20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stretch Your Mind, June 16, 2003
This review is from: Voices of Integrative Medicine: Conversations and Encounters, 1e (Paperback)
"Man's mind, stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimension."
---William James
Imagine you are some fabulously wealthy person with a philanthropic heart. Or perhaps you are just a pilgrim, humbly seeking out life's higher truths and mysteries. Or you are a nurse, pharmacist, physician, massage therapist, chiropractor, naturopath, or other healer looking to advance your knowledge, skills, and ability to heal others and the world.
One way to do this might be to invite the best medical and philosophical minds of our generation over for dinner and conversation. Over a pleasant meal, perhaps a flickering fireplace and candlelight, a glass or two of fine wine, and a comfortable room, you could talk, one-on-one. With no distraction except the penetrating and deep questions of your own mind, you would sit at the table with philosopher kings, healers, great souls. The two of you would converse to understand and unravel the mysteries of health and healing, of mind-body and spirit, of the ecosytem and world in which we all live, and of the great rituals and spiritual healing traditions of mankind.
Bonnie Horrigan's new book, Voices of Integrative Medicine: Conversations and Encounters, has the feel of just the kind of deep, intimate, but comfortably familiar dinner-time conversations just described. For those of you not familiar with her previous work, this book grew out of a series of interviews she has published in the journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine with noted experts in the field of complementary and alternative therapies.
Ever sensitive to her medium and audience, Ms. Horrigan re-edited the original format of the interviews to eliminate the question and answer format in which the "Conversations" appeared originally. Instead of an interview, we behold directly the reflections and thoughts of some of the best-known, most influential healers and thinkers of our age. They ruminate, explain, and challenge our thinking while sharing their own vision of the world and the healing process.
The topics are ones that deal with the "non-biological" aspects of complementary and alternative medicine. These are pensive and profound reflections of the essential nature of healing, of consciousness, the healing process, and the human condition.
The book is conveniently broken in subsections, grouping each interviewee into a "Conversational" category. Following an inspiring Foreword by Dr. Larry Dossey, Ms Horrigan, publisher of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine presents an excellent Introduction that puts the book into context. The twelve parts that follow are a joy to read. Topic areas are conversations about: mind-body-spirit, death and dying, alternative medical systems, spirituality, love, and healing, the art and science of healing, consciousness and intentionality, new views of health and healing, medical education, healing with hands, indigenous medicine, cross-cultural medicine, and medicine as a spiritual path. Four of the 44 chapters have not appeared in the journal; these include conversations with Wayne Jonas, MD on the "The Science Behind Healing," David Cumes, MD on "South African Shamanism and the Tree of Health," Steven Weiss, DO, "Kneeling at the Axis of Creation," and Alan Davis, MD, "Shamanism in Medical Practice." These are bonuses for long-time readers of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine who haven't had the opportunity to see these pieces.
This collection chronicles the history of holistic nursing and medicine, integrative medicine, and complementary and alternative therapies by bringing together the pioneers and major contributors to these areas over the past generation. It is filled with new ideas and viewpoints. Open yourself to conversations with this incredible array of people: Larry Dossey, Candace Pert, Joan Halifax, Therese Schroeder-Sheker, Rachel Naomi Remen, Dolores Krieger, Barbara Dossey, Andrew Weil, David Riley, Ted Kaptchuk, Dean Ornish, Janet Quinn, Tracy Gaudet, Ralph Snyderman, Christiane Northrup, and Jeff Levin, and about two dozen other equally talented and brilliant souls. You will expand your world view immensely.
This is truly a chronicle of the evolution health and healing in our times. As Professor James said about new ideas, your mind will never again return to its original dimension. We have Bonnie Horrigan to thank for being a faithful and articulate recorder of the ideas of these leaders in thought, in action, and in the transformation of health care.
So even if you can't invite all these folks over for dinner, get the book and curl up within the folding gyri of their perspicacious gray matter and the drumbeats of their loving hearts. You will grow and the world will be a better place because of it.
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