Ever since my coma due to severe gram-negative bacterial meningo-encephalitis in 2008, I have come to see that all physical, mental, and emotional healing benefits first and foremost from a basis in spiritual healing. By spiritual, I mean an awareness that we are purposefully and meaningfully connected with others, all of life, and the universe at large, including its divine creative source. We are here to learn and teach, and the challenges in life (including illness and injury) provide the stepping stones for growth in this “soul school.” Our growth depends on how we respond to those challenges, and progress results from recovering our sense of connection with the universe and the higher purpose of our existence. Ultimately, such powerful healing emerges from love of self, and others, ideally without any attached conditions.
I recently had the opportunity to support two wonderful new books on the human capacity to heal, and to write an article that addressed my thoughts on healing in modern medicine. All three of these efforts provided elucidation of the reality of profound healing through the application of our deeply spiritual nature. While some in medicine might debate the role our spirituality plays in the process of healing, I believe that awakening to such concepts (independently of any orthodox religious framework, if necessary) can enable quite remarkable enhancement in achieving overall health.
Dr. Anna Yusim asked me to write a foreword to her new book Fulfilled: How the Science of Spirituality Can Help You Live a Happier, More Meaningful Life (New York: Hachette Book Group, 2017). Her wonderful book is filled with clinical examples from her busy New York City psychiatric practice. She makes a very powerful case for the value of spiritual awareness in the process of healing her patients, and leading them into far more productive and joyful lives through her psychospiritual approach.
I have also endorsed Dr. Nauman Naeem’s new book Healing from the Inside Out: Overcome Chronic Disease and Radically Change Your Life (Forres, Scotland, UK: Findhorn Press, 2017), releasing on September 12, 2017. As a critical care physician, his career has involved the care of many very ill medical patients. His book reveals a profound sense of insight into the details of his patients’ lives, and an analysis and understanding of very deep interconnections that allow for refreshing insights as to the potential for spiritual healing. His comprehension is so deep that natural consequences of his narration include the general benefits of finding our very purpose in life as well as how individual healing can make the world a far better place for others, too. His depth of insight is rarely encountered in a modern medical book, showing us how we can all influence our own return to wholeness, thus healing.
Finally, my article on the extraordinary and miraculous healings often found in the near-death experience literature concludes that profound spiritual insights and experiences are often associated with healing that far exceeds the expectations of modern western medicine. Again, such spiritual healing dominates in the emergence of any associated physical, mental and emotional healing. Although identification of the exact mechanisms involved is still incomplete, plenty of evidence exists to support the more robust study of these miraculous cases.
We will cover this topic in much more detail in our upcoming book, Living in a Mindful Universe: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Heart of Consciousness (New York: Rodale), due out in North America and the United Kingdom on October 17, 2017. Feel free to preorder it here.
We will also discuss healing as part of two upcoming experiential weekend retreats.
You can join us on the East Coast at the legendary Omega Institute to Ride the Wave of Consciousness on August 25-27. Register at Omega
On the West Coast, experience the brand new 1440 Multiversity retreat center and go Behind the Illusion to Reveal the Soul’s Journey on September 22-24. Register at 1440
Hello Doctor,
I read your wonderful book- very inspiring. I am a devote catholic I too had encephalitis In 1984 Boston -I was 20 years old in college at the time- viral I believe? We have a lot in common I’m sure –but I didn’t go into a coma – very painful though-Beth Israel hospital — feel free to contact me to discuss –
Thank you Ann
LOVE this! Thank you for your wonderful talk at IANDS too. I was a woman who asked about simultaneous parallel realities, and as you described your experience, I could see and feel it. The energy was so strong I was shaking the rest of the day! I love seeing that spiritual healing is being recognized in this fashion. I have been both the receiver and catalyst for spontaneous healing and know that when we fix our energy all else falls into line. Thank you and Karen for being beautiful messangers of truth.
I find it wonderful that some in the medical profession are finding profound value and power in spirituality, not last because of your remarkable experience and eloquence. It may be surprising to many that the power of Spirit is the basis of a book written 150 years ago encapsulating a similar if less dramatic experience to yours. The book is Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy, who by the turn of the 20th Century was probably the most famous and influential woman in America. She came from a different background and spoke a different language grounded in her intense study of the Bible in particular the words and work of Christ Jesus. People are still daily finding healing for all sorts of mental, bodily and relational problems from her writings and the work of the church that she founded
Thank you for your campaign to bring spirituality to the forefront of thought.
Hi Eben,
Are you familiar with the work of Dr. Bradley Nelson? He created The Emotion Code and The Body Code and I am certified in both. We do this healing with spiritual guidance and I the results in healing are amazing.