It wasn’t until I studied holistic therapies that I became aware of the word ‘practitioner’. For me, this meant someone that had trained in something specific, such as massage, physiotherapy, counselling or aromatherapy. If I am really honest, once I got my qualification in Reflexology and holistic therapies and started practising, there was definitely an element of “Here I am – I have finally got somewhere in my life,” even though I knew I was kidding myself and it was only the beginning and there was a lot more to learn.
Indeed, there was a lot more to learn! Even though I was a ‘practitioner’, I was not looking after my health and wellbeing, or taking care of myself. I was not eating well, I was eating on the go, and not listening to or honouring my body, which eventually led to an illness that forced me to stop being a ‘practitioner’ and go back to work in an office environment while looking at my health.
It wasn’t until a few years later that I heard the term ‘practitioner’ being used in the office workplace. People were calling themselves practitioners and at the time I felt this was really strange. Why would you do that? A practitioner was someone that had a qualification and worked in the bodywork / therapy industry, not a team Manager!
Through Universal Medicine, what I have come to realise is that actually we are all practitioners, no matter what our age, qualifications or job role; that each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person.
This was made really clear to me while I was on a recent training course, where the room was set up with the person at the front of the room as the trainer ‘teacher’, and the people listening as the ‘students’.
It was a long and painful day and it wasn’t until the end of the day, when we did a group exercise, that everyone in the room came alive. The ‘students’ were talking about the young people they were working with, sharing their experiences until eventually at one point everyone in the room was helping each other with the cases they were working on.
For me this was gold and very valuable, far more valuable than everyone sitting facing one person listening to them talk. It emphasised that we are all practitioners, that is, we all have our lived experiences and know if these have truly supported ourselves and others, or not. We all have access to the same innate wisdom within us, whether young or old. It is just a case of whether we know how to connect to this or not. Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.
I am continually inspired by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine who consistently reflect to me that we are all practitioners of life.
By Vicky Cooke, London
Related Reading:
I Thought I Was a Great Healer
Medicine is Life
Lesson for LIFE & Beyond – The UNFOLDING PATH
The Truth about Universal Medicine 
I agree with you Vicky when you say
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.”
What life is showing me is that every day is the same day repeated over and over again, it is what we do with the day that matters. We have an opportunity to imprint each day and build on the day before, to look at what happened and to then go forward knowing that we can change how we are. Every day is a fresh start a new potential. This changes everything, as how can we find life dull or boring if every day we have the possibility of starting afresh.
Our Livingness will keep us practicing life and all the things that as a practitioner are required for us to reflect the Love of God to everyone we meet.
When we consider ourselves practitioners within our workplaces it makes us aware of the responsibility we have in sharing our wisdom – so we all keep learning and growing alongside each other.
So, in a way we are practitioners and students all at the same time.
I totally agree that we are ‘practitioners of life’ and age is not a factor, wisdom is within us all. This is removing this old belief that our young ones voice isn’t important, they are just as wise and their presence is just as equal as our elders.
So true – we are already an authority, of our own life – whatever that is we are living and that doesn’t need a qualification, and that is what we practice, through our skills and expertise. It’s the communication and exchange of vibrations.
It’s wonderful to redefine the word practitioner… In the same way that so many words… Commitment, purpose, religion and love are being redefined
It is becoming so obvious to me that, yes, I am a practitioner of life, but that starts with being my own practitioner first, in the way I care for myself and the choices I make every day. If I chose not to look after me in the most loving way then what quality of livingness do I bring to another, whether it is at work, at home or simply being out in life? Being a practitioner of life comes with the responsibility of living a life that is truly loving, for self and for all.
I recently had a moment where I could feel something changing within me and it had to do with religion, in that many religions teach us to look outside of ourselves to worship God. This is the lie the majority of us have fallen for. When we stop looking outside of ourselves and turn inwards, then we will find the treasure we have all been looking for; it is our connection to God and heaven. When we connect to this pot of gold, then we can share this with all others so that they can find their pot of gold within themselves too.
If we don’t care for, or love ourselves first, then how can we bring an unknown to another, ‘ If I chose not to look after me in the most loving way then what quality of livingness do I bring to another’.
‘Practitioner’ someone who practices, so as we are all practicing how to evolve each lifetime we are all practitioners of life.
Again the corruption of words interferes with us embracing the power of our livingness, and in this case with the misunderstanding of what a practitioner means. For a true practitioner is one that reflects the quality of our Soul, in which a healing room, workplace, at home or in every aspect of our lives, all hold equal value. We all are born fully qualified to practice such a way of living, which we all can activate whenever we are willing to connect to our Soul.
What I love about what you have shared here Carola is ‘we are all born fully qualified to practice such a way of living’. Currently I do not feel that we, humanity, as a whole get that life is a lesson for us to heal and change old ways, to practice something different, to make more loving choices, therefore being a practitioner of our own life which is very empowering.
That is correct we all have a place in this world and how awesome will it be when we realise this and can benefit from each others expertise.
I too held this belief that ‘practitioners’ were people who came under the umbrella of health or healing modalities. But what’s been shared here is so true and confirming, we are all practitioners of life and we could offer this to others.
I currently have a work colleague who is showing me that it is possible to keep changing and not get stuck in a comfortable life. This person has had to make many changes in their life which they found very challenging at first, but now they are reaping the benefits by putting all the doubts and struggles that they had to one side and come out of their comfort zone and embrace life. If they can do this then surely I can too.
Same here, ‘practitioner’ was for someone who was trained in and practiced some health modality; I guess words and their meaning changes over time.
Simply reconnecting to our bodies, allowing ourselves to go through those doorways within, we all do become practitioners, integrity, honesty and clear living.
It is definitely not about knowledge; it is about being able to connect to a deeper wisdom and start walking it.
Yes and in walking our truth, impulsed by our connection to our Soul we reflect the vibration that we all are in essence, one that offers evolution.
The walking in our truth that you speak of Carola Woods comes from a stillness in our bodies, which I feel is the connection to our soul. The stillness is always there, we are not always aware of it because of the raciness or motion we accept as our ‘normal’ way of life. Our spirit has set up the raciness deliberately so we do not have the connection to the stillness. When we do finally reconnect back to the stillness it’s learning how to move in and with the stillness especially when we are driven by our spirit, who rejects any form of stillness and is the perpetrator of keeping us all in motion as in stillness it feels the pull of the one soul.
What a wonderful connection… Practitioner and integrity… Imagine them becoming synonymous with each other.
I was recently at an Esoteric Women’s Health event called Wellbeing for Women, it was local to my area and attended by 30-40 women. We had two hosts presenting but they really just initiated the conversation and women in the audience were adding to it, and then we spilt into small groups of 4 to workshop a topic together. It was so supper supportive because every women added to and expanded the conversation. Every women’s voice was needed for everyone to come to a place of greater healing. We are definitely all practitioners of life with much to offer.
Melinda it feels that what you are sharing was something that was practiced many years ago; that women gathered as a way of supporting themselves and the community, that women played a greater role in society than they do today. To me it feels as though it is the women who are the glue of society and if they are out of alignment to themselves then the rest of society is out of alignment, which I feel is what we are witnessing today.
We are all practitioners of life, but first and foremost, we are partitioners of ourselves.
When I have considered myself a practitioner in the mechanical field of work I am in, it has brought a whole new level of personal responsibility to everything I do, as I consider it the same as if I was doing direct body work on a client, whether I am interacting with my co-workers, at home making dinner, or talking on the phone with a friend. Every movement we make has an effect on our bodies and thus with not only everyone we are in direct contact with, but carries over to other people later on. So if I decide to just check out at night and watch a YouTube video on airplanes (speaking from experience here) because I don’t want to feel something that happened at work that day, when I go into work the next day I might carry over that same disconnected state of being and not be able to connect and work with other people as effectively, and am more likely to make mistakes.
It makes sense that the word ‘practtioner’ comes from the word ‘practice’ and we are all practicing how to live and when we work together to support each other we are all practitioners of life.
We have so much wisdom inside that we can connect to, it makes us all practitioners of life because when we allow it, the wisdom comes through us and everyone can access it.
Yes, I also love it in workshops when participants all start to interact, share together, help each other… It’s the way it can be.
True Vicky ‘being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.’ It is a responsibility we have 24/7 where ever we are or what we are doing, the accent is on the quality we bring.
We are forever learning and evolving, we are forever students.
I totally agree we are all practitioners of life, we all come with a different flavour and see things from different angles and because of this we all reflect the same thing slightly differently to each other.
I love the idea that I am a practitioner of life and that I am here to share my vast lived experience with the world. But I also realise that just because I have lived for many years it doesn’t make me any wiser than the young children that I am with often. Even though these beautiful children haven’t lived as many years as I have, the wisdom that they share that often stops me in my tracks makes them also, practitioners of life.
Hi Ingrid, very true, it is great to dispel the ill belief that the older people because of their age are wiser, they are not. A child can hold and express equally the same wisdom (if not more!) than an adult.
A practitioner to me, means responsibility, so why would we all not want to be responsible for how we are living and effecting others?
We are practitioners of our own lives as we observe and understand the choices we make in every aspect of our lives. We each have our own wisdom and light to share from our livingness.
“We all have access to the same innate wisdom within us, whether young or old. It is just a case of whether we know how to connect to this or not. Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living…” This is a diamond of a sentence. So many young children speak pearls of wisdom – they have access which so often gets hidden as they grow, due to forces coming at them form their environment. But though hidden it need not be buried forever and can be re-discovered, as so many students of Universal Medicine have found.
Being a practitioner is simply the way we live… What a beautiful statement, and how this is so absolutely embodied in the esoteric practitioners association.
I recently attended Sacred Esoteric Healing Level 3 held by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine in the UK. The course, amazing pails into insignificance with what was presented here. The quality, integrity, wisdom, care and absolute love was clearly felt. So much was given and nothing spared or held back .. it was life changing. During the course there were many times where each person is either a practitioner giving a session or a client or is a client receiving a session. I reflected this morning whilst driving ‘do I live the depth of care, presence love and magic that was offered to me whilst being a practitioner in my everyday life?’ .. the answer was no, not currently. Highlighting once again that being a practitioner of life is in the way we live and each move we make not in the role or roles we do. No judgement but great to feel so this can be changed.
A practitioner in life is testing out life in all situations and exploring, experimenting and refining all the time. A practitioner is not a comfort situation where everything is mapped out and we can follow a book. A practitioner is engaging with life in every moment and dealing with it as it happens. A practitioner is someone who is committed to being in a relationship with life.
Adele there is something in what you have shared here
“A practitioner is someone who is committed to being in a relationship with life.”
Is it possible we have forgotten how to be in a relationship with life and have instead withdrawn our full participation and in the withdrawn state we miss out on the magic that is there waiting to be shared?
It’s empowering to let go of the idea that without a qualification we don’t really qualify to be a member of society. It’s amazing just how much is there to be taught and learnt from our own selves.
We all equally have the same access to the wisdom of the Universe when we choose to align and live in connection to our soul.
True, we all have access to the wisdom of the Universe if we choose to live in a way that fosters this, ‘We all have access to the same innate wisdom within us, whether young or old.’
We all have great wisdom to offer and share at any age throughout our life. As this wisdom is accessible to each and every one of us and is embodied as such through the way we choose to live, in which we can naturally then support, inspire and confirm each other to grow and evolve.
We each bring a piece of the party and it’s amazing when we all work together with that, it’s brings a greater depth for everyone. Everyone is needed.
I agree with your comment that everyone is a practitioner Vicky. We all have something unique to offer the World. This energy that we have is actually part of the whole.
I love that every single one of us represent a piece of Universe that cannot be represented by anyone else. We could be at the same training but how we received and then reflect back to the others would be completely different from those of the others. We are constantly teaching and learning from each other. Such a beautiful picture together we form.
It is through the acceptance of who we are that we can break away from all the limiting beliefs that we have been aligning to delaying our return to soul and once again live life to the fullest simply by making it all about energetic quality first, that is then is expressed through every movement of our day- a true practitioner of life!
Francisco Clara I agree with you, it seems to me as well that acceptance is the key to breaking away from the limitations we put on ourselves and life. Accepting that we all do have a role to play that we are all part of the plan not just a chosen few. An Aeroplane flies because every nut, bolt, washer has a part to play keeping the plane airborne. It is the same with humanity we are all needed to support each other to align back to our soul and move on from this plane of life.
If we all saw ourselves as practitioners in our workplace, home, relationships and in the world, the reflection we would offer would be very different and bring responsibility and a quality to how we are moving and expressing in the world.
Yep I agree and it eradicates people feeling small or less than others as it would be felt within that all are equal and we all have a specific innate quality we can bring to either another, a space or a project or task.
The word practitioner goes hand with hand with the word integrity. Both of them are more than two words; they are deeply linked as what we live, say and do has to be one and the same, without having ‘hidden pockets’.
Wow, being a practitioner of life. Yes, it is a constant learning and then expanding by putting it into practice to see what works what doesn’t. How often are we living from a space of normal that once we find a new normal we question how we could ever have found the last normal normal?!!
As we learn and build our understanding and wisdom in life, we can express the expanded lived awareness and inspire all others. What a great insight that regardless of the ups and downs of life we have a lot to offer, and often it is exactly the lessons we have learned from such ups and downs that can make us be the practitioner in the moment, even if our input is simply to relay “how not to do it”!
raegankcairney, I was definitely a billboard for the Astral plane of how to live in life withdrawn from it. Coming across Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon was a life saver for me. I understand that there is an energy that I am aligned to that is the complete opposite to how I could be living. Learning to live and move from the stillness that is naturally within my body is challenging because I have allowed my spirit to run amok for life times and reining it back in, to me requires a discipline of staying steady when my spirit wants to freak out at the level of stillness I/ it can feel in my body. The spirit hates any form of stillness as it knows that is where it will return to, so there is this inner battle of bringing the spirit to heel to align to the stillness it comes from.
Practitioner is not equivalent to a therapist. While a therapist is someone that administers a therapy, a practitioner is someone that lives honoring what has learned about us and life.
And with this awareness comes a deep and abiding sense of responsibility, that paves the way for even more evolution
Thank you Vicky for a great blog putting the word Practitioner in it’s rightful place, one where we take responsibility for the way we are living and the refection we bring to others by our living way.
Viewing the world in a way that makes us all responsible equally for caring and communicating and healing ourselves and each other.
This blows away any critique or illusioned mind – making clear that all we live is what we send out to the world and that this is our daily practice. And so, what if we would all live by integrity? What are we then sending out to the world? a beautiful pondering..
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living”…and so it follows that the quality of our way of living will affect the quality of the practitioner we are. When the call these days is for evidence based trials, especially in medicine, to me the best and most reliable evidence is in the way people are living, the quality of their lives and the sum of their lived experience; it is this lived experience that will inevitably inspire others to make changes in their lives.
I agree Ingrid, spend less time and money on medical trials and instead learn from the way we are living I am sure, in fact I know, the results will speak for themselves and what we will find will be truly astounding … make common sense and something we can greatly learn from as we truly do hold our health and well-being in our hands by how we live. In fact it is sad we are not learning, evolving and healing as humanity on a scale we could be from how we are living as surely this should be a no brainer!
Everyone is a practitioner – we are either healing or harming, bringing expansion or contraction in everything we do, there is no middle ground.
Well said Jenny, as a practitioner we hold a responsibility to offer healing to the world and to not add to the drama and chaos we see.
The beauty of connecting with others is listening to their lived experiences and being inspired to share your own. We have all lived life and experienced life in oh so many ways and it is then shared from our movements of our bodies and that is a very cool way to learn, observe and connect with others. Thank you Vicky.
Agreed. I haven’t heard many questions that someone else in the room hasn’t been thinking about. Valuing our voices and sharing our experiences is an opportunity to support each other and value that what we bring is a different perspective on a common issue.
It was only until I started attending Universal Medicine presentations that I started to value my life experiences, good, bad and ugly they all are valueable and worth sharing as another may learn from them.
