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The World Needs Us Now More than Ever
Healing Touch 365 - art design by Cat Miller
You (Healing Beyond Borders) “are the evolutionary vanguard for the transformation of human consciousness.”
~ Dr. Kyriacos Markides
Dear all,
I wanted to share with you information about the upcoming 2022 Healing Beyond Borders Virtual Energy Healing Conference. This is our organization's 26th annual conference and the theme this year is Moving into Presence: Embracing the Future. The conference will offer an unprecedented 78.5 Continuing Education (CE) hours! For those who are Certified Healing Touch Practitioners, this exceeds the number of hours needed for recertification.
While I am not serving on the Conference Planning Committee this year, as a member of the Board of Directors I get regular updates on the progress of our stellar program. The number and variety of speakers is quite astounding! I am tremendously grateful to the planning committee of our current president Gina Bondurant; vice president Christine Stewart; board members Victoria Cornelius, Carol Schoenecker, and Christa Voorn; executive director Lisa Anselme; education coordinator Carrie Niewenhous; and nurse planner Barb Schommer. Having served on this committee for several years in the past, I know the amount of effort, thought, and care that goes into planning the conference each year.
This year, our conference is fully virtual. While many of us would love to gather in person to celebrate together, the virtual conference has advantages that a traditional in-person conference just can’t match. Mainly, the multitude of speakers, sessions, and CEs for the price just can’t be replicated at an in-person conference. And, by virtue of technology, we’ve access to the materials until the end of the 2022 calendar year. If you’re anything like me, you simply can’t take enough notes and digest all of the information during the conference period. The ability to go back and review and synthesize the information throughout the rest of the year is a wonderful bonus.
Many of you know the financial impact a successful conference has for our organization. It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the finances of many individuals and organizations hard, particularly non-profit organizations. Participation in our annual conference is an investment not only in our own personal and professional development, but that of those in our community and beyond. How so? Well, I’ll give you some examples.
For over a quarter century, our organization has supported the heart-centered work of our students, practitioners, and instructors by maintaining and sustaining our lineage and the professional history of Healing Touch and our gold-standard portfolio certification. Without our organization, that reputation and wisdom is weakened. Being a member of Healing Beyond Borders supports a collective voice for healing, compassion, and service globally. Through collective action, we’re able to support, endorse, and encourage change in how people support the well-being of others. Our collective voice and engagement supports the vision we all hold dear: to spread healing, light, and love worldwide and create wholeness on Earth. That’s a tall task for anyone to attempt individually. Collectively, we continue to make tremendous strides toward this goal.
For example, last year, Lisa Anselme and I were asked to become inaugural members of an Advisory Council of Healers for the Consciousness and Healing Initiative (CHI) led by Dr. Shamini Jain. Healing Beyond Borders has been a part of CHI since its inception through the collaborative relationship shared with one of our instructors Rauni Prittinen King. Several times since joining this advisory council, other members of the council and CHI have lauded Healing Touch and Healing Beyond Borders as “doing it right.” We continue to stand as an example of how to weave together the art and science of healing with strong ethical standards and heart-centeredness.
During my time in the role of president, I often said, “the world needs us now more than ever.” That continues to be the case. The Attributes of the Heart and our Core Values are desperately needed in everyday life. I am grateful to have tools and skills gained through my Healing Touch education and practice and through engagement with Healing Beyond Borders to help me in actualizing those concepts of unconditional love, compassion, healing presence, innate harmony, and joyful service in my life. But just as importantly, I am grateful for the collective wisdom, strength, and presence of our organization and community that is engaged in this work, too. None of us have gotten to where we are alone. While individualism in the U.S. and other Western countries seems always to get the lion’s share of the attention, it has always been collective action and cooperation that has allowed any of us to thrive, whether that be individually, as a nation, or as a human society. Again, our collective voice and action as a vibrant organization is central to this given that, to quote Dr. Kyriacos Markides, we (HBB) “are the evolutionary vanguard for the transformation of human consciousness.” Being a member of HBB and engaging in conference is one of the ways we support that transformation.
Each of us can share with and promote among our networks the information and excitement about our upcoming conference. It is a vital resource for all of us in so many ways. I encourage you to share with your students, community, colleagues, and friends the information about the conference and what it means to you, our community, and the work we do. And if any of what I’ve written in this long-winded email can be of use in doing that, please feel free to pass it along or share as you see fit. My goal in sending this email is to spread the word about the conference so that as many people as possible can attend, engage, and learn from the experience that is being crafted for us in October.
Thank you for all you do in your daily lives to make the world a more loving, compassionate place for us all. Thank you for all you do to support others on their journeys.
With blessings and gratitude,
Joel
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA
Immediate Past President
Healing Presence. Sharing Our Stories.
An Invitation and a Healing Touch Story
From Victoria Cornelius MD, CHTP, RYT,
Member, Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors
V. Cornelius for Healing Beyond Borders 5/1/2022
Today is Sunday, and I woke up and went to an early church service. I got there, praying, meditating, finding calm, settling in. It is a sacred space and has had a million plus prayers said there to pave an express portal, the fast lane to Nirvana. The external distractions were removed and it was easier to navigate to an interior state. Or so I thought.
Lo and behold a family of three women, a baby, three boys under seven, and two preteens settled in the pew in front of me. To say chaos had sat in front of me would be an understatement. It was obvious that one of the children had inconsolable issues and the commotion would not have been permitted in most public spaces. Peace where are you? It would be true that most in the church, including me, wanted them to leave or go to the crying room. The gentleman in front of the family gave looks that said, “Make your children mind.” There was coughing and shifting behind me and looks from children that seemed exasperated with this boy. And it was not the first time, their looks said.
This is not what I wanted. I was struggling with resistance and was anything but a Healing Presence. I wasn’t negative, I have learned that much but I was assessing my move away. This was my time. And sometimes that is the answer.
I asked myself, “What do I need to learn from this?” The young boy‘s behavior escalated into a near panic attack; he did not want to join his age group for a procession. The family was trying to redirect his behavior and have him participate.The source of the pain emanated from the child and the baby was now wailing. Like waves sent out from a dropped stone, we were all riding these energetic swells of cacophony.
I sent intention to my higher self to communicate to his higher self to ask for help and to smooth the agitation. My state was certainly improved, for myself, if not for them. The service started and we began to stand and pray together. Things seemed to be settling down a bit. I certainly changed by attention to the service and not wanting things to be different. The noise died down or I just didn’t notice. We all changed our attention. It was almost as if the tidal wave of the community swept them into the group effort and away from the behaviors. Maybe our pulse, our unity of flow was healing. Maybe the moms were looking for a community that is big enough for the children to develop a rhythm of prayer and song. I smiled and waved to a few of the children during the service. They seemed grateful to have us absorb and diffuse the discomfort. We were present to both their pain and struggles, a healing presence.
