Why People Don't Heal and How They Can [Paperback]

Caroline Myss (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 23, 1998

For more than fifteen years, Caroline Myss has studied why some people heal, while others do not. In her previous book, Anatomy of the Spirit, Dr. Myss illuminated the hidden interactions of belief and body, soul and cell to show how, as she inimitably puts it, "your biography becomes your biology." In this new book, she builds on her earlier teachings of the seven different energy centers of the body to provide a vital self-healing program for physical and spiritual disorders. With her characteristic no-nonsense style and high-voltage storytelling, she exposes and explodes the five myths about healing, explains the cultural and individual contexts in which people become physically and spiritually ill and invested in "woundology," and teaches new methods of working with the challenges that the seven energy centers embody.
        
Both visionary and practical, Why People Don't Heal and How They Can presents a bold new account of the development of human consciousness and spirituality over the ages, and examines the dynamic global transformation of attitudes about healing. To help you get and stay on the path to wellness, Dr. Myss provides rituals and prayers for gaining a symbolic perspective on your life issues; for bolstering your personal power; and for connecting with a universal divine energy. Dr. Myss's breakthrough views on energy medicine and her active approach to healing life issues and physical illness will help you overcome the mental blocks that keep you from becoming well.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A woman tells you, within minutes of meeting her, that she's in a support group for incest victims. In theory, this woman is trying to recover from her childhood trauma, but in reality, Caroline Myss writes, she's one of a growing army of people who practice "woundology," the use of their pain and suffering to manipulate those around them. Myss first noticed this phenomenon in the late 1980s, and began to analyze why so many people seemed to choose to carry such painful problems so proudly through life, to define themselves by the awful things that had happened to them. She offers a program to use "symbolic power"--a deep, spiritual insight that surpasses any conjured by the conscious mind--to craft a genuine conclusion to the illness or injury. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Myss is a medical intuitive, a person who "sees" illnesses in the body by intuitive means. Here she writes about healing, the various attempts people make to do it, and why they get "stuck." A global thinker, Myss looks at the entire civilization and at "astrological ages" when discussing healing. She also explains the influence of chakras and astrological ages on healing. At the heart of the book is Myss's challenge to five myths that stand in the way of healing: My life is defined by my wound (perhaps the most original concept here); being healthy means being alone; feeling pain means being destroyed; all illness is the result of negativity; and true change is impossible. Myss believes that giving up these myths leads one closer to healing. Many will think her concepts too far out to be of use; others will see her as visionary. The latter will be looking for this book wherever New Age titles circulate well.?Barbara O'Hara, Free Lib. of Philadelphia
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (September 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609802240
• ISBN-13: 978-0609802243
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.8 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Alternative Medicine > Energy Healing

More About the Author

Caroline M. Myss ' Biography

Caroline is dedicated to creating educational programs in the field of human consciousness, spiritually and mysticism, health, energy medicine, and advancing the science of medical intuition. She established CMED, her own educational institute, in 2003, which offers two programs running three courses per year, on Sacred Contracts and Mysticism. Additionally, Caroline maintains a rigorous workshop and lecture schedule internationally and continues a consultation practice with physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, and other health practitioners, as a medical intuitive.

In 1996, Caroline compiled her years of research in medical intuition with her work in the field of human consciousness, releasing the book, ANATOMY OF THE SPIRIT. This book became a New York Times bestseller and has been published in 18 languages. To date, it has sold over 1.5 million copies.

In investigating the underlying reasons why people sabotage their healing processes, Caroline identified a syndrome as 'woundology', characterized by a person who prefers to rely upon the power of illness for manipulation of his or her world as opposed to attained an independent, empowered state of health. As with her other ground-breaking research, this syndrome is now a recognized psychological condition. Her work in this area became the subject of her fourth book, WHY PEOPLE DON'T HEAL and HOW THEY CAN. This book was Caroline's second New York Times bestseller.

Caroline released her fifth book, SACRED CONTRACTS, which became her third New York Times bestseller. As with her previous books, this one is also in 18 languages and reports sales of well over 1.6 million.

