Author: Jayne Schooler
Publisher: Tyndale House
ISBN: 1615215220
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Why doesn’t our child return our love? What are we failing to understand? What are we failing to do? These questions can fill the minds of adoptive parents caring for wounded, traumatized children. Families often enter into this experience with high expectations for their child and for themselves but are broadsided by shattered assumptions. This book addresses the reality of those unmet expectations and offers validation and solutions for the challenges of parenting deeply traumatized and emotionally disturbed children.
Wounded Children, Healing Homes
Author: Jayne Schooler
Publisher: Tyndale House
ISBN: 1615215220
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Why doesn’t our child return our love? What are we failing to understand? What are we failing to do? These questions can fill the minds of adoptive parents caring for wounded, traumatized children. Families often enter into this experience with high expectations for their child and for themselves but are broadsided by shattered assumptions. This book addresses the reality of those unmet expectations and offers validation and solutions for the challenges of parenting deeply traumatized and emotionally disturbed children.
Publisher: Tyndale House
ISBN: 1615215220
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Why doesn’t our child return our love? What are we failing to understand? What are we failing to do? These questions can fill the minds of adoptive parents caring for wounded, traumatized children. Families often enter into this experience with high expectations for their child and for themselves but are broadsided by shattered assumptions. This book addresses the reality of those unmet expectations and offers validation and solutions for the challenges of parenting deeply traumatized and emotionally disturbed children.
Homes that Heal
Author: Athena Thompson
Publisher: Gabriola, BC : New Society Publishers
ISBN: 9780865715110
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 307
Book Description
Since your home's health may determine your own health, this book could be a lifesaver
Publisher: Gabriola, BC : New Society Publishers
ISBN: 9780865715110
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 307
Book Description
Since your home's health may determine your own health, this book could be a lifesaver
Healing Houses - My Work as a Psychic House Cleaner
Author: Sheldon Norberg
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780967623160
Category : Consciousness
Languages : en
Pages : 190
Book Description
While it's clear that these wavelengths are sensed, albeit unconsciously, by other living beings, the question of whether our minds still convey energy after our death, or whether such energetic charges can permeate inanimate matter, and cause it to resonate, have yet to be researched, scientifically. Healing Houses details Sheldon Norberg's two decades as a professional psychic whose career has focused on houses where the death, disease, or trauma of a prior owner left not only ghosts, but rationally inexplicable phenomena and physically palpable sensations for his clients to live with. While many of us find ourselves unable to stop thinking, those who can't suppress their ability to feel often find their homes convey unpleasant information, which in some situations can be overpowering. In reporting dozens of his cases, Norberg explains how the energy patterns of previous inhabitants affect the current residents; and more than that, how current models of physics agree with this concept. He also details the intuitive processes he uses to shift these patterns and restore energetic balance, presents a broad cross-cultural perspective to his work, and gives readers basic meditations for working on their own. "People whose homes hold lasting impressions of the deaths or trauma of the previous owners can be seriously affected, and admitting to it can put them at odds with rationality" says Norberg. "Ghosts or no ghosts, my clients find themselves affected by the negative feelings of their new homes, and frequently adjust their lives to suit these feelings." Healing Houses maps out a sophisticated metaphysical perspective and traces its development through case studies of dozens of the houses Norberg has worked in during his 20-year psychic career. Whether discussing his training in the feminine first field of Intuition Medicine, giving a global overview of house healing practices, or offering house healing basics to his readers, Norberg's wry wit shines through. But it is his compassion, for his clients, their homes, and for those whose remnant energy has manifested in some unforeseeable way, that makes this book a healing odyssey. Beginning with Transcendental Meditation at the age of ten, Sheldon Norberg's lifelong interest in states of consciousness led to a number of studies that helped organize his professional practice. After completing his Master of Intuition Medicine training at the Academy of Intuition Medicine, he earned his BA in Psycho-Spiritual Healing at San Francisco State University. His deep interest in consciousness and health led him to extensive practice in meditation and energetic healing, as well as yoga, sensory deprivation, ritual and divination. He has been featured in such media as The New York Times, New York Magazine, Booklist, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The San Francisco Examiner. "Sheldon has a unique intuitive skill set - the ability to detect and identify energy patterns held within a space. Along with this, he has formulated a process to shift aberrant energy patterns in order to induce clarity. Some intuitives heal people- Sheldon heals houses." Francesca McCartney, PhDFounder, Academy of Intuition Medicine & Energy Medicine University Psychic house healing is very serious work. I recommend anyone with an interest in energy healing in general, or in healing houses in particular, to read this book. You will walk away with a much clearer understanding of how we interface with our homes, and the contracts that we enter into with them. August 2010 Bonnie Cehovet