Our theme for the conference is “Moving into Presence, Embracing the Future.” Peace is not the absence of a storm, but peace is the calm in the middle of it, anchoring to intention and attention. The external grabs at us. We want to fix it, manipulate it, do it our way. Can we stay with the discomfort? Can we be really comfortable with the discomfort? Are we witnessing so the resistance can dissolve?
Healing Beyond Borders is our community and we need to add more stories to share our ways and inspiration to help the flow of healing energy on this planet. We want the current of our organization to embrace others, embrace the future. At our conference, I spoke of gathering healing stories for a book collection.That has not yet manifested as the details to create this are still being teased out.
What we are proposing is to have stories submitted for the ezine or another digital means. We are considering another site to collect the stories and share. The final look is unclear and unfolding. But we know you have stories. The people who came up to me at conference had amazing experiences that need to be shared. Sterling stories.
Below is one of my first stories of healing as a member of this community. I shared it at conference and now retell it to include more people. Note: I have changed the name and some of the identifiers to respect and maintain patient confidentiality of the patient in the following story. I look forward to the conference and ways that we will ignite this path.
Heart Pain
Tom was scheduled as the first patient of the day, complaining of chest pain. Mr. Thomas Adams presented to our university medical office for care. Neither the male medical student nor I had met this 76‐year‐old man before.
We walked into the examining room, greeting Mr. Adams. He was a lean, gray‐haired man who appeared younger than his age. He stood as we entered. We shook hands and I encouraged him to sit, seeing that he was anxious and a bit tired.
We began the interview, asking the usual medical questions, “When does it hurt, with activity or rest? Describe the pain, duration, location.” Next the personal questions poured out. Tom had been traveling a lot and was also a caretaker for his wife. She had many health needs and these were becoming too demanding. He was not sleeping well.
The answers and the exam were reassuring but required a heart tracing known as an electrocardiogram, and labs to rule out something more sinister and threatening. His stress level was very high. I explained that stress was playing a part in his symptoms and an acute heart attack was unlikely. We discussed his need for more support for his wife and less demands on his time. We scheduled a follow up.
This was 2007. Wanting to support patients with tools, self‐care experiences, and empowering their efforts, I took a chance with Mr. Adams. I offered a complementary medicine calming technique. I phrased it as such to get a “buy‐in.” I used the words Healing Touch and described it as a technique to calm his mind. Remember, he came for science, and I was offering something else and knew nothing of his spiritual, religious, or energy literacy. The medical student was off grid and looked somewhat confused. It was not in the text book.
I wanted to focus on wellness and Healing Touch had opened that door. I was not yet certified but had taken a few courses.This technique, now known as Noel’s Mind Clearing technique is brief and effective to rebalance mental agitation. He was my first “medical” patient, getting an office treatment.
Mr. Adams agreed, willing anything for some relief from his current state. He sat in his chair with his eyes closed. I started with the healer preparation: grounding, centering, connecting, intention. I moved my fingers symmetrically around the center of his skull, like playing music and a song of perfect notes. I murmured what I was doing as he kept his eyes shut and trusted the energy and me. Someone once told me, “The fingers divine the flesh.” It seemed so that day.
The room was very still as I grounded him at the collar bones and disconnected from his field. I moved away as Mr. Adams opened his eyes.After a bit, I asked how he felt. His reply was, “I felt the laying on of hands.”
One can be in medicine for many years and will not have this type of shared experience. These 15 years later, I can still hear his spoken words. He left that day feeling a peace that had been eluding him with his recent responsibilities. There was an awareness that there were powers and support helping him beyond his own efforts. Perhaps with others, he could tap into it. We witnessed faith and hope emerging from this experience.
It was a blending of science and the therapeutic effects of Healing Touch. What was the greatest gift that day? The whole energetic experience of repatterning for his highest good... and ours. In giving we receive, and it is still a shared blessing and a humble memory.
An Invitation to Connect
from Mary-Cathrine Campbell
International Committee Chair
To the International Community of Healing Beyond Borders
Warm greetings to every one of you!
Whether you are a CHTP or a CHTI, I would like to invite each of you to participate in connecting with our community as a collective.
These past two years of the COVID pandemic have created challenges as well as opportunities for the work we do. During lockdowns, it was impossible to treat anyone individually. This created the impetus to develop online courses and to expand and deepen our commitment to distance healing.
Travel has been intermittent, and full of concerns as variants continue to appear and further extend challenges for our wishes to meet in person, whether locally or internationally. Some of us who have met either regularly or periodically have identified isolation as one of our main challenges.
With this in mind, I have been asked to reach out to each of you. Will you share what your experiences, both positive and negative, have been? With the assistance of the Board and the office staff, Zoom meetings could be arranged to enable all of you to connect internationally to share how you are, what has worked, and what has not. This will be dependent on responses from you.
Please email me with your thoughts. I am looking forward to connecting worldwide. My email address: campbellmarycathrine@gmail.com
With much gratitude,
Mary-Cathrine Campbell, BA RN CHTP
Chair, International Committee
Healing Beyond Borders
May 2021 President Monthly Ezine
"Illuminating a Path of Healing"
& 2021 Conference Invitation
A 2021 Conference Invitation from Past President Anne L. Day
May 2021 President Ezine: Illuminating a Path of Healing
“For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. Remember?”
~Walt Whitman
This year marks the 25th anniversary of our organization! The theme for our conference this year speaks to that and how our organization and community of healers have illuminated a path of healing for nearly three decades. During that time, our members have led the way in integration of Healing Touch into health and health care through community engagement, education, service, and research. We continue to lead with heart-centeredness, compassion, and unconditional love. We’ve held a light to illuminate a path of healing for ourselves and the world.
As a way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our organization, Healing Beyond Borders launched a social media campaign called Healing Touch 365 to broaden our reach and build community. If you follow us on social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn), then you will have noticed an increase in posts and information shared. In fact, our social media presence has more than doubled in the past quarter, with increased followers and engagement across all of our platforms! I encourage you to follow us, share our posts, and create your own.
This digital work is supported by a generous gift of $5,000 from Anne and Larry Day. You may recall that we are using their gift as the basis for a challenge grant to raise matching funds to support our push for digital media and outreach. To date, we have matched roughly a third of our goal. I hope you will join me in donating to Healing Beyond Borders and be part of this challenge grant. It can be as simple as a $25 donation!
We hope this increased outreach and digital presence will not only expand our membership, but also interest in our 25th anniversary conference this year. Last week, you received a preliminary list of speakers including Joan Halifax, Belleruth Naparstek, Emily and Vasia Markides, Lorrie Webb Grillo, Kellie Sauls, Ken Cohen, Grace Sesma, Annis Parker, and Gilah Yelen Hirsch. We will also be offering pre-conference events to include Course 2 and Course 3 HTI Healing Touch Certificate Program classes, and a Course 1 technique review. I’m so looking forward to gathering safely with you all in Colorado in September. Reserve your hotel room now! More information will be coming soon about conference registration.
