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Awakening of a Healer
the BIO of
David Raphael Isaacson

Spiritual Healer Teacher Intuitive Shaman
Ordained Minister - Acupuncturist

As a young boy I loved comic books and “Dr Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts” was my favorite. Doc Strange had amazing magical abilities and I wondered "was it possible? (kids... they have such active imaginations). At the age of 15 I read Martin Buber's’ "Tales of the Hasidim" - a collection of stories and aphorisms of Jewish mystics and miracle workers of 18th century Europe. I can’t imagine the effect books like “Harry Potter” are having upon the youth of today, but from this one book I began to hope and dream: a magical spirit filled life might not be such a far off fantasy after all - if others had experienced these sorts of things (no matter how far in the distant past) why not me? But all these Masters and Miracle workers were long gone... who now could guide me ? I had no clue, yet the ideas planted in my impressionable young mind grew to a yearning I could not resist.

At the age of 17 I became an Eagle Scout of the Boy Scouts of America. It was not quite the spiritual ideal I had in mind, but it was (in its own way) something noble.

I had just started my third year at the University of California (Irvine) majoring in a new field called Social Ecology, when I read Paramahansa Yoganandas’ "Autobiography of a Yogi". Here was the real deal, a spiritual teacher who not only embodied my divine ideals but lived in the modern world ! Unfortunately, Yogananda passed on years earlier so i could not meet or study with him in person, but the possibility that my dream could become a reality was now awakened... and even though my friends and family thought I was crazy, I immediately left school to pursue my search in earnest.

Over many years, this “quest” has lead me to explore many religious traditions:
Jewish, Christian, Sufi, Taoist, Buddhist, Hindu, American Indian....
study and practice many spiritual paths and healing arts:
Siddha Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Dowsing, Subud, Spiritual Response Therapy, Chi Kung, Reiki Tummo, Theta,...
and work with many teachers and healers.

And the process of “Awakening” continues....

Stored away in some part of the Inner Self, there reside all ones latent gifts and talents, results of efforts taken over countless past lives in this and other dimensions. The first challenge for the incarnated soul, enchanted and intoxicated by the illusions of this material dimension, is in “Waking Up” to this higher knowledge

Awakening From "The Matrix"
The "Wounded Healer" Archetype

We cannot be “Awakened” from "the Matrix" of the material world until we are first loosened from the attachments we form to it and are "fed up" or disillusioned with its reality. It is only when this happens is our awareness freed up enough that we can start to see over the edge and outside of "the box" of this world and into the next (Spirit). This may come about through the intervention of Divine Grace (as received in the healing sessions), or through some painful cataclysmic trauma such as a near death experience (that physically tears your soul from life). This last event wasn't the particular catalyst Spirit had in mind for me, but rather, there were a number of little traumatic events (symbolic deaths and terrible disappointments) that managed to push me over the edge and outside of the box... again and again.

There are numerous side lines we take as we are engaged with the world - the pursuit of love and money are the big ones. We are inundated with the cultural messages and biological imperatives that say ones purpose in life is found in career and relationships. And of course on some level this is true, yet this truth can only take one so far... until the disillusionment of temporal reality hits home and ones world comes crashing down.

There was the divorce from the woman who (I thought) I was going to spend the rest of my life with, and the subsequent loss of my 2 beautiful children as they all flew off and away to the other side of the world. Both events ended the notion of the “living happily ever after" fantasy. Yet through this experience, there was born the commitment to overcome and heal everything inside which led to this happening.

About this same time I had been studying with someone who I believed was this great spiritual master... until I found out he was physically and sexually abusing some of his students. (I was saved from this torment, but sadly, many others were not).
“How could such a ‘spiritual’ being do these sorts of things?” I asked.
On top of my divorce and the loss of my kids, this was a massive disappointment that lead me to entertain the possibility that everything about spirituality was a lie.
I can see why people get disenchanted with the spiritual path - its leaders are all humans with character flaws and at times do terrible things. Yet here I received an important lesson in discernment - how to distinguish the essence and truth of the teaching from the teacher, or, how to separate the message from the messenger (fortunately, I found a spiritual friend who helped me transition through this crisis). All in all, besides sharpening my discrimination, this experience helped loosen my attachment to the outer Guru (the archetypal "authority figure") and allowed me to become more conscious of and awakened to my "Inner Master".

