EHE Book Reviews

Healing EEs/EHEs/Healing Process Record Type: Review ID: 512
Imagery in Healing: Shamanism and Modern Medicine Achterberg, Jeanne
The role of imagery is the focus of this book, beginning with a chapter on shamanic healing, because "shamanism is the medicine of the imagination. ... Shamanism is and has been the most widely practiced type of medicine on the planet, particularly for serious illness" (p. 6). In the second chapter the role of imagination as a healing tool in the history of western medicine is presented. The third deals with current attempts to "combine ancient wisdom with modern technology" in such areas as autogenics, biofeedback, and placebo research. The physiology and biochemistry of the transition of mental images into physical changes is considered in the fourth. The next chapter summarizes the findings of the behavioral and social sciences as regards the role of imagination in the therapy of psychological disorders. The sixth and final chapter is about immunology, with emphasis on the role of imagery in "increasing the ability of the immune system to counter disease" (p. 10). Several imagery scripts are presented in appendices. There is an extensive bibliography in addition to the text references which are listed by chapter.
Publisher Information:	Boston: Shambhala, 1985. 253p. Bibl: 231-246; Chap. notes: 219-230; 4 figs; Ind: 247-253; 3 tables

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Imagery in Healing: Shamanism and Modern Medicine