Change the Story of Your Health: Using Shamanic and Jungian Techniques for Healing

by Carl Greer

Overview

A practical guide for using expanded-awareness practices and journaling to achieve better health and wellness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781844097920
Publisher:	Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Publication date:	02/24/2017
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	440,411
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Carl Greer PhD, PsyD is a practicing clinical psychologist and Jungian analyst using shamanic healing methods as his primary healing modality. After focusing on business for many years, he earned a doctorate in clinical psychology, and then became a Jungian analyst.

Read an Excerpt

“Change the Story of Your Health deals with the important topic of the stories we carry about our own health. We may develop these stories out of a sense that we are born with a genetic destiny and our health history is preordained. Other stories are written through experiences with our health that bring us face-to-face with our mortality at vulnerable times in our life. And other stories that we have held precious must change when we receive a new diagnosis and we are challenged to envision a future that is different than expected, yet still beautiful. Throughout this book, Carl Greer weaves in true stories from his patients, journal prompts, and instructions for shamanic journeys, providing a practical guide to understanding your relationship to your health story. Many people suffer when they define themselves by their illnesses and by traumatic experiences related to their concepts of health and mortality.

Healing isn’t just something that comes from medicine or surgeries; it comes from a shift in the way we perceive ourselves and our connection to our health and our bodies. The mind is powerful; our thoughts and beliefs make a difference in how we feel and how we respond to threats to our well-being. It is possible to create new stories or views of ourselves that not only change our emotional well-being but also our physical health. I am honored to be a small part of bringing Carl’s influence to others.

[An] enlightening book . . . ”

—Melinda Ring, MD, FACP, Executive Director, Northwestern Medicine Osher Center for Integrative Medicine
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine and Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Coauthor of The Natural Menopause Solution and Coeditor of Integrative Medicine, An Issue of Primary Care

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 9

Foreword 13

Preface 17

Introduction 23

1 Your Health Has a Story, and You Are the Storyteller 29

2 Consciousness, Energy, and the Body 49

3 What Is the Current Story of Your Health? 59

4 Expanded-Awareness Practices for Gaining Insights and Energy 79

5 Write a New Story of Your Health 113

6 Nature's Healing Effects 127

7 Working with the Healing Elements of Nature 147

8 Revising the Story of Your Health 167

9 Healing Partnerships and Communities 195

Afterword 203

End Notes 211

Bibliography 219

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Carl Greer, PhD, PsyD, brings us another brilliant book, helping us become aware of the story that impacts our health and rewrite it so that we achieve healing and well-being.

In Change the Story of Your Health, Carl Greer shares a wealth of tools that he has gathered in his years of being both a respected shamanic practitioner and a Jungian analyst. You will be inspired and feel motivated by the techniques he shares including journeying, dialoguing, chakra clearing, and engaging and partnering with earth, air, water, and fire to release old worn out stories.

This book will open myriad possibilities for you to discover and work with your inner healer. I highly recommend Change the Story of Your Health for anyone who seeks to regain health and balance in our changing world.”

—Sandra Ingerman, MA, author of Soul Retrieval and Walking in Light

Interviews

“Change the Story of Your Health is beautifully written and a gem for any reader who is looking to empower themselves, their health and their lives. We all have two general stories that we choose to live by: the story of our suffering and the story of our growth. You have the power to access your own story of growth and healing, should you choose. Dr. Carl Greer weaves for you the wisdom of the healing traditions to provide you with the tools to create a new story of health, one that is full of love, healing and insight. Read this book and change your story.”

