Recovering the Soul: A Scientific and Spiritual Approach [Paperback]

Larry Dossey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1989

A physician and leading reformer of medicine delves into the compelling medical, scientific, and spiritual evidence for a universal consciousness and presents convincing evidence for a nonlocalized, holistic view of the mind and reality that accounts for even transcendental experiences.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; 1 edition (November 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 055334790X
• ISBN-13: 978-0553347906
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #78,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Practices > Mysticism

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Speculative but sound, September 7, 2001

By 

John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Recovering the Soul: A Scientific and Spiritual Approach (Paperback)

This is a fine book and it's held up well since its initial publication in 1989. In fact I suspect it's probably Larry Dossey's best, although I haven't read _all_ of his books.

What Dossey sets out to do in this volume is very straightforward: he wants to show the reader that there is reason to believe reality consists at bottom of a single "nonlocal" Mind that deserves to be identified as God. (By "nonlocal" he means "unlimited by ordinary space and time.") That claim probably sounds a little strange to modern ears, but by the time Dossey is through, it will be a very closed-minded reader who still thinks there is nothing to be said for it.

For Dossey is pretty thorough. He takes a largely empirical approach and invokes experimental results from a broad range of specializations --- medicine, psychology, biology, physics. And while his exposition isn't always as complete as I might like (he gets a lot of mileage, for example, out of Bell's theorem, but he never actually explains what it _is_), he still provides a well-rounded overview of all the stuff scientists have said that supports the nonlocality of mind. The reader will get short overviews of (the relevant portions of) the thought of, e.g., Erwin Schrodinger, Kurt Godel, Henry Margenau, David Bohm, and Rupert Sheldrake.

By way of wrapping it all up, Dossey devotes his closing chapters to outlining just what all of this suggests about religion and theology. In some ways this is the real meat of his book and it's probably the strongest portion of his work. There will be few surprises in it for the reader who is already familiar with the philosophical/spiritual literature in this area, but Dossey is as good an introduction to it as any.

What sets Dossey's book apart is not so much its conclusions -- which are properly tentative and at any rate common to pretty much the entire range of mystical/idealistic tradition and "perennial philosophy" -- but its broad overview of the support these conclusions receive from (some) science and scientists. Lots of other books focus in on this or that area (quantum theory, say, or parapsychology); Dossey tries to cover the whole spectrum. As a result his presentation is a little thin in some areas, but after eleven years this is still one of the very few books one can consult to get introductory information on _all_ of them.

Good stuff. And if you've read any of Dossey's other books, this one will give you the theoretical/speculative underpinnings of his other work on e.g. the medical benefits of prayer.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book about non-local mind, May 6, 2000

By 

Cynthia Sue Larson "www.realityshifters.com" (San Francisco bay area, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Recovering the Soul: A Scientific and Spiritual Approach (Paperback)

Dr. Dossey explores the research and theory behind the concept of non-local mind, with the intent to illustrate how our minds are non-local -- unconfined to brains and bodies and thus not entirely dependent on the physical organism. As Dossey explains, "If non-local mind is a reality, the world becomes a place of interaction and connection, not one of isolation and disjunction. And if humanity really believed that non-local mind were real, an entirely new foundation for ethical and moral behavior would enter, which would hold at least the possibility of a radical departure from the insane ways human beings and nation-states have chronically behaved toward each other." Dossey delves into ideas put forward by Schrodinger, Godel, Einstein, Margenau, and Bohm -- before moving into the spiritual implications of non-local mind. I highly recommend this book as an excellent starting point for understanding the concept of "one mind", and for considering the implications this has in our lives.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Investigation into Consciousness ("nonlocal mind"), June 16, 2007

By 

Erika Borsos "pepper flower" (Gulf Coast of FL, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Recovering the Soul: A Scientific and Spiritual Approach (Paperback)

Dr. Larry Dossey explores the mind-body connection and draws very startling conclusions about the mind and human experiences. He steps out on a limb. Amazingly, it does not break nor does he fall off of it. He is one of the few physicians who dares to write about subjects that are considered 'taboo' by 'true' scientists (which MDs consider themselves).

The book begins with a true story about Sarah, a young lady who had a gallbladder operation with unintended consequences: she experienced cardiac arrest which was treated with defibrillation, for the life-threatening arrhythmia, Ventricular Fibrillation. Her experience is unique in that after her recovery, she described events in vivid detail, exactly as they happened, at the time she was essentially 'clinically dead'. One proof of her accuracy was she 'saw' and recalled, the mismatched socks worn by the anesthesiologist. This, in and of itself is highly unusual but what is more astonishing is: Sarah has been *blind* since birth. Therefore she experienced a "different" form of seeing ...

In this fascinating book, Dr. Dossey explores metaphysical forms of reality and spiritual concepts associated with health and well-being. He weaves together the discoveries of quantum physics, the theories of Rupert Sheldrake, and experiences of mystics from various religious traditions. The main theme is "nonlocal mind" and a "unifying consciousness". Essentially, he asserts that individuals are co-creators with the divine. This book is riveting and hard to put down. The author is well-read and provides a solid foundation to support his controversial conclusions. It is a 'must read' for anyone who asks the questions, "who am I" and "what am I doing here?" Erika Borsos (pepper flower)