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Healing and the Mind
At last, the paperback edition of the monumental best-seller (almost half a million copies in print!) that has changed the way Americans think about sickness and health -- the companion volume to the landmark PBS series of the same name. In a remarkably short period of time, Bill Moyers's Healing And The Mind has become a touchstone, shaping the debate over alternative medical treatments and the role of the mind in illness and recovery in a way that few books have in recent memory. With almost half a million copies in print, it is already a classic -- the most widely read and influential book of its kind.
In a series of fascinating interviews with world-renowned experts and laypeople alike, Bill Moyers explores the new mind/body medicine. Healing And The Mind shows how it is being practiced in the treatment of stress, chronic disease, and neonatal problems in several American hospitals; examines the chemical basis of emotions, and their potential for making us sick (and making us well); explores the fusion of traditional Chinese medicine with modern Western practices in contemporary China; and takes an up-close, personal look at alternative healing therapies, including a Massachusetts center that combines Eastern meditation and Western group therapy, and a California retreat for cancer patients who help each other even when a cure is impossible. Topics include:
The Healing Roles of Doctor and Patient
The Healing Environment
Healing and the Community
Self-Regulation and Conditioning
Changing Life Habits
Meditation
Stress Reduction
Therapeutic Support Groups
The Chemical Communicators
Emotions and the Immune System
Conditioned Responses
Medicine in a Mind/Body Culture
Another Way of Seeing
Healing and Wholeness
Combining the incisive yet personal interview approach that made A World Of Ideas a feast for the mind and the provocative interplay of text and art that made The Power Of Myth a feast for the imagination, Healing And The Mind is a landmark work.
In a series of fascinating interviews with world-renowned experts and laypeople alike, Bill Moyers explores the new mind/body medicine. Healing And The Mind shows how it is being practiced in the treatment of stress, chronic disease, and neonatal problems in several American hospitals; examines the chemical basis of emotions, and their potential for making us sick (and making us well); explores the fusion of traditional Chinese medicine with modern Western practices in contemporary China; and takes an up-close, personal look at alternative healing therapies, including a Massachusetts center that combines Eastern meditation and Western group therapy, and a California retreat for cancer patients who help each other even when a cure is impossible. Topics include:
The Healing Roles of Doctor and Patient
The Healing Environment
Healing and the Community
Self-Regulation and Conditioning
Changing Life Habits
Meditation
Stress Reduction
Therapeutic Support Groups
The Chemical Communicators
Emotions and the Immune System
Conditioned Responses
Medicine in a Mind/Body Culture
Another Way of Seeing
Healing and Wholeness
Combining the incisive yet personal interview approach that made A World Of Ideas a feast for the mind and the provocative interplay of text and art that made The Power Of Myth a feast for the imagination, Healing And The Mind is a landmark work.
370 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
62 people are currently reading
1217 people want to read
About the author
Bill Moyers
114 books123 followersBilly Don Moyers was an American journalist and political commentator who served as the eleventh White House Press Secretary from 1965 to 1967. He was a director of the Council on Foreign Relations from 1967 to 1974. He was also a onetime steering committee member of the annual Bilderberg Meeting. Moyers also worked as a network TV news commentator for ten years. Moyers was extensively involved with public broadcasting, producing documentaries and news journal programs, and won many awards and honorary degrees for his investigative journalism and civic activities. He was well known as a trenchant critic of the corporately structured U.S. news media.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
April 30, 2019
Read this the year it came out, 1993. It was superb and astonishing. Although some of the material would be dated by now (25 + years later!), some of the most memorable interviews cover topics whose time has surely come. For instance: physicians training patients, including children, to use mind techniques that enable them to undergo surgeries and other painful procedures without anesthesia -- usually because they cannot safely use anesthetics. Wouldn't it be great if all the people with horrific chronic pain who are prescribed opioids and other dangerous medications could learn drug-free methods of managing pain with their minds? Who wouldn't want that -- other than, oh, maybe big pharma? (and nowadays, even big Mary Jane?)
