In a related way Nick, I just attended a big set of works in my particular style of working with the sacred medicine Ayahuasca.
I bring it up because some of the participants spoke cynically about the people leading the work, taking them down a notch or whatever it was they were attempting to do by offering a cynical perspective.

Cynicism
1) An attitude of scornful or jaded negativity, especially a general distrust of the integrity or professed motives of others:
2) the quality of being cynical; the mental state, opinions, or conduct, of a cynic; morose and contemptuous views and opinions.

Those who did so were all old timers in this particular case, with many years working in this tradition. I don't know why they were attracted to me when sharing these views, but I suspect it's because of the shining enthusiasm I bring to the work and their sense of it only being because I'm fairly new to it. I shut them down immediately. I explained to them that I wasn't interested in the stories of mistakes the felt people were making or the stories that included a negative judgment of those leading the work. I put up a shield to receiving the communication and firmly held them off.

I think they thought I was sort of naive,

1) having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous.
2)having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information; credulous:

They thought my enthusiasm was due to a lack of information and experience, or that I was just sort of simple minded for not looking at all the "facts" before throwing myself so wholeheartedly into the work, which facts and stories, if I knew them , would in their opinion temper my enthusiasm.

In fact I was highly determined not to allow any story to come between me, and forgive me for saying it this way, falling in love. I wasn't going to place any obstacles in my own path that would hinder my ability to love and appreciate those leading the work. That doesn't make me naive, nor is it purposeful blindness to the faults or mistakes of others, but instead is a very focused determination on my part to guide my attention down certain paths and not others. I didn't feel like judging the "mistakes of others" was going to help me get into the light and power of the work. Nor did I think it would help me expand the love in my heart.

I think those who were degrading the work or degrading those who lead it were caught in a particularly vicious trap. It's the pedestal trap. You long to find the perfect and saintly healer or leader, and know in your heart that when you do, only then can you give yourself heart and soul to the work, but first you need to be absolutely sure they qualify. So they pick at the healer, or his or her work, noticing and broadcasting all the mistakes they see and in a state of perpetual disappointment settle for less as this person clearly has faults that disqualify them from the top pedestal position.

The result was that in the same room, and in the presence of the same healers and leaders and musicians, I was blown through the top of the synagog where we were having the works, and into a sky filled with power and light and beauty, while those who were cataloging the disqualifications of the same healers, leaders and musicians were holding down the folor as they purged repeatedly and loudly. In fact ,so many individuals found themselves in that condition that the entire work was changed mid stream to try and help them.

I think one should recognize it as such..
But also to view it as a part of one's self..
We are all one, so these cynic remarks are also part of you and everybody..
The cynic has the problem, not you, nor the patient..
To come together there is no need to neglect cynicism..

The fact that you feel hurt means that the cynic has struck a chord..
The problem cynics often have is that they see structures very clearly but they don't do anything about them..
They are not willing to take part in the solution to make a stuck structure grow..
If you can motivate them, or make clear that they are actually part of the situation they will take on a different note..
It's a wonder what a laugh can do against cynicism..

this is where 'strength' comes in.
also, we must consider that the cynic is also one that needs healing.
healing is also about mindset. if a person has a destructive and belittling mindset, the healer may combat this.
if you start to absorb the negative energy of this person and do not dissipate it and keep your own energy clear, this is not effective healing. it's just sponging.
the effective healer will find that their own positive energy will be boposted when around those that need healing.
I recently came into contact with somebody that needed healing emotionally. i found that my energy multiplied a great deal and i started to radiate. my mood was lifted and i felt more powerful and positive than i do most days.
this could be because i have natural healing ability, it is not something i learned, it comes from instinct. but i am sure it is something that can bea learned. as long as you are aware that auras interact in this way, you need to boost your own aura. open your channels to hte source of your positive energy and pull it through. make yourself big.

The reason why some sacred stories are not shared with the public is because of the possibility of a cynical response. It is unhealthy for the subconscious to be exposed to it. It has power that can shut down confidence in the most skilled practitioners. Sharing sacred stories with strangers is therefore not recommended. Some measure of trust has to exist. Shamans send non believers away all the time. You can say you need help and not be open to it. However, a skilled shaman can reassert him or herself if given some time. Aloha, Kahuna Lamaku.

Nick-

I'd gently offer that, in my experience, the energy/medicine/spirit that allows for healing is bigger than any cynicism. If someone's ability to facilitate healing is damaged by something as simple as having a conversation with someone that's cynical, then, perhaps, something needs shoring up.

I guess this also depends on how one does healing work. If we're trying to heal using our own resources - the small and human resources we have - then I guess those resources could be compromised by something equally small and human like cynicism.

But if we are working with a force of healing that's well beyond us - something bigger, deeper and more powerful - then that can't be harmed or lessened by someone being cynical. This deeper something has shoulders big enough to handle what it's given.

I'm not a healer. I don't pretend to be a healer. I know that whatever healing happens through my work has very little to do with me. And I know that what supports healing isn't small and human, so I don't worry about things like cynicism.

And, in my experience, cynicism can often be a sign of hope that's been lost. It's often an expression of pain. I can't think of any better reason to lend an ear.

Veg

"I've recently noticed that it is a very bad thing when healers participate in conversations with cynical people. "

Sorry Nick. Respectfully, that's about as far as I got with your post. It seems that from that sentence alone your argument is setting up a rift - a chasm - between those who might sit in judgment in the belief of what they know (or what they think they know) and the rest of them/us. Implicit is a suggestion or an alluding to those who identify as 'healers' sit on a loftier perch and, consequently, have a more informed, cleare perspective.

C'mon dude. Read your above sentence and ask yourself what you'd do if you were sitting as bedside witness to someone who was dying of a terminal illness and all they had to offer in their interaction with you, or visiting family, or nursing staff was bitterness and cynicism. Ain't no difference in the setting/scenario/situation.

This is a very interesting thread, thanks for starting it Nick. I am not a healer per se, but sometimes feel that I might be, though I have no control over it so if I am, I have not mastered it yet. I try to help people and friends of mine, however I am not innocent of letting their problems affect me and sometimes then projecting it or feeling it myself. Some have said I am an empath so I feel I absorb their problems and make them my own and then deal with them that way, which has had really bad consequences for me at times. But I have encountered people, some of my closest friends, that I try to help and I get cynical/frustrated at their unwillingness to be helped or from their cynicism and I find myself complaining more than helping at times. Not complaining to them, but to my closest allies, in hopes of some guidance on how to handle the situation. I am still and actively working on myself and don't know how effective a healer I am or could be if I still need healing myself. Any thoughts on this from the healers in this forum?