Healing Beyond The Body

If modern medicine is truly to be a healing art, says Dr. Larry Dossey, it must embrace three ideas it has too long ignored. It must address not only our bodies, but our minds and spirits as well; it must deal not only with the mechanism of illness, but with its meaning; and it must recognize that our power to heal and be healed extends beyond our physical bodies. Bestselling author Dossey is one of the most influential spokespersons for the role of consciousness and spirituality in medicine. In these writings, he explores the relationship - often documented in extensive research - between science and ''unscientific'' topics such as prayer, love, laughter, work, war, creativity, dreams and immortality. Does the mind produce consciousness - or transmit it? Why has job stress become a worldwide epidemic? Could war be a biological condition? Why is fishing good for your health? How can science study the effects of prayer? Dossey tackles all these questions and more. Some essays are funny, some sober, some inspirational. Each in its own way challenges us to examine ourselves and our health in a new and different light.