‘That each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person’ is a true blessing and when you pair that with the fact that our everyday life is all about learning, growing and letting go of what is not true then we can indeed see each other as practitioners of life that are here to simultaneously teach and be a student at the same time.
Not sure if this is true, but reading this today it felt like when you become a practitioner, you become more public in a way, you are more ‘out there’ and are representing something. And thinking about it some more, we are all ‘out there’ just by being alive, and walking the streets, going to work, going shopping etc… and then that begs the question, what are we representing? Interesting one to ponder…
Yep definitely worth pondering some more. I recently felt this at work in how am on my way to work, when I walk into the building and when I speak with colleagues. What am I representing, am I caring and am I true to what I feel?
Am I true to what I feel? I love that Vicky, I will take that into my day/s and do as part of my check-ins with myself.
I love how being a practitioner of life we are also forever students. We are always open to opportunities of learning and discovery, when we are connected and aware to our surroundings and connections. Sharing the way we live through our expression is a gift and is one we can continue to deepen and enjoy forevermore.
Everyone is a practitioner of life – regardless of age, gender and occupation – “Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.”
Every one certainly is a practitioner in life – you can sell an apple to someone and transform their life in the way that you hand them the apple and look them in the eyes with an open heart; you can clean someone’s house and leave an imprint that supports to carry them forth in more ways that you realise. We don’t have to have a clinic nor a bookings system with clients coming regularly, in order to feed our community back the support that they deserve! Life itself is a practice, it is simply what we make of it that makes it the transformation it is (or not).
I was at a community group on raising teens the other day and the facilitators set up the space as a circle rather than seats looking towards one main presenter. This was awesome as it allowed everyone to share equally. We all have things to bring and we all have things to work on, the beauty is that once we start to open up, you realise that we are all able to be support to one another and that life experience is sometimes just as valuable as a piece of paper, sometimes even more valuable.
And this reflection upon what a practitioner truly is actually redefines the word and makes it a living truth of an expression of love for humanity.
I love this Vicky and certain from my experience have come to understand that everyone is a practitioner in there own expression what ever that maybe. I personally am a senior manager in hospitality as well as being a practitioner on the Saturdays. Each one is just as valid as the other, it is about the quality in the way I do things.
We all have our role in life and to the best of our ability the way we live should always be fully responsible so that every interaction is for the evolution of all humanity. Then this way of approaching a job becomes all about being connected and not doing so this brings equality.
For more on connection go to;
http://www.unimedliving.com/search?keyword=CONNECTION
No matter what job we do we all touch and affect people’s lives through the way that we live and so we cannot but be practitioners – the quality of the practitioner that we choose to be is what counts, in whatever arena that happens to be.
It is beautiful how we are all practitioners of life, our roles and jobs could be different, but the essence is that we are all true practitioners, in our daily lives, with this we are reflecting in every moment.
“…that each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person…” totally agree, and once you see and experience this then it knocks out any crumb of ‘better than, less than’ behaviour.
Thank you Vicky for highlighting the responsibility we all equally hold through the way we live, the quality we choose to live in, as it is this quality that we bring to life and share with all that we meet. In other words our movements, choices and actions are either healing or harming, evolving or de-evolving at any given moment. As you say we are all practitioners of life and as such all have equal greatness to live and share with the world.
Group work is invaluable for us all to realise we have our own expression to add from our experiences as people and as practitioners. When we all contribute, we get a greater reflection of learning from many others, not expecting the practitioner to heal us. We heal ourselves.
Recognising that everyone is a practitioner of life, means to recognise and claim this about ourselves too, that our own life experiences, realisations and continuous curiosity and questioning about things that matter hold a level of authority and understanding through the life experiences we ourselves have discovered. Having this sense of authority about ourselves, (not big ‘I know it ego’) brings genuine humbleness and respect without giving your power away to another.
To recognise how we are all equal practitioners of life, you simply can not be in any judgment or comparison with another.
Since experiencing my first Esoteric Healing session, I found the practitioner had a depth and level of wisdom they could bring which helped me on so many levels, it has inspired me to see how this is possible with the profession I work in. How amazing would it be to receive this in medicine, hairdressing and at the mechanic!!
There is a beautiful equality here in this blog, stating how everyone is a practitioner of life and bringing home the fact that not a single person is without energetic awareness and responsibility.
I love the song by Michael Benhayon “we are all teachers in this world” it is so true, we all have so much to share with others.
“Through Universal Medicine, what I have come to realise is that actually we are all practitioners, no matter what our age, qualifications or job role; that each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person.” – And hence we could say we are all role models, and also that we are all teachers in this world too!
“Through Universal Medicine, what I have come to realise is that actually we are all practitioners, no matter what our age, qualifications or job role; that each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person” – absolutely, and the greatest healing is when we leave our job title or position etc. ‘at the door’ so to speak, and enter the room equal to whoever is inside, reflecting both the necessity and responsibility of this humbleness.
There is an important message here: having a ‘title’ does not mean there is nothing more to learn in that area, life is forever offering us opportunities to deepen our understanding and awareness. And on the other hand not having a ‘title’ does not mean we have nothing to contribute, everyone is a master in the life they have lived and by that virtue have a lot to contribute, even if it is to say “don’t do any of what I did because it clearly didn’t work!”.
Actually, it would be more accurate to say we are all practitioners and clients in equal measure.
Yes absolutely learning the whole time.
When you recognise that everyone is equally a practitioner, you can’t but help notice and appreciate their own style, talents and strengths that they have in the way they express and the positive contribution they bring to something.
Approaching life as a practitioner and forever student equally helps us all learn from each other and equally embrace the responsibility to share what we have learned – bringing us all ever closer towards true brotherhood here on earth.
Love what you have shared Annie, and may I add that as a practitioner all judgment of others also drops away.
For more on judgement go to;
http://www.unimedliving.com/search?keyword=JUDGMENT
When we bring self-honesty into our everyday conversations – it is an opportunity for another to open to the possibility of greater honesty and understanding themselves. If we keep guarded or holding back in judgment of ourselves or another, if we are waiting for another to make the move, then the opportunity to learn and grow is missed.
Thank you Vicky, being a practitioner of life is simply letting go of the conditions we place on ourselves of how we need to be and allow that which is innate for us to come through and be expressed in our daily living, it is simple and a choice we can make at all times and a true reflection that so needed by all.
Yep and it also brings it back to equality .. that everyone is equal it does not matter what role we have as a job.
Being a Practitioner of Life brings purpose to everything one does.
Absolutely, our life then becomes our responsibility on every level, from health to relationships to work to family to community … it is all one, our actions, thoughts, words … there are no segments.
We all have so much to offer and share; sometimes one word can transform a situation for a person – I love that we are all practitioners of life.
Yes indeed Vicky, we are certainly all members of practitioners of life. From the moment we are born to our very last breath, we are constantly reflecting something for each other to learn and grow. Every choice we make is an opportunity to evolve, to inspire each other and to appreciate who we are and what we can reflect to humanity.
I think it is essential to understand this principle that supports purpose in everything you do.
Yes, I agree, it is an important principle to understand, as then, relationships between people and even with oneself would prosper.
We are all responsible for reflecting our livingness – to each and every person we may or may not meet.
This is a great reminder of the importance of our choices in our lives not only for ourselves but for all those around us and ultimately humanity.
We are practitioners simply by living and inspiring others by the way that we live.
So true Rebecca, our Livingness to the best of our ability is a shining inspiration so that the reflection of what it looks like to be connected to our inner-most is felt.
For more on reflection go to;
http://www.unimedliving.com/search?keyword=reflection
Indeed we are Rebecca for every day everyone is observing and learning from each other.
Anytime one connects to another and simply shares their life with them in however the conversation is lead is a practitioner and a client all in one. For we all learn through what we offer another.
To be a practitioner in life is for me the ultimate responsibility. Because everything I do is a reflection for everyone to see and feel.
It is very inspiring and beautiful to consider the fact that we all have an enormous amount to offer, and access to an endless well of wisdom and support to guide us in life.
When I think of the care and integrity I see in the Esoteric practitoners when they practice the esotierc modalities, it is felt and seen in every session and all the training. And yet, what is amazing is that we can all bring that level of care, integrity and love to all that we do
Everyone is a practitioner if they so choose, even children. All it takes is a commitment to living true to ourselves and open our hearts to others… and this will change the world.
Yes every movement we make holds the potential to be healing or harming, and that holds for everyone equally..so good to know we have that choice.
Yes – this has inspired and supported me a lot and brought me back to a true relationship with responsibility, which is purposeful, joyful and inspiring.
Yes, Vicky. Everybody has stories to share about the lessons they have learned, as we find our way back to the truth that is known within us all.
Gorgeous Vicky. I’m sure many people relate to the experience of being bored to death while someone delivers knowledge without bringing life to it. Our everyday experiences are more powerful than we can imagine. When we open up and share with each other we all benefit.
Great observation Leonne. It reminds me of university lectures and witnessing the other students literally falling asleep or not really listening to the lecturer as what they were sharing was basically just words on a page without the lived experience behind it. It was not like that in all cases but there were definitely moments like this. It is interesting to apply the understanding here that everything is either healing or harming. For we are either a practitioner or not essentially and when we do not share truth with others from our whole body and just from our mind we are harming not healing those around.
I love what you say Vicky that we are all practitioners of life. It is so true, no matter what we do or where we are, we can learn every day that we all have access to the innate wisdom within us equally, we simply have to connect to it.
‘It is just a case of whether we know how to connect to this or not. ‘ – We do all know how to connect to this – deeply and innately so – we just choose not too – and it keeps us in individualism, separate – in the drama and the woes – it’s far more exhausting and draining living this way, than just saying yes to what we deeply and innately know in how we can and have lived before.
“Everyone is a Practitioner of Life” this is an absolute fact – there is no denying it – unless we are trying to resist love, God, our truth, who we really are and our main purpose and level of responsibility we are all being asked to live, whilst we are here on this planet.
The commitment to life is to live the truth that we know rather than escape from what we see is lived as lies in the world.
Seeing everyone as a Practitioner certainly does take away the importance of having the best job title and status, and looking down on others as being unimportant – it brings in the fact that everyone has a job to do and a part to play, equally so.
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.” Living life in this way brings a whole, new and different perspective and purpose to life than what is generally presented. It is one that is fulfilling and meaningful.
Esoterically speaking, life itself is healing. One might well argue that this is not the case. Where is the healing in getting cancer? And yes, if you reduce life to mere physicality, then such a bold statement makes no sense. However, if you subscribe to the teaching that there is reincarnation, and that life is all about resurrecting oneself so that they are in the full expression of their true and divine essence, then it is most certainly the case, and nothing is wasted in life to keep impulsing you to know the greater essence of your being.
Understanding that life itself is healing is freedom.
Beautifully expressed Adam. I have come to appreciate that life is a constant journey of healing and this feels very empowering.
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living” – yes, wholeheartedly agree. And the Esoteric Practitioners Association has the framework for it and supports it as we are all practitioners of life.
We have an opportunity every day to be a practitioner. It really doesn’t matter what we do for a living. If we are connected and open we can make a huge difference wherever we are.
It’s very honouring to see everyone as practitioners of life, as we do all have something to offer, unique perspectives and wisdom gained from life. I still can get caught up in believing a clinic practitioner is better than me, but this is untrue – across the board we are all equal practitioners of life.
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living…” This truly breaks down the consciousness of being a practitioner or client… a doer or a receiver. If we are all practitioners of life then then we are all equal, bringing a unique angle, or perspective to others through our lived experience.
When we see each other with and in equality of what another can bring or share with us, it dismantles the ‘them and us’ or ‘better than / less than’ divide. We all equally have something brilliant and important to share and appreciate.
A practitioner is somebody who inspires us to be us. Sara Williams is an amazing example, with her grace and beauty, she makes me feel like I can conquer the world.
It is very inspiring to feel how we all have different experiences and wisdom to share from our daily lives. being open and honest in our communication with everyone also allows this natural ability to teach and share to shine through too.. Thank you Vicky.
Very inspired by this blog. To think that we are a practitioner of life means that we bring so much more to what we do than simply skills which keep a system operating. It makes me think about the qualities we bring and how that makes it fun and light.
‘Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living’. When we deepen the quality we live in everyone benefits.
Beautifully said Abby, remove the title and the identification with the role and we are left with our energetic state of being.
Also what if when we meet every single person we interact with during the day we come from the point that we can learn something from them? Whether it is what to be or what not to be it automatically puts us on an equal setting/ground with everyone.
This is such and important blog, it needs to be embraced by all that no matter what we do we are all practitioners of life. We all are here living life so the way we live it is the foundation of how our life is going to present itself to us. If we take into consideration that we are a part of a Universe and that this has a divine order that it moves and works in, then we too do also. The question is are we choosing to live in and with the same movements of our Universe or are we going against the flow and putting a fight up. Our bodies and the quality they are reflecting to us can answer that question loud and clear, but are we willing to listen?
Accepting that we are all practitioners is a beautiful double whammy of responsibility and the inspiration of knowing we are all always learning.
You are so on the money here Vicky. So often I have sat in conferences/meetings and think..there is so much GOLD in this room of people’s skills and experiences, but rarely do we actually allow this to come out. So often the information is just one-way from the teacher to the student – but we need to mix that up much more and allow the teacher / student relationship to be much more flexible.
What is worse is that the teachers are not there to really teach. There is no freedom in sharing their experience and what they truly feel because they have to stick to a transcript or a marking criteria. There is no real passing of knowledge in education or in most type of trainings.
I don’t think this experience of being a practitioner but not taking very good care of yourself is unusual. We have a convenient way of looking at the world, where we see the way we live as separate from the sessions we do with clients. This ends up with a ‘do as I say not as I do’ situation. We all know this doesn’t work with kids, who feel the hypocrisy, but keep kidding ourselves we can get away with it. I love knowing the practitioners I choose to see live all of what I value and more. This is the inspiration of feeling what can be lived.
The term “Practitioner of Life” is really beautiful because it’s not about ticking the box of doing a modality, nor switching on and off into different roles. It’s more so how we live across the whole of our life. It places value on the whole of life and what we learn from our experiences and can then offer back to others.
‘Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living’. Most people compartmentalize their lives so that work is in a separate compartment from their social life, their family etc. Then we also have a scale of status which puts one sort of a job as more important than another so that a cleaner, for example, is lower down the scale than a practitioner. But where would we be without the cleaner or the garbage collector? They are important contributors to our wellbeing. What you are presenting here Vicky, renders us all equal once we see that ‘We all have access to the same innate wisdom within us, whether young or old.’ And if we bring the quality of our innate love and joy to everything we do then work is no different than a holiday because we are enjoying ourselves in each activity.
Vicky when we appreciate the fact that we each bring a unique quality to life, that we all have something to share and that a practitioner is not confined to the treatment room then it opens up a level of care and responsibility that is equal and universal among everyone. The more I consider what you’ve shared here the greater the equality and the more we can appreciate that everything we do has the potential to heal and inspire others.
“We all have access to the same innate wisdom within us, whether young or old. It is just a case of whether we know how to connect to this or not. Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.” – This is so well said Vicky, I couldn’t agree more. Universal Medicine supports people to reconnect with this innate wisdom and to bring it to life, to not hold back what we can feel or have learnt through experience and to not judge our past decisions but to look for the learning in everything and with that the opportunity for true evolution for all.
Thank you Vicky for sharing, ‘when we did a group exercise, that everyone in the room came alive. The ‘students’ were talking about the young people they were working with, sharing their experiences until eventually at one point everyone in the room was helping each other with the cases they were working on.’ This reminds me of a teacher who would not let the class move on until everyone in the class understood how to get the answers (it was a math’s class) and he did this by getting the students who understood to share with the other children. Everyone in the class not only finished that year’s work but half of the next year with 100% accuracy. To me this took the competition out of the class, as everyone was equal with 100% getting 100%. These students also got increased results in their other classes, as they’re self worth increased.
