perhaps I had such powerful imagery solely as a symptom of PTSD, which often brings with it realistic nightmares and flashbacks, as well as sleep disruptions and feelings of dissociation.  Perhaps I imagined being a mother in the 1950s simply because I've always had an affinity for that post-war era. 

Regardless, I feel better and I feel better because I had a pranic healing session.  It's hard to argue with results, even those that arise purely from a placebo effect.  What is most important to me is that there is no doctor I've ever encountered that would have taken me through this type of healing activity, despite its clear benefits.   For this reason alone, I see value in these types of healers.  If you choose to utilize pranic healing based on my experience, I wish you all the best and ask only that you do not completely forego any traditional medical treatment that will otherwise work to your ultimate benefit.  Energy healing is an excellent companion, but not not always a worthy replacement. 

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