Creative Healing vs The Stephenson Method
The work developed by Mr. Stephenson was termed as Creative Healing. Mr. Stephenson picked this name because the true power of the work comes from the mind of the practitioner. He or she must be able to see within his or her own mind what is needed to be done and act in accordance to produce that result. In the writings left to us by John Hunt, the example was given that you would be unable to get home in a car if you did not first use this power of the mind to see what needs to be done to make the car run. He also sites the use of this power as the key for getting a man on the moon. To achieve such a seemingly impossible task required first a picture born in the mind of how it would be possible. Obviously the picture evolves and gains detail with trial and error but the potential for success had to first come from the mind that could see it. So it is with all great or small things we do in our lifetimes.
Now this might sound like a very simple truth, but it is one that is overlooked and certainly not studied for it’s true potential. So I am sure that Mr. Stephenson wanted the name of the work to be a constant reminder of this for those that would use his work. The work is not just a series of movements or a collection of theories but more of an art form or tool used to bring to life the picture in the mind of the practitioner. In Mr. Stephenson’s eyes the name Creative Healing was surely a way to sum up this simple yet complex topic into a gentle reminder to the student just what his aim should be.
However, in today’s world of internet searches, any fact, title, idea, or other can be easily interpreted in so many ways that the real truth no longer even matters. As for the name Creative Healing, the last time I did a search for it I ended up with everything from faith healing to curing cancer by painting. We are not questioning the credibility of any of them, but we stand firm in saying that this is not Joseph B. Stephenson’s Creative Healing.
While painting is highly creative and requires the painter to have a vision of the painting before the painting comes to life, you will not find us painting in our classes nor will you ever hear us claiming that the work “cures” anything.
As far as faith is concerned, I found two definitions for it:
complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
"this restores one's faith in politicians"
strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.
"bereaved people who have shown supreme faith"
The first definition would not be accurate because Mr. Stephenson believed that results were what gave us confidence. Just like the example of going to the moon, you can believe in your vision of going to the moon all you want but true confidence comes from the doing. With each small success or failure the vision becomes more clear and the work becomes more deliberate.
In the second definition, Mr. Stephenson would never have allowed a student to think the quality of their work had anything to do with their religious beliefs or that of the person they were working on. To imply otherwise would be to invite judgement. A student might find themselves thinking such things as: “This didn’t work because my faith is not strong enough” or “They did not heal because they didn’t believe enough.” The student is not to fall victim to this type of thinking. As a practitioner you are doing the job of providing aid to your fellow man within the limitations of your own capacity. Your capacity will grow with your confidence and your confidence will grow with your experiences. You can not shortcut this by handing off your work or responsibility to a higher power.
I say all this (to somewhat vent) but mainly to just give you context as to why we are calling our work the Stephenson Method instead of Creative Healing. It is not because we are trying to change the work but rather we are doing our best to keep it pure. We respect the intentions for naming the work Creative Healing and trust that in his day the name was perfect for conveying to his students what the work was intended to be. However, as time goes by the name becomes more associated with things outside the scope of what he was doing. So to allow us the opportunity to distinguish ourselves from the rest, the name became The Stephenson Method.
If you enjoyed this read, please check back as we publish more and consider taking a class from us so that together we can keep this work alive for future generations .
Thank you,
Charles Harper