Alchemical Healing

from Chapter 2: Alchemy

The ancient art of alchemy is easily understood by an example found in nature, the transformation that occurs over time in the creation of a diamond. The matter starts as carbon, deep within the earth. Through elemental interaction and when the appropriate amount of heat and pressure is applied and sustained, transmutation occurs--the soft black material becomes the exquisite clear, hard, bright diamond.

Pressure is a fundamental part of that process, and as we explore the process of alchemy in our own lives, we discover that it is through the management of pressure that we achieve personal mastery. It is not so much about what comes to us in our life experience, but rather how we respond to it that indicates our level of mastery. Alchemically, we can see every adverse condition as a valuable part of the process, grist for the inner mill in which transmutation takes place.

from Chapter 3: The Treasure Hunt

 Egypt's Mystery
. . . .During one tour of the land of the Pharaohs, we sailed down the Nile from Luxor to Aswan on a felucca, an ancient type of small sailing boat, for four days.. . . .One bright morning while moored on a bar in the nether zone between here and there, Amber took a dive off the edge of the boat into what she thought was deep water. It was only knee deep at most. She came up screaming, but she couldn't move because of the compression to her spine. We pulled her out of the water and laid her on the deck of the boat. We were all stunned, and helpless. I remember the ensuing moments as if in slow motion. First was the panic when we realized that between us all we had just enough skill in first aid to apply a Band-Aid to a small cut. Lacking in any training beyond the use of quartz crystals that I had received from Oh Shinnah, I grabbed the small one I’d brought with me and went to work, focusing my intention and praying for divine intervention, while holding my hands over Amber. The pain abated, and Amber was able to move soon after, fully regaining her mobility.

It was time to find a teacher or focus for my studies that would help me to accomplish the goal that had moved to the forefront my mind--the goal of becoming a healer.

from chapter 8: Accessing the Universal Life Force

Exercise: Seeing with the Palms of Your Hands
You have probably seen Tibetan, East Indian, and northwest Native American art that depicts characters with eyes painted on their foreheads, the palms of their hands, and the soles of their feet. These pictorial representations depict sensitivities that, though acknowledged as natural by some cultures, are given no credence in our own. Because of our lack of identification with these metaphysical organs of sensitivity, we must learn to utilize them in much the same way we learn a new language.

When the eyes in the palms of our hands are open, they perceive through interaction with energy and can inform us in very specific ways.

The purpose of this exercise is to learn to use the eyes in your hands to retrieve information from inside another body.

     Ground and center yourself and prepare to focus.

     Place your hands on the forearm of a friend.
 
     Generate your Fire Mist Shower and say your word with the intention of using the eyes in the palms of your hands. (You may find that your fingertips are especially sensitive and that you can retrieve information from them as well.)

     As soon as you feel yourself link with the other person, direct your attention to the surface upon which your hands are resting. Hold your hands absolutely still and feel the texture of the fabric or skin beneath your hands. If it is fabric, examine the texture of the fabric--its thickness, color, weave, wrinkles--without looking at or moving your hands. Notice how much information you can perceive using the eyes in your hands.

     Extend your consciousness to the area beneath the fabric, and focus your attention on the skin, noticing all that your can about the skin, its pores, its rhythms, its tone.

     Extend your consciousness to the layer just under the surface of the skin. What is happening here? Can you perceive the capillaries, the fatty tissue? Is there movement? What colors do you see or feel?

     Extend your consciousness deeper into the body. Can you find a blood vessel? Can you examine its walls? Do you feel the flow of the blood through the vessel? Can you sense the pulse of the flow of blood?

     Even deeper, find a strata of muscle. Is it rough or smooth, tense or relaxed, hard or soft?

     And again, go deeper still, until you reach the surface of bone. Is it wet or dry? Rough or smooth? Brittle or pliant? What color is it?

     Now direct your consciousness into the center of the bone, to the place where the marrow is, where the red blood cells are being manufactured. What information is here for you? Is there any activity here? Sound? Movement?

