Leann Rayfuse
Holistic Counselor & Coach

The following is a presentation of material distilling my personal theory of healing. This paper is written within the context of an imminent paradigm shift in our reality, but speaking from the perspective of one standing on the edge of this shift, with one foot in the new and one foot in the old paradigm. According to the character Sonja Hoffman in Mindwalk, a film directed by B. Capra (2003), “The world changes faster than people’s perception of it” so in this paper I want to speak not just on a practical level, but also on a metaphysical and spiritual level.


Over the course of the last half century great minds have independently come to similar conclusions about the nature of our existence and humans’ place within the context of earth’s ecosystem. Ideas about natural systems have developed from Cartesian and Newtonian mechanistic explanations which evolved into cybernetics and is now being explained through a developing unified field theory which encompasses all areas of study, including spirituality. It is my belief that this is the heart of the paradigm shift. I see boundaries fading away between areas of study and between religions. The ego-based religious dogmas giving way to truth that is lived and felt in the heart. Immanuel Kant once said, “The death of dogma is the birth of reality” (as cited in World Beyond, 2002). I am hoping that is what will happen and the shift will be toward a holistic perspective of life and that includes the art and science of healing.


I am greatly influenced by a wide variety of ideas and people outside of our curriculum. They are all interconnected. One of the best books I’ve read is “Feng Shui and Health: The Anatomy of a Home” by Nancy SantoPietro who is a psychotherapist, Tibetan Buddhist and chakra healer. SantoPietro (2002) states, “Interpreted correctly, the Feng Shui of your environment will reflect back to you all the emotional, spiritual, physical, conscious and unconscious issues that are contributing to many aspects of your disease” (p. 16).

I take much of my spiritual ideas from Hinduism and Buddhism. I have a meditation and yoga practice that has changed my life in the last five years. The learnings I get from these practices continue to deepen, particularly with the influence of the teachings of Dr. Bill Mitchell, cofounder of Bastyr University who has been my yoga instructor for five years. I have also done a ten-day silent meditation retreat which is why I am in the healing fields now, done workshops with Sharon Salzberg a leading Buddhist teacher and listened to endless hours of chant by Krishna Das which I am sure has changed my vibration level.

I have been interested in quantum mechanics since I was ten years old. I am very excited to see the blending of spirituality and quantum mechanics which is now on the verge of being mainstream. A new film, called What the Bleep Do We Know includes documentary and commentary from leading physicists, neurobiologists and spiritual leaders.

The book “Healing with Whole Foods,” has been my nutritional health companion guide for years. It is one of the main books for Bastyr students. I am also very impacted by healing modalities such as Network Chiropractics, Rosen Method massage, Reiki, prayer, Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture to name a few.

At this time we are still using a mechanistic approach to healing, particularly in mental health. We have divided a person into separate categories of mind, body and soul then proceeded to treat symptoms separately instead of realizing they are an inseparable whole more powerful than the parts. Then we are treating individuals apart from their system without treating the system. Of course this has some impact on the whole, but the power of the healing and the impact is lost when the approach is mechanistic.

In the last fifteen years or so people such as Joseph Campbell, Stephen Hawking, Deepak Chopra, Dr. Wayne Dyer and Pema Chodron are having influence on mainstream society’s views of consciousness, health, existence and possibilities. Deepak Chopra (1989) talks about how there is intelligence in the body at the smallest level—atoms, molecules, cells—living and nonliving. Our bodies can produce pain killers, antidepressants, antibiotics very precisely and these chemicals will bind to the appropriate receptor sites like they “know” what to do. When we use man-made chemicals to replace such things, we are using chemicals that are not intelligent. They bind to all receptor sites creating all kinds of other problems, hence all the side effects on drug labels. We do not understand the way the body works well enough to produce drugs that will work precisely like our bodies do (pp. 58-66). We are causing more harm than good. With our society’s wish for a quick fix and the pharmaceutical and insurance companies vying for more money, our health has become endangered to the will (not the good will) of these companies.

I think that when healers and the people of society finally realize that we are in danger due to these companies making decisions for us, then we can take personal responsibility for our health and insist scientists, drug companies, insurance companies and the government to act with integrity. Some insurance companies are beginning to cover alternative care which is a start, but most cannot afford any health care and are forced to take what is given them. I think we really need to challenge the government and corporate healthcare system to take a hard look at themselves and to take things to the next level.