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780967623160
Category : Consciousness
Languages : en
Pages : 190
Book Description
While it's clear that these wavelengths are sensed, albeit unconsciously, by other living beings, the question of whether our minds still convey energy after our death, or whether such energetic charges can permeate inanimate matter, and cause it to resonate, have yet to be researched, scientifically. Healing Houses details Sheldon Norberg's two decades as a professional psychic whose career has focused on houses where the death, disease, or trauma of a prior owner left not only ghosts, but rationally inexplicable phenomena and physically palpable sensations for his clients to live with. While many of us find ourselves unable to stop thinking, those who can't suppress their ability to feel often find their homes convey unpleasant information, which in some situations can be overpowering. In reporting dozens of his cases, Norberg explains how the energy patterns of previous inhabitants affect the current residents; and more than that, how current models of physics agree with this concept. He also details the intuitive processes he uses to shift these patterns and restore energetic balance, presents a broad cross-cultural perspective to his work, and gives readers basic meditations for working on their own. "People whose homes hold lasting impressions of the deaths or trauma of the previous owners can be seriously affected, and admitting to it can put them at odds with rationality" says Norberg. "Ghosts or no ghosts, my clients find themselves affected by the negative feelings of their new homes, and frequently adjust their lives to suit these feelings." Healing Houses maps out a sophisticated metaphysical perspective and traces its development through case studies of dozens of the houses Norberg has worked in during his 20-year psychic career. Whether discussing his training in the feminine first field of Intuition Medicine, giving a global overview of house healing practices, or offering house healing basics to his readers, Norberg's wry wit shines through. But it is his compassion, for his clients, their homes, and for those whose remnant energy has manifested in some unforeseeable way, that makes this book a healing odyssey. Beginning with Transcendental Meditation at the age of ten, Sheldon Norberg's lifelong interest in states of consciousness led to a number of studies that helped organize his professional practice. After completing his Master of Intuition Medicine training at the Academy of Intuition Medicine, he earned his BA in Psycho-Spiritual Healing at San Francisco State University. His deep interest in consciousness and health led him to extensive practice in meditation and energetic healing, as well as yoga, sensory deprivation, ritual and divination. He has been featured in such media as The New York Times, New York Magazine, Booklist, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The San Francisco Examiner. "Sheldon has a unique intuitive skill set - the ability to detect and identify energy patterns held within a space. Along with this, he has formulated a process to shift aberrant energy patterns in order to induce clarity. Some intuitives heal people- Sheldon heals houses." Francesca McCartney, PhDFounder, Academy of Intuition Medicine & Energy Medicine University Psychic house healing is very serious work. I recommend anyone with an interest in energy healing in general, or in healing houses in particular, to read this book. You will walk away with a much clearer understanding of how we interface with our homes, and the contracts that we enter into with them. August 2010 Bonnie Cehovet
Healing Sick Houses
Author: Roy & Ann Procter
Publisher: Western Geomancy
ISBN: 9781838046125
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 190
Book Description
The classic book on house healing - 20th anniversary revised and updated edition.When this book was first published in 2000, few people were writing about geopathic stress. Increasing numbers of people are also affected by the electromagnetic fields broadcast from power lines, phones, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 5G networks etc. - what we now call technopathic stress. This book was one of the first to detail how such detrimental energies affect human health and to demonstrate, through case studies and an academic research programme, how the health of people affected has improved when the imbalances have been corrected using dowsing and spiritual healing techniques.This is essential reading for anyone interested in house healing.
Publisher: Western Geomancy
ISBN: 9781838046125
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 190
Book Description
The classic book on house healing - 20th anniversary revised and updated edition.When this book was first published in 2000, few people were writing about geopathic stress. Increasing numbers of people are also affected by the electromagnetic fields broadcast from power lines, phones, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 5G networks etc. - what we now call technopathic stress. This book was one of the first to detail how such detrimental energies affect human health and to demonstrate, through case studies and an academic research programme, how the health of people affected has improved when the imbalances have been corrected using dowsing and spiritual healing techniques.This is essential reading for anyone interested in house healing.