September 4, 2018
If there is a unifying theme that runs through this book, it is that it would be of great benefit to patients, doctors, and the health industry as a whole to stop thinking of human beings as minds that have bodies or bodies that have minds and instead take a more holistic approach to personhood. It isn't controversial to state that the body affects the mind - Phineas Gage is the poster boy here - but it was controversial at the time this series aired to believe the mind could also affect the body. It still is in some quarters, though much less so these days than it was then.
The book is comprised of sixteen interviews with sixteen different medical professionals on sixteen topics relating to the interplay of the mind and the body in the health field. The interview on pain regulation techniques was interesting as were the interviews that deal with the interplay between the emotions and the immune system.
I would have much preferred the straight ahead line upon line, precept upon precept writing a typical non-fiction book employs to the question and answer format used here. I suppose it couldn't be helped though, this being a transcript of a PBS miniseries. Because of that, at times things were mentioned in passing when I really would have preferred they went into greater depth. For example:
MOYERS: And by "reductionistic," you mean-
PERT: That it's just chemical and electrical gradients, and that one day everything will be explained without invoking some other energy.
MOYERS: But what you're describing with neuropeptides seems to me essentially a chemical reaction. You call these neuropeptides chemical messengers. As they go from one place in the body to another, the body creates a physical response.
PERT: You're right-and that's what makes it all so fascinating, that emotions are in two realms. They can be in the physical realm, where we're talking about molecules whose molecular weight I can tell you, and whose sequences I can write as formulas. And there's another realm that we experience that's not under the purview of science. There are aspects of mind that have qualities that seem to be outside of matter. Let me give you an example. People with multiple personalities sometimes have extremely clear physical symptoms that vary with each personality. One personality can be allergic to cats while another is not. One personality can be diabetic and another not.
MOYERS: But the multiple personality exists in the same body. The physical matter has not changed from personality to personality.
PERT: But it does. You can measure it. You can show that one personality is making as much insulin as it needs, and the next one, who shows up half an hour later, can't make insulin.
Now that is intriguing enough to warrant looking into further.....
The book is comprised of sixteen interviews with sixteen different medical professionals on sixteen topics relating to the interplay of the mind and the body in the health field. The interview on pain regulation techniques was interesting as were the interviews that deal with the interplay between the emotions and the immune system.
I would have much preferred the straight ahead line upon line, precept upon precept writing a typical non-fiction book employs to the question and answer format used here. I suppose it couldn't be helped though, this being a transcript of a PBS miniseries. Because of that, at times things were mentioned in passing when I really would have preferred they went into greater depth. For example:
MOYERS: And by "reductionistic," you mean-
PERT: That it's just chemical and electrical gradients, and that one day everything will be explained without invoking some other energy.
MOYERS: But what you're describing with neuropeptides seems to me essentially a chemical reaction. You call these neuropeptides chemical messengers. As they go from one place in the body to another, the body creates a physical response.
PERT: You're right-and that's what makes it all so fascinating, that emotions are in two realms. They can be in the physical realm, where we're talking about molecules whose molecular weight I can tell you, and whose sequences I can write as formulas. And there's another realm that we experience that's not under the purview of science. There are aspects of mind that have qualities that seem to be outside of matter. Let me give you an example. People with multiple personalities sometimes have extremely clear physical symptoms that vary with each personality. One personality can be allergic to cats while another is not. One personality can be diabetic and another not.
MOYERS: But the multiple personality exists in the same body. The physical matter has not changed from personality to personality.
PERT: But it does. You can measure it. You can show that one personality is making as much insulin as it needs, and the next one, who shows up half an hour later, can't make insulin.
Now that is intriguing enough to warrant looking into further.....
August 8, 2012
A powerful and influential book that caused me to begin to question the boundaries between physical reality and the reality created by what we choose to think about, and how we choose to think about it. Truly remarkable stories of work by many healers; examples of integration of Eastern and Western healing efforts. A lovely and powerful feature of this book consists of pictures of works of art carefully selected to accompany topics and stories. I marveled at how the artists’ messages complemented the discoveries of the featured scientists…and I admire Moyers’ sensitivity in depicting the stories via words and carefully chosen artistic works. One of my favorite books.
