I had this searing pain in my tooth. It was debilitating and I had to go to bed to cope with it. In those days I didn’t use painkillers - a leftover from my upbringing - but something had to be done, I couldn’t bear it much longer.

About two weeks previously I’d had a cavity in my tooth filled. It was in the tooth right at the back of my mouth, very close to the gum line. The dentist had had a difficult time accessing it to drill and fill. In fact it had been a slightly traumatic experience, i had felt completely helpless while this dentist pushed and shoved at my mouth and head.

So i was not too keen to go back there. I called the dentist’s office. He’d already told me there was a chance the filling wouldn’t take, and that there was a danger of infection setting in. When I told him my predicament he confirmed that an infection was likely to be the problem.

I was raised not to take the prognoses of medical practitioners as gospel truth. I listen to what they have to say but I also listen to my own inner voice and check my feelings to see what is right for me.

I felt this particular dentist was neither kind nor caring when he treated me. I say this not as a judgment but because I relied on this as one factor to be considered in discerning how much I would allow him to dictate my future course of action.

A health professional ideally promotes and facilitates healing. Ideally she/he is more concerned with healing than making money, and for healing to occur there must be love, manifested in a genuine caring for a patient’s well-being.

The dentist recommended antibiotics but he was pessimistic as to the chances of my keeping the tooth. So I figured I didn’t have much to lose. And this is important because it meant I had no fear. It is almost impossible for healing to occur if fear is present. So let me say here, if fear is present, it may well be wiser to follow the doctor or dentist”s advice.

I picked up the prescription for the antibiotics but I never had it filled. Instead I decided to follow a different plan of action. Rather than taking a pill every six hours, I instead consciously sent love to my tooth. It is my belief that part of the effectiveness of medication is that it requires us to put our mind to our healing regularly throughout the day. If this attention is accompanied by love then the healing process is enhanced, sometimes exponentially.

So at least four times a day for the next ten days I consciously sent love to my tooth. I envisaged my complete healing and full restoration of the health of the tooth. The pain disappeared in a matter of hours as soon as I began this ‘treatment’ and it has never returned. I have had no problems with the tooth since, and it has been seven years since this experience. My current dentist has confirmed that all is well with that tooth.

My new dentist is more loving and genuinely caring and I trust her judgment completely. She is sufficiently openminded for me to feel comfortable to tell her my approach to my health care and we work together successfully because we both have my well-being at heart.

The difference in my approach to my health care and that of many health professionals is that I am not looking for a quick fix, or to merely ameliorate my symptoms. I do not see drugs as the universal panacea. I expect full and complete healing, both of the body, and the thoughts that perhaps gave rise to the symptoms.

The only real healing agent at all levels - mind, body and spirit - is love. It is love that makes everything else work.

Ps I am sorry for not posting this past week, somehow my joy went missing but it is back now.

Eileen McBride
Eileen McBride is the author of Love Equals Power 2, a spiritual seeker and teacher. This article was published on March 18, 2011.