Introduction to Attitudinal Healing

Wendie Batho

“Attitudinal Healing is based on the principle that it is not other people or situations that cause us distress. Rather, it is our own thoughts and attitudes that are responsible for our distress, and the actions we take as a result of those thoughts and attitudes can hurt us.” (website www.ahinternational.org )

Healing can happen when we concentrate on changing of our attitudes rather than trying to change the attitudes of others.

The goal of Attitudinal Healing is to retrain our mind not to change behaviour in others.

It is a conscious effort to let go of our fearful attitudes. The approach is based on 12 principles that introduce the dynamic of choice, and acknowledge our own inner wisdom. The principles are offered as an invitation, not rules or dogma. It is up to us to choose whether we wish to move through fear, conflict or separation we are feeling and experience peace of mind.

In psychological terms it is known as the “Psycho-Social-Spiritual Approach”. The spiritual aspect acknowledges that we are more than our minds, more than our bodies, more than our emotions and that we are essentially spiritual beings or light or love, or energy, or soul or however we want to express our essential nature.

For me I am energy vibrating with other energies at that same level.

“Attitudinal Healing asserts that it is not people or circumstances that cause us to be upset. Rather, it is our own thoughts, feelings and attitudes that create conflict and distress” (from the Attitudinal Healing website 2007).

Disappointing as this may seem it is possible for us to re-examine our lives and once again choose what it is we want to experience: Love or fear, peace or conflict.

The 12 Principles of Attitudinal Healing are:

1. The essence of our being is love.
2. Health is inner peace. Healing is letting go of fear.
3. Giving and receiving are the same.
4. We can let go of the past and the future.
5. Now is the only time there is and each instant is for giving.
6. We can learn to love ourselves and others by forgiving rather than judging.
7. We can become love finders rather than fault finders.
8. We can choose and direct ourselves to be peaceful inside regardless of what is happening outside.
9. We are students and teachers to each other.
10. We can focus on the whole of life rather than the fragments.
11. Since love is eternal, death need not be viewed as fearful.
12. We can always perceive ourselves and others as either extending love or giving a call for help.

We often hear such phrases as “You can be whatever you want to be” or “Create the life of your dreams” or “Use the law of attraction to create wealth”. The question which arises in this is: How can we make any assessment of who we want to be, or what we want to create when we simply have no idea who we actually are! Whatever we may say about ourselves the question remains:

Who am I really?

What is my actual nature?

What am I doing on the planet?

Is it possible to know anything at all outside my conditioned beliefs?

Do I know what I want in life?

In the next Blog I will start to explore these issues through some of the Principles of Attitudinal Healing. Stay tuned!

Wendie Batho

Wendie has co-facilitated residential programs with Petrea for more than sixteen years. Prior to that Wendie spent over 25 years as a teacher, school principal and was involved in educational leadership and facilitation of school executive groups.

Ten years of this time was spent in PNG where she taught and worked for the government. Wendie has been travelling since the early sixties and is especially attracted to Asian cultures. She holds degrees in Anthropology, Education, Sociology, Theology and Political Science. Her current passions are her grandchildren, travel biographies, exploring Asia, 4×4 driving, reading everything she can get her hands on, and watching movies on the big screen at home.