Thank you Vicky for your insightful sharing. I had not truly thought of everyone being a Practitioner, but the more I let the thought in it feels right! Everyone has something to offer, another part of the puzzle of life on Earth. There is much healing that has taken place within each of us that we can utilize. Most of our experiences are all part of our growth and what we can offer each other.
I agree Susan – not to speak of the constant signal that our own bodies are giving us, it’s a neverending feedback and reality check if we care to listen.
We can all accept the responsibility of being practitioners. We are always being a role model – the question is what kind of a role model are we – what is the quality of what we reflect consistently to all?
This is some key point Vicky and what I have come to realise and observe is how much this can play out in many, if not all, scenarios in life. Treating ourselves as if we are an equal is something that I am beginning to cherish.
Vicky, I can really feel the truth of what you are sharing – that we are all practitioners of life, I can feel this in my work as a photographer and in my work at a school, I bring my gentleness and love and care of people to both these jobs and can feel that any person in any job can bring their qualities and their lived experience to support and reflect to others.
I agree to think that we know better than others just because of a qualification or title or even if we have been doing a job ‘longer’ than another is a great illusion and does not allow the richness and wisdom of another to emanate. I feel this is particularly with children and young people as well especially in a classroom setting, we are all students, including the teacher and if we allow it we can learn a lot from what children and young people share.
I find that when I understand that I am a student of life, I allow a level of humility to be present that isn’t there otherwise. With humility comes openness to others rather than a need to be right. I have attended a lot of workshops, presentations and courses over the past 30 years and being open to learning in this way is a wonderful thing. I also find that who I am – deep down in my heart – doesn’t change though. I may change my understanding, appreciation and awareness of how life works and the choices we all make, but the essence of who I am remains the same.
So true Rebecca, we can be a practitioner anywhere and everywhere, not just in a healing clinic. We simply need to know that it is when we are living our lives in such a way that we care for ourselves deeply and honour all those around us as equal to us, that the quality of the reflection that we will offer others is the first step to being a true practitioner.
I notice that I am different when I spend a day giving healing sessions to when I am at work with my colleagues and customers. On the days when I give sessions I provide myself with more space and time to do things, and I remind myself to stay connected throughout the day. At work I allow myself to run with momentums and get caught up in racing against time. I can forget to stop and reconnect. But really there need be no difference to how I am when I am giving healing sessions. I can have just as much impact in my regular job if I stay with myself. A practitioner anywhere…
Great point Rebecca, I gave a friend a healing session the other day and it felt lovely to do, I felt more connected and I was like ‘why am I not always like this?’. It actually takes less effort, in fact there is no effort or trying with anything when we are connected. This is something I am really starting to learn.
Beautiful conversation! This is about The One Life in very practical terms – which is – being or living with the same level of energetic responsibility everywhere, all of the time – with no off switch, or ‘me time’. Just a constant flow of intention and purpose. Thank you Both. xx
I love the responsibility of accepting that we are all practitioners of life; all part of the make up of our world and all playing an integral part in our future.
It seems to be a common perception, that being a practitioner means you are a qualified therapist in a specific modality. When we know that every word we say and every gesture we make affects our surroundings in one way or another, the responsibility factor kicks in and it is obvious that ‘everyone is a practitioner of life’.
By understanding that we are all practitioners of life regardless of what it is we do, we can start to really appreciate and value one another without letting any of our ideals or beliefs about what we do being our identity get in the way.
When we recognise and see that we are all equally a practitioner of life, it allows one to value the insights another brings without disempowering themselves.
It certainly is not pleasant sitting in a class when someone is teaching students from a position of their being an expert and assuming the students know nothing. We are all role models for someone else and once we realise this then we know that we have a responsibility to live in a way that is not imposing but that reflects harmony and understanding to others. In this sense, we are practitioners of life and there’s no arrogance in this because we see everyone else in the same light. And when we do this student’s feel the equalness when we share information with them rather than teach at them.
Of course! a Practitioner is someone who practises their own livingness in their own unique way with the utmost integrity, love and respect in service to humanity in whatever skill, work or task they have chosen. You make it very clear Vicky. It is sometimes hard for us not to give ourselves away to the old patterns of putting previous beliefs about practice and practitioners before what we now know, but we can make the choice to build that love for ourselves that then builds our confidence and appreciation of how we are certainly practitioners whatever we do.
Yes, agree …”a Practitioner is someone who practises their own livingness in their own unique way …” and when we practice something, we are learning and observing what is happening as it happens. Practice naturally keeps you humble in the observation of what, how and why something is happening, and with plenty of practice comes mastership.
‘We all have access to the same innate wisdom within us, whether young or old.’ – Love this Vicky. There is a true humbleness in knowing and acknowledging that we are all equal.
This line of yours “Even though I was a ‘practitioner’, I was not looking after my health and wellbeing” gave me a realization about how much we think it is about our skills and that we can express and act in one part of our live differently to another part. The illusionary idea/creation of separation has penetrated our thinking and self-image. In this illusion we will not find the answers we are seeking for.
If we actually valued ourselves to be this, a practitioner of life and that we all individually have a unique quality that is needed we really would be opening the doors to a world of equallness and there certainly wouldn’t be a need for comparison or jealousy.
Absolutely Natalie – a recipe for true self worth.
“…Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving…” and this way brings a greater awareness to one and to all.
We are all Practitioners, practising life with the choices we make in our learning and evolving.
What I now realise is that a practitioner has nothing to do with something you need to “do” or “be” per se. It is certainly not a role we have to put on or a mask we have to wear. It is actually all to do with just being ourselves and reflecting that to the world.
Like so many words we seem to use them for a specific thing that turns out isn’t true. Practitioner was another one of those words in that it’s based on how you are, the quality you are and not on a qualification alone. We give power to qualifications but not power to a living quality of a person. There are many qualified people I see that I don’t consider are true practitioners and then there are those that live with a quality, a true quality that you can see clearly are great practitioners. We need to take more care with words because as we can see you can twist their meaning and over time they change. I love coming back to the true meaning of words, they make more sense and expand in how they are used.
It’s interesting how we see ourselves in life, and how we see qualifications as one of the most important things. No matter what qualification you have what gives you your authority is your lived experience – or what you have learnt from what you live every single day.
and in the meanwhile ignoring the qualification we all are: energetically, divine beings.
Yes – our unwritten qualifications are the best. I actually got a qualification for irresistible cuteness when I was born that still hasn’t expired…
Thats so true Meg – you are irresistible cute…
Lets claim this forgotten and ignored qualifications back!
Imagine if we were born knowing we were already fully qualified for this life – nothing to seek and nothing to gain – we were one billion percent equipped for everything ahead of us. We’d save so much time, and we would be like a rocket straight to heaven!
Do we choose NOT to see that we’re practitioners of life and inspiring/influencing those around us all the time as a means to take less responsibility for all moments of life as opposed to when we’re working, talking to customers, looking after someone or supposedly ‘on’?
Everyone being a Practitioner no matter what they do in life takes away the belief that people are better than others because their job is more technical or highly paid.
As the person who was never qualified as a therapist but did my own brand of hands on healing; foot, hand and body massage, it was not until I discovered the works of Serge Benhayon that I had the realisation that all I did was being a practitioner in life. The choice was who was I been obedient to, was it the divine will of God, or the astral forces that would have me believe I was down good.
As a true practitioner in life I can now understand that it is my choice to align to the divine energy of God, otherwise I would be flooded with thoughts that are not true and that energy will keeping me from being able to bring a body that represents divinity. So as a divine practitioner everything I do will be of service to my equal brothers, which is all humanity.
I also was not familiar with the term ‘practitioner’ until I began to study Esoteric Sacred Healing, I had not considered being a practitioner in every day life, I now do consider what it means to practice life, to be aware of choices and more responsibility. I work in complementary health now, but I do not consider this work to be any different from being at home cleaning the house, or being with my children…life is all part of the whole and we are all here to learn and practice it.
I was recently speaking to a close friend of mine who is a cleaner. What she does in a home is incredible and reaches far beyond physical cleaning. She is a practitioner of homes. We are all practitioners in certain areas, it is our choice to step up and claim that.
To not hold back our essence makes every task healing and inspirational.
We each of us have life lessons and much to heal and we all have the choice in how much we learn and in how much we heal, we are indeed all practitioners and students of life.
We can so easily give our power away to the person talking, be it in a training session or a therapy session. But the truth is that we each have the power and the authority to be aware of what is going on at every level at every moment in time. So if a person is speaking purely for self-gain, it is easy to spot and to not only not let it affect you, but also to have the words to say so that that conversation, presentation, group discussion – all of it – can be transformed in to something that is inclusive and evolutionary for everyone.
Oh my I can so relate to this; I’ve had many experiences sitting in training just being talked at and the whole room switched of and zombie like wishing away their day. I love what you share Vicky, we have so much to offer each other, when we open up and share we learn so much.
Yep it was not a great day! …. until the end 😂 But what I have learnt here is that we can bring this change to the room or wherever we are. It could be by asking a question or questioning something that is said or sharing something that is relevant but gives others another perspective. The power to bring truth to others is always in our hands and it can be done in the smallest and simplest of ways. Next time definitely give it a go you may be surprised at what happens 💕
Thus is the beauty and true power of the presentations of Serge Benhayon. For here, from the first instance I experienced him present, is a man who holds to the bone (and then some) the absolute knowing that we are all equal, and thus all equally practitioners of life – no matter what our occupation, societal standing, or academic history… We are all equally capable of connecting to the same wisdom and expressing it here upon this earth. To be a practitioner in any form is to claim this, and be willing to deepen in our lived way and connection, that a level of wisdom and love that is for all, may be the way of all that we express.
Your writing here Vicky breaks down vast divisions within our society – we are all in effect ‘learned’, for we all have a wealth of lived experience and inner knowing from which to draw upon. There is great equality in this, if we only but drop the arrogance of ‘I know’ and/or realise we needn’t give our power away to another who we deem ‘to know’…
When we say that we are all practitioners it brings a great truth into our way of living. As practitioners in our trade or profession we have a responsibility to our clients, our companies etc which we generally accept but when we expand and say that we are practitioners in every aspect of life we then have to see that we have a responsibility to everyone all of the time.
We are all definitely are practitioners of life when we bring our lived or embodied knowledge out to hold, or support another.
“We all have access to the same innate wisdom within us, whether young or old”; we do indeed Vicky and, as you have pointed out, we are all practitioners and students of life; forever learning, sharing and evolving.
The way you talk about the word practitioner, is with an equality between people – with every person having an important and valuable part within the whole. This takes away the need for recognition that is so prevalent in many career choices today. Because if we are all practitioners, with no one more special than another, and all with wisdom to share, then there is no need at all, it is just being us that is called for.
We certainly all have the potential to be practitioners, and this essentially comes from the way that we live, and not from a qualification as such. Our livingness or the choices we make in the way that we live are the very thing that carries the authority of being a practitioner. So one may well be qualified in body work, such as massage etc, but if one chooses to live in a way that disregards ones own body and cares not for oneself, then there is very little of care and love that one can share with another through their practice. And so you can be an office worker or a sales person, but the way you live could be with the utmost respect, care and appreciation and love for self and all others, and this is what your customer receives in an interaction with you…hence you represent everything about a true practitioner…So we are in effect all practitioners, the question is do we live this as such?
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made.” This also exposes all the evidence based research as being the be all and end all. It also often discounts ‘best practice’ or in other words things we have learned by doing them and are working, which are truly working as we applied them in real life, which is not always the case with evidence based where the results are from ‘controlled’ situations which always have an element of ‘un-realness’.
How humbling it is to realise that we are forever students and never does a qualification or attainment equate to us being all- knowing or even wise. We are in constant relationship with all others, with nature and with the Universe as students and potential practitioners of life.
Lovely to read about everyone coming alive when there was group discussion at the end of the day – it just goes to show that we are naturally pulled towards working together.
Very true Julie. We can gain inspiration from each other, and it feels great to be a part of such discussions. It does bring us alive.
‘Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.’ Beautifully said Vicky.
I feel as I am learning to listen more to what others have to say and actually bring a focus on what is being said has very much deepened my relationship as a practitioner in all I do. So feeling every situation for me allows the space for what ever is needed to open up.
It is such a beautiful thing to note that we are always and forever teachers and students of life and connecting to the world in this way makes every moment an opportunity to connect, learn and share the wisdom and experiences we all hold. That is a pretty amazing way to be.
We are a practitioner when we walk down the street, when we enter a room. Others notice us and, depending on how we live, we are an inspiration to them or a practitioner that fails to inspire.
Beautifully said Christoph it is the quality in which we live (walk, open a door, pull out a chair, etc) that reflects to another there is a different way to live and we need not be stressed, rushed, anxious, doing things for recognition. This is something I have learnt from Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine and feeling this truth in my body has been a blessing … its given me the permission to just be.
‘We all have access to the same innate wisdom within us, whether young or old.’ And is it possible that access to this wisdom is far easier when we care for and love ourselves, attending to our health and well being, eating well, honouring our bodies which all adds to the quality that we feel and move in and the quality of our thoughts?
Being a practitioner is being in relationship, to me, both go hand in hand. Firstly, we are in relationship with evolution and then we are in relationship with ourselves and everyone else. So what are we actually reflecting? Our willingness to evolve in what ever expression that looks like on the outside.
we do all equally have the potential to be practitioner, role model, an inspiration, a reflection of a true way that can inspire another to remember and reconnect to the light within they know to be true.
What I really enjoyed reading Vicky was how everyone came alive when it was time to share. We all equally have something to express and share, no matter the title/role given.
Was it more the fact how the event you went to was presented rather than sitting facing forward listening to them? For example I know when someone presents from their heart, I have seen this at educational events, rather than their head in terms or recalling information or what feels like reading from a book, trying to look good, I feel very much more inspired and engaged. This is also true of presentations from Serge Benhayon, who always presents from what he has lived.
So true Gyl, and It also comes through in your comment as what you have lived. It is inspiring words that I can feel come from your lived wisdom, committing to the heart makes the difference between being a practitioner who engages people and an educator who just uses knowledge.
This is a beautiful sharing of what a true practitioner is in life and the responsibility we have to reflect our wisdom and our lived ways. I know this is something I have applied more into my work life recently and I now notice how different I am when I am at home as I am not bringing the same level of power and responsibility into the home. Your blog is a perfect reminder as it is time to bring this to all areas of my life and not just reserve the practitioner title for my workplace.
When I read this – “that each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person” I know it to be true and what I am learning through the presentations of Universal Medicine is to continually check in with myself and how I am living to see what quality of reflection am I offering humanity. A loving work in progress.
This is a great reminder Sarah and something I feel I am with at the moment ‘what quality of reflection am I offering humanity’ by the way I live. Definitely a loving work in progress and where I can feel some changes need to be made.
I feel I am a practitioner and student at the same time. Bringing wisdom of what I have lived at the same time learning how to express that and relating to others.
I agree and the back and forth between the two is inspiring and fun to live.
We all have something to say, reflect, learn, teach, inspire …..with one another, there is no special place, position, role to take, we all have it ready to roll…
“We all have access to the same innate wisdom within us, whether young or old.” This is a great line Vicky because then there are no excuses for us not being all of who we innately are – it lays responsibility for our own lives firmly with us… we do know, only choose to avoid or ignore this fact you present.
I am starting to really value ever aspect I bring to every area of my life. We have more of an impact then simply the objects we move.
We become a practitioner the moment we put into practice the Ageless Wisdom that lives deep within us all. That is, we give ourselves permission to bring out and share with the world our inner qualities, the essence of who we truly are, with no perfection or apology.
I definitely feel that when we are aware of and connect with the Ageless Wisdom that is always there within we become more awakened so to speak but I do not feel we become a practitioner the moment we put this into place; even if we are unaware of the Ageless Wisdom we are still a practitioner if we learn from how we live and the choices we make. We are our own practitioner the moment we are born, it is just do we have the teachers and reflectors in life to truly support us with this?
Hi Vicky, I will rephrase this because I feel we are saying the same thing here.
