Three years ago I had surgery on my abdomen. The operation was a success, and the patient didn’t die.

This post has little to do with the surgery and a lot to do with people. I had decided in the week before the surgery that I would connect with a group I know through my teaching of spirituality and the ways of the sweatlodge, and ask them for their support, including sending me healing energy.

I sent my request two days before the surgery:
“Greetings, friends.
“I’m writing to you with a request for your prayers and good thoughts for a surgical procedure I will be having this coming Monday at 1:55 pm. The surgery is repair of a left-side inguinal hernia, with a local anesthetic and sedation.
“I ask that if you can, you focus on the operation being easy for all concerned, and on rapid and uncomplicated healing afterward.
“Much gratitude.
Wes”

Within a few hours, I had received many responses of encouragement and love, and promises to send good energy and prayers. The effect of those messages was profound–I knew again that I am well loved, and that I would be well taken care of during and after the surgery. I was relaxed and confident, buoyed by the connection and compassion I felt in their words.

I walked to the hospital, a 45-minute stroll, enjoying a bright day with occasional sprinkling rain. The staff there were welcoming and caring, and I had a calm nap while waiting for my chariot ride to the OR. It was fascinating watching the preparations for the operation, including having a catheter put in my left arm. Then the lights went out.

An hour and a half later, I woke slowly in a different room. My return to consciousness was smooth and gradual, with no discomfort, only a feeling of well-being, as though I were being held in loving arms. No pain at all. None.

Back at the room I’d left from, the first thing I noticed was that the room was full. Small, cheerful, active spirits were crowded around the foot of the bed, fussing over me, and beautiful smooth energy from a variety of sources flowed around the bed and into my body. I felt very much cared for, by these beings whose help had been requested by my people and by the energy in the room. I was surrounded by beauty, and I knew that the incision would heal well.

I napped again, waiting for permission to leave. Once I could demonstrate to the nurse that I could stand on the leg that had been numbed by the anesthetic, I was given the green light to go just before 6 pm.

I was hungry, and I must have misread the instructions about what to eat and drink. They said to start with broth, and if that was acceptable to my stomach, to progress from there to fruit. I had a beer and a blackened salmon salad. Much more satisfying.

The next day, on painkillers but at a lower intensity than recommended, I could feel the capacity of my body increasing by the hour. My room at the friend’s house who picked me up was also crowded with some of the same spirits and energies that came into my hospital room. In these two days I have been in a place of gratitude and presence, resting well, and now I’m looking forward to when I can get back to tossing wood around.

I would like to express here my deep gratitude to all the people and spirits who were with me in those days.

All I had to do was ask.

—————–

I also had a role in this process. Before I walked to the hospital, I spent some time meditating and asking my own spirit helpers and guides for assistance. I used a method called Emotional Freedom Technique, or tapping–-you may know it-–to help with the emotional aspects of the preparation, making sure I was calm and relaxed and receptive to the surgery.

After the operation, I applied my training with energy to the pain and the healing. Several times a day I shift my consciousness, focus my attention on the incision at a microscopic level, and encourage the cells to reach out lovingly to each other and to grow in a good way. I pause to take 20 or so deep breaths once an hour or so to oxygenate my system. And I continue to tap for physical healing, rebalancing my energy and ensuring a good flow of Chi.

March 24, 2021; originally published October 19, 2017