Finally, if you’re a member, don’t forget to register for the free online media workshops I will be hosting for members during the month of June. Slots will be limited and offered only to members on a first-come basis. More information regarding dates and registration can be found by logging into the member’s area of the Healing Beyond Borders website.
Blessings,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA
President, Healing Beyond Borders
Snow on Tulips - photo by Cat Miller
April 2021 President Monthly Ezine
"Illuminating a Path of Healing"
& Online Media Workshop
“Traveler, this is no path. You make the path by walking.”
~Antonio Machado
This year marks the 25th anniversary of our organization! The theme for our conference this year speaks to that and how our organization and community of healers have illuminated a path of healing for nearly three decades. During that time, our members have led the way in integration of Healing Touch into health and health care through community engagement, education, service, and research. We continue to lead with heart-centeredness, compassion, and unconditional love. We’ve held a light to illuminate a path of healing for ourselves and the world.
As a way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our organization, Healing Beyond Borders launched a social media campaign called Healing Touch 365 to broaden our reach and build community. If you follow us on social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn), then you will have noticed an increase in posts and information shared. I encourage you to follow us, share our posts, and create your own. As we head into the next 25 years for our organization, I’m grateful for the technology we have now, like social and digital media, that allows us to spread healing light worldwide in ways we couldn’t have imagined in 1996 when our organization was founded. Be on the lookout for more to come in terms of digital outreach. Spoiler alert: We’re working on launching a video podcast this year.
We hope this increased outreach and digital presence will expand our membership. And we’re working on additional avenues for outreach for our community, as well as member-only benefits and events. For example, based on the positive feedback received on my media presentation during our 2020 virtual conference, I will be hosting free online media workshops for members during the month of June that will offer a more personalized experience. Slots will be limited and offered only to members on a first come basis. More information regarding dates and registration can be found by logging into the member’s area of the Healing Beyond Borders website. Once logged in, select the "Members Only" drop down at the very top of the page and select the "HBB Media Matters Workshops" within the drop down.
Members of the Board of Directors are developing additional offerings that would be for members only or at a discounted fee for members. I also am working with various committee chairs to create offerings as well. To that end, I also have two organizational updates to share.
Over the past 25 years, our membership dues have remained unchanged. However, what worked financially in 1996 does not work as well in 2021. The Board of Directors voted to increase membership dues to $125 effective September 1, 2021, as well as a corresponding increase for international affiliate members. This date coincides with the beginning of our 25th anniversary conference.
My second update is that Victoria Cornelius has stepped down from her role as Vice President. Victoria remains a valued member of the Board of Directors and I am extremely grateful for the grounded thoughtfulness she brought to this role and continues to bring to the Board. The Board voted to appoint Gina Bondurant as Vice President. Gina’s wisdom and discernment will continue to serve our organization and community well as she takes on this role.
Finally, April is National Poetry Month here in the U.S. Maria Popova describes poetry as “that lovely backdoor to consciousness, bypassing our habitual barricades of thought and feeling to reveal reality afresh.” I hope you enjoy this animated reading of Marie Howe’s Singularity from the 2020 Universe in Verse.
“For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. Remember?”
~Walt Whitman
Blessings,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA
President, Healing Beyond Borders
March 6, 2021
Healing Touch Day 2021
Healing Touch Day!
This Healing Touch Day marks the 25th anniversary of our organization. Since its founding in 1996 as Healing Touch International, Healing Beyond Borders has supported the education, certification, and professional development of students, practitioners, and instructors of Healing Touch, guided by our Core Values: Integrity, Heart Centeredness, Respect of Self and Others, Self-Care, Service, Community, and Unconditional Love.
Our theme for 2021 is Illuminating a Path of Healing. This theme speaks to our legacy and our future. As we step into the next 25 years, we ride the momentum we have sustained during this time, reflecting on where we have been and where we are going. The path we have walked and the path we are walking.
We recently received a generous gift of $5,000 from Anne and Larry Day to support digital media and outreach to help us spread healing light worldwide in new and exciting ways. Anne and Larry have agreed that we may use their gift as the basis for a challenge grant to raise matching funds to support our push for digital media and outreach. What better way to celebrate our 25th year and Healing Touch Day!
I hope you will join me in donating to Healing Beyond Borders and be part of this challenge grant. Our goal is to match (or exceed) Anne and Larry’s gift by May 1, 2021. And it can be as simple as a $25 donation.
Being part of this challenge grant is one way in which you can help us spread the word about the work for which we all have a passion. Digital media and outreach have only become more essential during the pandemic. We want to harness the momentum we have gained over the past 25 years and especially since our virtual conference in October 2020.
Help us reach our goal and sustain the momentum today!
- Give. Support Healing Beyond Borders in its mission to spread healing and light worldwide through the heart-centered practice and teaching of Healing Touch. Visit our website to learn more about how you can give to Healing Beyond Borders and be part of the challenge grant.
- Become a member. Joining Healing Beyond Borders offers you a professional affiliation with and connection to members around the world. We invite you to grow and expand with us!
- Spread the word! Share with your friends and family what our mission means to you and why you support our organization in celebration of Healing Touch Day (here are some more ideas to celebrate). Make sure to use hashtag #HealingTouchDay and tag us so we can share!
Thank you for being part of the Healing Touch community. Together we can fulfill the vision of Healing Beyond Borders: To spread Healing, Light and Love, creating wholeness on Earth.
Image from Pixabay under a Creative Commons License
Image from Pixabay under a Creative Commons LicenseJanuary 2021 President Monthly Ezine
"But Lightwork is not always Light Work"
"But Lightwork is not always Light Work"
"Out of such chaos, of such contradiction
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines..."
~Maya Angelou
This isn't the ezine I planned to write this month.
It is possible and imperative that we learn
What I was going to write about were the ways in which we as a global community of healers have connected with each other during the pandemic. About how the promise of vaccines brings hope for this new year. However, the events of the past week in the U.S. give me cause to write something different and revise what I wrote last summer.
And when we come to it
To the day of peacemaking
When we release our fingers
From fists of hostility
And allow the pure air to cool our palms
In June, I wrote about the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, of how my country was inflamed and in flames in response to the everyday legacy of systemic racism. Protests in cities across the U.S. and throughout the world led to additional police brutality, violence, and riots. I found myself frequently checking in with friends and colleagues in the cities affected, as well as my African American and Black friends, students, and colleagues who continue to reel from the collective trauma of systemic racism and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic because of it. Sadly, those phone calls and text messages haven't stopped.
One of those colleagues wrote the following on Twitter after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol: "The anger you feel right now - the rage bubbling up your throat, the thing you cannot quench or alter or give voice to - this is part of the existence for Black and Brown people. Internalize this sentiment - memorize its physical properties. This is what lives under the skin." Another wrote, "White allies, please use this opportunity to talk to your family, to your friends, to your colleagues. Remember this helpless feeling and realize it's all some of us ever get to know."
And as Lisa Anselme and I worked together to clear space and support healing and peace on Wednesday, my inner knowing stated clearly "activate your network."