—Eva Selhub, MD, author of Your Health Destiny and Your Brain on Nature and Adjunct Scientist in the Neuroscience Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University (HNRCA)

Editorial Reviews

04/24/2017
Greer (Change Your Story, Change Your Life) shares his knowledge of shamanic and Jungian healing techniques in straightforward terms that relate to being connected with spiritual and natural energy fields. Throughout the book, Greer encourages readers to write their own health stories in order to address elements of their lives that hinder a healthy lifestyle and impede transformation. He provides many exercises for connecting with energy fields and raising spiritual awareness, as well as stories of people he’s worked with who have undergone common and uncommon transformations. In addition to meticulously delineating the contexts and origins of various patient ailments, Greer discusses the benefits he says are provided by Jungian and shamanic healing. This book is not a quick read, nor is it intended to be; in order for one’s health story to be improved, the shamanic and Jungian techniques learned by reading this book are intended to be used together, which can take some time. Greer is an encouraging guide, instructing readers to refrain from rushing and only continue through the exercises when ready. For those willing to listen, an abundance of help can be found here. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Change the Story of Your Health: Using Shamanic and Jungian Techniques for Healing discusses alternative medical traditions that inject spirituality into the overall fields of physical and mental health, and comes from a clinical psychologist and Jungian analyst who has used these techniques, in conjunction with Western medicine, to help his own physical ailments and those of his clients. While a growing number of alternative medical books add a spiritual dimension, what is unusual in Change the Story of Your Health is its blend of specific Jungian techniques with shamanic approaches usually regulated to new age audiences; all this bundled with an attention to physical and personal health challenges that range from the effects of aging to sexuality and serious health ailments. Chapters advocate a series of practices designed to manage and mitigate these various obstacles to mental and physical health, and so readers receive the tools and specific exercises to incorporate new lifestyles, exercise, meditation and reflective strategies into their overall health routines. The focus is on identifying blocks to health, more fully understanding one's current state of health and the keys to maintaining or improving it, and on applying journaling and dialoging techniques to expand self awareness and tap inner resources for healing. An affinity for self-examination, self-directed exercises, and Jungian and shamanic approaches alike will be a prerequisite for successfully utilizing this book. Readers determined to take charge of their path towards optimal health will find Change the Story of Your Health contains a treasure trove of step-by-step processes designed to lend insights into and modifications of overall health and approaches to life."

California Bookwatch

"Greer demonstrated in his first book, Change Your Story, Change Your Life, that our personal stories not only affect our lives but are very often written by family, environmental influences, and cultural context. Now he is applying that concept to physical health. As Baby Boomers age, health issues loom large on the world stage. Recognizing that this is the group that learned to meditate (in large part) because of The Beatles, he has merged his business acumen, clinical Jungian training, and shamanic experience into a healing protocol that will appeal to that market and the progeny that they have raised. He is telling them that if they change the story that they tell about health and wellness, they can change they way they experience those things in the physical world."

Retailing Insight Anna Jedrziewski

"Whatever health situation you might be facing, Change the Story of Your Health can help identify your health story and uses journaling and expanded awareness practices to begin changing it, leading to better health and wellness. As a companion to his book Change Your Story, Change Your Life, Greer offers shamanic and Jungian techniques to gain insights and energies for changing a unsatisfying health story. Besides journaling, he offers ways to dialog and interact with the earth, a river, wind, or fire. He also engages the chakras, dreams, symptoms, and the inner healer. Change the Story of Your Health is very much a workbook, not one to be read and set aside. It could be overwhelming due to the depth to which one could be led. However, it is the kind of book that could be life-changing and truly healing. This makes the risk of dipping in more than worth it."