March 23, 2017
"Healing and the Mind" by Bill Moyers is a companion to a PBS special. I found it to be interesting as it discussed different aspects of healing that are non-traditional and integrative. It is full of interviews with different medical professionals. I found the chapter on qi to be especially interesting because Traditional Chinese Medicine does not make any sense from our Western understanding of medicine and how the body works, and yet it seems to help many people. In China, hospitals have integrated TCM and Western medicine; Western medicine preferred for acute problems and surgery, and TCM preferred for chronic concerns. I also first read about Dean Ornish in this book, and his study about the potential to reverse heart disease. Simultaneously, in a skeptic book about medicine, Dr. Ornish was criticized by his proclamations, but in "Healing and the Mind," he came across as much more cautious and acknowledged the need for continued research. I found it very interesting that breast cancer patients survived longer when treated with medicine (chemo, surgery, etc.) and a breast cancer support group than did those who were treated only with medicine. The book seemed a bit repetitive in some places, but overall, I enjoyed the read. I think there is much more to learn about the interconnection between mind and body. I thought Candace Pert's interview was thought-provoking, and I have added her book "Molecules of Emotion" to my to-read list. I was surprised that a connection between the immune system and the brain/nervous system was denied and ignored for so long. Being surprised by that is part of the privilege I have of living in this time, rather than even 30-50 years ago.
June 23, 2017
This book was a follow-up to a TV program. It is a series of interviews with practitioners who have incorporated the mind/body reality into their healing practices. My favorite quotes from the book are the following (from Dean Ornish):
The insurance industry is really the major determinant of health care in this country-not science and not clinical experience, but what third party will pay for.
The current health care system, which is really a disease care system, has de facto rationing: if you don't have insurance or a lot of money, you don't get very good access to medical care.
These quotes are particularly relevant at the time when Congress is trying to repeal and replace Obamacare. And it is now 24 years since this book was written.
The insurance industry is really the major determinant of health care in this country-not science and not clinical experience, but what third party will pay for.
The current health care system, which is really a disease care system, has de facto rationing: if you don't have insurance or a lot of money, you don't get very good access to medical care.
These quotes are particularly relevant at the time when Congress is trying to repeal and replace Obamacare. And it is now 24 years since this book was written.
October 29, 2015
I wouldn't say that this book changed how I looked at wellness, but it certainly has influenced it. I read this shortly after being diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome.