Deep down there is a part of us that carries the wisdom of the ages, untainted or touched by time. It dwells within us as a burning ember that can never be put out. Although this may not be in conscious expression, the moment we observe life and how we live it and begin to make choices that are more loving and true based on these observations, we ignite more of this spark to be expressed out into the world. In this way, by virtue of our love being lived, we are able to arise from the shadows that have held us captive for so long and through this movement others are able to receive the reflection, if they so choose, that such liberation is possible. A true practitioner is someone who gives themselves permission to shine the one true light we are from and to the best of their ability does not hold this back in any way, so as to inspire all others to also return to this truth.
So beautifully said Liane, and said with the Livingness of one who gives herself permission, without perfection, to bring out and share with the world her inner qualities, the essence of who she truly is, with no apology! This is what inspires another and others to do like wise!
This was a revealtion for me too Vicky, to understand that we are all practitioners of life, no matter what our job is, and it takes away all the comparison, jealousy and judgement that we may have of our selves or another because of a job title. “Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.”
The title of this article alone supports me to let go of perfectionism and the myth that there is an end goal that I will reach when everything is ‘done’. The whole purpose of life becomes being willing to learn, always and forever, and to see this constant evolution as not only the whole point but also a joy.
Beautiful to read your blog, we are all practitioners of life. Knowingly or unknowingly, but from our essence we all present a different reflection to each other, which can be deeply supportive.
So lovely to read your blog Vicky and to gain a greater understanding of what being a practitioner of life really means. It feels like the more we embrace our lives fully the greater we understand ourselves and this in turn allows us to understand the rest of humanity. Being a practitioner of life is a great blessing that we can share with everyone – as you have done.
We are all indeed always a student of our own life, and as we learn and build our understanding and wisdom we can express the expanded lived awareness and inspire all others. What a great insight that regardless of the ups and downs of life we have a lot to offer, and often it is exactly the lessons we have learned from such ups and downs that can make us be the practitioner in the moment, even if our input is simply to relay “how not to do it”!
One of the things I have come to understand in seeing Esoteric practitioners, is that there is no symptom or ailment that is actually ‘bad’, for each one holds the key to something important our body is trying to let us know. So when you expand being a practitioner to encompass everybody alive and everything we do, well then Vicky it seems to me, that there is no wrong, no mistake we can make, for everything offers us a possibility to see we are the true healer in what we choose.
When we realise that everyone is a practitioner of life, we can’t help but appreciate more the detail and contribution that each and every person makes in the conversation or relationship with each other.
Everything in life is energy and as a practitioner I feel the energy I am living in is important. When I live in love to the best of my ability I feel the love being shared equally with every thing I do, so to me this is a practical reflection for me to practice and therefore I am being a practitioner with everything I do.
If we ignore the body and go about life in function at the expense of the quality of energy that is running us, we will never be true practitioners of life for we will be swept along in a current of others’ rhythms if we do not first choose our true flow.
It is interesting the pictures we hold in our lives about what is good and what is purposeful, the practitioner role is particularly loaded – up there with Doctors and Lawyers, man do I have some seriously unkind pictures about those professions in my head. What I have truly loved about being at Universal Medicine events is for years and years I literally had no idea what most people did for jobs, it mattered not one iota what someone did for work rather the quality of their energy and how they were in relationship was paramount. The integrity of this way is what has always stood out for me, and now I know that everyone is a practitioner. AWESOME.
Our lived experience is much more knowledgeable and valuable than we tend to realise, and it’s not simply lived experience of one lifetime either. We all have a knowing inside us of what we’ve learnt so far, so to give power to someone else to decide our future or allow to influence us without tapping into what we know is wasting and draining the resources we have for ourselves. We are our best practitioner ever.
We all have the opportunity to live in a way that inspires another to be more loving, more understanding and in a way that serves all equally, it is just a choice and a responsibility we naturally align to when we choose the love within us.
So accurate Vicky, everybody has something unique to offer.
Having this as our understanding what a difference it would be like if you were at school and deciding what career path to follow. I can imagine that there would be no need to have to choose the ‘right’ one. The pressure that is put onto this stage of our lives is something that sticks with us the whole way. To be able to eliminate this and choose a career path where we know it is not about what we do but who we are and the quality that we do everything in that matters opens to doors for space and evolution.
Natalie … Yes, Yes, Yes! This would completely change that whole part of being at school and trying to know the ‘right’ career path if instead we were taught and could feel it is not what we do but the quality in which we do it in (as well as who we are and what we innately bring). This way instead of looking outside of ourselves for something to make us feel good, get recognition, have purpose etc we come from the complete awesomeness of who we are, our innate essence within the whole time. And when we live this the ‘roles’ fall away and instead of being one way at school, college, work and another way at home or going out we are the same everywhere we go, as Serge Benhayon presents it is One Life … #OneLife ✨
The understanding, as Universal Medicine does, that whatever we do in life makes us a ‘Practitioner Of Life’ and therefore no less a ‘practitioner’ than a health practitioner. This is hugely significantly as it makes us all, no one of greater or lesser in importance than another – brotherhood in expression.
Maybe we don’t want to see the fact we are all practitioners every moment of every day, because of the level of responsibility it is asking us to live.
Life can offer us so much when we are open to ‘reading’ between the lines and feel all that is truly being communicated in everything reflecting back to us. From this broader view we can bring a deeper understanding to all we see.
Because we all have the capacity to be a practitioner in life no matter what we do and no matter where we are, then we also do not need an official title, qualification nor a clinic space as such. In fact our qualification is a heritage (of our natural divinity), and we are all born as the most precious practitioners already. The question is do we live this in a way that offers a true support to those around us (without perfection of course)? For me, when I can feel there is a greater purpose to life, a life of service, then I know that we are all here to heal and support each other in the process…as practitioners whether we know it or not, or like to call it that title or something else. But in the end it is all the same, We are all the same.
Love this Henrietta – living our natural innate qualities in full are the only qualifications we truly ever need to be a practitioner of life.
“…. we also do not need an official title, qualification nor a clinic space as such. In fact our qualification is a heritage (of our natural divinity), and we are all born as the most precious practitioners already’.
Is it possible that being willing to accept and embrace that we are all ‘practitioner of life’, in every walk of life, whatever this may be – how could anyone of us live as lesser or not equal to everyone else? True brotherhood, unity and harmony throughout the world could be more than a possibility with the wider picture of everyone living in this way.
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When we are connected with ourselves, we can be openly connected with others, and so there is healing on offer in any moment, through even just a conversation.
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.” So yes, I feel so too, we are all practitioners.
Seeing myself as a practitioner in my chosen fields of work supports me to take more initiative and dedicate myself more deeply to my role.
“It was a long and painful day and it wasn’t until the end of the day, when we did a group exercise, that everyone in the room came alive.” when I reflect on what is shared here it brings back what School used to be like for me, the way certain lessons were me having to learn something and not really interacting or connecting with the subject – yet when within other lessons there was the interaction I came alive. It shows that we all equally have experiences and something to offer and share and when we do express we come alive.
I agree MA with regards to the ‘classroom’ set up that we currently have. This again needs to be a place of absolute equalness and not about one person (the teacher) ‘teaching’ others. From my experience in holding workshops in classrooms everyone has a wealth of knowledge to share and when it is made interactive and about what we all bring it becomes valuable to all because each and every single person in the room has something others can learn from. Also to allow plans that were made for the time to go completely out of the window if something else is needed, letting go of any control of how it ‘should’ be. This is something I am still very much learning.
We are all also the practitioners of our own lives with our way of living being the greatest opportunity to bring healing though living in alignment to the impulses of our Soul.
Appreciating that we all have something to share and is of value is so enhancing for oneself and others.
We are practitioners of life and that brings a responsibility with it, the responsibility that I cannot only do what is good for myself but I have always to consider what my life will mean to others, simply said, will I harm or heal.
And such is the interconnectedness of life and us in the whole.
What a grand responsibility we have to stand true in our divine light and to express forth.
Sometimes I wonder what a practitioner really is. If a practitioner is there to take care of others, there must be a responsibility for the practitioner to first take care of him/herself. But sometimes this becomes an ideal of I am better than you, when it is only a matter of a deeper awareness from lifestyle choices. A practitioner can never be an ideal, therefore it is always living and breathing, forever being understanding of oneself and others.
““Here I am – I have finally got somewhere in my life,” even though I knew I was kidding myself and it was only the beginning and there was a lot more to learn.” Yep I can relate to this, its funny how we can get caught in the qualification and identification, rather than truly connecting to what we are bring and serving. I have been continuously learning more and more and it never stops.
I also feel the learning never stops. What you have shared Amita has brought me to a deeper understanding of how as a student we are always learning, it never stops. I feel when I get to those moments where I think I know it all everything comes crashing around me.
“The ‘students’ were talking about the young people they were working with, sharing their experiences until eventually at one point everyone in the room was helping each other with the cases they were working on” – how much we are students as much we are each other’s teachers too.
Being a student of The Livingness, I feel how humble it is to share with everyone equally and as a practitioner who is forever evolving I am learning to be a student of the lessons in life.
I used to be a full time practitioner of holistic therapies. Now that I’m in retail I notice that I can take less care in how I am with people in my interactions. It is important to remember that I am a practitioner anywhere, not just in a treatment room, and that the quality of every single interaction counts.
Writing this comment yesterday gave me a beautiful reminder that I am a practitioner anywhere. This led to a day full of connection and purpose which felt so good and had huge ripple effects. I’m inspiring myself by being inspired by this blog!
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made.” I agree Vicky… being a practitioner of life is all about connection – how we choose to be with ourselves then flows on to how we are with others, learning from this and taking responsibility for our choices. Sharing this with others then offers them a reflection to learn and grow too.
This needs to be taught from very young and in our education system… that “… we are all practitioners, no matter what our age, qualifications or job role; that each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person.” It ultimately gives every person purpose to be here and teaches responsibility at the same time.
“We all have access to the same innate wisdom within us, whether young or old. It is just a case of whether we know how to connect to this or not.” So true and the sharing you offer here Vicky is wisdom itself .
We are all equally participants of life and thereby practitioners with a job to be done. This job is to be and live as who we are in our full potential, that´s all. So let´s work together on what keeps us from being all that we are.
I used to subscribe to the theory that you can call yourself a practitioner when you study at university and get your qualification which entitles you to call yourself this title, but since meeting Serge Benhayon I have realised that this word means far more than a professional title – it is a way of living which means for me we are committed to healing not harming everyone and everything we encounter in our daily life.
I used to arrogantly think this as well until meeting Serge Benhayon, it is a testimony to what he naturally presents and lives that we are all equal and ultimately first and foremost we are all our own practitioners. I remember him presenting recently during a course that the biggest modality is the way we live … our livingness. I can feel the truth of this and I can feel the power within this, this also gives the responsibility back to us and that our life, health, choices, joy, vitality and all is within our hands as in truth we are the only ones that can change this for ourselves.
We are reflectors, let’s face it, embrace the fact and reflect the true quality of divinity that blesses another.
We all learn from our life and the choices we make, and so it is quite true how our learning and lived experience can be shared with others, making us all practitioners of life.
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.” I love this line it rings very true for me. It helps me to remember that we are equal also to our clients and we all bring wisdom with us to be shared. This goes for all we meet in every day life.
Indeed we are all practitioner of life and have much to contribute if allowed.
The more responsibility we bring to life the more we can appreciate the power of being a practitioner of life.
We are all practitioners of Life, so very true Vicky, and we are all learning how to live in world where love is not at the fore front of every choice that is made. The more loving I am with myself the more I can bring love into my life, this is on going and never stops.
If we all had this as our common understanding, that we all have something unique to share and express that is of equal quality as each other comparison and jealousy would be simply non existent. Wow this would mean the unity and the respect for each other would be strong and life would be completely different to what it is now.
I love the inspiration of considering life without comparison, jealousy and competition. It is in our hands (our choices) as to when this happens.
We are often so focussed on results and qualifications., that we forget the fact that we are already everything and amazing without having any qualification or diploma.
Thank you for what you have shared Vicky it is similar to my experience as a Healing Practitioner. The one thing that I feel was different is that I had a huge arrogance that I thought I knew better.
How I humble serve is now more to do with how I first connect to myself in every situation and this is allowing me to see the equality of love in everyone and thus through reflection being a true practitioner.
I can feel the depth of love that you have brought here ‘How I humble serve is now more to do with how I first connect to myself in every situation and this is allowing me to see the equality of love in everyone and thus through reflection being a true practitioner.’ A great reminder on how true connection with ourselves first is the key with everything else in life. Thank you
Yes Vicky, and I also feel when I lose connection this is my greatest lesson in life so that I can bring more love to the next time I face a similar situation.
Practitioners being used as a form of arrogance is very harmful, as it takes away the equality and unity between people. There is no perfection in being a practitioner, but the truth is every single person with experience in life is a practitioner in their own right. Knowing our value and not holding it back makes everyone a practitioner. This term is helpful when we are aware of it without attachment to its recognition, as it serves as a reminder to not live less than our very natural qualities. Being a practitioner in life, we are always aware there is more to learn and deepen.
‘even though I knew I was kidding myself and it was only the beginning and there was a lot more to learn.’ It’s interesting how once we have got a qualification we can say to ourselves we have arrived only to discover that we hardly know anything at all. If we rely on knowledge as a self validation we will never get anywhere as there is always more to know and always more to learn. However if we can accept this in the grace of appreciating the enormity of who we are with the intention of forever deepening our awareness of what makes us enormous then we will rarely get caught up in self doubt or with feelings of worthlessness but continue to be open to expanding.
I love this Vicky and the reminder that we are all practitioners of life – this brings a new level of responsibility in all my movements because of the reflection and wisdom we are constantly offering others.
It’s a familiar feeling sitting through presentations that are ‘painful’. This can be experienced in general restlessness, boredom, or even body discomfort. Is this because the information that is being ‘taught’ is text book/box ticking requirements? The teacher has the task of fulfilling a necessity and does it in the best professional manner. Amazing to hear how alive everyone became when sharing the truth of lived experience, I bet all the ‘pain’ disappeared.
We are practitioners by reflection. No one can avoid being a reflection. We have a choice what we reflect, not by pretending but being. Making a conscious and deliberate choice also is a reflection, and so is avoiding to make a choice. We never stop learning through reflection.
Alex this is definitely worth pondering on ‘no one can avoid being a reflection’. This is massive, it says that everyone all of the time is reflecting something to another .. it is just what are we choosing to reflect and this stems from how are we choosing to live.
agreed Vicky, and this calls for responsibility in all our choices.
Yes, I can see now how there is no sitting on the fence when it comes to energy! If we are saying ‘no’ to one we are saying ‘yes’ to another. And energy is something that we are all feeling all the time, a form of constant communication between us all, even if we may not be aware of it or be more aware sometimes and less aware at others, the communication is still there.
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living…” it is being open to the learning that we can gain from and share with those around us.
Exactly Peter, in that we are all practitioners of life and when we understand what this actually means, that we are here to evolve, not only for ourselves but for everybody with us, we will take the responsibility that belongs to being a practitioner of life.
One of the things I find disastrous about modern science is that it tries to objectify people by removing them from their personal differences through personal experiences. It tries to find a common theme to box us all into when we cannot in truth be boxed at all! It is our experiences that are the real science.
Our way of life makes us a practitioner no matter what age we are, we all bring the wisdom of how we live as a reflection of our quality to others. Everyone can express from their lived experiences, thank you for your expression Vicky.
We are all practitioners breaks down the belief that some jobs/positions are more important than others. We all bring not only our skills and expertise to what we do but most of all the way we live and how we are and in that we reflect far more to each other than the actual task at hand.
It is very interesting how we can take on words without discerning the true meaning of them. Before I came across Universal Medicine I too associated the term ‘practitioner’ was someone who had qualified and was practicing as a therapist usually in the field of alternative or complementary healing. I had not associated the word with any other profession let alone how it related to me in my life. Universal Medicine is supporting me to discern and find the true meaning of words that have been mis-interpreted and mis-used over many, many years.