New Spirit Journal Krysta Gibson

"This work on health and healing from a mind-body-spirit perspective is insightful and practical. In Change the Story of Your Health, clinical psychologist Carl Greer explains how to create a transformative health story using shamanic and Jungian techniques. The unconscious power of stories unlocks opportunities for healing as well as improved vitality, confidence, and stamina. "Always remember that you are the story teller," writes Greer, "and you do not have to live according to the dictates of a story written for you by your ONA, your past experiences and actions, or your cultural conditioning." Greer recommends writing the story of your health by focusing on four health chapters or themes: eating, drinking, and weight; movement and exercise; sexuality, body image, and body acceptance; and symptom management for chronic health conditions. For each chapter, he poses a page-plus of questions to expand thinking about the theme. Next, the deep work begins. Exercises based on shamanic and Jungian archetypes are described to encourage greater health insights. These include working with elements in nature; dialoguing with figures, symbols, and spirit animals; and dream work. Preparation is discussed, and journaling afterward to bring the story to life is recommended. Despite its use of alternative techniques, the book is practical, and is presented in a straight forward manner. Mini case studies show others' experiences with the energy exercises, and the changes they made as a result. Greer makes clear that the intention of this work is to complement and enhance, not replace, western medicine. He recommends that clients check with a medical doctor as symptoms are uncovered, and he relates some of his own health challenges. Learning about the latest research, assistive devices, and medical interventions is encouraged. The work described here will take time, but anyone interested in improving health challenges or who is curious about alternative healing techniques will find this to be an insightful guide."

Foreword Review Karen Auckland

Whatever health situation you might be facing, Change the Story of Your Health can help identify your health story and uses journaling and expanded awareness practices to begin changing it, leading to better health and wellness. As a companion to his book Change Your Story, Change Your Life, Greer offers shamanic and Jungian techniques to gain insights and energies for changing a unsatisfying health story. Besides journaling, he offers ways to dialog and interact with the earth, a river, wind, or fire. He also engages the chakras, dreams, symptoms, and the inner healer. Change the Story of Your Health is very much a workbook, not one to be read and set aside. It could be overwhelming due to the depth to which one could be led. However, it is the kind of book that could be life-changing and truly healing. This makes the risk of dipping in more than worth it.

New Spirit Journal - Krysta Gibson

This work on health and healing from a mind-body-spirit perspective is insightful and practical. In Change the Story of Your Health, clinical psychologist Carl Greer explains how to create a transformative health story using shamanic and Jungian techniques. The unconscious power of stories unlocks opportunities for healing as well as improved vitality, confidence, and stamina. "Always remember that you are the story teller," writes Greer, "and you do not have to live according to the dictates of a story written for you by your ONA, your past experiences and actions, or your cultural conditioning." Greer recommends writing the story of your health by focusing on four health chapters or themes: eating, drinking, and weight; movement and exercise; sexuality, body image, and body acceptance; and symptom management for chronic health conditions. For each chapter, he poses a page-plus of questions to expand thinking about the theme. Next, the deep work begins. Exercises based on shamanic and Jungian archetypes are described to encourage greater health insights. These include working with elements in nature; dialoguing with figures, symbols, and spirit animals; and dream work. Preparation is discussed, and journaling afterward to bring the story to life is recommended. Despite its use of alternative techniques, the book is practical, and is presented in a straight forward manner. Mini case studies show others' experiences with the energy exercises, and the changes they made as a result. Greer makes clear that the intention of this work is to complement and enhance, not replace, western medicine. He recommends that clients check with a medical doctor as symptoms are uncovered, and he relates some of his own health challenges. Learning about the latest research, assistive devices, and medical interventions is encouraged. The work described here will take time, but anyone interested in improving health challenges or who is curious about alternative healing techniques will find this to be an insightful guide.

Foreword Review - Karen Auckland

Greer demonstrated in his first book, Change Your Story, Change Your Life, that our personal stories not only affect our lives but are very often written by family, environmental influences, and cultural context. Now he is applying that concept to physical health. As Baby Boomers age, health issues loom large on the world stage. Recognizing that this is the group that learned to meditate (in large part) because of The Beatles, he has merged his business acumen, clinical Jungian training, and shamanic experience into a healing protocol that will appeal to that market and the progeny that they have raised. He is telling them that if they change the story that they tell about health and wellness, they can change they way they experience those things in the physical world.

