THE HEALING POWER OF ORDINARY THINGS

The bridge between traditional medicine and natural healing methods with the research behind mined-body medicine is explored by Larry Dossey, M.D. Acclaimed speaker and best-selling author, he has introduced spiritual and scientific thinkers alike to this ever growing field of medicine.

“If you want to hide the treasure, put it in plain sight. Then no one will see it.” Dossey proves this statement true in his latest book, The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things: Fourteen Natural Steps to Health and Happiness. Most of us can recall a time when we experienced the healing effects of optimism, tears, or music, but what about risk, unhappiness, and even dirt? Dossey gives us new eyes through which to see the world as he points out the healing that can be found in the most unlikely places.

The most interesting part of this book is the research that proves the healing capabilities of these “everyday” things. The power of optimism may not be an entirely new idea, but its role in the use of placebo treatments is astounding. He writes, “Researchers admit that the placebo response accounts for up to 50 percent of the effect of many drugs, and l00 percent of certain surgical procedures.” He notes that “surveys suggest that three-fourths of those who go to doctors’ offices have nothing wrong with them physically, that they are largely beyond the reach of what complex, modern medicine has to offer.” Facts like these help us employ natural healing methods with greater intention. He shows readers how to enhance their lives by paying attention to things that are right in front of them and encourages them to increase the value of natural healing methods on a broader scale. Dossey concludes, “In the end, it will not be weekend conferences, seminars, Web-based courses, or books that will teach people how to be optimistic, but what we do as a nation to create the conditions in which optimism can flower.” See www.edgarcayce.org.