     From your heart, request the attention of the spirit of the bone, or of the entire skeletal system. As you call forth this spirit, hold the intention of wanting to be given a message from the spirit of bone about the health and needs of the bones of the person.

     Remember to thank the spirit for responding.

     And finally, very slowly, begin to withdraw your focus, layer by layer, gently removing yourself from the recipient's body until you find yourself back in your own body once again. Disconnect completely with your intention. If you feel the need, you can brush the surface of your hands together to break the connection.

     Exchange the messages and insights you received and bring sacred closure to the experience you have just shared.

Acknowledgments

Preface: Purpose

Part I--Introducing Alchemical Healing

1--RITE OF PASSAGE

2--ALCHEMY
       The Stages of Alchemy

3--THE TREASURE HUNT
       Finding the Path
       The Grateful Dead and Shamanism
       Egypt's Mystery

4--DISCOVERING THE HEALER WITHIN
       Reiki
       Huna
       Meeting My Mentor
       Cancer

Part II: Basic Alchemical Healing

5--INITIATION
       Initiatory Process of this Book
       Thoth
           Initiation: Journey to Thoth

6--COMMITMENT
       Creating a Ritual
       Invoking the Directions
           Invocation
           Initiation: Journey of Commitment

7--FORGIVENESS
           Exercise: Forgiveness Meditation

8--HEALING ENERGY BASICS

9--ACCESSING THE UNIVERSAL LIFE FORCE
       The Fire Mist Shower
           Initiation: Activating the Fire Mist Shower
       Practicing the Fire Mist Shower
       Generating the Energy for Healing
           Exercise: Transmitting the Energy
           Exercise: Developing X-Ray Vision

10--THE ELEMENTS
       Learning about the Elements
           Exercises: The Elements
       Symbols
       The Five-Element Symbol System
       Self-Initiating into the Elements for Healing
           Initiation: Connecting to the Elements
       Healing with Elements

11--HEALING WITH SPIRIT ALLIES
       Animal Totems
       Journey: Animal Totem Journey
       Archetypes and Deities
       The Healing Team
       Plant Spirits
           Exercise: Healing with Plant Spirits
       Healing with Trees
           Exercise: Becoming a Tree
       Healing with Crystals
       Healing with Color
           Journey: Journey with Color

12--HEALING TECHNIQUES
       Four Rules
       The Art of Removing Disease
       Healing Crisis
       Distant Healing
       Multiple Healings
       Protection and Empathy
           Exercise: Protection-Creating an Elemental Shield
       A Note about Techniques

13--ETHICS IN HEALING
       Who Is the "Healer"?
       When Do We Call Ourselves Healers?
       Miracles
       What Is Our Responsibility in Having the Gift?
       Permission
       Privacy
       Remuneration, Reciprocity
       Blending Traditions
       What To Do when It Doesn't Work
       Personal Accountability and Boundaries

PART III: Advanced Alchemical Healing

14--THE CADUCEUS
           Initiation: Caduceus Empowerment
       Results of the Caduceus Practice over Time
       Cobra As a Healing Ally

15--AKASHA
       Healing through Time
       Akasha and DNA
       The Akashic Record
       Akashic Practices
           Exercise: Refreshing the Akasha
       Using Akasha for Healing
           Exercise: Akashic Healing Technique
       Stories of Akashic Healings
       Advanced Akasha Empowerment
           Initiation: Star Council Meditation

16--ADVANCED HEALING TECHNIQUES
       Direct Conducting of Energies
       Advanced Alchemical Formula
           Exercise: Advanced Healing Practice
       Psychic Surgery
           Exercise: Practicing Psychic Surgery Techniques
       Psychic Surgery Stories
       The Sucking Cure
       Choosing Your Methods

17--SOUND AND MUSIC
       What Is Sound?
       Finding a Sacred Instrument
       Sound Protocol and Manners
       Playing a Sacred Instrument
       Instruments and the Elements
       The Human Voice
       Silent Sound
       Sacred Songs and Chants
       Healing with Sound and Music
       Emotional Healing and Music
       Exercises for Developing Sound Healing
       Tools and Techniques
           Exercise: Intentional Sound
           Exercise: Focusing Sound
           Exercise: Elemental Invocation

