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5.2 – Fixing vs creating the conditions for healing

When we encounter discomfort, imbalance, or pain—whether in ourselves or others—our natural tendency is often to fix it. We want to do something to make it go away. This instinct is deeply human and comes from a desire to help or to find relief.

Sometimes, this urge to fix comes from the energetic resonance we feel with someone else’s pain. Their discomfort creates a ripple that we can sense, and instead of holding space for it, we may find ourselves wanting to make it stop—so we don’t have to feel it either. This can lead to well-intentioned but forceful efforts to “fix” the situation, driven as much by our own discomfort as by a desire to help.

But what if healing doesn’t work like that? What if it’s not about fixing at all, but about creating the right conditions for the body, mind, and energy to heal themselves?

The Difference Between Fixing and Allowing

  • Fixing: Comes from the mind’s need to control and solve. It often carries an undertone of judgment—“This is wrong, and it needs to be made right.” Fixing can be forceful, impatient, and narrowly focused on eliminating symptoms.
  • Creating the Conditions for Healing: Involves stepping back, creating space, and trusting in the innate intelligence of the body and energy. It requires curiosity, patience, allowing, and possible gentle, precise interventions. This approach acknowledges that healing is a natural process, not something we impose.

Creating the conditions for healing doesn’t mean non-doing. Sometimes, action is needed to set the stage for the body’s innate healing abilities to take over. For example:

  • When a bone is broken, setting the bone ensures it can heal properly and align in the right way.
  • When there is a wound, cleaning it helps prevent infection and supports the body’s natural healing processes.
  • In an energy healing session:
    • Non-judgmentally naming an energetic pattern and asking whether it resonates with the receiver helps give them a possible gift of awareness (and maybe even choice).
    • Gently guiding the recipient’s attention to a specific sensation or area of their body where energy feels blocked helps get them actively involved in their healing and allows their conscious mind to get on board.
    • Offering a visualization or affirmation to help the recipient reconnect with their inner capacity for healing.

Creating the conditions for healing involves intentional action that supports the natural flow of energy, without forcing or controlling the process. It’s about offering what’s needed and then stepping back to trust the body’s intelligence.

Why Fixing Often Falls Short

  • Fixing focuses on symptoms rather than the deeper causes of imbalance.
  • It can interrupt or override the natural flow of energy that is already working toward healing.
  • It places unnecessary pressure on the healer or individual to “do it right” or “make it work.”

The Power of Allowing

When we shift from fixing to allowing, something profound happens. We create space for the energy to move and balance itself. This doesn’t mean being passive or disengaged—it means becoming a facilitator rather than a fixer.

  • Energy flows where it’s needed most when we stop forcing it.
  • The body has an incredible capacity to heal itself when given the right conditions.
  • Healing becomes a process of collaboration with the body’s wisdom, rather than an imposition of external control.

Curiosity is a powerful tool in becoming a facilitator of healing. When we approach the body’s energy with curiosity rather than judgment, we unlock new insights and pathways for healing. Curiosity invites us to observe, to notice, and to stay open to what arises—allowing energy to guide the process. It replaces the pressure to “fix” with the freedom to explore.

What This Means for Our Energy Healing Journey

  1. Cultivate Curiosity:
    • Practice observing your own energy or someone else’s with a sense of wonder.
    • Ask yourself: “What am I noticing? How is the energy shifting? What might this mean?”
  2. Focus on Presence:
    • Instead of asking, “What can I do?” ask, “How can I hold space for this to unfold?”
    • Stay grounded, compassionate, and curious during self-Reiki or sessions with others.
  3. Get Comfortable with Not Knowing:
    • Healing is often a non-linear, unpredictable process. Let go of the need to have all the answers.
    • Adopt the mindset: “I don’t know what’s best, but the energy does.”
  4. Trust the Process:
    • Allow energy to flow where it’s needed, without trying to control or direct it.
    • Remind yourself: “I don’t need to fix anything. I’m here to hold space and trust the intelligence of the energy.”

Reflection Prompts

  • Where in my life am I trying to fix instead of allowing?
  • How does it feel in my body when I let go of the need to control?
  • What would it look like to trust the intelligence of energy more fully?
  • What happens when I bring curiosity into my healing practice?