Closing Keynote: The Healer's Journey
James Gordon, MD
Format: Video of Slides

In the world's oldest and deepest healing traditions it was understood that the acquisition of technical knowledge had to be balanced by attention to the inner life of the healer. The education of all healers was grounded in meditative practices and rituals that promoted growth in wisdom and the cultivation of modesty and awareness. These practices and rituals balanced the temptations that knowledge, position, and power held out to the healer.

In the modern West, we have largely forgotten this. It is very important for us, as well as for our patients and clients, to remember and to be once again on this path.

In this talk, I will discuss the healer's journey and how its challenges can offer enrichment and even fulfillment of our life and our work. I will tell a few stories—drawing on mythic and historical examples as well as my own life and work—as well as some of the research we now have available to us and I will describe how connections with others can help transform the nature and quality of the journey. I'll also provide some tools and suggestions that may help us to make this healer's journey as fulfilling as it can be.