On December 26, 2004, my stepson Luke Scully was taken from us by the tsunami that swept across the beaches of southern Thailand and eleven other nations. On December 26, 2005, that same sea gave me back my daughter.

Two and a half years before that Acacia, also known by her given name, Spirit, contracted non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She had surgery to remove a large tumor in her neck and went on for chemotherapy treatment. A year and a half later, the cancer was back. She suffered mightily through a second round of chemotherapy.

In November of 2005, Acacia was hospitalized and diagnosed with recurrent lymphoma, now in her brain, central nervous system, liver, and left kidney. It was clear that they would be unable to “fix” her. We decided to see what it would take to get her to Thailand for the memorial we were planning for Luke and his girlfriend, Angie Foust, on the first anniversary of the tsunami.

Acacia’s doctor at Stanford offered her the first treatment of a rigorous chemotherapy protocol, one that would give her enough recovery time so that she could travel.

Have Determination, Will Travel

It actually took a number of miracles and a couple of extra days to get Acacia to where we were meeting in Thailand, but her strength and determination prevailed, and with the help of her equally persistent friend Maria (whom we now call St. Maria), she arrived at Krabi airport in a wheelchair. The shape she was in was frightening, with abscesses on one leg from her knee to her ankle, her skin red and inflamed and looking as though it would burst.

We rushed her to the hospital, where they wanted to perform surgery immediately and keep her for at least a week. The doctors spelled out their predictions in grim detail.

Finally, quietly but firmly, Acacia declared, “I did not come to Thailand to spend my time in the hospital. Take me to Railay Bay.”

Despite the protestations of the doctors, we wheeled her back out to the van and continued our journey. Acacia said, “Okay, Mom, it is your turn. Gimme some of whatever you’ve got.” She stuck her leg up and over the seat so that I could reach it. As I opened to allow the energy to pour through my hands and into her leg, the swelling began to deflate like a balloon right before our eyes. Perhaps she had only needed to elevate her leg sufficiently...

Starting an Inner Voyage

At Railay Bay, the family wanted to do something special to commemorate the moment that the tsunami had hit the year before. My other daughter, Sage, and Luke’s other sisters, Ruby and Pearl, envisioned people holding hands in a chain stretching the length of the beach. They produced a flier, and the vision spread further by word of mouth. Hundreds of strangers came together to share this moment. A bell was sounded, there was a moment of silence, and then, as one, we walked into the sea holding hands.

It was right after this ceremony that Acacia told me she wanted to take LSD, right then and there. I went through a gamut of emotions, yet, given the circumstances, I could not deny her request. Maria and I chartered a long-tail boat to Chicken Island, where Acacia could swim in pure unpolluted seawater.

Love, Beauty, Laughter, and Miracles

Under my guidance, we made our prayers and set our intentions.

The three of us began to feel the effects of the LSD as we crossed the channel to the island. With our amplified senses, we perceived the majestic splendor of our surroundings with crystal clarity. We stopped along the way to swim. Thick schools of fish surrounded Acacia, nibbling at her while she swam, enticed by the bread we offered them. Acacia’s huge smile in a storm of brightly colored fish is an image I hold with love and joy, one of my most precious memories.

I feared that Acacia, her skin sensitized by the chemotherapy drugs, would get burnt to a crisp in the mighty Thai sun, so she snorkeled wearing a hat and a sarong draped over her back. It was hours before I could get her out of the water. When she finally climbed back onto the boat, we were amazed to see that her leg was less inflamed, and that fresh pink skin replaced many of the oozing sores. So much healing had occurred while she steeped in the gentle saline sea. Equally healing was our laughter. We laughed till we cried, then kept on laughing... This was a day of love, expansion, clarity, and joy.

On this day, I believe I witnessed a miracle. I believe Acacia became so filled with love and lightness of being that there was no room left for cancer.

The Return Home: The Next Step

Back home in Oakland, CAT scans and a spinal tap all revealed that she was cancer-free. Her doctor, after expressing surprise at this amazing turn, reminded Acacia that it is the nature of her particular form of lymphoma to return again and again. He urged her to continue with chemotherapy treatments. She took his advice initially but stopped a short time later.

At this writing, she has remained free of cancer.

We cannot say how this miracle happened. Many factors came together in support of Acacia. I wrote a very public e-mail newsletter, keeping my readers informed throughout the ordeal of the tsunami, our search for Luke and Angie when they went missing, and our journey to Thailand with Acacia. Thousands of people were praying for Acacia when her story became part of that saga.

No one can say for sure what it is that helped the most: the prayers or the chemotherapy; the LSD, or the ocean, or the beauty of the landscape; the love that Acacia experienced and with which she was held. The single treatment of chemotherapy before the trip to Thailand.

Open to Miraculous Healing

What I saw on that magical day in the ocean was a fearless, courageous person facing death by fully embracing life and immersing herself in beauty and joy. I sometimes think that Acacia was so expanded that day, and had attained such oneness with Creator, that she was truly open to a miraculous healing.

Acacia is very clear about her experience. Although we did set an intention at the beginning of our journey, she asserts she had no meet-or-greet with God, and no shamanic journey into death, illumination, and rebirth. Nor did she spend any conscious energy on her trip trying to heal herself or even asking for help. She simply had the most gorgeous day of her life.

*subtitles by InnerSelf

Reprinted with permission of the publisher,
Bear & Co. (a division of Inner Traditions International).
©2011 by Nicki Scully & Mark Hallert. http://www.innertraditions.com

Article Source

This article was adapted with permission from the book:

Planetary Healing: Spirit Medicine for Global Transformation
by Nicki Scully and Mark Hallert.

Shamanic healer Nicki Scully and visionary Mark Hallert reveal how to move beyond feeling helpless and overwhelmed by global crises so we can make a difference in the world through active participation in healing ourselves, our families, our communities, and the planet. This book serves as a guide to navigate the coming global transformation and help co-create a new Golden Age. Accompanied by a 78-minute CD of a guided visualization ceremony.

For more info and/or to order this book on Amazon.

About the Author

Nicki Scully has been a healer and teacher of shamanism and the Egyptian mysteries since 1978. She lectures worldwide and specializes in spiritual tours to sacred sites in Egypt, Peru, and other countries. She is the author of Power Animal Meditations and Alchemical Healing, and the co-author of Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt and The Anubis Oracle. Nicki lives in Eugene, Oregon, with Mark Hallert, cofounder of Shamanic Journeys, Ltd., which specializes in spiritual tours to sacred sites in Egypt and other countries. She maintains a comprehensive healing and shamanic consulting practice.

Visit them at:  www.planetaryhealingbook.com & www.shamanicjourneys.com.