When Sickness Heals: The Place of Religious Belief in Healthcare

In his new book, Dr. Siroj Sorajjakool draws on more than ten years of studies on health benefits in relation to spirituality, especially focusing on the function of "meaning." He expounds on his theory that healing is primarily the function of meaning, and meaning transcends sickness and even death itself. He concludes that what people ultimately seek in life is the healing of their souls. A health crisis can lead to a discovery or rediscovery of meaning. Chronic illness, suffering, and pending death often spur a cry or prayer for God's intervention. But when miracles do not happen, individuals are faced with an important developmental task. The journey involves individuals reconfiguring their belief system in order to accommodate chronic or terminal illness. This transition leads to changes in theological understanding and movement from belief in a God of intervention to the God who remains with us through the valley of the shadow of darkness. Sorajjakool brings many Eastern and Western resources to his conversation on health, meaning, and healing. He incorporates the perspectives of theologians and philosophers like Paul Tillich, Carl Jung, Soren Kirkegaard, Raimundo Panikkar, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and John Macquarrie; as well as references to religious literature, including yin and yang, alchemy, and goddess Khali. A clear, distinct understanding of spirituality in clinical contexts is presented, with an argument for the role of meaning in the healing process, based on evidence that there may be healing even in the face of death. Sorajjakool identifies the transitional processes people may go through as they seek to make sense of their experiences during a health crisis. He suggests an alternative approach to spiritual assessment and provides methods of spiritual care that speak to the soul.