The Art Of Being A Healing Presence

Jim Miller teamed with hospice chaplain Susan Cutshall to create a book about how to be with others in a way that's compassionate, nurturing, healing, and potentially even transforming. The foundational ideas are laid out in 15 short chapters: "There's only one place to begin-with yourself." "Healing presence is most effective when it's least active." Whole pages of engaging quotations and artistic drawings are interwoven with insightful observations and practical suggestions. Ideal for both professional and lay caregivers

Between birth and death, many of life's most critical moments occur in hospital, and they deserve to take place in surroundings that match their significance. In this spirit, from the early Renaissance through to the modern period, artists have made immensely powerful work in hospitals across the western world, enhancing the environments where patients and medical staff strive towards better health. Distinguished art historian Richard Cork became fascinated by the extraordinary richness of art produced in hospitals, encompassing work by many of the great masters - Piero della Francesca, Rogier van der Weyden, El Greco, William Hogarth, Jacques-Louis David, Vincent van Gogh, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Fernand Leger, Marc Chagall and Naum Gabo. Cork's brilliant survey discovers the astonishing variety of images found in medical settings, ranging from dramatic confrontations with suffering (Matthias Grunewald at Isenheim) to the most sublime celebrations of heavenly ecstasy (Giovanni Battista Tiepolo in Venice).In the process, he reveals art's prodigious ability to humanize our hospitals, alleviate their clinical bleakness and leave a profound, lasting impression on patients, staff and visitors. -- Publisher's blurb.

Book jacket."--Jacket.

Do images heal? Yes they do. That is the thesis of renowned photographer A. J. Meek with these photographs of the clouds paired with children’s perceptions of hope. “The feeling of freedom is exhilarating,” Meek says in his photographer’s comments for the work contained within. “The total package of sky and children’s perception is designed to evoke a positive healing attitude within the viewer. When studied and meditated upon, the audience cannot maintain a negative thought.” Heavily influenced by Native American culture, these pictures, which were made in New Mexico and Louisiana, promote a feeling of well-being and inspiration. To be in the world but not of it is certainly the road less traveled and the most challenging for there are no earthly rewards for this choice¾only peace.

If you or a family member suffer from a life-threatening illness and have been told there is little chance of a medical cure or remission, "Sooner or Later" is written for you. It offers the reader a safe place to help process the turbulent emotions during the diagnosis phase and remain sane, rational and in control. Pertinent questions to ask specialists, written in a way reader and provider understand, empower patients and their families to seek the appropriate level of care. To date, no other book offers the information and tools to take control and make good decisions to maintain the best quality of life. "Sooner or Later is a rare treasure. This book shines with compassion, wisdom, humor, and truth. I believe it should be must reading for everyone. Really " Christiane Northrup, M.D.

Creating a presence-based approach to healing ​With Healing Presence, author David J. Shuch has written an impressive and groundbreaking guide to the theory and practice of healing in its many aspects. He proposes the idea that we need to re-examine and redefine what it means to be a healer and attempts to answer the following questions: What is consciousness? What is human life? What is healing? What is the science behind the art of healing? What practices and what capacities are needed so that one may be rooted in the face of suffering and helpful in fostering an atmosphere of healing? You will be motivated to reflect upon and question your own views as you study the book’s teachings. Masterfully weaving together concepts from history, religion, science, and more, the author has created a unique theory of faith, consciousness, and humanity.

“This volume should not be required reading, but required study for everyone offering care in America. The biggest complaint about care in the USA is that “nobody listens.” Tom Balles’ book lays out, in simple detail, the basic human habits that we lost in our addiction to technology. Care is about individuals caring for other individuals.” ROBERT M. DUGGAN, MA, MAc (UK), Dipl Ac, (NCCAOM), author of Common Sense for the Healing Arts and Breaking the Iron Triangle: Reducing Health-Care Costs in Corporate America “Becoming a Healing Presence is simply elegant. Tom Balles calls all those who offer care to a high standard – to be present, with senses wide open. He offers uncomplicated practices for exploration; inviting us to sharpen our attention and deepen our awareness . . . . The book serves head and heart and will transform the caring experience for both giver and receiver.” BARBARA CATLIN, Founder and Director, Bigger Conversations, Columbia, Maryland Over the last thirty years the delivery of healthcare has gone through enormous changes. The insurance industry, managed-care, the use of pharmaceuticals, and high-tech medicine have all grown exponentially. In the midst of these changes have we developed a bit of amnesia? In offering our care, have we forgotten the capacity of human beings to help heal other human beings? Have we overlooked the need to cultivate ourselves as instruments of healing? Are we in danger of losing the healing power of the relationship between those giving and receiving care? The tribe of caregivers is in need of some potent medicine. Whether you’re at home caring for an aging or ailing family member, trained to be a volunteer, or working as a health-care professional, you’ll find powerful elixirs in these essays. They’ll remind you of the many healing capacities you possess as a caregiver, and of the great strength to be found in the healing relationship. Becoming a healing presence requires practice. Each essay is accompanied by practices that will transform your care and compassion into effective action and help you focus on what truly matters when offering care.

The Art of Listening in a Healing Way" is Jim Miller's sequel to his popular book, "The Art of Being a Healing Presence." He describes what healing listening is and how it differs from other kinds of listening. Then 27 short chapters provide helpful insights in how to do this special kind of listening. Examples: "A healing listener listens with the eyes." "A healing listener cleaves to silence." Interspersed throughout are intriguing quotations from the ages, as well as the author's floral photography.