I agree with you Vicky, we are all practitioners and students of life. What an honoured position to be in, thus it is incumbent on us to connect, live and appreciate life, in all facets, responsibly;
“Through Universal Medicine, what I have come to realise is that actually we are all practitioners, no matter what our age, qualifications or job role; that each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person”.
‘We all have access to the same innate wisdom within us, whether young or old. It is just a case of whether we know how to connect to this or not.’ So many of us are blessed in this time to have access to the teachings of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, because he presents this, that we all have the same access, and his way of living is a great role model for how we can do exactly that.
Before coming to the work presented by Universal Medicine, I hadn’t really come across the use of the word ‘practitioner’ even though I used and practiced lots of complementary healing modalities. Now the term practitioner is something I use a lot, and see myself working in a corporate environment as a practitioner of life…I do life, that’s really what it means. But it is in the ‘how’ I do life that matters. Living from a connection I feel with my inner heart to guide me through life, and being as loving and nurturing with myself, and those around me as I can (yep, still working on this!). In this, that means I don’t put foods or drinks into my body that will upset it, or stay in patterns of behaviour that cause dis-harmony or indulge in mindless activities for entertainment sake. It isn’t that I see life as a puritan…no, it’s simply feeling my connection and honouring that as I live each day. I’m a practitioner of my own life.
I think a lot of people just don’t appreciate how much we have to offer each other, by way of our lived experiences. Qualifications are needed but we can’t let that be the defining factor of whether someone has wisdom to share or is worth listening to.
Yes I agree, often it is in those brief and everyday conversations that we have with one another that unassumingly and unintentionally bring those words of wisdom that bring clarity and inspiration to another.
Hi Vicky I love this blog ‘we are all practitioners’ wow that opens up everything and changes, no in fact transforms what we ‘think’ life is about. To bring a quality to life and that quality coming from how we live is very different to ‘doing your job well or otherwise’. Awesome sharing of wisdom.
What I got from your comment was if everyone saw themselves truly as practitioners, the teacher, the cleaner, the cafe owner, the retail assistant, the administrator, the bus driver etc this is so empowering as it then makes it about what we bring by the virtue of how we live and not about a company slogan, policy or motto. We start to truly claim who we are and stop making it about what we do. It is very liberating and freeing and also offers a possibility to inspire others that there is another way to live.
We all live life, practise life, inevitably share life – let´s really do this with a sense of togetherness, with the openness and understanding that it is actually just one life.
Love to read this blog again Vicky and makes so much sense that we are all equal in our power, in our wisdom, and in the love that we are born and that how we all differ is in the choices we make to either heal or harm our bodies which will result in either anti-evolving or evolving – it is that simple.
Ill is the teacher that does not first and always consider themselves a student.
The concept of who is a practitioner is very interesting, often we have people who lead others because they feel a sense of sureness within themselves that what they present is true and helpful to others. Others have that sureness but lead out of a drive and a need to be identified by what they offer. I guess what is most important is to discern both our quality of life that we present and our intentions behind why we are doing what we do. It helps to always put ourselves in anothers shoes, as understanding others is where we really do make a difference.
We’re all equal in our ability to talk from our own unique life experience, all practitioners of life in that sense, able to teach and train. Yet at the same time, given we’re living life in all its challenges, we are all equally students of life in parallel, learning as we go. This means we all have much to give and much to learn.
We are all practitioners of life and the more we appreciate and embody that- the more we can live life expressing from our bodies not holding back that innate wisdom within as it might be just what it is needed at any given time.
I agree Francisco everything we need lays innately within us it is just a matter of reconnecting to this instead of looking outside of ourselves for the answer and we all have access to the same information this is something very much that Universal Medicine teach and present. There are no special few of special ones.
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living”, so true Vicky, and this works both ways. We may be a practitioner by ‘title’ but if we aren’t living responsibly and walking our talk in terms of looking after our own wellbeing and treating others with care, then its important to look at what we’re actually reflecting back to clients and people.
‘we are all practitioners, no matter what our age, qualifications or job role; that each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person.’ I love the equality in this, there is so much we can learn from each other, I find there is an opportunity to evolve if I look at my part in my relationship with others.
This is a real wake up call for the responsibility each and every one of us holds when we walk this earth and the energy we do it in.
I can very much relate to feeling I had achieved something once I became a reiki master and started practicing. It was very glamorous and something inside me knew it was not it. I felt if I was to get anywhere I had to try and work at getting clients and I knew that was not the way. I knew there was more and even though I had qualifications to my name it didn’t make a blind bit of difference to how I was living my life. Being a practitioner of reiki did not last long but being a practitioner in life I will always be, learning from my livingness and the way I choose to live and not solely from books and knowledge accumulated.
It is very alluring and very glamourous the title of reiki master which made me feel important and a great distraction to not feeling how empty I was and how needy I was to be recognised and valued. It cost a fair bit too, but here’s the thing, nothing changed in my life in that my life or relationships did not improve, in fact my ‘stuff’ or issues just got buried deeper – my life was still one big struggle and filled with complications. These days, thanks to attending courses by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine , I have cleared that old energy from my body which created space for me to choose differently which i did. I began to self-care and self-nurture and to put myself first in my life (instead of all others). Now my life flows with a knowing that for everything I need it is already there as I am now ‘self- supporting’.
It is important that we are very aware of the fact they we are all practitioners as we all have the ability to either harm or heal in our every thought, word and deed.
We all contribute to the whole in which we live – our expression, contribution and lived learning is forever valuable and of great worth to all.
“It is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.” Trusting ourselves to learn and evolve with the wisdom have within us.
I have always felt that what was good for me was also good for everyone else and as a therapist of a healing modality I would almost push this down the clients face. How did I come to such a strange place and the fact that this felt like I was doing a good thing was compounding the situation?
My understanding now is that as a practitioner I am only responsible for what I do for myself and if it is true for my body at this point of time then it is a true reflection for others.
I can relate to this Greg. When I started to train as a Homeopath, I did exactly the same thing, thinking it was the only way to ‘better’ health, and I would get quite animated about it. But at the same time I relied on the remedies to take away my problems rather than taking responsibility for how I was living and for what felt true to me and my body. It was as though the food I ate, what I drank, and my day to day choices were separated from who I was as a Homeopath. It wasn’t until I discovered Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon that I realised and eventually truly understood the irresponsibility of how I had been living.
Correct Sandra, I also used to feel that what I did would not have any effect on another and I could do drugs, eat and drink what I wanted, sleep around but these do have an effect on my clients. I have now discovered how much my relationship with being self-loving and then not going near abusive behaviours bring benefits to myself and others whom I have a healing type relationship with.
So true that we are all practitioners of life, all a part of the the whole of humanity interconnected by our relationships. Each of us bringing with us with a different angle or level of understanding, healing, growth and evolution. We work together as one.
‘…every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person.’ – I never felt this until I started to attend Universal Medicine events and see how everyone has a unique quality to bring. Absolutely we are all reflections, and if we don’t feel that, it is perhaps because we don’t want to take responsibility for the massive part we all play for each other.
Hi HM yours and others comments on this blog is a perfect example of how we are all reflections for each other. In that instead of one person sharing something i.e. this blog and that is it; when more come together and express from a truth a point of evolution and expansion is offered and a deeper understanding and different perspective is available to all. To me this is gold.
“We all have access to the same innate wisdom within us, whether young or old” – how true Vicky, wisdom is without age, and is what we live, in the forever understanding that how we live has an effect on all. Wisdom is the livingness of deepening love; it is a movement.
Beautifully said Vicky. When we place someone else ‘above’ us we have given our power away and in my experience this never leads to true healing. When we view ourselves as equal practitioners of life true healing can be chosen.
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living” words that entirely change what it means to be a practitioner – a moment to stop and consider what exactly each of us offers.
Practitioner of life – a very interesting approach to living and working and one which I feel very much enriches every profession – you need not have qualifications in massage or healing, or really in anything to be able to bring your personal experience of life to the table, and not only that but through the work you do provide care, support and a constant role model which is beneficial beyond measure.
Yes, we are all practitioners of life, whilst we practice to be and express in life and learn what that is like.
Yes, Vicky. Everyone we meet has made billions of choices over countless lifetimes, all the while living within the sphere of God’s love, so we can eternally learn from what we reflect to one another.
Not everyone has letters after their name or a qualification, but our first and last name alone is evidence that we’re a member of humanity and thus we have lived experiences and lessons that make us experts on life, so this alone can stand as our ‘qualification’ for being a practitioner!
Vicky, you have reminded me of a time when I was in training to qualify as a practitioner in Naturopathic Nutrition, the science of which was fascinating, however during the client practise sessions I always this unsettling feeling that all I was doing was passing on information, and the only difference between myself and the client was that I was the one holding the information to be passed on. This I felt to be disempowering of the person they are, because we all have the power to transform our lives from within, by the choices that we make. And so what became clear to me in those sessions was that no amount of scientific knowledge or information could replace real life experiences.
Practitioner of life is each and everyone of us, we all have a our roles that we express in but the ultimate part of our lives we are practitioners in is with ourselves. We have the ability and potential to have a relationship with ourselves that creates a body of communication. To be able to listen to this, honour this, move in this and be this is the ultimate practitioner then everything simply just is.
It’s beautiful to know that whatever we do, if we do it in a loving gentle way, it is pure alchemy for all.
There is such gold in group exercises, particularly when the group has the awareness and understanding that everyones view counts, and that even in the most quiet person there is a perspective that might otherwise be missed. That is perhaps the greatest understanding of what it means to be part of the all, that as individuals we are nothing compared to the whole we make up as a body of people.
Great example of how everyone is a practitioner where in a workshop given the opportunity everyone gets right into speaking about their experiences with a view to sharing knowledge and wisdom. I have felt the absolute truth about how people do appreciate every opportunity to express and share the understanding they have gleamed in their lives in order to confirm for themselves what they have learned. Equally I have noticed how people seek to learn from each other every chance they get, especially when such learning is presented as fun and playful rather than serious and dogmatic. All of this does confirm that we all value being practitioners in our work, relationships and all of life and it is great to open up this more complete understanding of what a practitioner means.
Vicky, your message is wonderful – we are all practitioners no matter what we do and no matter who we are and no matter what we are doing. We could be making the beds in a hotel, and everything about us contributes to the making of the bed that another will be sleeping in – and this can be supportive for them or not. We could be selling bananas on the roadside or fixing someone’s car as a mechanic, the fact is we cannot escape the fact that we live in a world with other people and that we are there always interacting and learning and growing and hence in the process either contributing to another’s well being, growth and healing or not. So we are all practitioners all of the time! Now this can be something some people may not even want to hear as it means we play a role that is important,that we hold a certain responsibility…But if we look at it from a point of view of the beauty and potential we all have at hand, how powerful is this in changing the world?
I love the examples you have given here Henrietta and it also shows how we do something, make a bed for another, sell bananas etc has an effect on another person. So we can do this with love or not with love. It has also been lovely that over the last few days I have seen even more age does not mean anything, meaning the youngest person is just as wise as the eldest.
This example beautifully shows that not only is everyone of us valuable, but that it is not so useful sitting down and trying to memorise information, our ability to access and express the depth of what we have to offer comes alive when we are in relationship and connection with other people.
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.” I agree Vicky everyone is a practitioner of life and I have learned and been inspired so much more by the quality and integrity of some other peoples way of living than by just being given information without the livingness.
We are all practitioners of life and this never stops. It is our beautiful responsibility to remember that and bring with all that we are to every moment of life – what great medicine!
I love your point that it is much more valuable to include everyone in a group discussion than simply talk at them. I remembered this yesterday when I took the team brief at work. I opened it up to everyone to contribute rather than just tell them everything. They appreciated and valued this so much, and it created a totally different feeling to the start of the day.
I love this Rebecca because you may have been leading the group but not making yourself the main focus or being individual, so this way everyone feels valued and equal – so many managers and team members would benefit from having meetings like this.
The way you write this, Vicky, helps me feel the privilege it is to be a practitioner of life; to take responsibility for the way I choose to live and to accept and appreciate that I am always learning.
That we are all Practitioners in life immediately exposes the false hierarchy that comes from the identity of the roles and positions we may be in.
We are all practitioners of life in our own way and way and it is our innate quality that we can all bring together for humanity as a whole to live and know who we are. A beautiful sharing and inspiration,Thank you.
This is crucial, we all have access to the same innate wisdom because we are one and we are equal. If we take this deeply to heart we will change the situation where the world is in today.
I have been facilitating workshops and groups for over ten years and participants have reported that when there are group discussions they feel more empowered and learn heaps from the other participants. I too have this experience when I attend workshops and love learning from others different experiences in life.
A key part of being what it conventionally means to be Practitioner, is the idea that a support and benefit is offered through what they do. Your words remind me Vicky how our every action can have this effect, whoever we are, whatever we do if we do it with a quality that is loving and true.
A practitioner of life will be a true practitioner in his/her craft. A practitioner or title of anything is not only a name, it is a living and breathing quality.
we are all practitioners – what an awesome concept to bring to the world – and to live by this responsibility, how quickly would we learn from each other, bringing ourselves to the understanding of the truth of who we are.
I agree Vicky – we have an education system that does not allow the students to fully claim their equalness and to nurture and support them to grow their natural expression – rather it is about false rank and the power of ‘knowledge’ yet we all know that there is a BIG something missing from this equation.
A qualification in commitment is invaluable …. anyone can ‘learn’ how to do something, but commitment is a choice, it brings responsibility and asks for consistency, always.
‘each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person’ ….. such an awesome reminder, Vicky. We can be very good at under valuing this very important truth. The more we allow the space to appreciate ourselves, the more we shine.
We do all have access to the same source of innate wisdom within us and when we connect with that we can truly help and support each other immensely, no matter what our job title is.
We have gotten so good at identifying ourselves with labels, practitioner, adviser, massage therapist, parent, these are a few that I can use, but really it is not who we are but just a role we play.
We have put so much emphasis in adding knowledge, tools and techniques to our belt, thinking we become a more valuable person as a result. Yet, our own lived life will always remain our greatest teacher and offering the fullness of our expression the most precious gift we can offer another.
So many of us have spent many days on training courses and so often they are quite hard going. It is so often the case that people come alive when they can speak and interact, which makes me wonder why this isn’t encouraged more, particularly in school settings. Learning through peer interaction is one of the most powerful ways to do so, as it allows everyone to find their strengths, and is almost always more fun.
Yes, I agree Vicky. I feel that I learn something from every single person I meet, especially as my judgements and projections onto others reduce and my heart naturally opens up more to connection.
‘Here I am – I have finally got somewhere in my life’. I have measured myself according to outside attainments like salaries, titles, job roles. But so glad I am realising they mean nothing and that it was like chasing hot air, getting exhausted and ill in the process. It’s the quality I choose that inspires and honours the glory of who we all are, not the prestige of any outside accolade.
We all have something equal to contribute to the whole for we are each a needed part of the expression of God.
Isn’t it just amazing how much each and everyone of us knows? Everybody carries their unique specific Wisdom, their part of the grand Plan to restore Brotherhood and their piece of the gigantic puzzle. Everyone not expressing their essence is telling that they’re not worthy of being their own practitioner of life. If we would have an honest look, all our judgements are about acts, behaviors and doing. Which has made us so much focus on being perfect in doing that we’ve left our being behind. Yet, this being is what we miss and so crave most – ourselves.
I love the point you make that even though you were in a role of ‘practitioner’ at one point you weren’t living in a way that was able to support yourself let alone truly support and inspire others. We often don’t discern or question this and can give our power away to those with a qualification or title. Instead, as you point out recognising that we all have the potential to be a practitioner and it is a persons livingness that offers the quality of this.
We are constantly trying to match ourselves to images that we hold of how we should be in life. Images of ourselves as parents, images of ourselves as practitioners, images of ourselves in relationships, images of ourselves as partners. It’s crazy that we are trying to pigeonhole the constantly expanding gloriousness of the Universe that we all are.