Retailing Insight - Anna Jedrziewski

For anyone looking for how to cope with health issues, including an accident or recent illness, Change the Story of Your Health is a valuable resource. As a Jungian analyst, Carl Greer guides us how to unfold the power of our health story through journaling and expanded awareness practices to contact our “inner healer.” He also recommends shamanic journeying, working with nature, dreams, and the chakras. In the chapter, “Consciousness, Energy and the Body,” he writes about the emotional stressors such as thoughts that trigger fear, anger, tension, and emotional problems that disturb the physical body that can be helped through shamanic practices. He encourages readers to “write out the story of your health” which includes good habits, challenges, connections, partnering, family history, stress, goals, themes and concerns about mortality, and how to “revise the story”
as time passes, the body ages, or new health issues arise. He recommends using the expanded-awareness practice of dialoging in relationships and groups to help create a healing environment or community.

From the Publisher

In Change the Story of Your Health, clinical psychologist Carl Greer explains how to create a transformative health story using shamanic and Jungian techniques. The unconscious power of stories unlocks opportunities for healing as well as improved vitality, confidence, and stamina. ‘Always remember that you are the storyteller,’ writes Greer, ‘and you do not have to live according to the dictates of a story written for you by your DNA, your past experiences and actions, or your cultural conditioning.’
Greer recommends writing the story of your health by focusing on four health chapters or themes: eating, drinking, and weight; movement and exercise; sexuality, body image, and body acceptance; and symptom management for chronic health conditions. For each chapter, he poses a page-plus of questions to expand thinking about the theme.
Next, the deep work begins. Exercises based on shamanic and Jungian archetypes are described to encourage greater health insights. These include working with elements in nature; dialoguing with figures, symbols, and spirit animals; and dream work. Preparation is discussed, and journaling afterward to bring the story to life is recommended.
Despite its use of alternative techniques, the book is practical, and is presented in a straightforward manner. Mini case studies show others’ experiences with the energy exercises, and the changes they made as a result. Greer makes clear that the intention of this work is to complement and enhance, not replace, western medicine. He recommends that clients check with a medical doctor as symptoms are uncovered, and he relates some of his own health challenges. Learning about the latest research, assistive devices, and medical interventions is encouraged.
The work described here will take time, but anyone interested in improving health challenges or who is curious about alternative healing techniques will find this to be an insightful guide.”
—Karen Ackland, Foreword Reviews

Foreword Reviews - Kate Ackland

2017-03-24
In this guide to improving wellness, the author suggests new frameworks for mentally and emotionally relating to health. Greer (Change Your Story, Change Your Life, 2014) focuses this book on the thoughts and feelings associated with health conditions and goals—not the physical realities. An experienced medical practitioner, he suggests Jungian and shamanic practices as mainly enhancements to health treatments, not replacements. But in this guide, he artfully illustrates the power of imagination, attitude, and narrative in the way a human approaches, overcomes, or lives with medical conditions. Exploring the chakras and their links to certain physical sensations or discomforts, the author suggests emotional connections that may influence physical conditions in certain areas of the body. For example, the fifth chakra, which is associated with the thyroid and throat, is also linked to speaking truths and communicating. Difficulty swallowing, sore throats, thyroid problems, and vocal cord conditions can be associated with suppressing emotions or having trouble interacting. Greer suggests that practices aligning and balancing the chakras can ease these discomforts. In addition, the author uses anecdotes about patients who alleviated certain physical conditions—like rheumatoid arthritis—by releasing repressed emotional energy, such as anger at a spouse, rather than bottling up the feelings. Unlike other books of this genre, Greer's well-researched work suggests "revising" the story of one's health. Stories, he explains in this quiet and medically sound guide, define individuals' lives and their beliefs about themselves. People hold stories subconsciously that they must break out of and rewrite in order to make changes. He suggests working with dreams, archetypes, symbols, and conversations with different embodiments of source energy to ground individuals and revise the stale stories about who they are. Readers seeking to explore new ways to develop inner calm, balance, self-love, and optimal physical health should find this approach refreshing and full of possibilities. An appealing, helpful, and intriguing new approach to dealing with physical limitations and conditions.

Kirkus Reviews