December 11, 2016
برغم من إنه الكتاب كتير طول معي , جداً لدرجة في كتير أوقات فكرة إني ما عاد فيّ أتحمل أكمل قراءة بس الفضول دفعني أكمل على طول , لأشوف الناس التانية , الأطباء و المعالجين النفسيين و الاجتماعيين وكل الناس في المجال الطبي والعلاجي بيعطوا أراء ومعلومات علمية عن ارتباط المشاعر بتحسين حالة الجسد طبعاَ مكنش حيطول كل هالقد لو إني لاقيت الكتاب بالعربي وريحت حالي بس وقتها ما رح يكون تحدي على أية حال
الكتاب ببساطة مكتوب من قبل صحفي أمريكي , زار أكتر من مستشفى وأطباء و نفسانيين في سبيل انه يعرف أكتر عن علاقة النفسية بشكل عام , او الروح بالمعالجة الفيزيائية , الرغبة بالحياة والتشارك مع المجموع , كتير معلومات علمية أذهلتني , أنا الإنسان الحديث على الكوكب مثلاً إنه الدماغ بينتج مورفين خاص فيه , عن ال ببيتدات العصبية يلي الجسم بيفرزها في حالات شعورية مختلفة ,عن أهمية الإفصاح عن مشاعرك كمريض ومشاركة ناس تانية مريضة زيك فيها عشان تشعر بتحسن , كتير مهم إنه المريض يكون قلقان , غالباً احنا منتعامل مع قلق المريض بحذر ومنحاول نواسيه , الحقيقة انه المريض عنده كامل الحق يقلق وبالمريض مش منحكي عن الانفلونزا انما عن أمراض مزمنة وخطرة متل السرطان وداء الكرون والخ أمراض لازم المريض فيها يكون قلق لأنه هاد القلق و الخوف هو دليل على حب الحياة و الرغبة فيها , بدون هاي الرغبة ما فينا نقاوم المرض
في الجزء الأول من الكتاب كان التركيز على العلاقة بين الطبيب والمريض ,وحكى الصحفي عن انه اليوم وبعصرالتكنولوجيا المريض والطبيب ما في تواصل بينهم متل أيام زمان لما كانوا الأطباء يجوا على البيوت وما إلى ذلك , وإنه هاي العلاقة في حال تطورت بتشعر المريض بالراحة , كمان إنه الطبيب لازم مش بس يعرف مرض المريض انما يعرف عيلته , الاشياء يلي بيحبها , الأشياء يلي بيآمن فيها , نقاط ضعفه وقوته , لازم يغوص لنفسية المريض عشان يقدر يساعده , يسأله ويعرف عنه أكتر , يعني مثلا في مرضى بتتحسن لو عرفت كل تفاصيل مرضها بينما في مرضى تانيين لا , الغرض من كل شي انه الناس مش زي بعض وطرق العلاج لازم تكون مطاطية مش جامدة
بعدين صار التركيز أكتر على المشاعر ودورها بالعلاج وحلقات "مكافحة التوتر"يعني الهدوء و الاستقرار النفسي , غوص المريض بداخله بيساعد إذا مو على الشفاء التام نتيجة القوة والرغبة يلي نابعة من جواته فعلى إنه يقلل من النوبات يلي بتيجيه ويتقبل حاله أكتر , انك تعيش اللحظة يلي انت فيها وبس هاي هي الحياة , تركز في الحاضر في الدقيقة يلي انت فيها مش أكتر بعدها حكى الكاتب عن العلاج الصيني وطبعاً كان كتير مشوق وبيشدك تجربه رغم انه اكتشفت بهاد الفصل انه احنا على قوله "الغربيين" وحتى الدول العربية يلي بتستخدم النظام الغربي في العلاج عنا كتير حواجز على عقلنا وطورنا مهاراتنا في ما يشبه خلايا مسرطنة وبس بالنظر للمريض على انه مرض مش على انه المرض جزء من مريض بينما في الصين مثلاً بيشوفوا الكل وبس بيشوفوا الانسان ككل وعندها العلاج بيعتمد على شي اسمه "تشي" يلي هو طاقة الانسان والانسان بيصير مريض لما بيصير خلل في توزع هاي الطاقة في الجسم طبعاً مش سهل انه الواحد يفهم النسبية يلي بيقوم عليها العلاج الا في حال عرف انهم بيعاملوا الانسان ككل , والعلاج عندهم ما بيشترط على المرضى العلاج عندهم والطب بيعتمد على حماية الناس من المرض , مساعدتهم ليصيروا اكتر صحة من حالتهم يلي هم فيها وبيختم الصحفي كتابه بالكلام عن رؤية الانسان ككل مع الطبيبة راشيل ناومي ريمين.