It’s incredible how a qualification can give us a false sense of who we are. Yes ticking the boxes on a temporal level is important in regards to having the appropriate training for what it is that we are going to be doing, but what is more important is our quality in which we practice that very thing. Say for instance if I give a massage and I am ‘checked out’, this is going to be felt very differently from giving a massage when I am connected with my body. Then if we take this into the wider scope of life, we can discover that when we make it about the quality in which we do things, being a practitioner is about a way of living from this quality not just about what it is that we do.
We can also give our power away to the so called ‘teacher’ when we attend training etc. It is transformative when both presenter/practitioner and participant/practitioner understand that they are in truth both confirming each other’s innate wisdom that we have to reflect to each other!
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living”: Very beautifully said and it explains that when we just see it as a title, like you shared in the beginning of your blog, we can totally run ourselves down but think that is fine because ‘we are a practitioner now’. Instead of seeing it as a livingness which makes it clear that the way we are living in every part of our lives does have an influence on us being a practitioner in life.
This is a fantastic line: “Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living” It’s so true that being a practitioner is about applying our lived experience to the world, it doesn’t matter what job you’re in we are all practitioners of life, we can all offer the possibility to grow and support others whether we’re are working in a massage room, a shop or in a school, or wherever.
Very true Vicky, we all offer something to someone, and hence we are all ‘teachers’ or ‘practitioners’ in life. It’s a pity we limit this word so much to those we consider have earned it by knowledge, rather than valuing the innate wisdom of someone who has lived the understanding themselves.
We are all practitioners of life, our own life. And like a practitioner of say massage or other healing modalities, it is the quality in which we live every moment that we take to our workplace, or to whatever we are doing. And so, it is the quality we live in (loving or not) that determines what we bring to others.
Valuing our lived experience is fundamental to life and beautifully shared here Vicky. “Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.”
… and my workplace is my clinic!
It makes such a difference when everyone is included in a group learning discussion instead of simply listening to the teacher / presenter. It brings us alive and allows us to tap into our own wisdom. And then everyone benefits.
So true Vicky, we do all have lived experiences full of gems designed to be shared with others; no lesson that we’ve learnt in our life is just for us/our benefit, but occurred for everyone to learn something too.
Absolutely True – others may be inspired and learn a lot from each of our lessons in life, and our choices.
Wow that’s a really interesting observation Vicky that when you did a group exercise everyone in the room came alive. This shift demonstrates the importance of connection and the irresistible pull towards it. It also showed the dedication and commitment to your chosen field of work that you could come together with such support and purpose. “The ‘students’ were talking about the young people they were working with, sharing their experiences until eventually at one point everyone in the room was helping each other with the cases they were working on.”
“we are all practitioners” this brings up many things for me this morning, firstly that we can be and are our own greatest practitioner through the way we live and also that we are a practitioner for everyone else. In effect there is not them and us, no one to fix us – but a joint responsibility that we hold for ourselves and all others at the same time. If society started to embrace this fact not only would their be much more harmony there would be a deep sense of inner contentment.
“Through Universal Medicine, what I have come to realise is that actually we are all practitioners, no matter what our age, qualifications or job role; that each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person.” I have come to understand the same thing Vicky and in doing so am able to really value what I do, whether it is cleaning a bathroom, serving a customer or giving someone a treatment. It is all dependant on how I am in myself and the quality of energy that I am choosing to live my life that ultimately is fed back to another person.
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.” So true Vicky and I feel this is something that could be taught in class, that we are forever learning and evolving, this would help the stagnation we can see in people as they get older, life is there to be lived until our last breath .
Beautiful Vicky, I can feel reading your article how we are all practitioners, whatever our professions and that we can bring healing to others whether we work with hands on or not, simply living who we truly are and bringing our own unique learnings and ways of being can be lessons and healing for others, it feels important that we appreciate this with ourselves and others.
I love the practicality of what you are sharing Vicky and how we all have so much to contribute as in your example of group work transforming a painful training course because everyone was able to contribute and be active rather than just receiving knowledge.
Being ‘a practitioner of life’ not only brings a whole new perspective and understanding to what is meant by being a ‘practitioner’ but also to everything we do and the way one approaches life. A perspective that brings value to everything we do and thereby appreciation and value of ourselves and what we do.
Vicky, you have said so clearly what I reckon many many of us have felt – that experience itself is valid and this is what makes every person have something to contribute, because with experience we never stop learning and so always have something to share.
“Even though I was a ‘practitioner’, I was not looking after my health and wellbeing, or taking care of myself”…If we are health practitioners, there to promote the health and well-being of others, it would make sense that we apply what we share and truly take care of our physical body as an inspiration to others before they even step in through the door.
It just makes so much sense, how can we look after or treat someone properly if we are not looking after ourselves. One day we will all be able to see that it is not all about self and making the most money we possibly can but about our journey back to where we came from and how we can assist each other to do so.
So true, I am looking onwards and upwards to when this day will be ‘One day we will all be able to see that it is not all about self and making the most money we possibly can but about our journey back to where we came from and how we can assist each other to do so’ 💖
“Here I am – I have finally got somewhere in my life,” It always amuses me, because the moment I think this about myself life gently reminds me at I am only at the beginning of a whole new level and there is so much more to explore, appreciate and embody.
We are all just practitioners of life that are books in the library of humanity that has just over 7 billion titles.
The term ‘practitioner of life’ unifies and signals that we are all equal and practising the art of healing self and others.
Thankyou Vicky, its gorgeous to open up that term “practitioner” and see how everyone helping or supporting another is truly a practitioner. As we all know so much about life, and we all have so much to share, we are all indeed practitioners of life. I appreciate the equality in this because it’s not giving our power away to an expert or key figure, but also staying open to everyone equally and what they have to offer.
We are often inspired or learn things from each other, so it does make sense that we can all practitioners of something that we have a strength in.
It feels very uniting to know that we are all practitioners in life, each on our own journey of self discovery and re-connection, yet at the same time we are all connected in the same quest. There is an equal-ness, no expectations, no perfection, we are all at different stages on our different paths spread all over the globe. The more we allow ourselves to honour our selves and each other, the more we support each other and strengthen the bond that unites us all, a divinity that sparkles through us allowing us to feel unimaginable joy as we feel the love that we already are.
Vicky, thank you for your enlightening blog. Your words that express the true meaning of a ‘practitioner’ had me reflecting on another arena nearby in a shopping mall, whereby the staff in this establishment that faces many hundreds of people passing each day, all wear ‘scrubs’ i.e. a pretence version of the clothing that nurses/doctors etc. wear in their hospital type environment or in the operation theatres. It seems this pretence of playing at ‘nursing’ by wearing ‘scrubs’ hopes to indicate to people that the business of cosmetic and beauty enhancement is not an illusion. Interesting I feel, for it seems to me there is not much difference between what may be our own personal interpretation of words, and my memory of folk who in the new age frenzy in the 90’s were all clocking up the acquisition of certificates indicating that their modalities alone gave them the title of ‘practitioner’ and subsequently indicated that they were ‘more enlightened’ than the general public. I love the way that Serge Benhayon brings light and truth back into the true meaning of words, giving us the opportunity to reflect on our own understandings and perceptions. Yes, it seems we are indeed all practitioners in life, and it would appear we have many opportunities on a daily basis to appreciate this developing awareness.
I love what you share here Roberta as it gives another aspect of practitioner in the complete illusion that just because we have done a course or workshop we can feel we are ‘better’ or more ‘enlightened’ than another. Which of course could not be further away from the truth; ‘My memory of folk who in the new age frenzy in the 90’s were all clocking up the acquisition of certificates indicating that their modalities alone gave them the title of ‘practitioner’ and subsequently indicated that they were ‘more enlightened’ than the general public.’ In fact from my experience, before knowing Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine all the other courses I did to make me ‘better’ actually took me away from the truth of who I am, it is and was very insidious. Ultimately we are all absolutely equal and it is far more empowering to reflect and learn from how we live and the choices we make instead of looking outside of ourselves to be ‘better’ or ‘fixed’ as this never works.
“Everyone is a Practitioner of Life” – so true Vicky, just like everyone is a human being, and the quality of the practitioner is dependent upon the quality of their living life, either with love, or not.
I like Vicky that you were honest enough with yourself to press ‘pause’ on your career as a bodyworker while you took care of yourself. I like too that you discovered you were a practitioner – of life – anyway.
Everyone has a body of lived experience on which they can draw, as well as a connection to the infinite wisdom of the soul or universal mind on which they can also draw if they so choose. That makes us very rich in materials to share with each other. Holding that back is painful, as described here.
I work as a practitioner and I work a regular office job and it is great to see and realise that I am a practitioner no matter which role I am in or what hat I am wearing on the day.
Vicky you have summarized beautifully the true meaning of the word ‘practitioner’ “Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.”
This line stood out strongly for me too Tamara. It feels so freeing to know that it is a way of living and not a title as it shows it is never something you have to work towards – you are already a practitioner by virtue of how you live.
So true Susan, I also feel when I see everyone as an equal that I also feel better about my self.
What you have shared Vicky is similar to my experience as a Healing Practitioner. The one thing that I feel was different is that I had a huge arrogance that I thought I knew better.
Being a practitioner is far bigger than the title on what we do or the role we have taken on. It is a commitment, a claim to always bring all of who we are to the practice of living life with responsibility and integrity. It is the Master who can always see that there is more depth to every moment they bring themselves to. Thank you, Vicky.
A practitioner of life is valuing what you bring knowing what you offer is an opportunity for a healing within for both you and others. Whatever service it is there is a quality that can be brought with it.
The most pertinent question at any one time to anyone is ‘how are you being now’ as opposed to either ‘what are you doing now?’ or ‘what do you know now?’. Our world has mis-directed it’s attention to the pursuits of ‘doing’ and ‘gaining knowledge’ and we are missing the point entirely; the point being that we are all part of the same magnificent fabric, one massive cloth of life that is already whole and complete. There is no-where for us to get to and no-thing for us to learn, there is simply the returning to the life that we all already are. And so any-thing that does not re-enforce that is leading us astray.
Everyone is life.
We are all students of life, and it makes sense that we are all practitioners. If we look to others to support and guide us we are then not in connection to and responsible for our part, as we all come with the same depth of inner knowing that is there to share and evolve us all. We all have a role and I now accept the term practioner as my livingness can be felt.
“We all have access to the same innate wisdom within us, whether young or old.” We all innately know and feel truth in any given situation – whether we choose to share that truth or hold back is a choice… but if we hold back everyone misses out on pure gold and the magic that comes from that.
I love listening to people when they share raw and real. Too often we’re playing an act in life. This is actually really boring. Holding the world to ransom hidden behind a mask of niceness. People are incredible inspiring. I love people choosing stepping into their own precious light. The smile on people’s faces is simply heavenly. A confirmation that there’s much more to us! Choosing love is choosing ourselves.
So true Vicky… each and every one of us has something to offer another – not just in words but by way of reflection in how we live and what we choose in life.
Practitioner comes with a responsibility of the quality and integrity of our work, awesome when all appreciate we are practitioners, offering true service and care no matter what the task.
This is a great observation that we are all practitioners and expert researchers of life. The idea that there is just a select group creates inequality and a divide. Some who are ‘more than’ believe they have the answers and the responsibility to impart what they know. Those who are ‘less than’ never appreciate all that they already know and get to sit back in this role. We all need to add our collective wisdom and participation for society to grow and flourish.
Wise words, how we live is where the truth of what we offer ourselves and humanity resides.
Serge Benhayon often presented on how we have been sold short on words, that they are reduced to keep things much smaller than they really are. Here you expose another one – the word practitioner – has been reduced to us thinking it is just a ‘healer’ such as a massage therapist, or a reiki master etc… This blog shows us that we are all practitioners and have much to teach & learn from each other. The Ageless Wisdom as presented by Serge Benhayon, expands us continually, and it is not there to reduce anything (well perhaps the current reduction-ism so it no longer exists 😉 ).
There is equality in seeing everyone as a practitioner. In a teacher/student environment, it is often the student looking to the teacher for knowledge and experience, and the teacher imparting this to their students. But the most powerful learning I’ve experienced is through sharing where the teacher is more a facilitator and empowers the students to learn through sharing and experimenting.
I feel that training should always be interactive – we have much to learn from each other – we all know something and can share what we know, and it’s far more fun.
Yes Vicky, with being a practitioner in the true meaning of the word we all hold equal responsibility to do or express our part, there is no one less or more. We can acces wisdom from our connection to the whole and there is our responsibility again..to live in a loving and true way so we are able to connect to the wisdom that is always on offer.
The word practitioner, makes me think of practicing, developing, experimenting and continually learning. Although we like to believe that once you attain a qualification or get a degree, you have ‘made it’, life constantly shows us that this is not the way. As you show Vicky, true wisdom and understanding flows from us accepting that we are here to constantly learn and studying ourselves. This approach makes us great practitioners in whatever we do, because we see that in each moment to movement there is a loving imprint to be made, rather than knowledge to be gained. Then each ‘practice’ we have can go deeper with the quality of Love.
‘Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living…’ – I agree with this Vicky – that we can only be something that we live. As you share we are all practitioners and the difference is in our choices and our relationship with ourselves. But we all have something we are able to bring.
We have a responsibility to live in a way that does not harm but heal.
My understanding of a practitioner has totally changed since listening to Serge Benhayon present on the subject. No longer is it about the practitioner doing the healing but facilitating the clients body to do the healing. I love this, no one of us holds the power, but we are all vessels of incredible universal love and energy.
The EPA, the Esoteric Practitioners Association, is the only association in the world, as far as I know, that makes it very clear that everybody is a practitioner, no matter which profession or job they work in.
Thank you Vicky, we are all practitioners in life… this is great as it asks us to be responsible for all our choices as this is what we take to life everyday, with no perfection but awareness, understanding and a loving way.
I love the idea that in our own lived experience we are all practitioners. It feels so honouring to look at life this way and to know that we all have something unique to offer each other.
To accept that I am a practitioner of life, brought to me a responsibility that I walked away from in the past and with that I was also not reflecting that natural way of living, with respect and in harmony with all of life, that can inspire people to also live that spark that equally lives in them. Instead I showed then that it was OK to not live to that inner spark and confirmed them in their way of living. Now I love to live this responsibility as it is naturally in me and growing stronger through the years, just by being the practitioner in all aspects of my life consistently so.
It’s a very beautiful truth that we are all practitioners, we each have so much to bring and share with each other and the most powerful way to do this is to live it. To live in the fullness of who we are, openly talking and sharing with each other, this is brotherhood, this is the way we will find our way home, with everyone being able to access their own innate wisdom and the magic of heaven all around us.
“I have come to realise is that actually we are all practitioners,” Yes this is so true. There have been so many people in my life who have supported simply by being themselves. Appreciating each other for what we bring enriches hugely!
‘We all have access to the same innate wisdom within us, whether young or old. It is just a case of whether we know how to connect to this or not’ … so very true, Vicky. I love how every day, in each moment even, we have the opportunity to deepen and enrich our understanding. It’s like we’re suddenly presented with a gift, a gift that has in fact been presented to us many times before, except this time, we are ready to receive it.
I love that phrase ‘A practitioner of life’ because it has the flavour of never-ending development – which is an amazing thing, to know we are constantly learning and therefore evolving and are continuously reflecting back both the good and bad choices we’ve made, this shows that no one is perfect but that we are all here to learn what supports us all and what does not.
We are all our own practitioners of ourselves and can do our experiments on ourselves daily to observe how we feel. Life is constantly changing and flowing when we allow it. Connecting to ourselves makes the practitioner come alive.
Looking at the word Practitioner in this way and how it has been misinterpreted to be an aid to separate humanity by having them believe that what we do is more important than the quality we do it in, and that we can be better than someone else because of our qualifications and a job title, or standing in life. The true meaning of the word Practitioner has the utmost respect for every single person and does not divide nor exclude.