18--SELF-HEALING
       Healing the Healer
       Healing a Cold Sore
       The Heart Breath
           Exercise: Heart Breath
       Breathing the Elements
           Exercise: Balancing the Elements in Your Body
       Changing Your Character
           Exercise: Sample Elemental Transformation

Part IV: Completion--Alchemical Gold

19--THE FOUR PRINCIPLES OF ALCHEMICAL HEALING
       Personal Skill
       Help and Guidance from the Spirit Realms
       Divine Intervention
       Gratitude
           Ceremony of Thanks

20--THE WISDOM OF THE HEART
           Initiation: From Will to Heart
       Alchemical Tonglen
       Compassionate Listening
           Meditation: Compassionate Listening/Becoming Another
       Love as an Element

21--THE CRYSTAL CAULDRON
           Journey: The Crystal Cauldron

Afterword: Alchemical Gold

Appendix I: The Emerald Tablet

Appendix II: Authorized Alchemical Healing

Teachers and Practitioners

Nicki Scully has achieved international recognition as a healer and teacher of metaphysics, shamanism, and the Egyptian mysteries. She lectures worldwide and specializes in spiritual tours to Egypt, Peru, and other sacred sites. The author of Power Animal Meditations and numerous audiocassettes, she lives in Eugene, Oregon, where she maintains a healing center.

“Richly detailed with experiential methodology and esoteric wisdom, Nicki Scully’s Alchemical Healing illuminates the path of the modern medicine woman in these times of tremendous change. A great read!”
Hank Wesselman, Ph.D., anthropologist and author of The Journey to the Sacred Garden and the Spiritwalker trilogy

 “In Alchemical Healing, Nicki Scully creates an elixir that inspires us to use the power of the heart and the power of spiritual healing for our lives and the health of others. I loved it!”

Sandra Ingerman, author of Soul Retrieval and Medicine for the Earth

 “Nicki Scully is not just ‘talking about’ alchemical healing, she has lived it. She is a master translator of a myriad of healing systems and generously empowers us to awaken to our own inherent healing abilities.”

Justine Toms, cofounder of New Dimensions Radio and coauthor of True Work: Doing What You Love and Loving What You Do

"Alchemical Healing presents a sacred journey into the most profound principles and mysteries of creation."
Leading Edge Review, Fall 2003

"Her book is a valuable resource for anyone looking to heal both self and planet."
Paul Andrews, Whole Life Times, October 2003, Vol. 25 No. 10

"Stories of rock and roll and shamanism weave through this comprehensive and clear guidebook to healing yourself and others."
Whole Life Times, February 2004, Vol. 26 No. 2

"I highly reccomend this book. . . . Nicki Scully's teachings can awaken the divine force in you."
Susan Dobra, Magical Blend's Natural Beauty & Health, February 2004, Issue 91

“Artist, philosopher, traveler, alchemist, and healer, Nicki Scully has healed herself and brought the light of healing to everyone around her. Alchemical Healing is rich and whole-hearted, practical and inspiring. I could not put it down.”
Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D., author of Shaman, Healer, Sage

“A lifetime of wisdom breathes inside these pages. If you could read a book that would change and charge and heal your life, wouldn’t you? Nicki Scully has the Rx. She’s got the mojo. This is the book.”
Normandi Ellis, author of Awakening Osiris: The Egyptian Book of the Dead

“Here is a masterful work that provides clear instructions as to once and future ways of healing self, other, and planet. Here is alchemy at its best and most comprehensive. The reader is charged with delight in new possibilities growing out of ancient knowings. Scully gives us a book that is to be savored as well as used.”
Jean Houston, Ph.D., author of Jump Time and A Mythic Life

“Nicki Scully is one of most innovative healers on the planet. In Alchemical Healing, she shares what she has learned about physical and spiritual transformation. The information and concepts are supplemented with exercises, meditations, and visualizations that serve to put them to immediate use. The anecdotes are helpful, and bring a touch of humanity and humor into this fascinating brew.”
Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., co-author Extraordinary Dreams and How to Use Them

