"What is spiritual healing?"

Spiritual healing, or spirit healing, is not new. It is something that has been around for thousands of years, but it has become widely known through the Spiritualist movement, especially in England.

No healing ever comes just from the healer. It is the healing force and energies coming from "spirit" or God via the medium of the healer, which effect healing in a patient.

The word "spirit" may sound spooky and weird, but "spirit" is often used as a generic term to collectively describe God and sometimes those souls on the 'other side', who come to assist with healing. These are loving souls who still wish to be of service to humankind. They may be Guides, or they may simply be people who were doctors or healers in their last earthly incarnation and still wish to continue this healing work.

There are two 'types' of healing in practice. In both cases, the healer is aware of a bountiful, endless supply of healing energy flowing through them from God – the healer and the healer's physical body act as a conduit between God's healing energies and the patient. In the second case, the spirit guides or doctors may "overshadow" the healer, subtly directing the healer's hands to certain places on the patient's body where healing can best be effected.

You may have heard the term "healing hands" before. This is especially true of a spirit healer as the hands are often the focal point through which healing is disseminated (although healing energies can in fact be passed from the whole body).

"What do you mean 'last incarnation'?"

We actually live many lives, in many places, as totally different personalities – the only continuous thing is our soul. The purpose of this is to gain spiritual growth from the different experiences which life has to offer. Through God's divine providence, we usually have no memory of our previous lives.

It's providential because it means we aren't affected through awareness of any past misdeeds. How could we ever strive forward if we knew that we had committed a horrible act? This would make it much more difficult. When one strives to grow spiritually, and comes closer to God through meditation and right living, you will become aware of some past life memories. It's a natural process – but you will only become aware of something when you are spiritually ready for it.

"Do we all have a spirit guide?"

Yes. We all have a guide, often more than one. A guide is a spirit who has felt drawn towards us and wishes to be of service to us. It is a wonderful thing. When we pray to God, our guides are those closest to us, who try and assist us whenever, and wherever they can. Although you should not pray to your guide, always pray to God.

"I don't believe in God..."

Whether you believe in God or not, God is there. God is known by many name by many different people: Jehovah, Allah, Brahma, Creator, or Divine Creator, or maybe Divine Spirit. Native Americans have often used the term Great Spirit or Great White Spirit.

"I'm not religious..."

God has nothing to do with religion. Religions are basically man-made institutions, who may have God as the centre of their religion, but they can often obscure God with a lot of dogma.

A great soul, Sri Chinmoy, once said:

"Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed – they all but windows through which shines the light of God."

Another excellent way of looking at it is imaging all the world's great religions are the spokes of a wagon wheel, and God is the hub – they all point to God.

"Can anyone heal?"

Yes, anyone has the capacity to heal. But to be the most effective healer you have to develop yourself to achieve a closer link to your guides and God.

You can develop yourself through prayer, meditation on God and right living. It is also a great help to read a lot of books about other people's experiences. Your experiences will not be the same as anyone elses – we are all individuals – but you can learn from these experiences.

Keep your mind open and be aware that not everything you read is true or right – use your own intuition to discard what doesn't sound or feel right. "How will I know what is true and right?" You know a tree by the fruit it bears, and it is the same with Truth, "By their fruits shall ye know them".