بالنسبة للكتاب كان كتاب جميل جداً من حيث المعلومات , من حيث قراءة آراء الناس التانيين حول موضوع بيهمك , من كتير جهات بس من الجهات الأكبر انه تعرف انه الشي يلي بتقوم عليه كتير فلسفات موجود علميا , شي حقيقي , شي قوي , وكتير إشارات إستفهام ممكن أحياناً تحسسك انه معقول الحكي هاد صحي لما بيكون في كمية مش قليلة من ما بعرف كإجابات على أسئلة بعدين بتلتفت لأنه المجال كتير كبير وكتير واسع اي المجال الطبي ولسا في قدامه كتير من الحيز والمساحة والقدرات للتطور , بنصح كتير ناس يقرأوه لأنه رح يغيروا نظرتهم تجاه أنفسهم , أمراضهم وحالتهم الصحية , بس أهم من كل شي انه الأطباء يقرأوه لأنه كتير مهم يكون في دائم خيار بديل يمكن ك طبيب ما ينتبهله لانه في المدرسة الطبية او القسم الطبي كتير شغلات ما بيتعلمها الانسان في الدراسة والجامعة انما فيما بعد في الحياة العملية والخبرة
من أكتر الجمل يلي اثرت في بخاتمة الكتاب كانت انه "الناس يتحدثون عن كونهم سعداء بأنفسهم لكن هذا مجرد انتقاد آخر للذات الحقيقة هي أنه يجب أن يكونوا متقبلين لذواتهم"
الكتاب ببساطة مكتوب من قبل صحفي أمريكي , زار أكتر من مستشفى وأطباء و نفسانيين في سبيل انه يعرف أكتر عن علاقة النفسية بشكل عام , او الروح بالمعالجة الفيزيائية , الرغبة بالحياة والتشارك مع المجموع , كتير معلومات علمية أذهلتني , أنا الإنسان الحديث على الكوكب مثلاً إنه الدماغ بينتج مورفين خاص فيه , عن ال ببيتدات العصبية يلي الجسم بيفرزها في حالات شعورية مختلفة ,عن أهمية الإفصاح عن مشاعرك كمريض ومشاركة ناس تانية مريضة زيك فيها عشان تشعر بتحسن , كتير مهم إنه المريض يكون قلقان , غالباً احنا منتعامل مع قلق المريض بحذر ومنحاول نواسيه , الحقيقة انه المريض عنده كامل الحق يقلق وبالمريض مش منحكي عن الانفلونزا انما عن أمراض مزمنة وخطرة متل السرطان وداء الكرون والخ أمراض لازم المريض فيها يكون قلق لأنه هاد القلق و الخوف هو دليل على حب الحياة و الرغبة فيها , بدون هاي الرغبة ما فينا نقاوم المرض
في الجزء الأول من الكتاب كان التركيز على العلاقة بين الطبيب والمريض ,وحكى الصحفي عن انه اليوم وبعصرالتكنولوجيا المريض والطبيب ما في تواصل بينهم متل أيام زمان لما كانوا الأطباء يجوا على البيوت وما إلى ذلك , وإنه هاي العلاقة في حال تطورت بتشعر المريض بالراحة , كمان إنه الطبيب لازم مش بس يعرف مرض المريض انما يعرف عيلته , الاشياء يلي بيحبها , الأشياء يلي بيآمن فيها , نقاط ضعفه وقوته , لازم يغوص لنفسية المريض عشان يقدر يساعده , يسأله ويعرف عنه أكتر , يعني مثلا في مرضى بتتحسن لو عرفت كل تفاصيل مرضها بينما في مرضى تانيين لا , الغرض من كل شي انه الناس مش زي بعض وطرق العلاج لازم تكون مطاطية مش جامدة
بعدين صار التركيز أكتر على المشاعر ودورها بالعلاج وحلقات "مكافحة التوتر"يعني الهدوء و الاستقرار النفسي , غوص المريض بداخله بيساعد إذا مو على الشفاء التام نتيجة القوة والرغبة يلي نابعة من جواته فعلى إنه يقلل من النوبات يلي بتيجيه ويتقبل حاله أكتر , انك تعيش اللحظة يلي انت فيها وبس هاي هي الحياة , تركز في الحاضر في الدقيقة يلي انت فيها مش أكتر بعدها حكى الكاتب عن العلاج الصيني وطبعاً كان كتير مشوق وبيشدك تجربه رغم انه اكتشفت بهاد الفصل انه احنا على قوله "الغربيين" وحتى الدول العربية يلي بتستخدم النظام الغربي في العلاج عنا كتير حواجز على عقلنا وطورنا مهاراتنا في ما يشبه خلايا مسرطنة وبس بالنظر للمريض على انه مرض مش على انه المرض جزء من مريض بينما في الصين مثلاً بيشوفوا الكل وبس بيشوفوا الانسان ككل وعندها العلاج بيعتمد على شي اسمه "تشي" يلي هو طاقة الانسان والانسان بيصير مريض لما بيصير خلل في توزع هاي الطاقة في الجسم طبعاً مش سهل انه الواحد يفهم النسبية يلي بيقوم عليها العلاج الا في حال عرف انهم بيعاملوا الانسان ككل , والعلاج عندهم ما بيشترط على المرضى العلاج عندهم والطب بيعتمد على حماية الناس من المرض , مساعدتهم ليصيروا اكتر صحة من حالتهم يلي هم فيها وبيختم الصحفي كتابه بالكلام عن رؤية الانسان ككل مع الطبيبة راشيل ناومي ريمين.
