The Practice of Dream Healing: Bringing Ancient Greek Mysteries into Modern Medicine [Paperback]

Edward Tick (Author), Stephen Larsen (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2001

Asklepios was the gentle Greek god of healing. Like Christ, he was said to have walked the earth performing miracle cures. His medicine was practiced by priests who interpreted patients' dreams in which the god gave advice. Dr. Tick's classic work explores dream-healing techniques from this ancient tradition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

From his practice of treating severely traumatized Vietnam veterans in the late '70s and '80s, psychotherapist Edward Tick came to believe that traditional Western medicine could not adequately heal deeply wounded souls and he embarked on an exploration of healing practices worldwide. His search brought him to ancient Greece and what he claims are the roots of modern medicine. In The Practice of Dream Healing: Bringing Ancient Greek Mysteries into Modern Medicine, Tick (Sacred Mountain) introduces readers to the Greek mythological figure of Asklepios, who was believed to be the first spiritual healer or psychiatrist and to those today who practice his spiritual healing methodology, including a cardiologist turned psychiatrist and a Christian priest. Tick takes readers along on the healing journeys he has experienced and witnessed in others. Agent, Susan Schulman. 25-city author tour.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The emblem of Asklepios is familiar--two serpents twining around a staff--but few, perhaps, recognize the god's name; fewer, his repertoire of healing techniques. In this engaging study, psychotherapist Tick does more than explain the mind-body medicine of ancient Asklepian doctors. He brings us to the sites associated with the cult, from Pergamum, in present-day Turkey, to the Greek islands and mainland, and even to Rome, describing the way the sites look today and imagining, through the use of ancient texts, what they were like in their heyday. Perhaps the most intriguing is Epidauros, the great theater near Athens, where the catharsis of drama assisted people on their healing journeys. Current explorations of the impact of mental states on physical health have an impressive classical history, Tick contends. A good choice for collections where there is interest in alternative health, the book shows how ancient modern wisdom can be. Patricia Monaghan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 318 pages
• Publisher: Quest Books (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0835607992
• ISBN-13: 978-0835607995
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #394,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greek Myth and Modern Medicine, October 24, 2001

By 

Steven B. Katz (Raleigh, NC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Practice of Dream Healing: Bringing Ancient Greek Mysteries into Modern Medicine (Paperback)

I give this book five stars, and not because I am quoted in it. In _The Practice of Dream Healing: Bringing Ancient Greek Mysteries into Modern Medicine_, Dr. Edward Tick takes us on a journey-literally and figuratively. Mixing travelogue, psychotherapy, and mythology, Tick's book brings us to ancient Greek, where Asklepios, the ancient Greek god of healing, was believed to have worked through dreams. _The Practice of Dream Healing_ is in fact a "spiritual" critique of the entire medical profession as it has evolved in a society dominated by scientific and technological thinking.

This book is the culmination of years of psychologically counseling patients, and years of traveling to Greece with patients and with friends to explore and seek solace in the hot dust of Athens, the cool caves of Elysium, the cutting mountains of Crete. A highly skilled travel writer who has written several pieces for _The New York Times_, Dr. Tick has authored a book that is learned yet wholly accessible. The reader is a valued member of the group, and will find many unexpected turns and interesting "sites"-psychological, mythological, historical, geographical, religious-along the way.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Depth and discovery, April 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Practice of Dream Healing: Bringing Ancient Greek Mysteries into Modern Medicine (Hardcover)

I've read a lot of books in the area of archetypal psychology. This is a great one. Asklepios is a fascinating figure (note: his emblem is usually one snake around a stick. Mercury--god of commerce among other things-- has two snakes. This difference is potentially tellng in and of itself, but another story) What struck me is how prevelant a god and healer Asklepios was at one time. In this current culture, dreamwork still has a tinge of being somewhat marginal to health and even slightly indulgent. Tick successfully describes how this was not always the case. Previously, dream visions were primary, with the medical applications an important secondary process. Speaking of the medical aspect of Asklepios's worship, I found it interesting how modern objective medicine originally found its support in Asklepian temples.
Tick combines his knowledge of Greek history with his psychological practice. The descriptions of his travels in Greece and the pilgrimmages he leads really show the logistics and the ups and downs of being a modern seeker. While reading the book, I started to get a little bored with the drawn out historical chapters, but I must say, in retrospect, that they are essential groundwork to the personal stories and experiences that follow. In general, this is a very rewarding book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time for intuitive healing has come, December 9, 2005

By 

Bette Inman "White Crow" (Mouth of Wilson, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Practice of Dream Healing: Bringing Ancient Greek Mysteries into Modern Medicine (Paperback)

Tick's work is leading edge on turning healing back to the heart/mind/body connection. He not only gives the historical background to substantiate using this method, he has practical approaches to understanding the messages from the soul.
It should be a mandatory read for all allopathic doctors to help break us out of the mechanistic/drug treatment system. It is time for individuals to seek out and restore our healing dreams. Excellent book - best on the subject that I have found.