Healing Journey Through Spiritual Practices
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Ferris BuhlerHealing Journey Through Spiritual Practices
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Ferris BuhlerContemplating Healing:
Right Where I Am
By Rev. Mark Fuss
Accepting the reality of your present situation,
then embracing spiritual practices and
community support, is crucial on the journey
to healing.
In March of 2020 I received a diagnosis of early-stage vocal cord cancer.
Over the prior six-month period, my voice had become increasingly hoarse, until I
couldn’t even make myself heard across a table in a restaurant. A trip to the doctor led to
a specialist, a biopsy, the diagnosis, and a treatment plan for six weeks of focused
radiation.
As much of America and indeed the world went into lockdown in response to the Covid-
19 pandemic, I began my healing journey. The first few weeks were a fog of numbness
and fear, an overload of medical information and doctors.
Because of the lockdown, I felt alone, confined to my home, interacting with family,
work, and friends only online or by phone. My usual prayer and centering practices felt
hollow and empty, and my thoughts began to spiral downward.
Gradually, I was able to embrace the idea:
This is happening to me and how I respond to
it has an impact on how it unfolds.
I was pretty hard on myself too. I am a minister in a spiritual movement with its roots in
healing, yet I was feeling hopeless and afraid at times. My work involves designing,
creating, and compiling inspirational content for Unity, and my well was dry, with
inspiration hard to find.
One morning in April, as I was looking for material for a Unity prayer service, I came
across “Your Healing Is at Hand” by Rev. Mary L. Kupferle. I read it and then read it
again. It was as if she were speaking to me, her affirmative, declarative words finally
piercing my fog of numbness and fear.
In the weeks leading to my radiation treatment, I began to read the article each morning
during my quiet time and each evening before bed. At different times, depending on how
I was feeling, different ideas and passages resonated with me.
“Regardless of where you are physically or how far you seem emotionally from the peace
you desire, your good—your healing … is at hand,” she wrote.
Gradually, I was able to embrace the idea: This is happening to me and how I respond
to it has an impact on how it unfolds. I didn’t need to censor my feelings; I needed to
feel them, acknowledge, and honor them, and release them when complete.
“Saturate your thinking with contemplation of healing, with thoughts that promote
healing, words that show belief in healing, attitudes that indicate you believe in the
healing power of God,” Kupferle advised.
Thoughts, words, attitudes—and actions. I began to reinvigorate certain daily practices
in support of my healing.
Music, laughter, and love—your healing
journey awaits
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Affirmations
This became my mantra: Mighty currents of God’s healing love flow through me now,
renewing and restoring every fiber of my being. I am whole, well, and free.
I would repeat this prayer each day as I lay still on the table for my radiation treatment.
While the machine clicked and hummed about me, I was focused on mighty currents of
God’s healing love.
Music
In the months before my diagnosis I had been working with my friend Karen Drucker, a
New Thought musician, on a healing booklet featuring her lyrics and music, titled The
Heart of Healing. I began to play Karen’s music often, letting the songs of healing
anchor themselves in my heart.
During a call one day, Karen asked me for an affirmation that I used and said she would
write a song from it for my healing journey. A few weeks later, a recording of “Mighty
Currents of God’s Healing Love” arrived in my inbox. The gospel-tinged song had been
created and produced at home by Karen and her husband. I listened to it as I drove
myself to the hospital each afternoon for treatment.
Community
As an “I can take care of myself” kind of guy, this was a practice of opening and allowing
others to care for me in inventive ways during lockdown. Porch drop-offs would happen
frequently with baked goods, soup, cards, care baskets, and gift cards. Groceries were
picked up and delivered and my every need met. Calls and Facebook messages buoyed
my spirits regularly.
Walks in Nature
I’ve always loved walking in the woods, and when I felt up to it, I would walk around the
Unity Village campus or on the wooded trails. It’s where I find peace and calm. I would
sometimes sit in silence by the courtyard fountains or find a bench under the trees in
the Myrtle Fillmore Grove.
Beauty
Another practice that lifted me was always to have fresh flowers in my home. They
brightened my day and made me smile. They helped me stay in a mindset of beauty,
abundance, and worthiness.
Today I am cancer-free, and Kupferle’s words in “Your Healing Is at Hand” still lift me.
These practices still sustain me.
This article is excerpted from the Unity booklet Love, Healing, and Abundance:
Bringing Spiritual Wisdom to Life. Also read the companion article by Rev. Mary L.
Kupferle, “Your Healing Is at Hand.”
About the Author
Rev. Mark Fuss is vice president of
outreach and engagement at Unity
World Headquarters at Unity Village,
Missouri.