Healing is about parting the clouds that obscure the mirror-like perfection that we are.
Joan Borysenko
We Are Already Whole
Topic: Self-Cultivation & Health
I’ve always felt that at its heart, healing is the simplest of matters, because we are already whole. Regardless of the experiences we have in this lifetime, despite the wounds we give and receive in the ultimate service of growing in wisdom and compassion, our souls never cease to shine. The Tibetan Buddhists compare our spiritual self, what they call our own true nature, or rigpa, to a mirror. It reflects the drama, but is itself changeless. Healing is about parting the clouds that obscure the mirror-like perfection that we are. In the Process, we become alchemists who transmute woundedness into wisdom. And this work we can do in many ways; through therapy, 12-step programs, dreams, meditation and grace. The path for each of us is different.
Joan Borysenko, born in 1945, grew up with a strong curiosity about both science and spirituality. Raised in a working-class family, she developed an early interest in the mind-body connection, influenced by personal experiences with illness and healing. She pursued her passion for understanding human health by earning a doctorate in medical sciences from Harvard Medical School, where she also completed three post-doctoral fellowships in experimental pathology, behavioral medicine, and psychoneuroimmunology. As an instructor in medicine at Harvard, she contributed to emerging research on the role of psychology in physical health, laying the groundwork for her later work in integrative medicine.
Joan Borysenko co-founded and directed the Mind-Body clinical programs at Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals, now part of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. As a licensed psychologist, she expanded her focus beyond traditional medical settings, incorporating women’s health, stress management, and spirituality into her work. Her ability to connect scientific research with practical healing methods led her to develop workshops and educational programs that emphasized the role of meditation, emotional well-being, and holistic health.
A prolific writer and speaker, Joan Borysenko has authored numerous books, including Minding the Body, Mending the Mind (1987), A Woman’s Book of Life (1996), and A Woman’s Journey to God (1999). She founded Mind/Body Health Sciences, LLC, in Boulder, Colorado, and has been involved in interspiritual mentorship. Through her lectures, media appearances, and teachings, she continues to explore the relationship between science, psychology, and spirituality, making significant contributions to the evolving field of integrative medicine.
Borysenko, Joan. “The Therapy That Changed My Life.” Changes, Apr. 1994, p. 4. Reprinted by Hoffman Institute Foundation, PDF.
Joan Borysenko
Theme: Healing
About This Joan Borysenko Quotation [Commentary]
Joan Borysenko sets the frame simply: “we are already whole,” and “our souls never cease to shine.” “Healing is about parting the clouds that obscure the mirror-like perfection that we are,” so the task is not to invent worth but to clear what hides it. Even the “wounds we give and receive” can serve “growing in wisdom and compassion,” because the light is already there.
She turns to Tibetan Buddhism to name our “own true nature, or rigpa,” as a “mirror” that “reflects the drama, but is itself changeless.” When she says “healing is about parting the clouds,” she points to unveiling what has never been lost. The focus is steady seeing—letting fear, shame, and old patterns pass so the mirror-like clarity can be recognized in every person.
Borysenko then grounds the work: we “become alchemists who transmute woundedness into wisdom,” and we do this through “therapy, 12-step programs, dreams, meditation and grace.” “The path for each of us is different,” and “when we are ready to heal, the right path will open.” Effort meets grace; clouds part; the mirror is seen again—clear, changeless, and whole.
Additional Joan Borysenko Quotations
“I knew I could heal from this mental illness. I knew how to do it.”
—Borysenko, Joan.“Sexuality, Spirituality and the Body: An Interview with Joan Borysenko, PhD.” Somatic Psychotherapy Today, Winter 2016, pp. 42–46 (PDF).
“But when we are ready to heal, the right path will open.”
—Borysenko, Joan. “The Therapy That Changed My Life.” Changes (reprint, Hoffman Institute Foundation, PDF), 1994.
“Gratitude is indeed like a gearshift that can move our mental mechanism from obsession to peacefulness, from stuckness to creativity, from fear to love.”
—Borysenko, Joan. “Of Gratitude, Healing and Mad Dogs.” JoanBorysenko.com, 1996 (reposted online).
“This wholeness is the essence of holiness, and of healing.”
—Borysenko, Joan. “Spiritual Tools for Everyday Healing.” JoanBorysenko.com, 7 Mar. 2018.
“Cultivating awareness. Encouraging small changes. Supporting each other. This is how we heal.”
—Borysenko, Joan. “[VIDEO] A Special Message for My Mind-Body-Spirit Community.” JoanBorysenko.com, 23 Apr. 2019.
“Story—whether the theme is love or fear—is central to well-being, health, and happiness.”
—Borysenko, Joan. “Story and Well-Being: Five Questions with Joan Borysenko.” Interview, 1440 Multiversity Blog, 10 July 2019.
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