So, I'm revising my previous ezine.
When we come to it
When the curtain falls on the minstrel show of hate
And faces sooted with scorn are scrubbed clean
I take these ezines seriously knowing that our full email list has tens of thousands of subscribers worldwide. I try to be judicious with my words and work to strike a global tone and not be too U.S.-centric. But right now, what's happening in my country is the best example of why the Attributes of the Heart and why our global healing presence is so desperately needed.
Our global community of students, practitioners, and instructors is one of the things that gives me hope. When I turn to the news and encounter the darkness of the world, the knowledge that I'm part of a community of people who truly care about others gives me hope. I know that I am working toward a collective purpose. For example, I take comfort in the knowledge that book clubs and discussion groups focused on healing, equity, and social justice arose from our virtual conference this year. Knowing my Healing Touch colleagues are invested in doing the work to become anti-racist while promoting healing and holding the light fills me with hope.
When we come to it
We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe
Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade and the dagger
Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace
We, this people on this mote of matter
In whose mouths abide cankerous words
Which challenge our very existence
Yet out of those same mouths
Come songs of such exquisite sweetness
That the heart falters in its labor
And the body is quieted into awe
But lightwork is not always light work.
I have no idea what it means to be a person of color. No concept of all that comes with that given the history of the U.S. and colonialism writ large. But I cannot turn my eye away from it. To do so, to remain silent and ignore it is to, in effect, condone it. To view it as too political, too harsh, too much...well, that would be the easy way out that my privilege as a white male affords me. And racism and bigotry go to the very heart of the violence in the U.S. that the world witnessed this past week.
But I choose to leverage my privilege in any way I can for equity and social justice. Too political? I would argue that in today's world, the Attributes of the Heart - compassion, unconditional love, healing presence, innate harmony, and joyful service - are political acts. In a world that often seems bent on capitalism and survival of the fitness, even in the face of a global pandemic and at the expense of the lives of others, those qualities of the heart are a gracious act of defiance, compassion, and hope.
When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body
Created on this earth, of this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear
So, as we continue to ride out the storm of the pandemic, of racism and bigotry, and of all the other things that make us all too human, please join me in intention and meditation. Focus with me on the Attributes of the Heart. Sit with me in discernment so that when the pandemic passes, we do not merely return to normal, or even a "new normal." Let us set intention to return to something better.
When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when, and only when
We come to it.
Stanzas from Maya Angelou's poem A Brave and Startling Truth have been woven through this ezine. Dr. Angelou wrote this poem to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. To read the full poem and to listen to a recording of her reading the poem, click here.
In light,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA
President, Healing Beyond Borders
Image from Pixabay under a Creative Commons License
December 2020 President Monthly Ezine
"Holding the Light"
"You live through the darkness from what you learned in the light." ~Hope MacDonald
One of the beauties of Healing Touch, and the thing that attracted me to it compared with other biofield therapies, was our course of study and the fact that certification as a practitioner or instructor is not a one-and-done event. I loved the fact that students, practitioners, and instructors of Healing Touch are always learning new things, rediscovering ancient wisdom, reflecting on experiences, and working toward becoming the best iteration of themselves. In my mind, students, practitioners, and instructors of Healing Touch are scholars of healing in all its many facets. I don't think we often think of ourselves as scholars. Sometimes we have difficulty with the label of healer. But what are scholars if not life-long learners?
I have been learning about our healing work from the moment I stepped into my first Healing Touch class in 2006. Fourteen years later, this work continues to unfold in new and exciting ways. And in 2020, that continuous learning and re-learning has been one of the things that has sustained me. I find myself going back to many of the texts on our book list daily, rereading and rediscovering the information contained within in an effort to help me understand the world and events around me. Healing Touch mentors and colleagues offer insight and wisdom to aid in my understanding. And, hopefully, I have done the same from time to time.
And I've discovered new treasures of wisdom and knowledge. A recent discovery that has truly been a gift is Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. An Indigenous woman and plant ecologist, Kimmerer expertly weaves ancient wisdom and scientific knowledge together into a book that is just as much about healing and personal growth as anything else. I've been reading it in small snippets just to make it last that much longer.
One thing that this book has reminded me of is the Indigenous notion of who owns and can access wisdom. Indeed, it is there for all of us and not dispensed by gurus alone. Again, I think about our healing community of scholars who so eagerly share what they know in a heart-centered effort to spread healing light and enrich us all. Whether through mentorship, book clubs, discussion and practice groups, or our virtual conference this year, the knowledge exchange among our healing scholars is alive and well. And I think it is one of the things that has helped each of us endure the pandemic and will continue to illuminate a path of healing in 2021.
As the solstice nears, the seasons change, and the year comes to a close, I have been thinking about all that has occurred in 2020. Being scholars of this heart-centered work of ours, we are aware of energetic patterns and flows. Our theme this year of patterns of possibility and bringing wholeness on Earth reflects not only the unwavering ability of our community to hold an energetically high vibration, but to do so with tenderness, strength, and finesse.
Since the founding of our organization, our mission and vision of spreading healing light and restoring wholeness on Earth has been a beacon to those seeking wisdom, healing, and holism. May it ever be so.
During the holy days ahead, on behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of Healing Beyond Borders, I wish you peace, hope, and prosperity.
Blessings,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA
President, Healing Beyond Borders
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Gratitude: The Short Film by Louie Schwartzberg
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In this time of challenge, when so many are suffering throughout the world,
we take time today to express our deep gratitude and love.
We are grateful for those who are working to create healing in this world.
We are grateful for those who risk their own lives to save the lives of others: the health care workers, the fire fighters, the first responders, the civil servants.
We are grateful for the light carriers, the intention holders, the peace makers.
We are grateful for the truth speakers.
We are grateful for the ones who work for justice.
We are grateful for the teachers and the families who nurture the young.
We are grateful for all those who place the well being of others in highest regard.
We are grateful for this impossibly beautiful planet and home.
We are grateful for this Earth's creatures and all her life forms.
We are grateful for challenges that are encouraging us to grow.
We are grateful for the love and compassion that this community imparts into the world.
We are grateful for you.
May your heart be filled with gratitude, peace and love.
May you radiate these qualities throughout your corners of the world, creating a blanket of calming, healing light throughout the planet.
Our Deep Gratitude,
Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors and Staff
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"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you,
it will be enough."
~ Meister Eckhart
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November 2020 President Monthly Ezine
We're entering a time of the year when we're looking to newness and thanksgiving, gratitude and remembrance. October through December see our calendars dotted with holidays from various traditions across many cultures.
Today as I write, I'm thinking about three things: the election that has just passed in my country; Diwali, the Festival of Lights, marking the Hindu, Sikh, and Jain New Year; and the year ahead. I'm always contemplative, but especially so this time of year. And it seems like each of these things are wrapped up in the overarching idea that we're all in this together. Despite all that is going on in the world, festivals of light remind us of the reaffirmation of hope, friendship, and goodwill. In the midst of all that this year has brought to the world, hope is the thing that continues to rise to the surface for me.