High Vibe Home
Author: Kirsten Yadouga
Publisher: Chronicle Books
ISBN: 1797207393
Category : House & Home
Languages : en
Pages : 243
Book Description
From an interior designer and modern feng shui expert, High Vibe Home is a luxe handbook for creating restorative spaces that feel as good as they look. Create a home that feels as good as it looks. From an interior designer and energy practitioner, High Vibe Home teaches readers how to design harmonious spaces that invite free-flowing, positive energy into their homes and lives. By decluttering and cleaning, arranging furniture, decorating with crystals or houseplants, incorporating new colors, textures, and more, anyone, on any budget, can design a home with high vibes. The book outlines key design principles and energy rules that contribute to a nourishing home, and then, room-by-room, offers achievable ways to put those practices into place. In a luxe package, this handbook is woven through with atmospheric photography, evocative shots of styled decor elements, and helpful diagrams. High Vibe Home is a must-have for design aficionados, wellness enthusiasts, and anyone interested in crystals, feng shui, or energy work. Alongside smudge sticks or a cozy throw, it's a thoughtful gift for a girlfriend's birthday or a housewarming party. ACCESSIBLE PRACTICES: High Vibe Home offers achievable, affordable practices to make spaces feel more Zen. Anyone, on any budget, can make these small adjustments to improve their home and in turn, channel that newfound positive energy into other areas of their life. MORE THAN JUST HOME DECOR: This book is not simply a collection of design tips; it also teaches how to foster specific types of energy in your space—calming, invigorating, healing, etc. These choices can have an outsize impact on not just your mood but also your relationships, career, and health. ON TREND: The wellness trend is still going strong, and holistic interior design is an extension of that. There are sections throughout the book on crystals, chakras, feng shui, and other types of energy work, which will appeal to those interested in these on-trend wellness topics. Perfect for: • Anyone looking for ways to make their home lovelier or more Zen • People interested in energy work, crystals, or feng shui • Shoppers looking for a Mother's Day, hostess, or housewarming gift
Publisher: Chronicle Books
ISBN: 1797207393
Category : House & Home
Languages : en
Pages : 243
Book Description
From an interior designer and modern feng shui expert, High Vibe Home is a luxe handbook for creating restorative spaces that feel as good as they look. Create a home that feels as good as it looks. From an interior designer and energy practitioner, High Vibe Home teaches readers how to design harmonious spaces that invite free-flowing, positive energy into their homes and lives. By decluttering and cleaning, arranging furniture, decorating with crystals or houseplants, incorporating new colors, textures, and more, anyone, on any budget, can design a home with high vibes. The book outlines key design principles and energy rules that contribute to a nourishing home, and then, room-by-room, offers achievable ways to put those practices into place. In a luxe package, this handbook is woven through with atmospheric photography, evocative shots of styled decor elements, and helpful diagrams. High Vibe Home is a must-have for design aficionados, wellness enthusiasts, and anyone interested in crystals, feng shui, or energy work. Alongside smudge sticks or a cozy throw, it's a thoughtful gift for a girlfriend's birthday or a housewarming party. ACCESSIBLE PRACTICES: High Vibe Home offers achievable, affordable practices to make spaces feel more Zen. Anyone, on any budget, can make these small adjustments to improve their home and in turn, channel that newfound positive energy into other areas of their life. MORE THAN JUST HOME DECOR: This book is not simply a collection of design tips; it also teaches how to foster specific types of energy in your space—calming, invigorating, healing, etc. These choices can have an outsize impact on not just your mood but also your relationships, career, and health. ON TREND: The wellness trend is still going strong, and holistic interior design is an extension of that. There are sections throughout the book on crystals, chakras, feng shui, and other types of energy work, which will appeal to those interested in these on-trend wellness topics. Perfect for: • Anyone looking for ways to make their home lovelier or more Zen • People interested in energy work, crystals, or feng shui • Shoppers looking for a Mother's Day, hostess, or housewarming gift
Reiki Energy Medicine
Author: Libby Barnett
Publisher: Inner Traditions / Bear & Co
ISBN: 9780892816330
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 150
Book Description
As our health-care system challenges institutions to offer high-quality but cost-effective service, Reiki can be an important tool that can help maximize patient care and minimize recovery time. This is the first book to show how this ancient art of touch therapy can work within our mainstream health care system.
