Healing Vs. Curing 

 December 9, 2014

By  Steve Hoffman

Can a person be healed and yet not cured?  At the same time, can a person be cured but not healed?  Some would argue that healing and curing a person are one in the same.  I would first posit that people are not healed or cured, they heal or cure themselves.  Healers (western, eastern, holistic it makes no difference) just set the stage for the patient to heal or cure themselves.  But this is a discussion for another blog.  When someone is healed it means more than just being cured.  Curing can be part of healing but somewhat surprisingly, it does not have to be.  Take for example, someone who is terminally ill.  This person is never going to be cured.  They are going to pass from this life due to the illness that they have contracted.  But can this person be healed?  I believe so.  Either on their own, or with the guidance of a healer, this person can come to a place of acceptance, peace and contentment.  They can live out whatever time they have remaining in a fulfilling, life affirming manner.  In fact it is not uncommon for patients who are given this kind of diagnosis to come to a place of clarity and freedom that they have never experienced before.  All of the petty BS of life just falls away, none of it matters any longer.  Experiencing life in this way, even for a short time, is a precious experience that many of us never know.  This is a person who is healed.

OK, so how about a person who is cured but not healed.  Take a person who has chronic headaches for many years.  They finally get to a point that they seek out help from some kind of healer (again the type does not really matter).  Whatever the modality let’s, for the sake of this discussion, say that the persons headaches get better.  In fact they no longer experience headaches.  This same person then goes back to their high stress job, continues to eat poorly, does not exercise or do anything to develop their spiritual life and routinely abuses alcohol and drugs.  This is a person who is not healed.

So the best outcome is when someone can be cured and healed.  This is a person who has found a way to alleviate their symptoms (body) but has also found a path to contentment and fulfillment (mind and spirit).  People are often given subtle signals that this type of journey is waiting for them.  Feelings of not being fulfilled, something is not quite right or something is missing.   Starting on this type of path can sometimes happen spontaneously, but more often help or guidance is necessary.  A skilled acupuncturist and herbalist can help set the stage for this type of transformation by nourishing and balancing the body/mind/spirit of a patient.  A Chinese medical practitioner who is also able to help a person with physical/mental/spiritual exercises designed to improve all areas of a patients life can not only set the stage, but help a person find and walk their path.  Often, when someone has found spiritual and mental peace and harmony, many, if not all, of their physical symptoms will “miraculously” disappear.  At the same time, when someone is dealing with physical or emotional pain or impairment, they are not able to see their way clear to developing mental or spiritual clarity or contentment.  Sometimes when this person is “cured” (again, through whatever modality) their path to additional healing and cultivation, opens up for them.


Princeton Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

Our patients know just how effective treatments are for these and a host of other problems. Steven Hoffman, a New Jersey Licensed Acupuncturist and Diplomate in Oriental Medicine, will provide you with a thorough intake and evaluation and a clear, comprehensive diagnosis and treatment plan that will insure that your goals are met or exceeded. Do you want to move past these or other problems? We will help you thrive not just survive!

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