I saw someone online state that "hope is a discipline." That resonated with me because beyond being mindful, since March I've had to be purposeful in seeking out and acknowledging hope. Of making space for it when the world feels like it is disintegrating.
I often say to folks outside of the Healing Touch and energy medicine world that my training as a Certified Healing Touch Practitioner is my superpower. I draw on what I've learned and practiced every single day and in every single facet of my life. I'm sure many of you do, too. It's one of the ways in which I practice the discipline of hope. Whether it's holding space for a friend or colleague who's tearful and needs compassionate gentleness or making time to breathe and practice meditation for myself, Healing Touch gives me hope. It helps to fuel my hope and my desire to practice the discipline of hope.
It seems to me that in our current space and time, the Attributes of the Heart-compassion, healing presence, unconditional love, innate harmony, and joyful service-are needed more than ever. My skill set as a practitioner of Healing Touch gives me hope. My Healing Touch colleagues and mentors give me hope. You, our Healing Touch community, give me hope because even if I don't know you personally or even know your name, I do know that you are holding the light in the world. And knowing there are like-minded people on this planet at this moment holding light and compassion for all living things gives me hope because I know that you care, you truly care.
In my day-to-day life, I'm a professor at the University of Tennessee and my research focuses on supporting families caring for someone with dementia. In one of my studies about how caregivers support each other online, one of the caregivers said, "These are the folks who hold the light for me so that I can see my way to a bit of peace; sometimes I hold the light for them."
That's what our community does for each other. We hold the light. It's hard and simple and inspiring and amazing and all the things. And I am so, so grateful for it. The office staff is holding the light for you. The Board of Directors is holding the light for you. Our committee chairs and members are holding the light for you. I am holding the light for you. And I know that you're all holding the light for me.
In the prologue to his memoir Walking with the Wind, the late Congressman John Lewis tells a story from his childhood to describe his vision of how we can face profound challenges and make a better world.
"About fifteen of us children were outside my aunt Seneva's house, playing in her dirt yard. The sky began clouding over, the wind started picking up, lightning flashed far off in the distance, and suddenly I wasn't thinking about playing anymore; I was terrified...
Aunt Seneva was the only adult around, and as the sky blackened and the wind grew stronger, she herded us all inside.
Her house was not the biggest place around, and it seemed even smaller with so many children squeezed inside. Small and surprisingly quiet. All of the shouting and laughter that had been going on earlier, outside, had stopped. The wind was howling now, and the house was starting to shake. We were scared. Even Aunt Seneva was scared.
And then it got worse. Now the house was beginning to sway. The wood plank flooring beneath us began to bend. And then, a corner of the room started lifting up.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. None of us could. This storm was actually pulling the house toward the sky. With us inside it.
That was when Aunt Seneva told us to clasp hands. Line up and hold hands, she said, and we did as we were told. Then she had us walk as a group toward the corner of the room that was rising. From the kitchen to the front of the house we walked, the wind screaming outside, sheets of rain beating on the tin roof. Then we walked back in the other direction, as another end of the house began to lift.
And so it went, back and forth, fifteen children walking with the wind, holding that trembling house down with the weight of our small bodies.
More than half a century has passed since that day, and it has struck me more than once over those many years that our society is not unlike the children in that house, rocked again and again by the winds of one storm or another, the walls around us seeming at times as if they might fly apart.
It seemed that way in the 1960s, at the height of the civil rights movement, when America itself felt as if it might burst at the seams-so much tension, so many storms. But the people of conscience never left the house. They never ran away. They stayed, they came together and they did the best they could, clasping hands and moving toward the corner of the house that was the weakest.
And then another corner would lift, and we would go there.
And eventually, inevitably, the storm would settle, and the house would still stand.
But we knew another storm would come, and we would have to do it all over again.
And we did.
And we still do, all of us. You and I.
Children holding hands, walking with the wind..."
Harmony, A Colorado Chorale from Denver, Colorado, provided a virtual performance for both our opening and closing ceremonies for this year's virtual conference. I share with you this video from their closing performance.
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| Surrounding You |
Blessings,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA
President, Healing Beyond Borders
Called for a Better World - Photo by Lisa Anselme
October 2020 President Monthly Ezine
"Leaders are called to stand in that lonely place between the no longer and the not yet and intentionally make decisions that will bind, forge, move, and create history. We are not called to be popular; we are not called to be safe; we are not called to follow - we are the ones to take risks. We are the ones called to change attitudes, to risk displeasures. We are the ones called to gamble our lives for a better world." Mary Lou Anderson
This week, I am taking part in the National Hartford Center for Gerontological Nursing Excellence Leadership Conference. It's something I do every year, though this year it is a virtual experience, kind of like our own conference. What's similar is the mechanics of it in terms of navigating the conference platform, viewing pre-recorded presentations, and connecting to live sessions with some of the speakers. It's also similar in that attendees represent a group of compassionate individuals who truly care and are leading with their hearts.
Our own conference exceeded expectations. It was thrilling to have over 500 people from around the world engaged in the offerings this year. Hearing from folks each morning during my live coffee break and meditation was a highlight of each day for me. I heard about what you were doing as part of the conference as well as what you were doing in your daily lives. Our conference created new ways of connecting and gave us great ideas for how we might do things going forward.
And, I think, it inspired leadership. It showed many of us what is possible in ways we had not envisioned just months ago. It fed our soul and gave us courage and creativity to meet the days ahead, both for ourselves and for our Healing Touch community. I'm grateful for the leadership of our community in charting a path to holism and wholeness for ourselves and others. We lead just by being ourselves.
For example, practitioners and instructors are creating online discussion and practice groups as ways of checking in, gathering in meditation, discussion of techniques and clinical practice, and book groups on topics related to healing and equity, to name a few. You can find listings of these groups in the directory on our website. If you're a practitioner or instructor who's hosting such a group or would like to do so, please list the information on our website so that others may join you.
As with any organization, we have formal leadership roles and transitions of those roles. This year, we had two members of the Board of Directors whose terms ended: Maureen Kowba and Deb Goldberg. Both provided heart-centered, steadfast service to the organization during their time on the Board of Directors. I am grateful to have worked with them during their tenure on the board.
To fill these positions, we solicited nominations as in years past. Unfortunately, the number of nominations received was minimal. We understand that the call came at the beginning of the pandemic during a time of uncertainty, much of which still continues. That uncertainty may have made it challenging for some to put forward their nomination.
However, the Nominating Committee reviewed all of the nominations submitted and two candidates rose to the top. Given that we arrived at only two candidates and had two vacancies to fill, an election was not feasible. Therefore, the Board of Directors voted to appoint both of these candidates to initial terms on the Board as per our organizational bylaws.
