By ena ganguly
Each of us has our ways of practicing the healing traditions that our elders passed down to us or that we found in community with those who have similar backgrounds as us, whether we realized it then or later. The ways we discover healing modalities may have a lot to do with our family’s culture and place of origin, as well as the people in our lives who share with us the way they heal and teach us to do the same.
As a South Asian person, I know foods, including herbs, have been a great source of healing. I’ve done my best to share my knowledge of food with others so that they too can find peace with their relationship to their bodies and what they consume. For others, it may look like being in ceremony or community through religious and spiritual healing modalities like communal singing or gathering.
Perhaps the healing comes from learning about who our ancestors were, the ways they chose to heal, as it makes us feel like we belong to a lineage of people, comforting us in moments of alienation or isolation.
Many of us may have wanted to share with others, and found great kinship with others outside of our cultural or religious communities that resulted in deep respect and admiration. Sharing with others gave way to stronger community and deeper intimacy between people. Sharing our personal healing modalities can be an act of practicing vulnerability with others. It can also be such a beautiful moment of connection with others, especially when that sharing is mutual and respectfully done.
There are also moments where we may have been hurt because we trusted others to hold our knowledge with love and respect and they may have been careless or disrespectful instead. Those experiences are real and oftentimes can invoke deeper hurt in us as our ancestors experienced colonialism and/or slavery. The fact is that sharing with others about our own healing modalities is an act of love and trust that should always be met with humility, kindness, and gratitude.
On the other hand, sharing with others, especially with other queer people of color, can be an act of resistance against the systems that we live within and that intend to take our knowledge away from us. It is a way for us to remind ourselves and others of the power we hold, and when we share that knowledge-power with the right people, that power amplifies and grows.
Join us virtually on Saturday, November 7th at 11 am CST to discuss how our own healing modalities have enabled us to live fuller lives, discussing when it feels best to do so and when to keep our wisdom from those who mean to harm us, and sharing those modalities with other queer people of color in the space if we feel the call to do so. We hope to see you there!
