The Healing Power Of Illness

Originally published in Germany in 1983, this pioneering book was the first to tie physical symptoms to their spiritual components. Now the revised paperback edition combines the skills of a trained psychologist and a medical practitioner to show how patients actually create illnesses; symptoms are real; healing is an expansion of consciousness.

Contrary to conventional opinion, illness is not some quirk of nature you have to fight. A truer understanding of illness actually helps you stay healthier. When you "understand what your symptoms are telling you," you view them as bodily expressions of inner conflicts. Their symbolism will reveal the real problems you're facing. Pick a current health issue and see the difference when you treat it as a sign of healing instead of as a negative, following the approach of two psychologists, one trained in spiritual traditions and the other in natural healing and psychotherapy. Troubles with infection, allergies, respiration, digestion, skin and nervous system, heart and circulation, sexuality and pregnancy, even accidents, come with practical actions to take to remedy them.

This classic book, long out of print in English, challenges accepted ideas of illness by suggesting it s not an enemy to be fought. When you see your symptoms as bodily expressions of psychological or spiritual conflicts, you can use them as guides to inner work. Youcan respond to troubles with infection, allergies, respiration, digestion, skin, nervous system, heart and circulation, sexuality and pregnancy, even accidents, with practical actions that heal the heart and mind. The authors are psychologists one trained in spiritual traditions, the other in natural healing and psychotherapy. The goal of their archetypical or interpretative medicine is to help us see that just as every disease pattern expresses a certain content, every organ and every region of the body has a particular significance. The goal is that we can then build up a field of "contagious good health" and take control in finding our own life mission and path of development. In the German-speaking world, Ruediger Dahlke s books have attracted a large following and have contributed to creating an ever-expanding consciousness for psychosomatic correlations and a holistic approach to medicine. There are over 200 translations of his booksin 24 languages."

Since 1991, Dr. Mitchell Gaynor has been achieving remarkable results by integrating music, vocalization, breathing, and meditation techniques in his work with patients. In The Healing Power of Sound, he presents his sound-based techniques for self-healing—techniques that anyone can use, whether faced with a life-threatening disease or simply seeking relief from the stresses of daily life. Numerous studies have demonstrated the health benefits of music: it can lower blood pressure and heart and respiratory rates; reduce cardiac complications; increase the immune response; and boost our natural opiates. Gaynor shows how, when integrated as part of a mind-body-spirit approach to wellness, music can play a significant part in maintaining a healthy lifestyle or in healing serious disease. The Healing Power of Sound includes twelve exercises involving breathing, meditation, and "toning"—using pure vocal sound to resolve tension, release emotion, and spur the healing process—that can be used by anyone to improve health and quality of life.

This classic book, long out of print in English, challenges accepted ideas of illness by suggesting it’s not an enemy to be fought. When you see your symptoms as bodily expressions of psychological or spiritual conflicts, you can use them as guides to inner work. You can respond to troubles with infection, allergies, respiration, digestion, skin, nervous system, heart and circulation, sexuality and pregnancy, even accidents, with practical actions that heal the heart and mind.

"A valuable collection. . . . The essays in the volume are all fresh, the result of recent work, and the opening chapter by Garro and Mattingly places the current trend in narrative analysis in historical context, explaining its diverse origins (and constructs) in a range of disciplines."—Shirley Lindenbaum, author of Kuru Sorcery "A good place to consult the narrative turn in medical anthropology. Thick with the richness and diversity and stubborn resistance to interpretations of human stories of illness. An anthropological antidote for too narrow a framing of the complex tangle of ways-of-being and ways-of-telling that make medicine a space of indelibly human experiences." —Arthur Kleinman, author of The Illness Narratives

How to Use Your Healing Power in the Dr. Joseph Murphy Live! series is the only authorized edition in print. Dr. Joseph Murphy has been acclaimed as a major figure in the human potential movement, the spiritual heir to writers like James Allen, Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, and Norman Vincent Peale, and a precursor and inspirer of contemporary motivational writers and speakers like Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, and Earl Nightingale. He changed the lives of people all over the world and was one of the best-selling authors of the mid-20th century. Dr. Murphy wrote, taught, counseled, and lectured to thousands every Sunday as Minister-Director of the Church of Divine Science in Los Angeles. Over the years, Dr. Murphy has given lectures and radio talks to audiences all over the world. Millions of people tuned in his daily radio program and have read the over 30 books that he has written. His books have sold over 15 million copies. In his lectures he points out how real people have radically improved their lives by applying specific aspects of his concepts, and gives the listener guidelines on how they too can enrich their lives. Never say, "I can't." Overcome that fear by substituting the following, "I can do all things through the power of my own subconscious mind." Make his teachings a part of your life with Dr. Joseph Murphy Live!

The true nature of our minds is enlightened and peaceful, as the depth of the ocean is calm and clear. But when we mentally grasp and emotionally cling to our wants and worries with all our energy, we lose our own enlightened freedom and healing power, only to gain stress and exhaustion, suffering and overexcitement, like the turbulent waves rolling on the surface of the ocean. Our minds possess the power to heal pain and stress, and to blossom into peace and joy, by loosening the clinging attitudes that Buddhists call "grasping at self." If we apply the mind's healing power, we can heal not only our mental and emotional afflictions, but physical problems also. This book is an invitation to awaken the healing power of mind through inspiring images and sounds, mindful movements, positive perceptions, soothing feelings, trusting confidence, and the realization of openness. The healing principle on which these exercises are based is the universal nature and omnipresent power envisioned in Mahayana Buddhism. Yet for healing, we don't have to be believers in any particular faith. We can heal body and mind simply by being what we truly are, and by allowing our own natural healing qualities to manifest: a peaceful and open mind, a loving and positive attitude, and warm, joyful energy in a state of balance and harmony.