[.ca] Spiritual Healing: Scientific Validation of a Healing ... (ISBN 1886785120)

TOUCHES ALL BASES:
This book examines every type or form of spiritual healing, including Reiki, LeShan, Qigong, dowsing, craniosacral therapy, the Bowen technique, Barbara Brennan healing, Polarity Therapy, Shen healing, healing touch, etc. Spiritual healing is defined as a systematic purposeful intervention by one or more persons aiming to help another living being by means of focused intention, hand contact, or "passes" to improve their condition. The author states that he was a skeptic, but that personal experiences and research have convinced him that spiritual healing really exists and is a potent therapy. The book contains 124 scientific studies supporting various methods of spiritual healing. Many well-known healers, such as Harry Edwards, Ethel Lombardi, and Dr. Ursula Thuberg are mentioned and their methods and approaches discussed. In 597 pages, the author seems to have touched all bases in providing proof that spiritual healing works. It is more than a book. It is an encyclopedia.

Using Science to Prove the Miraculous:
In "Spiritual Healing, Scientific Validation of a Healing Revolution," Daniel Benor, M.D. uses the scientific method to demonstrate that spiritual healing works and thereby takes a giant step toward remedying the problem that Descartes created when he separated mind from matter. In his clearly written book, Dr. Benor uses the tools of logic and Western science to make a compelling case for the existence of the miraculous. By using science to validate spirit, Dr. Benor is signaling the end of the Cartesian split and indicating that we are rapidly moving toward a more integrated view of ourselves and our relation to the world. Although "Spiritual Healing" is a comprehensive reference book that will be consulted for many years, I found that it was very enjoyable reading. I was particularly drawn to the chapter in which numerous healers describe how they heal and their beliefs about spiritual healing.

The new face of medicine:
This is an outstanding work that is bound to become the prime reference material for all those engaged in the medical and scientific revolution this century will undoubtedly see. Highly insightful and objective, encyclopedic in scope, impeccably documented and cross-referenced, this is the "complementary" equivalent of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine for the 21st century health practitioner. Benor has collected most of the scientific data available on alternative healing, passed it throught the filter of statistical objectivity, submitted it to the same rigorous analysis that standard medical interventions are submitted to - and the resulting argument stands on its own: we are not asked to believe, but simply to open our eyes and see. After reviewing this material, the only possible ethical conclusion is that we all have an obligation, as health providers, to integrate these principles in the treatment we offer our patients: no doing so will one day be considered medical malpractice. Lian Sidorov founder, EmergentMind.org

In depth studies on healing for human problems:
In Spiritual Healing, Dr. Daniel Benor offers a ground breaking survey of 124 scientific studies documenting that spiritual healing actually works on physical illnesses and emotional injuries. Many of the controlled studies examine the effects of spiritual healing on humans, while others look at the recordable effects of spiritual healing on plants and animals. Some of the laboratory studies even demonstrate the effect spiritual healing has upon water and other materials. The reader is provided in depth studies on healing for human problems, a summary of healing methods, the views of some renowned spiritual healers, and an analysis of the risks and benefits of spiritual healing. Spiritual Healing is strongly recommended reading for students of alternative medicine in general, and spiritual healing efficacy in particular.

A Remarkable Book:
This is a remarkable book. It is an important contribution which provides definitive scientific validation of spiritual healing. It represents an incredible amount of comprehensive work in different areas of healing. And it is an example of outstanding scholarship and research. I believe the deterioration of our medical care system makes it imperative that we learn to heal ourselves and others for many problems for which we do not need conventional medical care. This book & provides good evidence that many of us can be healers. In his Foreword to this book, Larry Dossey, points out that "Modern medicine will change dramatically,"and "perhaps the most important area in which radical change will occur is in our understanding of the nature of consciousness and its role in healing." This book is a major contribution to our understanding of the role of consciousness in healing. As a microbiologist. I particularly appreciate the information provided about work with bacteria, yeast, fungi, algae, and protozoa. This information is an introduction to a "new world" of microbiology. It is certainly food for thought that should motivate more such research in microbiology.