I see myself as a catalyst in a healing process already undertaken by a person. A stepping stone on a path. It is my experience that when people undertake the challenge of bettering themselves or changing they may be becoming aware of the universe’s constant lessons being given them. The next step on the path opens up naturally before them if they listen carefully. Synchronicity, a term coined by Carl Jung to mean “a meaningful coincidence of two or more events, where something other than the probability of chance is involved” is coming into one’s awareness (p. 104). Events such as hearing the title of a book, that the person would do well to read, from several different sources; or hearing a certain turn of phrase that would be important for them to contemplate the meaning of in their life. In this way, by listening to all the messages and noticing the patterns and overlap, a person has begun to change, to awaken to the path they are on and thus the roadway is cleared for easier passage. Over the past few years I have been noticing the numbers 11:11 or 1:11 on clocks. I thought it was odd and intuitively knew it had some kind of meaning but I didn’t know what. A friend told me about a website that talks about this very thing. According to Uri Geller (2003), a motivational speaker and psychic:

"For many years the numbers 11:11 have been mysteriously appearing to people all over the world. Often appearing on digital clocks, the sightings of 11:11 tend to occur during times of heightened awareness, having a most powerful effect on the people involved. This causes a reactivation of our cellular memory banks. There’s a stirring deep inside, a hint of remembrance of something long forgotten. The appearance of 11:11 is also a powerful confirmation that we are on the right track, aligned with our highest Truth" (A Trigger of Remembrance section, para. 1).

And along with my 11:11 sightings I have been getting the Truth card when choosing an angel card at school, home or chiropractor’s office. I take these synchronicities seriously and it makes me smile and remember that I’m on the right track. I’m actively listening to the messages from the universe.
From my own experience and listening to the experiences of others, the lessons seem to always be there and the universe “wants” us to become aware; to become “enlightened.” The lessons become more difficult and result in more suffering when we don’t listen. At this point, a person can begin to tune into the messages or struggle on without learning much.

This is where I see the ego as something that holds a person back from change (or growth toward enlightenment). I think the ego is developed as a survival mechanism and is reinforced throughout life if a person is not nurtured in a positive way, does not have positive role models and is in a negative vibrational energy field (such watching violence on television or hearing people fight). The ego creates dis-ease as it defends the core being of a person against what it experiences as danger. Over the course of years this becomes an automatic response by the body to circumstances that may only mildly resemble the original danger. The fight, flight or flee response is an example of this. I believe the psychological or emotional response becomes somaticized into symptoms ranging from eczema to cancer. The body, mind and soul are interconnected and something that happens to one is experienced by the rest.

The body stores emotional, psychological and physical trauma in the nervous system. Over a course of time, and with the foundation of genetics and learned behavior from environmental modeling, a person’s response to stress, fear and unmet needs will manifest itself through depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, chronic fatigue etc. and each person will have unique defense mechanisms to keep themselves safe. These defense mechanisms help the body and soul to cope in the short term, but over the long term create a disconnect from their own true selves and from others, increasing the person’s stress, fear and unmet needs. I think this is a natural, karmic process that is required initially for a person to learn their specific lessons in life.

For those who have a faith in a higher power, relatively healthy genetics, positive role models and their needs met, such as healthy food, adequate shelter, physical touch, quality time with family and others, encouragement and affirmation and gifts, encompassing the “five love languages” according to Chapman and Campbell (1997), defense mechanisms will not develop to such a degree to cause dysfunction and these persons would exhibit more resilience and flexibility, appropriate affect, conflict resolution skills, insight and self-awareness and be able to interact with others authentically.

In a family, ideally, the parents would have the above positive modeling in their family of origins and would carry that over to their children. Parents would also be aware that each child responds to the world a little differently and have different needs (more or less attention need be spent on those needs mentioned above). Health in the family requires a level of self awareness of each parent and awareness of the process as well as an ability to be flexible in the daily changes that occur in the life of a family with children.

In reality, everyone is impacted by the family they grow up in, neighbors, teachers, other children, messages from the media and society in general and the collective unconscious. It is my belief that each person has specific lessons to learn in this life and “everything happens for a reason.” A person is in the situation they are in because those are the lessons for them. Each has the ability to become the witness of their process and engage in their life in such a way as to take responsibility for their own growth. This requires each person to become aware of their inner self and relationship to others, which I think is especially difficult in American society where we are taught that it is best to be independent, survivalists who don’t need to ask for help from others.

