An important lesson I have learned in my practice is that people can be cured, but not truly healed and in the case of those with terminal or chronic illness, people can be healed without being cured. This statement sounds counter-intuitive because these words are often used interchangeable in our society. In reality, the concepts and definitions of healing and curing could not be more different.

The word "cure" refers to the removal or absence of a particular symptom or set of symptoms. "Healing" on the other hand, is a return to a state of wholeness. Healing may include a positive change in physical symptoms, but more importantly, refers to a return to a state of balance and alignment that includes emotional, psychological, mental and spiritual health and well-being.

Through healing we are able to co-exist with and eventually move beyond the physical, emotional and spiritual traumas we all experience as a natural part of living in this world. Through healing we find the grace to not let these things define us or our experience. As Earnest Hemingway said, "The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places."