Shiva

In the meantime, pursuing a goal of becoming a healer, I completed 2 years of pre-med studies and was accepted into Western States Chiropractic College.
Two weeks into the second semester I had a very vivid dream.
I was standing in front of our class of some 130 people and said:
“No matter how much time and money we have invested to get here, we can always make another choice. It is never too late to do something else. I feel that this path is not for me - it is not making me happy so I am going to let it go and drop out."
I had made so many sacrifices and went through so many hoops to get to this place, yet this one dream was telling me give it all up ? This is Crazy ! I should have been excited about waking up every morning and going to school, but when I searched my feelings I realized I was not happy. If I gave up on my dream (which I thought was to be a Chiropractor) what would I do then? Yet I could not ignore this message nor my feelings... so acting out of faith I took a leap: the next morning I stood up in front of my class, gave the same speech and quit school, exactly as in my dream... and it felt RIGHT . Later that year, I heard that 2 senior students committed suicide (sadly, they did not hear my speech).A few weeks after I left school, a palpable wall of blackness descended in front of my life (when I closed my eyes I could even see it). I had followed my dream and here I was, with no discernible future and a huge student loan to pay back. What was I to do now? How do I pick up the pieces of my life? Where do I go? what do I do? To keep the thread of my “dream” alive, I decided to study massage at The Oregon School of Massage. Finishing that study, I enrolled into The Oregon College of Oriental Medicine and three years later, graduated with a Master’s Degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (1992)... and so began my “formal” healing practice.

I had followed the bread crumbs of some nebulous fantastical dream, all of which lead me to this “officially” recognized career as a licensed "Healer”... yet something was still missing. I finally "made it" (see the diplomas on the wall) yet I had a nagging feeling that Oriental Medicine wasn’t the "final" answer.

A few years later I went to Saudi Arabia to work as an Acupuncturist in an alternative health clinic with the potential to make enough money to pay off my student loans in 2 years. After 3 months of political stonewalling, the clinic owner still had not gotten his business license and we were all sent back home. I had to ask myself "What message was spirit sending me here ?" From this (and other events) I realized that the universe was not going to support me doing Acupuncture... there was no energy in it for me and it was time to gracefully "let it go".

"When one door closes another door opens"
Fortunately, in these few years leading up to this moment, I continued to follow the guidance of my "Inner Master" and found myself opening up to some very unique healing work. I wasn't quite sure what to call "It" or what "It" actually was. I didn't even know if I could earn a living doing "It" but whatever 'It" was was sure interesting... and I was getting results that were a lot more effective and amazing than acupuncture. I figured, Ok, the "A" (Acupuncture) door is closed... let's see where the "B" (Beyond) door takes me... and here we are.

Acknowledgments

A huge part of my path has been the receiving of Grace from other spiritual practitioners. No matter how great or small, long or short the association, I would like to gratefully acknowledge a few of these people for their unique gifts and special influences in my life: Swami Muktananda, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, Robert Detsler, Jeannie Mackie, Anita Stewart, Racquel Palmesi, Charles McCall, Karen Abrams, Marina Rose, Moira Shephard and Tanya Sheikh. And to those many other unmentioned lovers of light and truth - I do thank you one and all.

David the Spirit works very closely with countless beings who make up the Spiritual Hierarchy. He has a pure attunement to the Divine Directive (the "Universal Plan"), expressing in his work the Spiritual Authority, Healing Power, Transformational Consciousness, Divine Light and Will of the Master.

David the Person is a human being (just like you) experiencing the unique opportunities offered in this dimension. He is committed to the liberation of all beings, the ascension of the whole planetary body into the higher dimensions, and the embodiment of Divine Love in human form.

All those sincere seekers who are willing to go beyond their limitations and comfort zones are invited to experience his work.

"Peace and Blessings, Love and Light"
David Raphael Isaacson