بالنسبة للكتاب كان كتاب جميل جداً من حيث المعلومات , من حيث قراءة آراء الناس التانيين حول موضوع بيهمك , من كتير جهات بس من الجهات الأكبر انه تعرف انه الشي يلي بتقوم عليه كتير فلسفات موجود علميا , شي حقيقي , شي قوي , وكتير إشارات إستفهام ممكن أحياناً تحسسك انه معقول الحكي هاد صحي لما بيكون في كمية مش قليلة من ما بعرف كإجابات على أسئلة بعدين بتلتفت لأنه المجال كتير كبير وكتير واسع اي المجال الطبي ولسا في قدامه كتير من الحيز والمساحة والقدرات للتطور , بنصح كتير ناس يقرأوه لأنه رح يغيروا نظرتهم تجاه أنفسهم , أمراضهم وحالتهم الصحية , بس أهم من كل شي انه الأطباء يقرأوه لأنه كتير مهم يكون في دائم خيار بديل يمكن ك طبيب ما ينتبهله لانه في المدرسة الطبية او القسم الطبي كتير شغلات ما بيتعلمها الانسان في الدراسة والجامعة انما فيما بعد في الحياة العملية والخبرة
من أكتر الجمل يلي اثرت في بخاتمة الكتاب كانت انه "الناس يتحدثون عن كونهم سعداء بأنفسهم لكن هذا مجرد انتقاد آخر للذات الحقيقة هي أنه يجب أن يكونوا متقبلين لذواتهم"
March 2, 2021
This book originally published in 1993, was a companion piece to the popular PBS TV series hosted by Bill Moyer and titled “Healing and the Mind”. It proved to be a ground breaking show that brought a wide audience to the discovery of the connections being made between the body and the mind. The work was leading to changes in the treatment of stress and chronic disease, many of which lay outside the realm of traditional medicine. Moyers, interested in this work, was taking a close look at what was called alternative healing therapies.
Moyers examines the chemical basis for emotions and how they have the potential to make us sick or well. He explains how the state of mind and attitudes towards illness can affect health outcomes, thinking that was gaining a wide audience as more people became open to looking at what was becoming known as the mind body connection. Once believed to be groundless, these connections were now the focus of research by recognized scientists and funded by well recognized institutions. This series, examining the mind body connection, helped fuel the public debate about alternate medical treatments and the role of the mind in illness and recovery.
To explore the role of thoughts and emotions on illness and health, Moyers interviewed both experts and lay people. He spoke with more than sixteen doctors and scientists, including in the group those from both traditional Western views of medicine as well as those from the Eastern tradition. His investigations led him to visit stress reducing clinics and cancer support groups. He also explored the field of psychoneuroimmunology which focuses on the part attitudes play in the functioning of the body’s immune system. He traveled to China to study acupuncture, therapeutic massage and chi gong, a practice which involves manipulating energy to improve chronic neurological and muscular diseases.
Moyers interviewed Dean Ornish, a man who has had success treating people with heart disease using a combination of meditation, stress reducing exercises, group therapy, regular walking and a vegetarian diet. He talks with David Felton a neurobiologist who has discovered connections between the nervous and immune systems and he also connected with Dr. Thomas Delbanco from Harvard, who was trying to find ways to involve patients as more active participants in the doctor patient relationship.
The text is illustrated with reproductions of art work, many from recognized artists and all serving to emphasize the points being made in the text.
The book was widely read, became a monumental best seller and stayed on the best seller list for over ten years. It was a fascinating read, well written in language aimed at the layman but always grounded in science.
Moyers examines the chemical basis for emotions and how they have the potential to make us sick or well. He explains how the state of mind and attitudes towards illness can affect health outcomes, thinking that was gaining a wide audience as more people became open to looking at what was becoming known as the mind body connection. Once believed to be groundless, these connections were now the focus of research by recognized scientists and funded by well recognized institutions. This series, examining the mind body connection, helped fuel the public debate about alternate medical treatments and the role of the mind in illness and recovery.