“Alchemical Healing is a living bridge to ancient wisdom, a golden gift to all who would begin the Great Work of personal and global transformation. Using the terminology and operations of alchemy, Nicki Scully presents a bona fide and universal system of initiation and healing.”
Dennis William Hauck, alchemist and author of The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation

“Nicki Sully’s Alchemical Healing is a welcome addition to Chopra’s Quantum Healing and deals specifically and forcibly with new insights based on ancient wisdom on just what you need to do to let the healing process occur.”
Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D., author of Matter into Feeling: A New Alchemy of Science and Spirit

“High praise for Nicki and this excellent book! Nicki, herself a healed-healer, brings to this offering her experience, wisdom, and personal passion for creatively addressing all forms of dis-ease, along with a fierce dedication to supporting others in the process of awakening and developing their healing hearts and hands. This is a powerful and timely book that supports resolution of the challenging issues of our time through our own offering of healing to All Our Relations.”
Brooke Medicine Eagle, author of Buffalo Woman Comes Singing and The Last Ghost Dance

“Nicki Scully may well be one of the great alchemical practitioners of our time. A medical intuitive, teacher, and healer, in Alchemical Healing she shares her own fascinating healing journey, then in step-by-step journeys, initiations, and exercises, provides readers with the tools necessary for using this ancient system of healing. A truly remarkable book that enables the reader to not only understand but to practice alchemical healing.”
Rosemary Gladstar, herbalist, author of Herbal Healing for Woman and founder of United Plant Savers

"Nicki Scully creates an elixir that inspires us to use the powers of the heart and of spiritual healing for our lives and the health of others. I loved it!"
Sandra Ingerman, author of Soul Retrieval and Medicine for the Earth

Nicki Scully is not just 'talking about' alchemical healing, she has lived it. . . . and generously empowers us to awaken to our own inherent healing abilities."
Justine Toms, cofounder of New Dimensions Radio and coauthor of True Work: Doing What You Love and Loving What You Do

"A wise and wonderful book to be savored, sure to bring great benefits to those who practice and apply these methods."
Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., author of The Unfolding Self

SELF TRANSFORMATION / HEALING

“Richly detailed with experiential methodology and esoteric wisdom, Nicki Scully’s Alchemical Healing illuminates the path of the modern medicine woman in these times of tremendous change. A great read!”
--Hank Wesselman, Ph.D., anthropologist and author of The Journey to the Sacred Garden and the Spiritwalker trilogy

“In Alchemical Healing, Nicki Scully creates an elixir that inspires us to use the power of the heart and the power of spiritual healing for our lives and the health of others. I loved it!”
--Sandra Ingerman, author of Soul Retrieval and Medicine for the Earth

“Nicki Scully is not just ‘talking about’ alchemical healing, she has lived it. She is a master translator of a myriad of healing systems and generously empowers us to awaken to our own inherent healing abilities.”
--Justine Toms, cofounder of New Dimensions Radio and coauthor of True Work: Doing What You Love and Loving What You Do

Alchemical Healing brings together innovative techniques from shamanism and energetic healing with the principles of alchemy, creating a practical form of physical healing, therapeutic counseling, and spiritual growth. With simple directions, readers are guided through a series of initiatory steps toward mastery of a powerful healing form that allows them to access the Universal Life Force energy; develop a working relationship with spirit allies from the animal, plant, and mineral realms; and utilize the healing power of the five elements. Starting with journeys of initiation and commitment for the beginner, Alchemical Healing also offers advanced students instruction in powerful techniques such as psychic surgery, distant healing, and elemental balancing of the body. Those who follow the Alchemical Healing path accomplish a spiritual transformation of the self, turning the dark mystery of the subconscious into the alchemical gold of knowledge and enlightenment.

NICKI SCULLY has been a healer and teacher of metaphysics, shamanism, and the Egyptian Mysteries since 1982. She gives lectures and seminars worldwide and guides spiritual tours to Egypt, Peru, and other sacred sites. The author of Power Animal Meditations and numerous audiocassettes, she lives in Eugene, Oregon, where she maintains a healing center.