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Wilma Bijl, CHTP, CHTI, and Christa Voorn, CHTP, both in the Netherlands, to the Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors. Both have experience working on teams using consensus models of leadership. They are both excited to assist in international expansion with closer involvement, outreach, and connection with the international community. Wilma has a keen interest in expanding Healing Touch throughout Europe, while Christa is focused on biofield research opportunities for Healing Touch to increase awareness of our evidence-based results among the healing professions. Their presence will expand the international representation on our Board, bringing European representation to our board for the first time. Their terms began with our virtual conference on October 1, 2020.
This year also was meant to mark the end of my time in the role of president. However, given current events and to maintain continuity during a time of accelerated change, I have agreed to remain in my current role for an additional year. This decision was approved by the Board. I look forward to passing the light to our next president at our 25th anniversary conference in 2021.
Sincerely,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA
President, Healing Beyond Borders
Seeds of Possibility - Photo by Cat Miller
July 2020 President Monthly Ezine
My heart is moved by all I cannot save: so much has been destroyed that I have to cast my lot with those who age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world." ~Adrienne Rich
This summer is not going according to plan.
Five months ago, I was making preparations for a spring and summer full of research-related travel, outings with friends and family, and working diligently in my office at the university on a full plate of research and teaching. But in the past five months, that travel and those outings have been put on hold, and I've worked as diligently as I can from my home office.
When the pandemic was declared in March and the world began locking down, I reached out to family and friends far and wide to check in with them, to let them know I was thinking about them and that I was here for them. Among those Healing Touch folks was Annis Parker, who responded to my message with the following: "You are so able to deal with this. That is why you are placed in the place at the University." That message back in March helped me to remember what I can do during a time in which it felt (and sometimes still feels) like there is nothing I can do to make the situation better.
As the spring and summer have unfolded, we've watched the tides of the pandemic ebb, flow, and surge. There remains an uncomfortable level of uncertainty. And that uncertainty means decisions are hard to make. But I'm finding that the ability to make decisions provides some measure of certainty that I'm appreciating.
Making the decision to move our conference into a virtual format was not taken lightly. But once the decision was made, space opened up. Movement and forward motion were possible. The Patterns of Possibility emerged. It's funny. When we developed the conference theme for this year, we had no idea how salient it would be.
The office staff and Conference Planning Committee are working tirelessly to make our virtual conference a success. This new way of delivering our conference offers a great deal of possibility. I hope you will register and join us!
The main thing keeping me going during the pandemic is community. Though interactions have been limited to Skype calls and Zoom sessions, we've fostered community using technology, strengthening ties and expressing gratitude. Being part of our Healing Touch community has given me hope for the past fourteen years, but never more so than in the last four months.
We are those who have cast our lot as a healing, compassionate presence in this world. May our collective work support transformative healing for the highest good of all.
Sincerely,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA
President, Healing Beyond Borders
"Lotus, Fire & Light" - Photo by Cat Miller
June 2020 President Monthly Ezine
This isn't the ezine I planned to write this weekend.
What I was going to write about were the ways in which we as a global community of healers have connected with each other over the past two and half months during the pandemic. However, the events of the past week in the U.S., and particularly this weekend, give me cause to write something different.
Since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week, my country has been inflamed and in flames in response to systemic racism that continues to rear its head through police violence. Protests in cities across the U.S. have led to police brutality and riots. And as I check in with friends in colleagues in the cities affected, as well as my African American and black friends, students, and colleagues who are reeling from the collective trauma, I have been thinking about what I can do to affect change.
Enter this ezine.
I take these ezines seriously knowing that our full email list has tens of thousands of subscribers worldwide. I try to be judicious with my words and work to strike a global tone and not be U.S.-centric. But right now, what's happening in my country is the best example of why the Attributes of the Heart and our global healing presence is so desperately needed.
The U.S. is not alone. Folks have been rallying globally to affirm that black lives matter. People rallied in Toronto this week because of the suspicious death of a woman of color. Populations in developing countries continue to struggle in an unfathomable way to respond to the pandemic, the legacy of colonialism showing its scars. The Rohingya refugee crisis continues. The climate crisis continues. It's all enough to leave one feeling hopeless.
Enter Healing Beyond Borders.
I don't know about you, but our global community of students, practitioners, and instructors is one of the things that gives me hope. When I turn to the news and encounter the darkness of the world, the knowledge that I'm part of a community of people who care, truly care about the wellbeing of others gives me hope. I don't feel alone, that I am working toward a collective purpose. Now is one of those times that I need to focus on the hope in the midst of the carnage.
I have no idea what it means to be a person of color. No concept of all that comes with that given the history of the U.S. But I cannot turn my eye away from it. To do so, to remain silent and ignore it is to, in effect, condone it. To view it as too political, too harsh, too much...well, that would be the easy way out that my privilege as a white male affords me.
But I choose to leverage that privilege, in any way I can for equity and social justice. Too political? I would argue that in today's world, the Attributes of the Heart - compassion, unconditional love, healing presence, innate harmony, and joyful service - are political acts. In a world that often seems bent on capitalism and survival of the fittest, those qualities of the heart are a gracious act of defiance.
So, as we continue to ride out the storm of the pandemic and all the other things that make us all too human, please join me in intention and meditation. Focus with me on the Attributes of the Heart. Sit with me in discernment so that when the pandemic passes, we do not merely return to normal, or even a "new normal." Let us set intention to return to something better.
Sincerely,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA
President, Healing Beyond Borders
Image is from Pixabay and used under a Creative Commons licenseMay 2020 President Monthly Ezine
As I put words onto the page today, it is Mother's Day. It also is the middle of Nurses Week. These two events meld profoundly in my mind.
I've written before about my mother's death. I was by her side, holding her hand when she went into cardiac arrest after offering her Chakra Spread. In the midst of all the chaos that followed, there was one constant.
It was a nurse who literally held me up, bracing me from collapse in the corridor as the crash team worked to revive my mother. It was a nurse who helped me to call my family, frantically imploring them to rush to the hospital. It was a nurse who checked on us every hour on the hour in the ICU waiting room. It was a nurse who comforted us, who hugged us, who helped us to honor my mother in final moments and navigate our way following her death.
And it was a nurse who did those same things the following year when each of my mother's parents died and whenever my family has lost someone we love.
I have been privileged to spend my academic career in the collaborative camaraderie of nurses. I have witnessed not only what they do in emergent health care situations, but also the ways in which they steer their novices into becoming what remains the most trusted of professions. I have learned a great deal from these nurse colleagues.
It was a nurse who founded the Center for the Study of Complementary Therapies at the University of Virginia and sustained that Center for 20 years. It was a nurse, that same founding director, who saw in me the ability to become a successful health sciences researcher, offering me a postdoctoral research fellowship and guiding me as a mentor to this day.
It was a nurse who founded our organization and worked collaboratively to create our course of study and certification. It was a nurse who taught my Healing Touch classes. It was a nurse who mentored me to certification.
Nurses have served in every leadership position within our organization. Nurses hold many of these roles today. Nurses have guided our community through the fire during times of hardship and rejoiced with us in times of joy.