Publisher: Inner Traditions / Bear & Co
ISBN: 9780892816330
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 150
Book Description
As our health-care system challenges institutions to offer high-quality but cost-effective service, Reiki can be an important tool that can help maximize patient care and minimize recovery time. This is the first book to show how this ancient art of touch therapy can work within our mainstream health care system.
Healing Home
Author: Vanessa Oliver
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1442662360
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297
Book Description
Based on research that was awarded the Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal, Healing Home is an exploration of the lives and health of young women experiencing homelessness. Vanessa Oliver employs an innovative methodology that blends sociology and storytelling practices to investigate these women’s access to health services, their understandings of health and health care delivery, and their health-seeking behaviours. Through their life stories, Oliver demonstrates how personal and social experiences shape health outcomes. In contrast to many previous studies that have focused on the deficits of these young people, Healing Home is both youth-centric and youth-positive in its approach: by foregrounding the narratives of the women themselves, Oliver empowers a sub-section of the population that traditionally has not had a voice in determining policies that shape their realities. Applying a strong, articulate, and systemic analysis to on-the-ground narratives, Oliver is able to offer fresh, incisive recommendations for health and social service providers with the potential to effect real-world change for this marginalized population.
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1442662360
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297
Book Description
Based on research that was awarded the Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal, Healing Home is an exploration of the lives and health of young women experiencing homelessness. Vanessa Oliver employs an innovative methodology that blends sociology and storytelling practices to investigate these women’s access to health services, their understandings of health and health care delivery, and their health-seeking behaviours. Through their life stories, Oliver demonstrates how personal and social experiences shape health outcomes. In contrast to many previous studies that have focused on the deficits of these young people, Healing Home is both youth-centric and youth-positive in its approach: by foregrounding the narratives of the women themselves, Oliver empowers a sub-section of the population that traditionally has not had a voice in determining policies that shape their realities. Applying a strong, articulate, and systemic analysis to on-the-ground narratives, Oliver is able to offer fresh, incisive recommendations for health and social service providers with the potential to effect real-world change for this marginalized population.
Healing Gardens
Author: Clare Cooper Marcus
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 9780471192039
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 644
Book Description
Although the healing qualities of nature have been recognized and relied on for centuries as a valuable part of convalescence, recent history has seen nature's therapeutic role virtually eclipsed by the technological dominance of modern medicine. As the twentieth century comes to a close and the medical community reacknowledges the importance of the environment to recovery, the healing garden is emerging as a supplement to drug- or technology-based treatments. Healing Gardens celebrates this renewed interest in nature as a catalyst for healing and renewal by examining the different therapeutic benefits of healing gardens and offering essential design guidance from experts in the field. Unique and comprehensive, Healing Gardens provides up-to-date coverage of research findings, relevant design principles and approaches, and best practice examples of different types of healing gardens. It begins by exploring what current research reveals about the connection between nature, human stress reduction, and medical outcomes. It then presents case studies and design guidelines for outdoor spaces in medical settings that include general, psychiatric, and children's hospitals as well as hospices, nursing homes, and Alzheimer's facilities. Historical information, literature reviews, and studies on use are included for each type of outdoor space covered, offering important insights into what works in healing gardens-and what doesn't. Generously supplemented with photographs, site plans, anecdotes, and more, Healing Gardens is an invaluable practical guide for landscape architects and others involved in creating and maintaining medical facilities, and an extremely useful reference for those responsible for patient care. A unique and comprehensive look at the therapeutic effects and design of healing gardens For more and more people, the shortest road to recovery is the one that leads through a healing garden. Combining up-to-date information on the therapeutic benefits of healing gardens with practical design guidance from leading experts in the field, Healing Gardens is an important resource for landscape architects and others working in this emerging area. With the help of site plans, photographs, and more, it presents design guidelines and case studies for outdoor spaces in a range of medical settings, including: * Acute care general hospitals. * Psychiatric hospitals. * Children's hospitals. * Nursing homes. * Alzheimer's facilities. * Hospices.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 9780471192039
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 644
Book Description
