Bearing Witness is a form of empathy in which you figuratively stand shoulder to shoulder with another and simply allow yourself to empathize with what they are experiencing. Every day, in every context, we bear witness the actions and hear the stories of others and in so doing, we shoulder some of the burden of carrying that story. For example, perhaps you are at a clothing store and you witness someone being rude to a clerk. You may silently look at the clerk and share an unspoken acknowledgement that the situation is uncomfortable and hurtful. Or, perhaps you are walking across a parking lot and notice a young mother struggling to complete an errand while carrying a newborn, and wrangling crying older siblings. You make eye contact with a kind expression while you remember when you were a young mom struggling in a similar way. In these and many other ways, we shoulder a small piece of the burden of others’ struggle on a daily basis, and it is part of what makes a cohesive and thriving community work. It creates safety and a feeling of being included.
Bearing witness is part of the invisible social fabric that binds us all together as a species
Some of us choose to take on roles as first responders, medical or mental health professional, greatly expanding that role. Ask any policeman or EMT about Bearing Witness, and you are likely to see that person become very still and solemn. They might tell you that it is the only thing they could do for a person that they very much wanted to help in other ways. And those of us who choose non-traditional healing professions also make a choice to bear witness to a larger share of the suffering of others. Bearing Witness is part of the invisible social fabric that binds us all together as a species. Humans are communal animals by design and we thrive when we are interconnected in community and family groups. Those of us who are healers and helpers play an outsize role in maintaining the integrity of this group. We almost never pause to consider what role this form of empathy plays in the mechanism of healing.
According to Dr. Kristi Pickiewicz, in her article “The Power and Strength of Bearing Witness”, bearing witness “is a term that, used in psychology, refers to sharing our experiences with others, most notably in the communication to others of traumatic experiences. Bearing witness is a valuable way to process an experience, to obtain empathy and support, to lighten our emotional load via sharing it with the witness, and to obtain catharsis.”
To bear witness is a fundamentally human act
When I am teaching new Reiki practitioners, I always spend time discussing the power of bearing witness as an intentional tool that facilitates healing. When we as Reiki practitioners bear witness for our clients, we are not necessarily listening to a verbal story about what has happened. We are observing the effect that events have had on the body and the energy system of our client. It is a story that is filled with information, and nuance. When you orient your place as the Reiki practitioner to be an equal, you are employing two profound tools at once.
Again, Pickiewicz reminds us that “it is widely confirmed in the literature on the treatment of survivors of trauma…that validation in the course of and bearing witness is vital and necessary in remembering traumatic memories and in the healing process.” That means that bearing witness is part of the mechanism of healing. You need not be a therapist or physician to bear witness because it is something that human beings do naturally.
At the start of every Reiki session, the receiver and the practitioner set a healing intention for the greatest and highest good of all concerned. I ask that my students remember that we are also there to Bear Witness. When you are well grounded in your role as a witness and an equal, you transform your role from agent to facilitator; you empower your client to be a co-creator of change and you transform your practice.
Here are some practical tips to help you incorporate an intention to Bear Witness in a grounded and mindful way:
- Consciously initiate your Witness Bearing in the same way that you initiate your Reiki session – you can work with this affirmation to help ground your intention into the work:
I am now grounded and ready to call in beautiful Reiki energy. I am ready to facilitate healing for the soul before me, and to calmly bear witness to the complex and and sometimes painful story that their energy and physical body must tell in order to heal.
- If you feel yourself getting “pulled” by an emotional reaction to your receiver’s “story”, remember to ground yourself often. Ground as often as you need to; it does not detract from the flow of Reiki, in my experience, it tends to increase the flow even more to your receiver.
- Self regulate when you are not sharing Reiki with clients or yourself – a well regulated practitioner has a profound positive effect on the receiver. (My forthcoming E-book will have lots of self-regulation exercises to help you)