Imagine a world where this was the common dominator that we each have a unique quality that we bring to life yet we are all one and the same. That our expression through our work is just one avenue that this quality is expressed in. Being celebrated not by what we do but for how we are and how incredible that is.
Yes indeed, Vicky. I have recently become fully qualified in a modality that has taken me many years to complete, and I can clearly feel that this is just the beginning of a new chapter, where I will continually grow and learn from everyone I work with.
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living….: so very true Vicky, we need to be a practitioner of every part of our life not just the job we do.
It seems to me that the realisation that we are all practitioners of life comes with a great deal of humility and the awareness that we are ‘forever students.’ That belief that finally we have got somewhere in life can be a trap that generates arrogance in us – and hence separates us from others rather than unites. One of my greatest lessons has been to realise my ignorance. Seeing this humbles us into an entirely different perception of self and of our equalness with others. Then, from this awareness we start to truly serve and be a true practitioner of life.
Appreciating that everyone’s life experience qualifies them as practitioner’s of life and is of value is very empowering.
Vicky, this is beautiful, that it was when you all got to share your lived experiences that people came alive, rather than sitting listening to one person lecture everyone, we all have so much to share, I can feel the equalness and community in this sharing and how valuable this is and how important it is that we do not give our power away to someone who we think knows more than us, that has the title of ‘practitioner’ or has more qualifications than us, as we all have our unique learning’s and experiences to share.
I had a experience where someone who was very stressed saw me walking and by seeing me walk in connection to myself she stopped racing around and chose to calm down. I didn’t know I was being watched or that I was having this impact, it was a real confirmation that everything matters.
It is very common to think that just because we have attained a qualification it makes us a practitioner of a healing therapy. I am very appreciative of the way Universal Medicine supported me to understand that being a practitioner of anything carries an immense responsibility, starting with one’s own quality of care, health and conduct. It is the missing link, after all how can we offer another person healing if we our selves are not brimming with health?
Life is enriched with meaning and purpose when we arrive at the understanding that we are all students of life and equally masters of life.
“…each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person.” How true this is with everything we do; of course, our positive qualities will offer some inspiration to others, but even with a negative response there is something to learn, show and share about life.
Thanks Vicky I never really thought about the word practitioner in this way and definitely never regarded myself as one apart from when doing courses or practicing various modalities, so thanks from now on I will step it up a notch now that I know that we are all practitioners all of the time.
I too love the term ‘practitioner of life’ as it gives everyone permission to acknowledge their potential to become masters of their own life. In teaching there is no us and them, simply us learning together. To offer and model the wisdom ‘ that we are all students learning together’ sets a beautiful foundation for true and participative learning.
When we bring into focus that we are all practitioners, we really have to consider the responsibility we hold because we are all role models all of the time. We bring all that we are to every situation because we carry the way we live always. When I first considered this, the idea felt like a burden, but taking responsibility and valuing the life experience I have, is rewarding and affirming and I value other people’s experience in a more honouring way.
Very inspiring Vicky. I worked with a group of young people yesterday. Their innate wisdom and sensitivity shone through immensely dissolving any perceived divide between facilitator and student.
I like that, practitioner has the word ‘practice’ in it which means we are all learning to become proficient in or master aspects of life and living and that all of us therefore can be teachers of the things that we have mastered or even been challenged by and we also are still students with things yet to learn. To work in this way with each other feels so supportive and far more enjoyable than rote learning.
The first time I heard every-one is a practitioner of life no matter what trade they are working in I could not really get my head around it as I was of the belief that people in the healing arts were the only practitioners.. It took me years to understand that of course this is the case if we are connected to our self and reflecting to those around us a more loving way of being, or showing by example a truer way to do what ever task is at hand then we are a practitioner.
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.” If we were to see ourselves as practitioners of life maybe this would help us to take more responsibility and this would possibly increase our quality of life.
The best blog I have ever read about what a practitioner truly is. Thank you so much for not holding back your wisdom: “Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made.”
That is a very responsible way of looking at it. I would love to have my car being fixed by someone that considers themself as a practitioner. It would mean that everything I do has to be done with presence, precision and most of all love.
We do all have innate wisdom inside of ourselves. A practitioner is anyone who chooses to connect with this and live it. No diploma needed or uniform required.
Once you recognise and see all people as a practitioner in their line of work, it knocks out the ‘better than’ or ‘less than’ and giving your power away to others. It certainly brings an element of equality amongst one another.
its so common that we look for an education or a job and then say “finally I have made it” but that feeling never lasts long and there is no true ‘making it’ apart from realising we are returning to a magnificent way of being we left behind to pursue ideals for recognition. Through all of the stages in life and all of the seeming changes, from job status to family etc. we don’t really go any where, it is only a choice to live our wisdom or be stuck learning lesson after lesson until we get it.
It’s so true Vicky, we discount and disempower every other person who is not what we consider a ‘practitioner’ when we follow the temporal understanding of this word. It completely discounts the fact that the true teachings come in the form of reflection of what has been lived, and in that sense, we are each that for each other in some aspect or another.
This is such an important sharing Vicky, we can so easily miss this that to be a practitioner is how we are in life, it’s not tied to being a therapist; we all bring something unique, a piece of the whole and there are no set roles or ways to do that, just us being us in the world.
I love reading this. It really allows me to appreciate that I can live in a way that allows an evolution of loving practice that I can reflect and support others with.
How true Vicky, so many of us do get caught up (myself included in the past) over that title of being ‘a practitioner’ – ultimately translating it to be being better than, or with more/greater experience and knowledge (than those who aren’t) and thus greater in worth or value. How a simple collection of letters that make up a word/title can have such sway to demeanour; and how the livingness of those words can have such power to inspire.
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.” Simply gorgeous Vicky. I love how everyone’s innate wisdom brings new opportunities for learning from what they have lived and or experienced in their lives. It really allows us to appreciate how important it is to connect and learn from each other. Thank you.
It has become normal for us, when we feel stuck and uninspired, to blame someone who is not delivering the panacea. What a beautiful reminder we have here that everyone of us matter and when we put our all in, as well as open up to others, that is when magic happens.
I have found that there is great wisdom to be shared by all particularly in the ‘what not to do department’ as we all know clearly what did not work for us. We all are practitioners so it pays to be aware of the responsibility that this entails to be, and bring all that we are.
So true Kathleen, as I am being a practitioner in all I do, I tirelessly work on my responsibility to stay in connection to my inner-most.
In our connection, and the willingness to share the whole of ourselves, we become a practitioner of our life. Recently, I was at a café, ordering a cup of tea. The woman who served me very casually asked how I was and made a suggestion as to what I could have to support myself – it was only a few minutes, but felt like a session that allowed me to feel where I was really at. I could feel how normal that was for this woman. She was just being herself, doing her job, being open to let the world in.
It’s real food for thought to think of how we present to an audience. If we are the teacher does that mean we need to stand at the front, perhaps yes sometimes, but also it is true that everyone has experience and special qualities and to make for a really good teaching or training day it is about having the skills and humility to want to bring this out of everyone.
Thank you Vicky! This is very true. We are all practitioners of life. All of us have gold living inside them. Just waiting to be connected to. Today I talked to a colleague and during the conversation it became very clear how much being heard and appreciated is to feel safe to simply express what we feel. So often our honest expressions aren’t being valued so we stop expressing. Yet, we’re kidding ourselves as we’re stopping the natural flow that is within us. And in doing so, we’re very hard on ourselves.
It is our wisdom that can be shared in every moment, It is from this that we truly learn and evolve. This shows how we only can be connecting to the wisdom we have when we connect to others. It is connection that makes us the true practitioner of life.
I can definitely see what you share here, we are all practitioners in our everyday lives. It is what we can bring to each other that brings true healing in everyway.
Well said Vicky, being a practitioner or teacher is not something confined only to those who have undergone a certain set of training but is something we all can be in truth according to the choices we make in the way we live. And how we live behind closed doors or when not at work or ‘on show’ does make a difference and impacts how we then are in all other areas of our life, even if we have heaps of qualifications if we’re living in disregard then that will come through in our expression…
Although I have studied many of the healing courses with Universal Medicine, and studied counselling well before I came to this work, I didn’t see myself as a practitioner because I wasn’t practising, I was just in an ordinary job as a cleaner or shop assistant or catering assistant. But I began to recognise that I am a practitioner, because the way I live can be felt by the people I work with and everyone I pass in my day. It is the energy that I am aligned to that people can feel, not the words that come out of my mouth.
Thank you Vicky, it is an unusual distinction I agree and until meeting Universal Medicine had the same understanding that you had. In order to be a ‘practitioner’ you need to have studied a subject in order to practice it on others. However, when we make life our subject, then we are all practitioners with a huge range of experience, ideas and wisdom to share, which becomes very evident when we work together in a group as you have described, everyone leading, sharing and inspiring one another.
I went to my first healing training course because I realized that I wanted to have the skills to be able to support my family and friends with niggles of pain or hurt in their bodies. For too long we have propped up “practitioners” as being more or special, this places a pressure on them and is an irresponsibility on us, it says, you’re better than I am so if I pay you money you should be able to fix me, right?
I was very refreshed to hear the way Universal Medicine says that this typical approach does not work, for healing has to come from us, our own choices and willingness to face things.
We may not want to be a Practitioner as a career, or work in a clinic, but there is bound to be someone in your life that would benefit from support? If you imagine the days of old, yesteryear, it is this universal approach that brings more responsibility to the village as a whole. I strongly believe this was how we use to live, all of us were “practitioners” then of course there were experts, people that were more trained in herbs or body work, respectfully you could see them but it would be for the bigger purpose, a deeper issue…. not just the surface stuff that could be worked through simply with family and friends.
Absolutely true Vicky – we are all practitioners in life. This was one of the greatest of all the great revelations for me from Serge Benhayon’s presentations of the Ageless Wisdom which have brought such healing to the world. It is the Livingness of God, our essence, that brings the healing in our workplace through our actions, movements, words, relationships. Someone does not have to get onto a table to experience healing! Then through living our essence we all get a sense of what harmony can be, and that it is possible.
That is so right Vicky, that we all have something to share and reflect to another and hence are all practitioner. We need to only drop our arrogance and be humble enough to see what another has to offer to us at any one time. Thank you for bringing this back to my awareness as it helps for me to appreciate people more in all their differences and look or be open to what refection they offer. It feels like brotherhood where all of us have a part to play on all levels.
Yes indeed Vicky ‘Everyone is a Practitioner of Life’ – we are all students of life and as we learn and grow we constantly reflect this to others – the good, the bad and everything in between. So we all have a huge responsibility to consider the quality of what we are reflecting.
Thank you Vicky – we can see from your writing that as many words, we can bastardize the true meaning of words and its origin. Same with the word practitioner. But, to feel beyond and see that the true meaning is not lost, just not claimed by us. Hence, it is simple to come back to the truth of words. We all can. Honesty will help with that.
Nice way to debunk a title! How empowering is it to know that we in fact all have something to offer? Puts the responsibility back on us which is awesome. Stops us giving our power away to others.
The danger of; ‘Labels’ is that they can become very narrow in their meaning and thus we can limit ourselves to the meaning another person places on the label. What you have shared Vicky is your experience in the label: practitioner and how it can be given one meaning and then be limited to that. I agree that we are all practitioners of life – the word suggests we all know about the livingness of life but are still in the art of bringing what we know out for others to see and reflect on. I also love what Serge Benhayon has reminded us of and that is that we are all Students of ourselves and of life – this offers a beautiful expansion as we gently unfold to the world.
“that each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person”, one of our life purposes right here. And we need each and everyone of us to do this for each other. We are all part of the whole, and when we hide because we are hurt/tired from life, we don’t get to see the reflection nor what they can bring. We all miss out and become less. We are all in this together 🙂
I used to work in a health food shop, and all that was needed to sometimes help a person along in their day as they came to buy a tomato or a banana, was simply an exchange of a few words and asking how they really were…this opened up the conversation and often they then left the shop looking and feeling completely different, with an ease in their step. Selling a banana can be very powerful and it comes from the choices we make in our own lives that allow for this to happen….
Vicky, this is spot on: “Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving.” – it is like with being a parent too, you never stop learning from the greatest teacher which is your own child! I love what you are saying here as we are all truly practitioners…
This is a beautiful calling Vicky, for us all to embrace the responsibility we all hold through the lives we are living. By virtue of the fact we are all held within a body means that we all have access to the wisdom of our universal intelligence – divine love of our Soul. When we are willing to be honest and aware of the choices we are making in our lives we realise that in embracing life we are offered the great opportunity to heal, learn, develop, grow and evolve together, as we practice living Soul-fully and harmoniously from our inner-heart, as the Sons of God we truly are.
I can so relate to what you are sharing. I have experienced being in a class where we are all learning and sharing and developing together, the teacher is there but is among us and equal to us and learning is easy and my body loves it. The other way is being talked to, and the teacher is better than, and I find it so hard to listen. It really makes a difference. Being part of the discussion and tapping into the fact that we already know is awesome.
It’s very humbling to recognise and accept that every single one of us are practitioners. For me there was so much arrogance around the idea of being a practitioner (again like Vicky, I originally only ever associated it with being a health professional/therapist of some kind) that I looked down on myself for not being successful at it. Having a ‘day job’ to me for a long time was a failure. I now truly feel that by my being me I am a practitioner in my work and all the rest of my life. No longer is there an idea that there is and on and off switch, that it is a role. And even though I am not perfect (no really I’m not ;)) and do have times where I lose the plot and turn off, just by virtue of knowing what it is to be a true practitioner, I feel supported to return to myself again.
Having the title ‘practitioner’ is, in itself, meaningless. I was a ‘yoga teacher’ for many years and yet at the same time wasn’t at all, as I lacked true connection to self, which is what yoga is all about. There are so many of us that get a false sense of who we are from the title of our role and yet we lack the actual energetic meaning of the title. This is so incredibly harmful because most people have stopped discerning the truth of energy and so like ‘false practitioners’ they rely on titles, qualifications and what their eyes drink in to make decisions. Hence the illusion is perpetuated.
Knowing that we are all practitioners and all are doing something valuable for others even if it is not in a clinic room but in an office, on the streets, in a factory and so on. This also brings the responsibility of the quality of how we live our life which we than naturally bring into our work environment.
We might think the role of a chef is more important than those washing the dishes but imagine a restaurant where the food was served on dirty dishes. Clean dishes are the foundation for the chefs to serve the food, without which the kitchen would not function. The way the dishes are washed, stacked and ordered ready for the chefs is all part of the quality that the food will be served with. Understanding we are all practitioners brings a greater appreciation of purpose to our lives.
Great example Fiona. It is all equally important even though the feel that is having around in our society is saying different… but yes lets consider dining on dirty plates or walking through dirty streets! This brings things into perspective.
Vicky I love what you have shared and it has great depth of meaning. I have recently seen how seeing myself as a ‘practitioner’ when deeming others not to be is a completely false and very unsupportive way to be. Since really opening up my view to what others are reflecting to me, I see absolute diamonds in everyone. In fact my view has changed to such an extent that I actually feel that those around me are more active practitioners than myself and although I appreciate that this view is also not totally true, it is at least indicative of the fact that I am now very open to seeing God’s reflection in everyone.
Indeed Alexis, it all depends on how we can open ourselves up to the fact that everybody has a wealth of lived experience to share and if we allow them to express this then we understand that we are all practitioners of life.
Agreed Nico, I work with the intellectually disabled and they reflect the same divine qualities as the rest of us, it’s just that many people ‘write them off’ and by doing so miss the invaluable reflections that they too bring to life.
Great topic to share about Vicky. Until we appreciate that we are here to share our unique expression, we won’t appreciate what we have to offer – what we practice in our lives, work, families and beyond. Discovering that we are all practitioners both is liberating and empowering.
‘Discovering that we are all practitioners both is liberating and empowering.’
I agree Bernadette – with this awareness, our everyday monotonous tasks can become quite sacred and purposeful as we bring more healing to all that we do.
