Deborah King, The Transcendent Shaman
Deborah King, The Transcendent Shaman
Deborah King is an internationally known motivational speaker, a nationally known best-selling health & wellness author and a Master Healer. Her own story is a powerful tale of personal transformation. Her own life expresses the archetype of the Wounded Healer. Here, in her own words, is her story.
How I Became a Healer
by Deborah King
If you had told me when I was in my early twenties that someday I would be considered a Master Healer, I would have thought you were drinking even more than I was. Not only was I an alcoholic, but I was also popping prescription drugs, chain-smoking cigarettes, being sexually promiscuous, and using extreme diets to maintain my obsession with being a size two, all while being an anxious workaholic corporate lawyer. I was totally out of touch with my body and not even aware of how depressed I was.
My rebellious out-of-control life was the outgrowth of a terrible childhood. My father loved me, but that love had been mixed with molestation, starting when I was a toddler. He first raped me when I was nine. And when he confessed to our parish priest, the priest also abused me sexually. My mother, who was cold and cruel to me, knew what was going on at home and completely ignored it.
I took refuge where I could. A good Catholic child, I spent hours praying to pictures and statues of Jesus, Mary, and the saints. And I spent a lot of time outdoors in nature, where I felt safe as I communed with the animals, trees, and rocks. I would enter a heightened state of awareness through both these avenues of connecting with Spirit.
Then, when I was 25, my life took a major turn: I was diagnosed with cervical cancer.
Cancer! Talk about a wake-up call!
I knew I didn’t want the radical surgery that was the only medical option at the time, so I started searching for other ways to deal with this new development in my life. In order to get some clarity, I started by joining AA, and I quit alcohol and drugs that first day. Alcoholics Anonymous, like all 12-step programs, has a spiritual component, and I was able to reconnect to the Source I had rejected as a teen.
Meditation was the next important step in my process. To this day, my daily meditation practice is the single most vital component of my life. Nothing beats meditation for clearing the mind, allowing the body and mind to let go of stress, expanding consciousness, and connecting to Source.
Next I tried alternative healing modalities, such as acupuncture and massage. I also knew, somehow, that I needed to get in touch with my emotions, so journaling became another significant route of discovery. I wrote about my childhood, how I felt about my family and my job, my fears and failures—everything. I became much more aware of my emotions and how I had buried them under all my addictions and behaviors, and how journaling let me release my feelings in a healthy way.
