A Deeper Journey with Sher Safran and Guest: Dr. Joyce Hawkes, Author of Resonance

Join Sher on A Deeper Journey with Dr. Joyce Hawkes, an award-winning scientist and author who survived a Near Death Experience, returning with a remarkable gift for healing, as related in her books: Cell-Level Healing and Resonance.

Joyce Hawkes’ work has spanned nearly forty years, half of them in solid scientific research in cellular biology, and half in healing practices, many of them grounded in indigenous healing traditions. She spent 20 years researching the extraordinary resiliency of cells under siege from environmental pollutants, was a postdoctoral Fellow with the National Institutes of Health, a supervisory research biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service (a division of NOAA), and published scholarly research. In scientific conferences as a presenter she conversed and collaborated with distinguished colleagues from all over the world before she discovered this phenomenon she calls cell-level healing. In her early days as a graduate student and later in the work of completing her doctorate as a cell biologist and biophysicist, she studied cells using the most sophisticated tool in existence for that purpose: the electron microscope. The electron microscope, invented in about 1945, weighs one ton, works on 100,000 volts of electricity and has the capacity to magnify the inner life of the cell up to one million times. At that magnification, secrets of cells have emerged that had eluded scientists for centuries. Dr. Hawkes worked on that exciting frontier of scientific exploration.  Her research was honored by election to the American Association for the Advancement of Science as a Fellow, a position she currently maintain.

Joyce’s life took a surprising twist after a near death experience triggered by a fluke accident at home. She recovered quickly, but soon found herself drawn in a different way to the study of cells and the internal mechanisms for healing.  Increasingly attuned to the healing power of mind, body and spirit in concert, eventually she left the formal laboratory with its advanced instruments, to study health and healing with indigenous healers around the globe, from tropical forests to black-sand beaches — the most low-tech settings imaginable. In the midst of these travels and studies she also completed a Master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry at Seattle University, a Jesuit school, and interned with the First Baptist Church of Seattle. The broad range of studies and subsequent deep understanding of Western and Eastern theology and healing traditions has supported her personal journey and has helped her keep a welcome mat open to all.

 Joyce’s intention was to find ways to use the natural resonance between cells and consciousness to enrich our everyday health and help repair our bodies when they are injured or ill. Her twin passions for studying both science and spirit drew Joyce into this expanded field of exploration and practice. These extraordinary opportunities, particularly with indigenous healers in the vast world of non-Western practices such as Bali, the hinterlands of the Philippines, and southern India opened an experience of new dimensions of spiritual and healing practices and opened her to the powerful effects of healing states of mind. 

 Not called upon solely in times of illness, the daily attention to spiritual practice—from very simple to more elaborate rituals—were considered essential to maintain vitality, keep the body renewed, and to support robust health. This has proven an additional dimension to these practices: that of emotional well being and the ability to help others.

In addition, the combination of science and work with non-Western healers has opened a rather unique path that applies to Hawkes’ writing and keynote presentations in conferences. This is a particularly rich time to share the wisdom of these experiences and apply them to practices that support health, as evidenced by continued invitations to speak and teach workshops.

Her schedule has been busy over the years with keynote presentations, seminars and workshops.  She has recently returned from Montreal where she was a keynote presenter for the 41st ^annual International Institute for Integral Human Sciences Conference. Dr. Hawkes has presented for the Canadian Energy Psychology Conference in Toronto and Victoria, for NICABM in Hilton Head, and at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY.  She was a solo guest of the Sun Valley Wellness Institute to present a 3-day intensive course on cell-level healing. Joyce also presented a keynote for a Healing Touch conference of nurses in San Diego. She regularly teaches in the Bahamas at the Sivananda Yoga Retreat Center.  Her private practice is busy, and her clients live all over the world. She works with them in person in her Seattle office, by telephone and by Skype with those in England, Australia, Poland, New Zealand, Spain, Canada and across the US.

Hawkes’ first book, Cell-Level Healing: The Bridge from Soul to Cell was published in 2006 by Simon and Schuster through its Beyond Words Division. It continues its mission to reach people for healing with seven foreign editions and a paper-back edition released in June, 2011. Her latest book, Resonance: Nine Practices for Harmonious Health and Vitality was released by Hay House in April of 2013. She also has a TEDx talk with 137,000 views.