I am the first president of our organization without a nursing background. Many of our students, practitioners, and instructors are not nurses. But it diminishes me in no way to acknowledge the nursing lineage of our beloved therapy and organization. In fact, given the acts of heroism nurses have always done and continue to do, especially during the current pandemic, I am humbly grateful for and to be part of this lineage.
We've all seen the images. The nurses on the so-called frontlines, covered in personal protective equipment or the bruising imprints of wearing those masks for hours on end. Of the nurses comforting those with COVID19 and their families. Of the nurses comforting each other as they continue to provide compassionate care as we live through this moment in history. Given all that they do, are doing, and have done, the Board of Directors wanted to offer something to them.
A strength of our organization is the role our members have played in creating the research evidence base to support the practice of Healing Touch. Many of these studies have been led by or involved nurses and nursing scientists. As a small token of appreciation to all that nurses do, we've crafted a fact sheet from our Research Brief as a resource for nurses. Please feel free to distribute this fact sheet to the nurses in your life. Thank them for their kindness, their compassion, their resilience. Remind them that we are here for them.
I'm currently working on a position paper with colleagues from the Colleges of Nursing and Engineering, making the case for why nurses should be involved as a stakeholder in any effort to use technology in health care. During that conversation, one of my nursing colleagues said, "well, every patient has a nurse." And it's true. We may engage with health care professionals of all stripes and workers of all sorts in a hospital or health care setting. Indeed, it takes a village and the contributions of all are needed. But it diminishes none of those allied professionals to acknowledge and appreciate the nurses who stand by our sides.
The World Health Organization designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife in acknowledgment of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale. Nightingale rose to prominence during the Crimean War by establishing infection control practices and standards that saved lives. To get her point across effectively, she applied data visualization to the data she was collecting. While this may be one of first documented instances of innovative thinking and action by a nurse, nurses remain nimble in their holistic approach to the health care they provide. Healing Touch is just one of those examples.
I shall never forget the nurses who have quite literally held me up throughout my life. I am grateful for all of their work and for working with me, and us, to spread healing light and create wholeness on Earth.
Sincerely,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA
President, Healing Beyond Borders
Image is from Pixabay and used under a Creative Commons license
April 2020 President Monthly Ezine
"There are years that ask questions, and years that answer." ~Zora Neale Hurston
blessing the boats (at St. Mary's)
"Life, inexhaustible, goes on. And we do too. Carrying our wounds and our medicines as we go...Perhaps our planet is for learning to appreciate the extraordinary wonder of life that surround even our suffering, and to say Yes, if through the thickest of tears."
"And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about."
"For the New Year, 1981"
In the meantime, self-care is not an option these days. Indeed, it never was. Focus on the Attributes of the Heart, particularly Innate Harmony as was observed by Myra Tovey, who shared in a recent email to Lisa Anselme and me the following: "I would like to suggest that we focus on the Attribute of the Heart, Innate Harmony, 'being calm in the midst of chaos'. That will help transform fear into love."
I've been thinking a lot about the quote above recently and how, to me, 2020 seems to be doing both. We are being asked a lot of questions right now. How do we respond to the pandemic? How do we best take care of ourselves and others? What do we truly value? What will our day-to-day lives be like on the other side of this? What is it that we are feeling?
I believe we're being offered the opportunity to divine answers, too. What we truly value and hold dear is clearer than perhaps it has ever been for some of us. And as for feelings, most of us are sitting with a mix of sadness, anger, apprehension, and grief. The surrealism of life going on in some ways in the middle of pandemic when so much of life is halted is another reality.
In the middle of all the tumult, our community has lost a dear friend, mentor, leader, and champion. Dr. Laura Hart passed away on April 1, 2020. I had the distinct privilege to work closely with Laura and Lisa Anselme on the current Healing Touch textbook and she was my mentor for instructor training. I shall always remember Laura for her tenacity, compassion, and no-nonsense demeanor. She was a straight shooter with a heart of gold who will be sorely missed. I am grateful for the memories I have.
Many of us have been finding respite and comfort in our hobbies and interests to manage the mix of emotions in which we're now living. I share a few below from which I continue to draw inspiration.
blessing the boats (at St. Mary's)
by Lucille Clifton
may the tide
that is entering even now
the lip of our understanding
carry you out
beyond the face of fear
may you kiss
the wind then turn from it
certain that it will
love your back may you
open your eyes to water
water waving forever
and may you in your innocence
sail through this to that
"Life, inexhaustible, goes on. And we do too. Carrying our wounds and our medicines as we go...Perhaps our planet is for learning to appreciate the extraordinary wonder of life that surround even our suffering, and to say Yes, if through the thickest of tears."
~Alice Walker, from the foreword to Zora Neale Hurston's Barracoon
"And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about."
~Haruki Murakami
"For the New Year, 1981"
By Denise Levertov
I have a small grain of hope-
one small crystal that gleams
clear colors out of transparency.
I need more.
I break off a fragment
to send you.
Please take
this grain of a grain of hope
so that mine won't shrink.
Please share your fragment
so that yours will grow.
Only so, by division,
will hope increase,
like a clump of irises, which will cease to flower
unless you distribute
the clustered roots, unlikely source-
clumsy and earth-covered-
of grace.
In the meantime, self-care is not an option these days. Indeed, it never was. Focus on the Attributes of the Heart, particularly Innate Harmony as was observed by Myra Tovey, who shared in a recent email to Lisa Anselme and me the following: "I would like to suggest that we focus on the Attribute of the Heart, Innate Harmony, 'being calm in the midst of chaos'. That will help transform fear into love."
In closing, I'm reminded of the fifth Attribute of the Heart, what Bonnie Johnson has described as "joy-filled" service. None of us can do everything, but each of us can do something. Our skills as students, practitioners, and instructors of Healing Touch are vital to our wellbeing and a gift to others. In that spirit of service, I remind you of our call for nominations for upcoming vacancies on the Board of Directors. Nominations can be submitted through April 30, 2020.
Be safe, be well,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA
President, Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors
Image is from Pixabay and used under a Creative Commons license
February 2020 President Monthly Ezine
"Life is a mixed blessing, which we vainly try to unmix." ~Mignon McLaughlin
I find myself in the midst of two strategic visioning processes at the moment. At the university, I am a member of the executive committee steering the strategic visioning plan. Simultaneously, the Board of Directors is fleshing out a plan based on our discussions during our strategic visioning work at the conference last year. In both cases, these groups of volunteers are striving to come up with optimistic, inspirational, and aspirational ideas, goals, and actions to serve the respective organizations over the next several years. And in both cases, I am mindful of the necessity that we be authentic to who we are, warts and all.
Authenticity is at once the hardest and easiest thing to do. It requires honesty, humility, courage, and tenacity. Authenticity is all about the mixed blessings in the quote above. It is something that some shy away from, while others cannot exist any other way than to wear their authenticity on their sleeves. To me, it means acknowledging and embracing your perceived flaws in the journey toward remembering your wholeness.
