Close to the Bone: Life-Threatening Illness as a Soul Journey

by Jean Shinoda Bolen

Overview

Face Life Threatening Situations and Find Hope

“This book can be a companion to anyone in physical or mental pain and crisis.” —Louise L. Hay, author of You Can Heal Your Life

When confronted with a life threatening condition, most people think that doctors have the final word. But, Jean Shinoda Bolen reminds us that the mind has a powerful effect on a prognosis and the process of healing.

Everyone faces illness. Whether it’s a personal health crisis or sickness a loved one is experiencing, none of us escape this life without encountering some form of illness or death. While we can try to ignore the reality, internationally known author and speaker Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen suggests we do the exact opposite: face it. By encountering the frightening world of serious illness and death, we can better uncover how it gives purpose to the journey of souls.

Trust what you know in your bones. Dr. Bolen shares how what we learn often connects to what we know to be true. As a psychiatrist and Jungian analyst, Dr. Bolen has an acute understanding of what shapes a person, particularly as it relates to one’s sense of balance and wholeness. Based on her knowledge and experience, she guides us to find the truth buried in our own bones.

A tool for help and healing. While encountering sickness is inevitable, healing often seems harder to come by. We are left broken open when life threatening illness hits. While there is no single key to recovery, it is rare to find healing without first addressing the pain. This book serves as a guide to finding purpose in the pain.

Read Close to the Bone and find:

• An insightful book for anyone living with a life-threatening illness
• Encouragement for facing illness by relying on the wisdom we all have within
• A supplemental guide for those who want to form support circles

If books such as Invisible Acts of Power; When Things Fall Apart; or No Mud, No Lotus have helped you; then Close to the Bone is the next book you need to read.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781642506907
Publisher:	Mango Media
Publication date:	03/16/2021
Pages:	258
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jean Shinoda Bolen, M. D., is a psychiatrist, Jungian analyst, Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, former professor of psychiatry, and an internationally known author and speaker. She is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a recipient of the Institute for Health and Healing's Pioneers in Art, Science, and the Soul of Healing Award. The Association for the Study of Women and Mythology presented her the Demeter Award for her lifetime achievement in women's spirituality.

Dr. Bolen has authored over ten books with over a hundred foreign editions. Her book inspired The Millionth Circle Initiative (www.millonthcircle.org) and led to her involvement at the UN.

She currently maintains a private practice in Mill Valley, California.

Table of Contents

Preface to Revised Edition viii

Introduction 1

1 Close to the Bone: Illness and the Soul 4

2 The Ground Gives Way Under Us 14

3 Psyche's Journey 31

4 Like Green Meat on a Hook 47

5 Procrustean Dismemberment 58

6 Illness as a Turning Point 71

7 Sometimes We Need a Story 86

8 Soul Connections 110

9 Summoning Angels: Prayer 130

10 Prescribing Imagination 146

11 Rituals: Enacting Myth 162

12 Helping Each Other 188

13 Musings 204

Notes 229

Index 235

Acknowledgments 246

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This is the book I needed when my daughter was sick. It would have helped me through it, like a map of the underworld. Myths, stories, prayer, touching, visualization, rituals, and especially love are some of the tools and wisdom that this extraordinary book gives us. Thank you, Jean.” —Isabel Allende

“Richly probing… A skillful assemblage of views on the harrowing experience of physical illness and mental dissociation from which we can and may emerge with a new clarity about who we are and what we want our lives to be.” —Publisher’s Weekly

“This book is a staff on which to lean as we ourselves walk or are called upon to help others walk into the valley of the shadow of death.” —Alice Walker

“Jean Shinoda Bolen moves far beyond the ordinary notions of medicine, treatment, and even suffering to place illness within a human framework. When you are sick, read pages from this book to be reminded that you and your illness are full of soul.” —Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul

“A finely polished mirror for the healing heart and body. An important statement of theories and practices which have aided many in the course of their illness and recovery.” —Stephen Levine, author of Who Dies?

“If you or a person close to you have a catastrophic illness, this is one of the most wise and helpful books you could ever read.” —Lawrence LeShan, author of Cancer as a Turning Point

“This book can be a companion to anyone in physical or mental pain and crisis.” —Louise L. Hay, author of You Can Heal Your Life

“Beautifully written… Anyone affected by a serious illness will find Close to the Bone a wise and warm companion.” —New Age Journal

“Jean Shinoda Bolen has created a poetic rhythm that will uplift the spirit and soul. This is a deep, powerful, and gentle book, in which Dr. Bolen masterfully discusses the search for meaning as well as the power of prayer and angels.” —Gerald G. Jampolsky, MD, founder of the Center for Attitudinal Healing

“Dr. Bolen sees with an insightful eye into the true meaning of healing. A compelling and compassionate book!” —Marion Woodman, coauthor of Dancing in the Flames

“For those who yearn for a deeper meaning to disease and death, Close to the Bone is a healing breath that will be a tremendous comfort.” —Hugh and Gayle Prather, authors of Spiritual Parenting

“The great teacher is our mortality. Let this book be a guide to your feelings and enlightenment. There are no exceptions, we are all mortal. Accept that—read this book and live a fuller, healthier, more meaningful life.” —Bernie Siegel, MD, author of Love, Medicine and Miracles

“Simple and straightforward…this book probes beneath, urging the reader to plumb the depths and then return to the surface.” —Houston Chronicle