I think also that throughout the generations our society has influenced individuals to suppress their shadow side. Now it is coming out in full force in society. I think if you try to suppress things they resurface in other places and are not going to go away until they are integrated. The ills of society exist because society and individuals do not deal with major issues such as anger, death, sex et cetera in this culture. And I do not think that treating individuals in government run agencies will cure the ills of society. Society itself must undergo major changes, shifts in perspective to integrate not hide or suppress what is difficult or different.


On a more practical level, however, I will be working with individuals and families on a multidimensional healing level. I think that the people that I will be able to have the most influence on will embrace several principles. There are many principles of change, but the few that I find to be important are an increasing curiosity about self and others, an increasing pressure from within which becomes greater than the pressure from the environment, a sense of safety and trust, a feeling of connection to the universe or faith in higher power, resiliency and flexibility.

I think without curiosity about yourself one cannot have the beginning impetus to grow in a positive direction. People may change in little ways to accommodate others or to make their lives easier, but I don’t consider this to be true change which I equate with growth and ultimately with enlightenment. Curiosity brings energy into the future, lending itself to further exploration of something. When one is curious, they tend to listen more carefully, getting quiet, which will help them hear their own truth, the truth of others and the Truth of the universe. And I’m talking about a curiosity that is not ego-based. This is a curiosity to seek out higher meaning; it has a certain earnestness to it, a yearning to see another’s soul behind the social trappings and defense mechanisms.

Many times people are asked to change by others or by society. A person may change, but it is only on the surface. It isn’t growth. If this pressure is also accompanied by a growing pressure from within to change, then I think the change will occur and is more likely “to stick.” It has to come from the person and not from anyone else. When pressure comes from outside, a person is more likely to respond defensively because it feels like an attack of self. Even if they also believe it is something they “should” do, it won’t happen until they are called from their true self.

Along with curiosity and pressure from within, change and positive growth will occur when it is safe for the person to do so. If the person does not have a support network, whether it is through therapy or with family or friends, or their own safe haven, a person is not likely to change their behavior or thoughts without having a supportive environment. If there is nothing supportive to change, the same behaviors will occur or reoccur if the person has indeed made an attempt.

Studies have shown that people who feel a connection to the universe or have faith in a higher power are not sick as often and heal much quicker. There are three aspects of spirituality that can be explored with clients. Those three are connection, compassion and contribution (O’Hanlon, 2003). All major religions talk about these things in different ways. Every client will have unique ideas that for what will work best for them. I have had the most success with clients in my internship who embrace some kind of spirituality. They seem to be able to look to the future easier and have more hope. I find it difficult to instill hope in clients who believe they have no help from the universe and think they when they die they just decompose into nothing.

And finally, resiliency and flexibility are key. Change does not happen overnight usually. It tends to be a long process which includes times of going backward to old behaviors. If one is inflexible or not resilient, they are likely to give up trying when in reality, the backsliding is all part of the process. Also, when one is changing, others around them may not be changing at the same pace or wanting them to change. Being flexible allows for the relationships to adjust as well.


A healer who is meeting people on their path to change and more healthy behaviors can exhibit all manner of characteristics. Everyone is a teacher and some people need their teachers to be confrontational while others need someone who will be very gentle and listen empathically. I would suspect that the most effective healers would engender the qualities of the five love languages mentioned earlier and be an effective role model. I think it also depends on what stage of awareness the person is at. In the beginning stages of awareness (possibly the contemplative stage), the therapist may need to be more careful of directing the person. Later stages, the person would have more self trust and the therapist may be able to be directive without the person blindly following along. And, I believe that “everything happens for a reason.” Not that we are necessarily fated to live a certain way, but a message from a healer to a person on the healing path, can take many different forms and have the same result. And from the healer’s perspective, I think it is important to realize that when I say something to a client and they do not change, it can be because it isn’t the right time. As Ram Dass (2003) says in his film, Fierce Grace, “the nervous system knows.” I am being reminded of the idea that people choose their partners depending on their level of differentiation. That can also be said of people choosing their healer. A person will choose a healer (or continue to work with a healer) who works at the level they are at intuitively, it is the healer’s natural style. I don’t think we can fake our level of differentiation with our clients. To become a healer at the highest level of effectiveness, I think one would have to be very self-aware, have a plethora of techniques and information in their bag and be able to be with the clients in the moment and able to see at least a half-step ahead of the client, in the role of witness and guide of the process. This healer would also have the ability to be fearless and change and grow alongside the client.