I felt the same Bernadette. I understand the quality in how I live at home should be no different to how I am at work and my relationships with people. When we live in the quality of love it brings healing to us all.
Yes we are all practitioners and constantly reflecting and sharing with each other. This then brings up the responsibility of what is it that we are reflecting to others. Are we reflecting love, truth and wisdom or all that is not that?!
This is a significant point you make Nicola. The quality of our lived life is what matters.
Amazing – how empowering for everyone to know that their life experiences are of equal worth and vaule to those who seemingly have more qualifications – we are all practitioners of life, all equally capable of bringing something to our field of expression.
Great spot Vicky, we are all practitioners of what we have lived and learnt.
Vicky I love what you have shared. I would have once thought exactly the same. I also thought too at some stage that being a ‘practitioner’ was a goal, especially if studying a modality. Seeking identification through a role or a job. What I especially love about what you have shared is that you said that a practitioner was a way of living, meaning that we are all in the practice of life, which is ongoing. No-one never stops learning through life and we are all offered opportunities to evolve constantly. Because we are in the practice of life, it is up to us to constantly make those choices or not. Not to perfect anything, but to continually gain a much deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
‘Through Universal Medicine, what I have come to realise is that actually we are all practitioners, no matter what our age, qualifications or job role; that each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person.’ Well said Vicky, and this shows what true responsibility is.
The first time I heard the term ‘we are all practitioners of life’ was at one of the Esoteric Practitioners Association conference. This made a lot of sense to me and your blog Vicky confirms my understanding of this and inspires me to appreciate that we are all equals. We all have access to the same wisdom but the only difference is do we choose to live the wisdom gifted to us or not.
Practitioner is another one of those words with many false meanings like the word ‘love’ or the word ‘responsibility’. To me the word practitioner feels quite official, formal and even to mean someone with a qualification perhaps working in the spiritual new age industry. Practitioner is so much more and I feel a great way to learn that we are all in fact practitioners is to feel and appreciate the healing quality of what we bring to everyone in everything we do every moment of the day.
Yes beautifully expressed Joshua.
The idea of the practitioner who knows it all comes from us giving our power to others and we have learnt to do this because then we don’t have to be responsible for ourselves. What you write here makes absolute sense, Vicky: we all live in this life and we all can practice and know how to live from the same innate wisdom inside each of us by connecting to it. Simple.
I too have been deeply inspired by Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon to see that we are all practitioners of life. I work in hospitality and also as a practitioner and at the beginning I would see them differently, that I was offering more when I was treating as a practitioner. I let go a lot of this but there was still a seed of one was better than the other even though I had heard Serge present we are all practitioners. Even though it all made sense I still had an inkling of the practitioner was more. Not till recently have I started to really appreciate how much I do offer in the hospitality sector and how much healing that is – just as much as it is when I am in a session treating. What I learnt is we can’t have area’s in our life that are more or less because they are both away from an equalness. That is very possible when we live the know who we are is extraordinary and that in itself is a healing when lived and claimed. Having a way of life that is consistently seamless and equal allows no room for being less than who we are and what we do.
Great point and great blog. We all have something to offer and often titles put people in places above and below others. You make a great point about practitioners and how we use the word and yet what it looks like it’s true meaning is. The way it is described in this blog certainly makes more sense and brings to light an equality that is at the same time very simple. As is said, “It emphasised that we are all practitioners, that is, we all have our lived experiences and know if these have truly supported ourselves and others, or not”
It is very humbling to consider that all we say and do has the potential to bring healing to ourselves and others. The responsibility of what this means in how I hold and deliver myself is very stilling. Let’s not disregard just how much each of us has to offer the world in the simplicity of living our lives.
Beautifully said Vicky. When we recognise that we have the ability to support others to heal or cause harm in every moment and with every movement we begin to understand what true responsibility is.
Thank you Vicky, I can relate to what you are sharing. I too felt the word practitioners was when you was trained with therapies, but its not it is a way of living. We are all practitioners of life. We can all connect to the deeper wisdom which is there for us all and share with others. It is our every day choices and movement and interactions with other others, our lived experience.
Vicky, this is a beautiful blog and my life was transformed when I realised I was a practitioner and everybody around me was one as well.
Your blog had me pondering on what I felt is a practitioner and when is it we can claim to be one. One could claim to be one with a piece of paper that states so, or one could claimed to be one when they are living in a certain way that offers true support to all who encounter them. What then came to me was this-
In claiming we are a practitioner in life we are claiming our inner wisdom and divine self. Yes, we are all practitioners when we live the love we are and share truth through movement and reflection.
Brilliant Vicky. So clear and to the point to convey what is meant by ‘a practitioner of life.’
The way the presentation was delivered as you shared – I’ve not stopped to take notice of but thats what happens. At school the teacher is the only one sharing, leaving everybody else out. I’ve seen this at work training days recently where the ‘class’ would fidget, talk, doodle or go on social media constantly. But when we are in groups talking and learning together from each other the environment and mood completely changes! We all have something to share and holding it back creates a tension, an anxiousness and a fidgeting, busting to share our part regardless of the value we perceive our wisdom to have or not.
It is so great to let reawakening the awareness of our own worth and that everyone of us counts. How we choose to live has in fact a huge impact on us, our surroundings and the world as a whole – to realize this again is re-empowering us, or better: it is claiming back the power and taking responsibility about it, instead of ignoring (it and cause a lot of damage) and feeling helpless.
“Through Universal Medicine, what I have come to realise is that actually we are all practitioners, no matter what our age, qualifications or job role; that each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person.” Very true Vicky. Every one of us has the potential to support another – just by being who we truly are – love is our essence – and when we reflect that out to the world we can all be practitioners.
This is so true – “Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living “. No matter what role we have in life it is always about the quality that we bring to that role.
Vicky, I love how the day changed the moment you all were able to participate as teachers.
Thank you Vicky! You have shared something really vital that we often forget, I know I do, and that is that we all have inner wisdom to share. Each a small part of the puzzle of life, and as we learn to share this as you have said we become Practitioners of life!
Reading your blog Vicky reminded me of when I was at school and how I struggled to learn and retain anything in class. I learn by example and through practical experience and learning from a text book meant very little to me. It is true the class comes alive when we bring our own experiences into life it makes it real and tangible.
It is great when we can just drop the titles and expectations that go with whatever role is being described. Instead we can start to appreciate that we are all practitioners of life and value everyone’s contributions.
Yes good point, Vicky. It is liberating to no longer be caught in the ideals of status and title, but instead value ourselves in the quality by which we live each day.
Awesome Vicky, thanks for sharing. There is certainly two different ways to teach and present; one ignores the fact that the audience have experiences and wisdom of their own and can be patronising, belittling or imposing, and the other is where everyone in the room is seen as an equal and the presentation is a point of learning, evolution and/or discussion to better understand the topic at hand rather than a dictation of knowledge.
The way the education system is set up it really is not a surprise then when we achieve a qualification we feel it legitimises us and consequently many of us imbue a sense of arrogance when we compare ourselves to those who don’t have many of them. Understanding that we all have much to offer regardless of what we ‘know’ equalises the playing field and actually makes life and relationships a much richer and rewarding experience.
Thank you Vicky, using the word practitioner also shook my belief system, as to me it meant that someone was important and knowledgable, someone to look up to, someone who was better than others because of their qualifications but then attending Universal Medicine courses the word practitioner was used to describe everyone and it took a while to see that it was not what you do for a job but the quality in which you do it, and that an administrator, shop assistant, ticket collector etc could also be a practitioner of life, and is equal to any other practitioner no matter what they do for a living.
What a beautiful understanding you share here Vicky of our value and experiences coming together as we are all practitioners of life and the appreciation of this is part of our responsibility and brings a true way of being.
It is indeed true that we are all practitioners – we are practitioners of life. Whilst we stay open with a students mind, we see that we are forever learning and evolving. Every interaction we have with another is an opportunity to grow as we reflect to each other what it is there to be healed. Therefore every person plays the role of a practitioner regardless of what our day job is.
I love the awareness you bring to this Vicky – we are all so much more than a title to sit behind and be recognised by. If being a practitioner is defining a living way, there is immediately a far greater sense of being with depth, responsibility and purpose that affects the all.
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living – how we live and what we learn from choices, either good or bad, that we have made. It is a forever learning and evolving”.
I love this aspect of what Serge has presents as it takes away the hierarchy that we place on the world and people in positions of ‘power’. Rather we are all equal in our power and as you share Vicky it feels incredible when we share ftom this place of wisdom.
You mention the innate wisdom within us, whether young or old – I’m noticing more and more how much I can learn from babies/young children. It may sound strange to hear for some, but their age means they have yet to take on so much of what the world has/will throw at them – they are, as we all are, naturally gentle, loving, sharing, joyful, beautiful little people. It’s inspiring. To live with those qualities seems very wise indeed.
It’s so true Vicky. Once we have a piece of paper telling us we are a ‘practitioner’ the arrogance kicks in and we think we’ve got it sorted! But if we are not living in a true and vital way then exactly what kind of ‘practitioner’ are we?
“Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living…” I love this line. It’s almost like saying ‘put your money where your mouth is.” We are all practitioners of life, each with our own experiences to share and inspire others by and through our lived way there is something definitely worth sharing.
Great blog, Vicky. In reading it, it made me realise that if I am indeed a practitioner (of life), I actually have a great responsibility to myself and others to uphold a certain way of life: to be self loving and make loving choices, have (energetic) integrity, to be honest and truthful, and to continue to evolve.
It’s interesting how sometimes changing a verb to a noun can make an activity seem final and less alive. A practitioner is someone who practices, it really is that simple, so, in truth, there is no end point to being a practitioner and we can actually practise anything, even practice being ourselves. By taking this term practitioner and glorifying it, the New Age seem to have hijacked it, and given it a new identity so it is great the term is reestablishing itself in a broader sense. And yes why not consider ourselves as practitioners of life?
I heard this a while ago when in a presentation from Universal Medicine, that we are all practitioners, it is no different picking up a pencil and handing it to someone as it is giving for example an Esoteric massage to someone lying on a massage table. This blew me away in the realisation as I thought at the time I wasn’t able to offer the same as a practitioner who practise modalities such as Esoteric healing, Chakrapuncture etc , I had a belief in my head that by not being a ‘practitioner’ I was not able to support people the same. Crazy really, and I guess lack of self worth and identification too. But this presentation blew me away and the cobwebs too, as I had never ever considered this, and in the realisation that no matter what I do, be it how I set a classroom up, prepare my resources, hand out paper, prepare my lunch, speak with people everyday in work, supermarkets etc, I am being practitioner in all I do – If I choose to be.
This is a great observation Vicky. A reminder that we all have a part to play and that no one else can bring our uniqueness, but together the whole is far greater than the sum of the parts.
Everyone is a practitioner/student/master of life, and it is through working, sharing and living with others that the reflections come as we develop our awareness.
“Each and every one of us has something to bring or reflect to another person” Vicky this is so true, when we limit a “practitioner” to be in a room doing a certain treatment then we in fact limit our amazing wisdom and what we each bring to the world.
Beautiful Vicky, I can feel how true this is that we are all practitioners of life and that we all carry a reflection for others that allows inspiration and healing, whether we have the written qualification of ‘practitioner’ or not.
So very true Vicky, ‘We all have access to the same innate wisdom within us, whether young or old.’ The more we see this, the more we will deeply appreciate each other and what we each bring.
Great point Vicky. We are all practitioners of life and we all have a lot to practice in living life that has a foundation of true love and brotherhood.
Is there anyone that has not suffered Death via Powerpoint! It is a box ticking exercise usually for some mandatory requirement to protect the employer, Health and Safety issues are a good example. It is just a funnel of information that is dispensed by gravity. Ah, teamwork is about shared experiences. A problem shared is one that is halved is true!
I love this. Vicky what you bring is itself pure gold because you include the fact that everyone is equal in value and that value is based on experience not societal position or knowledge.
Spot on Shami, and the equality is also there regardless of age too, as young children teach us so much and have pearls of wisdom as words too…We are all equally precious and equally practitioners – how beautiful is this?
The word ‘practitioner’ comes from the Late Latin practicus “fit for action.” By definition, no one is excluded from being one. We all are practitioners of life and can help each other big time to evolve.
Agree, this brings true purpose to life, we are all in this together. No one is excluded from being ‘ONE’.
I can feel the truth of what you share Vicky. The word practitioner to me feels like it contains within it the word ‘practice’ which says to me that we are each forever learning through the outcomes of the choices we make, whether our expression has truly served another or not. That is, are the movements we make a true expression of the great love that we are or not? If they are, then the sum total of our daily movement (the way that we live, our Livingness) will be evolutionary in the sense that they support us all to return to the whole-hearted expression of this love. In this sense, we are all practitioners as we are forever learning and mastering (getting lots of practice) in expressing our true greatness.
Liane thank you for what you have shared here, as in your expression you have taken this; that ‘everyone is a practitioner of life’ to a far greater and deeper level providing a space for expansion in asking ‘That is, are the movements we make a true expression of the great love that we are or not?’ This is a great question and definitely something I feel everyone could benefit from in tenderly asking ourselves.
Love it Vicky, so practical and down to earth, we are all practitioners, we just need to get on with it.
I’ve been a part of a series of talks last year where the emphasis has not been on having an expert in the room, but rather people with experience presenting those experiences… be they good or challenges they faced. Its the discussion that ensues that generates the most value, and as you say Vicky… the gold can come from anywhere in the room as we all have experience of life.
I felt I had nothing to share or wisdom to offer if I didn’t have a qualification. I have held myself back holding on to this belief for a very long time. Like you Vicky, I now know that we are all practitioners of life and all have an important part to play in the whole, no one excluded. Bringing our qualities to the table supports each and everyone of us.
The way you describe to be opens us up to naturally work together.
Everyday we should be learning and Healing.
And if people are here to support and assist us to grow and learn then being a practitioner of life isn’t such a far fetched idea. Especially if we look at it in that direction.
I love what you have said here Vicky, that “Being a practitioner is not a title, it is a way of living” and so then it follows that the quality of the way we live will determine the quality of us as the practitioner. We do not need a healing room and a massage table to be a practitioner, if we are living in a way that honours ourselves and others, then we are a practitioner in every single moment.
Great comment Ingrid, this is what my understanding of a practitioners is too. I love that we can be a practitioner at any time as long as we choose the quality of energy of healing and not harming.
Practitioner for me also means being a practitioner of myself, knowing my body inside out and knowing exactly what it needs to be supported.
Well said Vicky. Yes, we all have access to great wisdom if we know where to go to find it. As a trainer myself what you share is very pertinent. I prefer to describe myself as a facilitator – someone who supports the group to discover what they know and share it with each other. In my experience much more learning takes place this way.
Before going on, I would qualify this blog slightly by saying that we all have the equal potential to be practitioners of life, but do not necessarily live in a way that enables us to be one, at least not in a way that brings benefit or inspiration to others. This is the second blog today I have read that reminds me of the words of Thoreau, who said, “these days there are professors of philosophy but not philosophers of life. Yet it is admirable to profess because it was once admirable to live. To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically.”
Replace the word philosopher, with practitioner, and the same applies, which is the revelation that the author of this blog is highlighting. It is one thing to be a practitioner by one of qualification. It is another to be a practitioner by way of living. All too often we give our power away to the former, and ignore the latter, much to our own detriment.
Indeed Vicky, I can agree with what you present in this blog. We are all practitioners of life as we are living it, with or without qualification that is not important. The fact that we all live life gives us the authority from which to share this with all we are with. Working together as such will heal the world, as it will take away that separation we have created through our education systems. Our education only prepares us for that in life we have commonly said are important assets for our society, but in this we never look to the individual, what they do offer from being a unique practitioner of life.
Yes beautifully said Nico what you have expressed here is so open and I agree it doesn’t take a qualification to truly learn from life and how we are living, I would say we actually need to do more of this, truly being a practitioner of life and far less of the so called ‘academic’ work.