At the university, we're juxtaposing the current climate around racism, bigotry, and xenophobia, the institution's history (rosy and not-so-rosy), and who we want to be. For Healing Beyond Borders, we're weighing past, present, and future with changing demographics and health care systems. Where do we fit? How do we lead? What is our role? How do we flourish? Those seem to be questions I continually ask myself during life transitions or when existential angst creeps in.
The thing that is making both of these strategic visioning processes less onerous are the people involved. Both at the university and amongst the Board of Directors, I am fortunate to work with passionate, compassionate, and enlightened individuals. In both settings, we're taking this seriously and approaching it with heart. While one wouldn't expect anything less for our Board, it's rewarding to know that I work with such people in all walks of my life. For that I am grateful.
Additional thoughts...
What I'm reading
Mary-Cathrine Campbell introduced me to a book she inherited from Alexandra Jonsson titled Pocketful of Miracles by Joan Borysenko. It's a unique book of daily meditations that incorporates a lot of spiritual traditions. I started incorporating it into my daily routine last fall, but this is the first year that I've started it from the beginning.
What I'm listening to
I seem to have India. Arie on repeat these days, specifically her album titled SongVersation: Medicine and especially the song Soulbird Rise.
What I'm keeping in my awareness
In addition to being mindful, I've discovered for myself a need to be purposeful. I am quite aware of my levels of stress, pain, etc., but often that's as far as it goes-acknowledging the state of what is. For that to change, one way or the other, I must be purposeful in how that might take place and in taking action to do so.
In light,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA
President, Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors
Photo by Joel Anderson
January 2020 President Monthly Ezine
As I write this ezine, I am sitting in the lobby of the Grand Wailea on Maui. I have been here for the past week to attend the Hawaiian International Conference on Systems Science, which has occurred in Hawaii for the past 53 years. In recent years, the conference has expanded to include health and health care information systems, as well as how society uses digital technologies such as social media. These new tracks overlap nicely with my research to support family caregivers of people with dementia and how these caregivers use technology to manage the caregiving experience.
I first visited the Hawaiian Islands in 2014 when my friend invited me to join her on Kauai at her timeshare. I immediately fell in love with Kauai, feeling a deep spiritual connection to the island. That first trip was magical, and I have been fortunate to return to these islands several times since.
On previous trips to Hawaii, and to this conference, I have traveled with a friend or colleagues. But this trip was just me. This solitude offered the chance to enjoy many moments of reflection and meditation. And while I may not be traveling with my friends this time, I do have the pleasure of meeting up with Sarah Porter for dinner on my way back to the airport this evening.
It is comforting to know that most any place I go, I can connect with our Healing Touch community. This is especially true and poignant given the news of the day, with tensions high in the Middle East, bushfires raging across Australia, and extreme weather popping up around the globe. It is one thing to know that you are part of something bigger than yourself; it is another to have tangible proof of that. That tangibility and connection is one of the many things I cherish about our Healing Touch community.
Sitting here in these lush surroundings, I am full of gratitude for the privileges of my life and the many compassionate, heart-centered people who populate it, many of whom are members of our Healing Touch community.
May we continue to carry the vision and mission of Healing Beyond Borders into this new year, supported by the Attributes of the Heart and a deep-rooted commitment to community.
With aloha,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA
President, Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors
Photo by Joel Anderson
December 2019 President Monthly Ezine
I continue to observe something that I've written about before in Perspectives in Healing - folks actively searching for the Attributes of the Heart. This also was how I talked about the movie shown at our conference this year, Won't You Be My Neighbor. I think this movie and the current Renaissance around Fred Rogers is an excellent of example of for what people are starving.
Think it's all in my head? Well, there's a more recent biopic starring Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers. There are numerous articles about this resurgence. And there's this new podcast called Finding Fred that explores the very idea of why everyone is being drawn to Mr. Rogers in today's world.
As healers, we know the answer to this question. He eloquently demonstrated healing presence, unconditional love, compassion, and innate harmony, which were funneled into his joyful service. These Attributes of the Heart are not foreign to us. We work to incorporate them into our heart-centered approach to life each day. Many of us also work to include gratitude and dignity as well.
As we watched the film before our conference opened and when I listen to the podcast, I remember Mr. Rogers' presence in my life. Growing up in rural Appalachia, educational resources were limited. My elementary school made use of public broadcasting and shows like Sesame Street and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood to fill the gaps. For a kid on a mountaintop on what seemed like the middle of nowhere, public broadcasting showed me the world and all of its wonders. It sparked my imagination and inquisitiveness, traits that serve me well today in my professorial role.
But it fed the fire of compassion just as much. During movie night, I saw the thread of the Attributes of the Heart through my life and how one of the first people really to display those traits to me in such an adept way was Fred Rogers. And for that, I am grateful.
As the solstice nears, the seasons change, and the year comes to a close, I have been thinking about all that has occurred in 2019 and all of the promise of 2020 and a new decade. Being students, practitioners, and instructors of this heart-centered work of ours, we are aware of energetic flows. Our theme this year of "the Art of Compassion and Healing" reflects not only the unwavering ability of our community to hold an energetically vibration high, but to do so with tenderness, strength, and finesse.
Since the founding of our organization, our mission and vision of spreading healing light and restoring wholeness on Earth has been a beacon to those seeking wisdom, healing, and holism. May it ever be so.
Each of you provides compassionate leadership and unconditional love to our planet and all of its beings. During the holy days ahead, on behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of Healing Beyond Borders, I wish you peace, hope, and prosperity.
In light,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, FGSA, CHTP
President, Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors
SAVE the DATE 2020 !!!
24th Annual Energy Healing Conference & Instructor Meeting
OMNI Interlocken Resort Hotel * Broomfield, Colorado
Wednesday, September 2, 2020 (Opening) - Saturday, September 5, 2020 (Closing)
We’re very happy to announce our dates and location for Conference 2020! 
After reviewing over 20 possible Colorado front range locations and returned bids, at last narrowing down to 4 sites, the Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors has settled on the location and dates for next year’s conference. We will be hosting our event at the OMNI Interlocken Hotel in Broomfield, Colorado. Healing Beyond Borders has negotiated the incredible rate of $128/night (single, double, triple) for this 4-star resort hotel along the front range base of the Rocky Mountains.
OMNI LINK - Click Here to view Hotel
Our conference will be held the week going into Labor Day weekend with several qualifiers: we will be moving our start of conference forward by one day, with pre-conferences adjusted accordingly, so that opening night will be Wednesday evening, September 2 and we will close our conference on Saturday, September 5 by 1:00 pm.
Participants can depart Saturday after closing to be home Sunday and Monday (Labor Day). Or, participants will have the option of extending their stay over Sunday and Monday (Labor Day) at the same incredible rate, realizing an opportunity to have a wonderful, relaxing vacation in a serene setting. We’re investigating offering several excursions into the majestic Rocky Mountains or visiting other celebratory events post conference, as people will have time to adjust to altitude during the prior week.