Individuals do not live in a bubble. Everyone is shaped by the myriad of interactions they have throughout life and in the present. A systemic approach is an important perspective to use for me as a healer. I think it promotes a holistic approach to healing and takes the client out of the role of identified patient, which depathologizes them. I think helping a person understand that they are reacting to their environment reduces the blame and opens up a hole in the defenses toward healing. A systems approach helps me be less judgmental when I am faced with situations that may push my buttons. That will still happen, but it is easier to create empathy toward a person when considering that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

My belief that “everything happens for a reason” helps me to stop worrying about the “why” of things and just be in the moment and try to hear the lesson being taught. I believe people need to slow down and listen to what their own heart is saying before they can truly help themselves or others.

Other values that are important to me and will have an effect on how I am as a healer and what messages I give to people include: honesty, wisdom, balance, not really knowing anything, nonharming of any creature, respect for all things in the universe, that there will always be suffering (it is our choice how long we choose to suffer) and finally a respect for all people as everyone has something to teach if we just listen. I refuse to condemn people for “horrible acts” because I sincerely believe that it was their environment that created their dis-ease along with nutrition, astrological influences, lack of connection with the universe and karmic factors. Nancy SantoPietro says, “The more approaches we use to heal ourselves, the more we increase our chances of transforming that illness” (p.17).


My values and world view were shaped by all my experiences in life. When I was very young I distinctly remember sitting with my arms wrapped around my knees and seriously contemplating my existence, the very complex way my body worked and how I fit into the whole universe. I did not have an easy childhood and have had to learn emotional intelligence later rather than sooner. I was interested in quantum mechanics since childhood, have a degree in Chemistry and worked in wheat genetics for the USDA for 3 years. I then taught Chemistry in Tanzania in the Peace Corps, learning Swahili along the way. Then returned and worked in publishing for 3 years. Finally, I became involved in yoga and meditation and the healing fields. I received my Masters in Applied Behavioral Science (Systems Counseling) and have designed my private practice.

My experience is diverse, has depth in many areas and passion in many. My passions have resurfaced again and again over the years. As I began to realize I wanted to work in a healing field I was wondering what my interest in quantum mechanics had to do with anything. Now I know. It’s all connected. I have learned many lessons the hard way and mostly on my own. I am very grateful for the life that I have lived. Although it has been painful at times I know that I can relate to many if not most people on this planet. I am aware of cultural issues. I have a clear idea about the workings our system called Earth and have interpersonal skills and leadership skills to carry out my vision.

My life experiences and education have challenged me in many ways. I definitely have developed several strengths that have helped me to survive, allowed me to better myself and they are things that will help me as a healer. I think I am a very good systemic thinker which has brought me to my theory of healing as stated previously. I live my values which will enable me to be a model for others. I am empathic because of my life experience and ability to relate to other people in many types of circumstances. I am fearless, except when I’m not. I think that I will be able to model fearlessness for others and teach people ways to empower themselves. I am a lifelong learner, curious and optimistic about my life and the future of the earth and everything on it. From these last come my vision which propels me forward to heal myself and others.


Chapman, G., & Campbell, R. (1997). The five love languages of children. New York: Northfield Publications.

Capra, B. (Director). (1990). Mindwalk [Motion picture]. United States: Atlas Production Company.

Capra, F. (1996). The web of life: A new scientific understanding of living systems. New York: Doubleday.

Chopra, D. (1989). Quantum healing: Exploring the frontiers of mind/body medicine. New York: Bantam Books.

Geller, U. (2003). Clocks and watches on 11:11. Retrieved March 25, 2004, from http://www.geller.com/articles/11htm

Jung, C. (1973). Synchronicity (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Lemle, M. (Director). (2002). Fierce grace [Motion picture]. United States: Zeitgeist Video.

O’Hanlon, W. (2003). Spirituality and psychotherapy workshop. Seattle, Washington: O’Hanlon.

SantoPietro, N. (2002). Feng shui and health: The anatomy of a home. New York: Random House.

World Beyond. (2002). Quotations part IV. Retrieved March 25, 2004, from http://worldbeyond.org/quotes.htm