A Place Of Healing

In this eloquent account of her current struggle with physical pain, Joni Eareckson Tada offers her perspective on divine healing, God’s purposes, and what it means to live with joy. Over four decades ago, a diving accident left Joni a quadriplegic. Today, she faces a new battle: unrelenting pain. The ongoing urgency of this season in her life has caused Joni to return to foundational questions about suffering and God’s will. A Place of Healing is not an ivory-tower treatise on suffering. It’s an intimate look into the life of a mature woman of God. Whether readers are enduring physical pain, financial loss, or relational grief, Joni invites them to process their suffering with her. Together, they will navigate the distance between God’s magnificent yes and heartbreaking no—and find new hope for thriving in-between.

Wil Gesler examines how different environments affect physical, mental, spiritual, social, and emotional components of healing.

“France’s conversion is deeply touching . . . This is religious discovery for a postmodern generation.” —Philip Zaleski, Los Angeles Times The tiny, arid Greek island of Patmos is one of the most sacred places in the Christian world—a place of bewitching power, where people come for a brief summer visit and end up returning, year after year, for the rest of their lives. They respond to an unexplainable force that they can find nowhere else. Perhaps it is the invigorating “Greek light” that infuses the Holy Island’s rocks and hills with a breathtaking sharpness and clarity, dating back to the time when Zeus raised the island from the bed of the sea. Or perhaps it is Patmos’s incredible history. Almost two thousand years ago, Saint John was exiled here, and lived as a hermit in the cave of Revelation, where he experienced a vision that led to the most famous piece of apocalyptic literature, the Book of Revelation. In A Place of Healing for the Soul, BBC commentator Peter France—who arrived on the island a hardened skeptic—tells how he came to change his life perspective. Learning from the island’s gregarious inhabitants and its religious eccentrics—hermits, ascetics, monks, and nuns—he discovered the pleasure and security of living simply and doing without, in a timeless realm where history, myth, and spirituality are endlessly alive. “France, an erudite and amiable companion, who spices his writing with self-deprecating wit and thoughtful commentary on the eternal mysteries of the universe, has created a delight for open, even if skeptical, minds.” —Booklist

“Esther Sternberg is a rare writer—a physician who healed herself...With her scientific expertise and crystal clear prose, she illuminates how intimately the brain and the immune system talk to each other, and how we can use place and space, sunlight and music, to reboot our brains and move from illness to health.”—Gail Sheehy, author of Passages Does the world make you sick? If the distractions and distortions around you, the jarring colors and sounds, could shake up the healing chemistry of your mind, might your surroundings also have the power to heal you? This is the question Esther Sternberg explores in Healing Spaces, a look at the marvelously rich nexus of mind and body, perception and place. Sternberg immerses us in the discoveries that have revealed a complicated working relationship between the senses, the emotions, and the immune system. First among these is the story of the researcher who, in the 1980s, found that hospital patients with a view of nature healed faster than those without. How could a pleasant view speed healing? The author pursues this question through a series of places and situations that explore the neurobiology of the senses. The book shows how a Disney theme park or a Frank Gehry concert hall, a labyrinth or a garden can trigger or reduce stress, induce anxiety or instill peace. If our senses can lead us to a “place of healing,” it is no surprise that our place in nature is of critical importance in Sternberg’s account. The health of the environment is closely linked to personal health. The discoveries this book describes point to possibilities for designing hospitals, communities, and neighborhoods that promote healing and health for all.

Tod Inlet has been a place of refuge for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, but few are aware of its history. This tiny fjord, less than a half hour from downtown Victoria, is part of Gowlland/Tod Provincial Park and is accessed by a forested path beside Tod Creek. For centuries it was the home of the WSÁNEĆ (Saanich) people, providing everything for their spiritual and material sustenance. In the early part of the twentieth century a small company town grew on its shores. Houses, a railway, a clay mill, a factory and a dock for steamships were built for the Vancouver Portland Cement Company. When the cement company had exhausted the limestone quarries, Jennie Butchart began her ambitious cultivation project, Butchart Gardens. Developers made plans for marinas, golf courses and hotels to be built on this quiet inlet, but local citizens, environmentalists, scientists and Native people fought back. Almost all the buildings have been demolished, but concrete and iron are not easily disposed of, and reminders of the past confront the walker everywhere: shell middens spill into the sea, fruit trees and garden flowers mingle with indigenous plants, and century-old industrial relics litter the creek, the forest and the Inlet. But despite the ravages of the past century, Tod Inlet retains a spirit of peace and renewal. In other environments this clash of the man-made with the natural can create an unsettling mix. Here, time has allowed nature to begin the healing and has morphed into a present that speaks softly of its past. Gwen Curry takes us on her walks down to the Inlet. Her beautiful photographs capture the spirit of present-day Tod Inlet, while her sensitive prose gives us glimpses into the Inlet’s natural, industrial and Native history.

Inner healing is an important part of the Gospel message. You can supernaturally experience healing by exposing the hidden lies that keep you in bondage. This workbook study presents a framework within which you can learn to pray, listen, and receive God’s healing in a progressive step-by-step process. Its practical instruction, examples, and personal stories can empower you to deliberately listen to God in ways that bring deep nurture, assurance, and inner healing. Jesus said, “The truth will set you free.” Take Him at His word and experience inner healing. Includes questions for discussion and personal reflection.

From bestselling author, speaker, and educator Najwa Zebian comes a collectible treasury of her most beloved poetry and prose. Selected by the author and organized by topic, the pieces in this collection address themes such as letting go, understanding self-worth, and stepping into your own power. Perfect for readers looking to overcome pain, heal from trauma, and rebuild a strong sense of self, The Book of Healing contains Najwa’s favorite pieces from her three bestselling books—Mind Platter, The Nectar of Pain, and Sparks of Phoenix. Beautifully packaged with foil-stamping and a ribbon marker, this gift-worthy selection of poems gets straight to the heart of Najwa’s message. A keepsake or a broad introduction, The Book of Healing is a worthy companion for anyone looking to cultivate emotional resilience.

Revised to incorporate the changes in opinions and attitudes since its first publication, the second edition of 'Places of the Soul' has brought Christopher Day's classic text into the 21st century. This new edition of the seminal text reminds us that true sustainable design does not simply mean energy efficient building. Sustainable buildings must provide for the 'soul'. For Christopher Day architecture is not just about a building's appearance, but how the building is experienced. 'Places of the Soul' presents buildings as environment, intrinsic to their surroundings, and offers design principles that will open the eyes of the architecture student and professional alike, presenting ideas quite different to the orthodoxy of modern architectural education. Christopher Day's experience as an architect, self-builder, professor and sculptor have all added to the development of his ideas that encompass issues of economic and social sustainability, commercial pressures and consensus design. This book presents these ideas and outlines universal principles that will be of interest and value to architects, builders, planners and developers alike.