Although the healing qualities of nature have been recognized and relied on for centuries as a valuable part of convalescence, recent history has seen nature's therapeutic role virtually eclipsed by the technological dominance of modern medicine. As the twentieth century comes to a close and the medical community reacknowledges the importance of the environment to recovery, the healing garden is emerging as a supplement to drug- or technology-based treatments. Healing Gardens celebrates this renewed interest in nature as a catalyst for healing and renewal by examining the different therapeutic benefits of healing gardens and offering essential design guidance from experts in the field. Unique and comprehensive, Healing Gardens provides up-to-date coverage of research findings, relevant design principles and approaches, and best practice examples of different types of healing gardens. It begins by exploring what current research reveals about the connection between nature, human stress reduction, and medical outcomes. It then presents case studies and design guidelines for outdoor spaces in medical settings that include general, psychiatric, and children's hospitals as well as hospices, nursing homes, and Alzheimer's facilities. Historical information, literature reviews, and studies on use are included for each type of outdoor space covered, offering important insights into what works in healing gardens-and what doesn't. Generously supplemented with photographs, site plans, anecdotes, and more, Healing Gardens is an invaluable practical guide for landscape architects and others involved in creating and maintaining medical facilities, and an extremely useful reference for those responsible for patient care. A unique and comprehensive look at the therapeutic effects and design of healing gardens For more and more people, the shortest road to recovery is the one that leads through a healing garden. Combining up-to-date information on the therapeutic benefits of healing gardens with practical design guidance from leading experts in the field, Healing Gardens is an important resource for landscape architects and others working in this emerging area. With the help of site plans, photographs, and more, it presents design guidelines and case studies for outdoor spaces in a range of medical settings, including: * Acute care general hospitals. * Psychiatric hospitals. * Children's hospitals. * Nursing homes. * Alzheimer's facilities. * Hospices.
Healing Houses
Author: Sheldon Norberg
Publisher: Ronin Publishing
ISBN: 1579511961
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 189
Book Description
In some spaces we feel immediately comfortable while in others we feel ill at ease. From feng shui we’ve learned that energy in houses, as well as offices and stores, influences us. Negative energy from violence and trauma can linger, which is what we feel in a “sick” house. We each affect the world, and each other, with our emotions! When we experience strong emotions, such as anger, fear or pain relating to a death or other trauma, we exude strong negative energy patterns. Some energetic situations can be overpowering, and our homes can hold lasting impressions of the previous inhabitants. People are often affected by the feelings they experience in a new homes, and frequently adjust their lives to accommodate such undesired imprints. We humans are energetic beings. Our energies – positive and negative -- are strongest in our homes, where we spend the most time and where very personal events tend to happen, like abuse and death, as examples. When we move on, such negative energies linger and can affect new residents. HEALING HOUSES shows how a professional cleanses these energies to transform such sick houses into healthy homes. HEALING HOUSES tells how negative energies, overpowering feelings and physical effects remaining in a house from violent and tragic deaths, murders, and suicides. More importantly, HEALING HOUSES shows how the negative energy can be resolved and dispelled, so that the house feels like new, and tuned to current residents, rather than to the predecessor's traumas. The house itself changes as vibrational patterns that have been left by years of negative emotion, violence or death are cleansed. HEALING HOUSES includes a fascinating case history long-term where recurring attacks by bird and rats stopped after house cleansing. HEALING HOUSES provides a sophisticated metaphysical perspective and traces its development through case studies of dozens of the houses that Sheldon Norberg has "healed" or cleansed. HEALING HOUSES is a true healing odyssey.
Publisher: Ronin Publishing
ISBN: 1579511961
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 189
Book Description
In some spaces we feel immediately comfortable while in others we feel ill at ease. From feng shui we’ve learned that energy in houses, as well as offices and stores, influences us. Negative energy from violence and trauma can linger, which is what we feel in a “sick” house. We each affect the world, and each other, with our emotions! When we experience strong emotions, such as anger, fear or pain relating to a death or other trauma, we exude strong negative energy patterns. Some energetic situations can be overpowering, and our homes can hold lasting impressions of the previous inhabitants. People are often affected by the feelings they experience in a new homes, and frequently adjust their lives to accommodate such undesired imprints. We humans are energetic beings. Our energies – positive and negative -- are strongest in our homes, where we spend the most time and where very personal events tend to happen, like abuse and death, as examples. When we move on, such negative energies linger and can affect new residents. HEALING HOUSES shows how a professional cleanses these energies to transform such sick houses into healthy homes. HEALING HOUSES tells how negative energies, overpowering feelings and physical effects remaining in a house from violent and tragic deaths, murders, and suicides. More importantly, HEALING HOUSES shows how the negative energy can be resolved and dispelled, so that the house feels like new, and tuned to current residents, rather than to the predecessor's traumas. The house itself changes as vibrational patterns that have been left by years of negative emotion, violence or death are cleansed. HEALING HOUSES includes a fascinating case history long-term where recurring attacks by bird and rats stopped after house cleansing. HEALING HOUSES provides a sophisticated metaphysical perspective and traces its development through case studies of dozens of the houses that Sheldon Norberg has "healed" or cleansed. HEALING HOUSES is a true healing odyssey.