To explore the role of thoughts and emotions on illness and health, Moyers interviewed both experts and lay people. He spoke with more than sixteen doctors and scientists, including in the group those from both traditional Western views of medicine as well as those from the Eastern tradition. His investigations led him to visit stress reducing clinics and cancer support groups. He also explored the field of psychoneuroimmunology which focuses on the part attitudes play in the functioning of the body’s immune system. He traveled to China to study acupuncture, therapeutic massage and chi gong, a practice which involves manipulating energy to improve chronic neurological and muscular diseases.
Moyers interviewed Dean Ornish, a man who has had success treating people with heart disease using a combination of meditation, stress reducing exercises, group therapy, regular walking and a vegetarian diet. He talks with David Felton a neurobiologist who has discovered connections between the nervous and immune systems and he also connected with Dr. Thomas Delbanco from Harvard, who was trying to find ways to involve patients as more active participants in the doctor patient relationship.
The text is illustrated with reproductions of art work, many from recognized artists and all serving to emphasize the points being made in the text.
The book was widely read, became a monumental best seller and stayed on the best seller list for over ten years. It was a fascinating read, well written in language aimed at the layman but always grounded in science.
August 19, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this book which explores the relationship between our bodies and minds with respect to health. It is a companion to a PBS series and contains interviews with a range of practitioners from various clinical fields, all respected with research behind them and an understanding of the demands of evidence.
Bill Moyers who is the interviewer maintains a sceptical open mindedness and this allows for a much more critical presentation than a straightforward chapter by each individual. Even though over 20 years old, the book offers a window into the much maligned, often fringe practices associated with mind/body medicine. Although a certain scepticism is the healthiest approach to take, this book with it's emphasis on experience as well as evidence hints that there might be too much scepticism and too many biases against the non-scientific dimensions. Medical dogma does not put much credence in the psychological condition of the patient.
Whilst Western medicine has pretty much tackled infectious diseases, it has shown itself to be less able as far as chronic disease such as cancer is concerned. It may well be that the mind plays a role in the processes of these diseases as well as in aiding people to cope with such illness.
This is a comprehensive, well researched and eclectic gathering of theories, ideas and opinions. Well written and eye opening.
Bill Moyers who is the interviewer maintains a sceptical open mindedness and this allows for a much more critical presentation than a straightforward chapter by each individual. Even though over 20 years old, the book offers a window into the much maligned, often fringe practices associated with mind/body medicine. Although a certain scepticism is the healthiest approach to take, this book with it's emphasis on experience as well as evidence hints that there might be too much scepticism and too many biases against the non-scientific dimensions. Medical dogma does not put much credence in the psychological condition of the patient.
Whilst Western medicine has pretty much tackled infectious diseases, it has shown itself to be less able as far as chronic disease such as cancer is concerned. It may well be that the mind plays a role in the processes of these diseases as well as in aiding people to cope with such illness.
This is a comprehensive, well researched and eclectic gathering of theories, ideas and opinions. Well written and eye opening.
December 10, 2021
Good book to read if you are interested in mind/body connections. Bill Moyers interviews many doctors and asks them many good questions which may clarify thoughts for you. Some ideas that I felt were important were:nerves and hormones control some aspects of immune system; the medical profession needs to learn what's taking place in the whole person rather than parts and it is no longer sufficient to train doctors in single disciplines; deals with role of emotions, hope, the will to live, and the power of human contact; explores traditional Chinese medecine based on Chi/the body as a energy system. I would say that the main question here is Can the brain be trained to regulate our own immune system? There is repetition here.🤓
March 2, 2018
This is an older book, so much of the discussion about the mind/body link, meditation etc. was nothing new. The chapter on immunology and its connection to the mind made reading the whole book worth while. the reference to people with split personality disorder manifesting different diseases in there different personalities amazing. This book does not suggest that people should abandon conventional western medicine, but it does imply that leaving the mind out of the healing process is like going to a battle with only a few bullets in your gun chamber.
July 14, 2017
through interviews with world-renowned experts and laypeople, this work explores the mind-body connection from many angles - very interesting variety of thoughtful insights.
see this and more than a hundred other organ donation/transplant related books - many with my personal reviews - at http://www.trioweb.org/resources/book...
see this and more than a hundred other organ donation/transplant related books - many with my personal reviews - at http://www.trioweb.org/resources/book...
