CAN ONE'S LIFE BE CHANGED WITH A FEATHER? As a clinical psychologist, I have struggled with the idea that healing can be done through divine energy. After all, psychologists are indoctrinated with scientific methodology in graduate school. We are taught to trust and believe solely in scientifically and empirically validated research. At the same time, in both my professional and personal life, I look to divine forces for healing both physically and emotionally. In my own practice, I have developed a process, called “Awakening,” through which a person can explore one’s inner guidance. Still, scientific methodology is so ingrained in me that it makes it very difficult for me to trust in unseen forces even after having witnessed its power in my own life and in the lives of my clients.

The Message of a Feather
The other day, I was particularly struck with my sense of distrust and disbelief in the healing power of the divine, so I prayed and asked for more acceptance and trust in such forces. As I was coming down the elevator of my office building and entering the parking garage, I was drawn to a brilliantly white feather that stood out on the soiled carpet.

This small feather sparkled in such a manner that I was drawn to pick it up. At that same moment it was as if I heard a divine voice speak within my thoughts. It said, “Can humans make feathers? Can you make such a strong yet very delicate feather?” I paused for a moment to look more closely at the feather in my hand, and then replied, “No. There is no way I could create such a delicate, beautiful feather.”

“Then, in that case, why do you continue to feel that human efforts are superior to divine efforts?” was the response. “Why do you believe that doctors know more than the divine?” I had no answer and the moment passed, while the questions remained.

As I began to understand the message of the feather, I realized how limited we are as human beings in understanding disease. I realized that while we in the healing professions have highly sophisticated tools and medical procedures for prolonging life, we are still unable to do much more than diagnose illnesses and administer medications that modify the body’s chemical reactions.

I was reminded by the feather of my own personal illness and of the vastly different alternative ways of healing the physical body. I was reminded that our body is made up of atoms and energy and that I have virtually no understanding of how to work with these powers and unseen forces. Indeed, to my knowledge, no medical school exists where one can be trained in how to manipulate these energies and atoms. There is, however, divine guidance to teach me about these healing processes—provided that I can begin to trust in the information that I receive. This delicate feather has given me an entirely new appreciation for the limits that we humans place upon ourselves. While our knowledge may be limited, I am open to learn more about the connection between the human and the divine. It can start with a new look at a small, white feather.

A Divine Connection
First, we must ask if it is important to connect with divine energy. Indeed, why should we look to unseen forces and mystical experiences such as with a small white feather for answers to our human problems?

My experience as a clinical psychologist and spiritual seeker has taught me that there is considerable research and evidence for the power of the divine connection and its healing properties.

When we are born on this earth plane, it seems we forget that we are souls connected to a divine source. We are thrown into a world that is dominated by what many perceive as negative energy forces. Depending on our family situation, we may learn that people cannot be trusted, that there are people who are willing to hurt us, even to the level of people who would sexually molest and defile the sanctity of being a small child. The world can be cruel and unforgiving.

Even when we try extremely hard, basically good people can have really bad things happen. We can lose our loved ones or fall prey to setbacks such as a serious illness. There does not seem to be any impartiality in why things happen the way they do. Innocent people seem to bear great burdens whereas many malicious people seem to enjoy wealth and status.

In this reality it is very easy to begin feeling despair for our human condition. We ask ourselves, “What is this life all about? Even when I seem to be doing everything right I don’t seem to be able to predict the outcome.”

In my field such thinking is oftentimes based on the experience of separation. We equate it to feeling like a child who is lost. Having little or no clue that we are connected to divine energy leaves us feeling that we are all alone in this journey called life. Experiences like this cause a feeling of loneliness and isolation almost always leading to deep emotional pain and despair. It can also contribute to physical illness.

When we begin the journey of opening up to our divine connection, we become capable of recognizing that this marvelous connection indeed exists. At first it takes time to trust one’s experience of the divine. However, the more we work and trust this connection, the more we can observe its effect on our lives. The most important experience is that we receive offerings that will strengthen our faith. The most profound gift is the knowing—the feeling that the divine energy is like a loving parent who accepts us no matter what. It is a sense of finally coming home and being loved unconditionally.

Many of us do not know what it feels like to be loved unconditionally. We are much more used to someone accepting us only if we act in certain ways. When we progress on our journey to connect with this divine energy, we begin to feel this spectacular love deeply within our physical body. When this happens, the truth that we can heal on all levels begins to surface. We begin to understand at a very deep level that we are souls of one Light and that we are deeply loved.

We also begin to understand that much of the pain we experience serves to keep us from going any further backwards than we need to. We begin to recognize that our emotional and material investments in money, fame and material things are impermanent and that such attachments leave us in a defensive modality.

It is not the attainment of worldly attachments that is important; it is more about the way we achieve the end result. When we get that which we most wanted by doing everything we needed to do, we find we now have something that is not easily taken away.

When we learn to become less and less attached to worldly things, we begin to realize that the divine connection will always be there as long as we allow it to be. We are then gradually capable of recognizing the truth of our soul: we are connected and are never alone. Through the divine energy we become capable of coping with the adversities of life with a deep inner strength.

It is time for us to look at the way we have lived our lives believing that we are not connected. It is time to realize our divine connection: we are truly part of the total universe.

© 2002 Silke Vogelmann-Sine, Ph.D

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Silke Vogelmann-Sine, Ph.D., is an experienced licensed psychologist with a private practice in Honolulu, Hawaii for over 20 years. She has published numerous articles in professional journals, shared her healing techniques on a global radio program, and given presentations at local, national and international conferences. She was recently invited to assist outstanding medical professionals and leaders in the field of healing in the development of a curriculum that will provide simple techniques to facilitate healing.

Dr. Silke maintains the belief that we have the potential to heal, whether it be chemical dependency, depression, family issues, financial issues or anxiety. She has developed a CD that helps people develop their connection to the divine forces—in the privacy of their own home and at their own pace. The first in a series, the “Awakening…To the Reality That You Are Never Alone” CD was released in March 2001. You can learn more about this CD by visiting www.drsilke.com.