Due to the interest generated by her work in Sacred Contracts, in 2003, Caroline opened CMED (Caroline Myss Education), her own educational institute. CMED offers two programs per year, each three sessions long. The first is on Sacred Contracts and the second is on Mysticism, Intuition, and Healing. The Institute draws students from nineteen nations, as well as across the United States.

In 2004, Caroline released her sixth book, INVISIBLE ACTS OF POWER, which also became a New York Times bestseller. She is now working on her seventh book: ENTERING THE CASTLE. She has also just published her first book through her company, CMED, entitled, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON, an extraordinary piece of literature that was channeled sixty years ago by a nearly-blind woman named Edith Ellis. Myss considers this project to be a vital part of her commitment to support an archive of information on her personal passion, which is the mystical history of America.

Through the years of her career, Caroline has taught in thirty-five countries, continuing her international work at present. In addition to writing six books, Caroline is the leading recording artist for Sounds True, Inc., the major audio recording company in the holistic field. She has recorded with them since 1990, producing 30 different titles. Her entire library of recordings now number of 180.

In 2003, Oprah Winfrey gave Caroline her own television program for one year with the OXYGEN network in New York City, which ran successfully for one year.

BOARD MEMBERSHIPS

From 1999-2004, Caroline served on the Board of the State of the World Forum with Jim Garrison.

She is presently on the Board of Wisdom University, San Francisco, where she also Chairs the Department of Energy Medicine and the Healing Arts.

In 1995, Myss, along with C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D., founded the American Board of Scientific Medical Intuition.

CMED Institute

In 2003, Myss founded her own educational institute, CMED (Caroline Myss EDucation), providing seminars in Sacred Contracts and Mysticism and Intuition for students from all over the world. More information on her institute is available on her web site: www.myss.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile, inspirational reading! February 11, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

After reading only a little more than half this book, I have already seen changes in my life. This is a must-read for anyone seeking to participate in repairing one's mind, body and spirit as a whole. While many of her concepts may seem a little unorthodox, she is right on target! Her down to earth advice on forgiveness and releasing the ill thoughts we have toward others will inspire you to look at your relationships in a totally different light. Her ideas on how we wear our past wounds like badges and how we can become a victim of our past, instead of getting on with our lives and realizing that we are far more than our wounds, more than our past failings, is truly inspirational. Not necessarily a religious book, she speaks of spirituality and incorporates the best of all religions. Since reading this book, I have turned to a daily practice of calming myself before sleep by listening to soft music, regulating my breathing and thinking about absolutely--nothing. I have experienced restful sleep, a more optimistic outlook during the workday, an increase in energy and have said silent prayers for strangers. I can't say enough about how positively this book has effected my life.

71 of 80 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Medicine Doesn't Always Taste Good May 26, 2000

By Bruce Boatner

Format:Paperback

At first I was surprised by the amount of vitriol that this book elicited from some readers. Then I realized, of course - this information is going to be received as a breath of fresh air for those who are really willing to change themselves for the better, and with great angst by others.

That is exactly what this book is all about!

Caroline suggests we look carefully at our words and behavior and note the way we bond over our wounds. We speak "woundology". Wounds give us power over other people and a way to manipulate society. Healing is a very unpopular notion in this world.

Of course this can be regarded as "mean-spirited", but how in the world can we progress without facing the truth once in a while? There is absolutely nothing new in this material - it is just been presented in the context of modern thought - but if one reads any sacred text carefully the echoes of these ideas will be evident.

Caroline Myss is iconoclastic and funny, but she gets the point across. I recommend some of her audio tapes to really hear her in her element - with a live audience. Sure she "talks a lot" and especially as a man this sometimes drives me up the wall. But I think her message is one of gently attempting to point out our foibles for our own good.

56 of 63 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 1o of 2 Best Books I EVER Read! October 3, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I read alot,I search alot,for healing,growth and methods that answer my questions on why am I still stuck in a pattern - how can I move to a higher place? This book explains very logically a non-logical reality,and gives one methods to USE! This book I found much more meaningful than her Anatomy of the Spirit. This book covers the exact same info but explains what to do with the chakras in ways that I can use. Thank you Caroline,this was honest and all that many other books promise. (The other best book I ever read was Reclaiming Your Life by Jean Jenson)