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May 21, 2021Read in 1996. My review from then: Companion to a public TV series. Interviews with MDs and PhDs involved in health care. Good view of mainstream people utilizing progressive techniques and attitudes like approaching patients as people, biofeedback, and meditation. Dry and intellectual compared to some others [on similar subjects].
June 10, 2019
While this book is a little out of date and there is a lot more information out there on the science of healing and the mind, there was still some good information and interesting interviews in this book.
August 11, 2018
Very insightful book about healing alternatives, both Eastern and Western. Interesting interviews with a variety of specialists.
January 23, 2020
loads of new information on how the mind has the power to heal
August 16, 2021
Just not the time for this book....
January 27, 2022
Some great stuff but repetitive and dated.
October 23, 2015
Outstanding, well researched perspective on health care and healing in the US. While written over 20 years ago it is relevant to today. For anyone who has used the medical complex called modern medicine this is must reading. Moyer's curiosity, his skepticism, his objectivity all contribute to a cohesive study of modern medicine juxtaposed with eastern philosophies, healing distinguished from cure, the mind and the body as one and so much more. This book should be savor end. I'm glad I read it over months and want to spend more time reflecting upon it. RICH!
July 20, 2015
This book has two problems making me not give it a very high recommendation. First, it was published 25 years ago and therefore doesn't include any recent research. Second, the format is really a transcript of a series of TV interviews Bill Moyers did with leading researchers in the field. The interview format really gets tedious at the end of 380 pages. So, I'm putting this book in the giveaway box. The only thing I'll miss about it is the artwork. The editor who chose the illustrations was a real genius.
May 24, 2016
This book was a classic, ahead of its time. Different chapters with different interviewees cover a broad range of alternative methods for wellness. It's a good introduction to some approaches to health from acupuncture, to humor, to Chinese medicine, ayurveda, massage, cupping, energy, mindfulness and more.
Laughter is the best medicine. Nature is medicinal. And many more things we disregard which are more powerful than we realize. The mind is the most powerful, and placebos are at least 50% of every cure.
Laughter is the best medicine. Nature is medicinal. And many more things we disregard which are more powerful than we realize. The mind is the most powerful, and placebos are at least 50% of every cure.
February 20, 2008
This book was written fifteen years ago. If it had been written yesterday, I would say, "Great things are in store for american health". Sadly, although some things have become more acceptable to us, many things are not available. This book did give me hope for what's out there and the future of health care, but knowing what I do fifteen years after it was written, it just frustrated me with the current availability.
September 11, 2012
A little dated now and the paperback actually fell apart as I read it however an excellent introduction and overview to what various thinkers are researching (or have researched) in the fields of neurology, psychology, eastern medicine, and other emerging disciplines. How does the mind influence health? A lot it turns out. The mind and body cannot be separated.
July 16, 2013
Bill Moyers was thoughtful and inquisitive as always. The topics and people interviewed were very intriguing, but is was published 20 years ago so, sadly the science was often out of date. Chapters related to philosophy, interpersonal relations and ancient thought weren't dated though and overall it offered new perspectives worth considering and in some cases learning more about.
July 19, 2010
Acquired 12 years ago but not started until now, I put it down after 3 chapters. Too slow. Better to watch video of interviews than read them. Plus, I already believe mind and body are tied together; I don't need encouragement.
July 19, 2016
I loved these interviews. The subjects are varied and are arranged in groups that make exploration of the various aspects of mental/physical/spiritual healing accessible. The concepts are inspirational, and I intend to reference this book as I need reminders and direction for my own healing.
July 15, 2014
It's interviews with different mind/body fields in one book. There are a few that are educating to read; but overall, this book feels like it is trying hard to explain a person who is dense to this field. Best for skim through and find which chapters that interests you.
October 6, 2014
This is a book that I re-read and watched the PBS series that cover the changing the way Americans thinks about sickness and health. This is a book that if you are interested in alternative methods, of healing. This is a book for you.
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December 17, 2008616.001 Moy
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August 5, 2011Great lay review of the science that can change our lives. Remarkable. Read it or see the DVD.
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