Bringing Zen Home
Author: Paula Arai
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824835352
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
Healing lies at the heart of Zen in the home, as Paula Arai discovered in her pioneering research on the ritual lives of Zen Buddhist laywomen. She reveals a vital stream of religious practice that flourishes outside the bounds of formal institutions through sacred rites that women develop and transmit to one another. Everyday objects and common materials are used in inventive ways. For example, polishing cloths, vivified by prayer and mantra recitation, become potent tools. The creation of beauty through the arts of tea ceremony, calligraphy, poetry, and flower arrangement become rites of healing. Bringing Zen Home brings a fresh perspective to Zen scholarship by uncovering a previously unrecognized but nonetheless vibrant strand of lay practice. The creativity of domestic Zen is evident in the ritual activities that women fashion, weaving tradition and innovation, to gain a sense of wholeness and balance in the midst of illness, loss, and anguish. Their rituals include chanting, ingesting elixirs and consecrated substances, and contemplative approaches that elevate cleaning, cooking, child-rearing, and caring for the sick and dying into spiritual disciplines. Creating beauty is central to domestic Zen and figures prominently in Arai’s analyses. She also discovers a novel application of the concept of Buddha nature as the women honor deceased loved ones as “personal Buddhas.” One of the hallmarks of the study is its longitudinal nature, spanning fourteen years of fieldwork. Arai developed a “second-person,” or relational, approach to ethnographic research prompted by recent trends in psychobiology. This allowed her to cultivate relationships of trust and mutual vulnerability over many years to inquire into not only the practices but also their ongoing and changing roles. The women in her study entrusted her with their life stories, personal reflections, and religious insights, yielding an ethnography rich in descriptive and narrative detail as well as nuanced explorations of the experiential dimensions and effects of rituals. In Bringing Zen Home, the first study of the ritual lives of Zen laywomen, Arai applies a cutting-edge ethnographic method to reveal a thriving domain of religious practice. Her work represents an important contribution on a number of fronts—to Zen studies, ritual studies, scholarship on women and religion, and the cross-cultural study of healing.
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824835352
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
Healing lies at the heart of Zen in the home, as Paula Arai discovered in her pioneering research on the ritual lives of Zen Buddhist laywomen. She reveals a vital stream of religious practice that flourishes outside the bounds of formal institutions through sacred rites that women develop and transmit to one another. Everyday objects and common materials are used in inventive ways. For example, polishing cloths, vivified by prayer and mantra recitation, become potent tools. The creation of beauty through the arts of tea ceremony, calligraphy, poetry, and flower arrangement become rites of healing. Bringing Zen Home brings a fresh perspective to Zen scholarship by uncovering a previously unrecognized but nonetheless vibrant strand of lay practice. The creativity of domestic Zen is evident in the ritual activities that women fashion, weaving tradition and innovation, to gain a sense of wholeness and balance in the midst of illness, loss, and anguish. Their rituals include chanting, ingesting elixirs and consecrated substances, and contemplative approaches that elevate cleaning, cooking, child-rearing, and caring for the sick and dying into spiritual disciplines. Creating beauty is central to domestic Zen and figures prominently in Arai’s analyses. She also discovers a novel application of the concept of Buddha nature as the women honor deceased loved ones as “personal Buddhas.” One of the hallmarks of the study is its longitudinal nature, spanning fourteen years of fieldwork. Arai developed a “second-person,” or relational, approach to ethnographic research prompted by recent trends in psychobiology. This allowed her to cultivate relationships of trust and mutual vulnerability over many years to inquire into not only the practices but also their ongoing and changing roles. The women in her study entrusted her with their life stories, personal reflections, and religious insights, yielding an ethnography rich in descriptive and narrative detail as well as nuanced explorations of the experiential dimensions and effects of rituals. In Bringing Zen Home, the first study of the ritual lives of Zen laywomen, Arai applies a cutting-edge ethnographic method to reveal a thriving domain of religious practice. Her work represents an important contribution on a number of fronts—to Zen studies, ritual studies, scholarship on women and religion, and the cross-cultural study of healing.