1. TATIONpRÆSEN 20 DECEMBER, 2008 AARHUS UNIVERSITET Re-enchanted bodies: experiences of the sacred and healing. ANN OSTENFELD-ROSENTHAL

2. PRESENTATION TITLE AUTHOR NAME AUTHOR TITLE 20 DECEMBER, 2008 AARHUS UNIVERSITET 2 Questions of the paper › How do patients conceptually link body and soul/spirit? › What is the role of the body in the construction of the spiritual experiences of the patients? › What do their spiritual experiences mean in relation to a healing process?

3. PRESENTATION TITLE AUTHOR NAME AUTHOR TITLE 20 DECEMBER, 2008 AARHUS UNIVERSITET 3 MUS patients › Functional disorders or medically unexplained symptoms are recently defined as: complaints or physical symptoms for which no adequate physiological basis can be found (Fink et.al. 2003).

4. PRESENTATION TITLE AUTHOR NAME AUTHOR TITLE 20 DECEMBER, 2008 AARHUS UNIVERSITET 4 The body/soul - sacred/profane dichotomies › The Long Reformation: 1400-1700 › Control of access to sacred power › Separation between magic and religion › Involvement of bodies in religious practice and experience

5. PRESENTATION TITLE AUTHOR NAME AUTHOR TITLE 20 DECEMBER, 2008 AARHUS UNIVERSITET 5 Holism and re-enchanted notions of body, Self and soul. › Challenging the dis-enchanted core model of biomedicine: the physical, mechanical body › The Energy field: source of all existence › ’Balance’ – the basic metaphor › Body and soul: expressions of the same being at different levels

6. PRESENTATION TITLE AUTHOR NAME AUTHOR TITLE 20 DECEMBER, 2008 AARHUS UNIVERSITET 6 Karin: quotation › ‘It was one of the experiences that really challenged my rational thought, because in order to do it I had to accept the principle that everything consists of energy. It was like surrendering to a new paradigm. I remember it very clearly, because it really was a ground-breaking experience: Actually I left the Newtonian worldview and accepted the quantum physical worldview.’

7. PRESENTATION TITLE AUTHOR NAME AUTHOR TITLE 20 DECEMBER, 2008 AARHUS UNIVERSITET 7

8. PRESENTATION TITLE AUTHOR NAME AUTHOR TITLE 20 DECEMBER, 2008 AARHUS UNIVERSITET 8 Encounters with the sacred: Karin › ‘I was meditating and feeling awful. I sensed something happening behind me. I had a clear feeling of someone moving and I opened my eyes. And then, I simply felt and could see in my head how a full-size angel was standing behind me putting the hands on my shoulders. Then I broke down. I felt this completely blessed peace and was almost literally able to lean back, feeling that someone was holding me…that was really convincing. › I am not religious, but because of my spiritual experiences I cannot deny the existence of something spiritual, The Power of the Universe. I don’t use the word ‘God’… Via the spiritual I find hope, insight, and purpose in life, which helps me move on. This spiritual consciousness arose from healing and the training course. But because of my own spiritual experiences, I have had to accept it.’

9. PRESENTATION TITLE AUTHOR NAME AUTHOR TITLE 20 DECEMBER, 2008 AARHUS UNIVERSITET 9 Encounters with the sacred: Maria › ‘’…..I fell asleep crying and praying that if a higher Power exists, then please, prove your existence to me and help me! At night, I woke up, the room was illuminated, and a male figure was standing at the end of my bed. It was Jesus – I had no doubt…my whole body vibrated, I was in ecstasy… Then I felt the energy shaking my body… and then I fell asleep. The next morning I woke up and felt totally purified. My pain had almost disappeared and I was really in high spirits, felt that my whole body had been completely put together. And then there were these flows I feel inside of me… I simply sensed its presence in my body...’ It was a very powerful experience… You know, it really got to me… I turned humble…’

10. PRESENTATION TITLE AUTHOR NAME AUTHOR TITLE 20 DECEMBER, 2008 AARHUS UNIVERSITET 10 Encounters with the sacred: Martin › ‘The healing has been good for my depressive moods. But, there is another thing of great value to my life: I have met a helper. One that I talk to. I have become religious. The religions I know of don’t mean anything to me. So, I’m not religious in a traditional way, but I have a clear feeling that there is a helper when I ask for help. It is a huge white-headed eagle. I met it in a shamanistic workshop. It often takes me for a ride when I meditate… I don’t believe in an alien existence making experiments with us, but there is something. I also believe in life after death… I didn’t know I knew. My healer Ella ‘woke’ me up… And if something is wrong, I say to the eagle: You just have to help me get past this hurdle… and then I get help.’

11. PRESENTATION TITLE AUTHOR NAME AUTHOR TITLE 20 DECEMBER, 2008 AARHUS UNIVERSITET 11 Encounters with the sacred: Sarah › ‘I have been trying very hard to find the meaning in all of this… During the first year after my accident I had many spiritual visions, and during healing sessions I have had some very strong spiritual experiences. For example, I have met my personal counsellor and I have found myself in the arms of a wonderful angel-like being… My life has simply taken a new direction. I don’t refer to it as being religious. By way of the spiritual, I have found a foothold that nothing else has been able to give me.’

12. PRESENTATION TITLE AUTHOR NAME AUTHOR TITLE 20 DECEMBER, 2008 AARHUS UNIVERSITET 12 Bodily sensed encounters with the sacred and healing. › The body as entity for the construction of spiritual experiences › Illness narrative and spiritual experiences › Suffering as a potential for personal growth › Egalitarian access to Divine power › ‘Imaginal performances’

13. PRESENTATION TITLE AUTHOR NAME AUTHOR TITLE 20 DECEMBER, 2008 AARHUS UNIVERSITET 13 Maria › ‘I come from a family in which spiritual topics are totally taboo. But, the spiritual dimension has played a central role in my healing. It has given me peace in relation to all that is happening around me… It has given me peace, because I never feel alone… I feel secure knowing that there is support and guidance for me. I believe there is a God… I have finally given in to that belief. Whether His name is Allah, Buddha or whatever has no importance at all. A wholeness greater than me is essential.

14. PRESENTATION TITLE AUTHOR NAME AUTHOR TITLE 20 DECEMBER, 2008 AARHUS UNIVERSITET 14 Why me? › The healer as a spiritual counsellor › Care, support and meaning › Succesful symbolization › Healing as process