Michael Samuels, MD

Demeter, Buddha, and the Bears: Ancient Roots of Contemporary Spiritual Healing

The Eleusian Mysteries, the story of Demeter and her daughter Persephone, was the most important art and healing ritual for consciousness transformation in history. The mysteries were enacted in ancient Greece for 2000 years. The Tibetan Buddha realms provide the technology of guided imagery and were the high point of body, mind, and spirit technology for thousands of years. The Bear Dance conducted currently in southern California has healed the Chumash people for thousands of years. These three rituals help us understand how we can heal patients with spiritual tools in present day medicine.

Join Michael Lerner in conversation with Dr. Michael Samuels about his current work with all three forms to develop a contemporary spiritual technology to aid in healing patients today.

Michael Samuels, MD

Michael is the founder and director of Art As a Healing Force, a project started in 1990 devoted to healing oneself, others, the community and the earth with creativity and art making. Michael teaches art and healing at San Francisco State University, Institute of Holistic Studies. He is a bear dancer with the Chumash People. He has used creativity, art, and guided imagery with patients with life threatening illness and life crises for more than thirty years in private practice and in consultation. He lectures and does workshops nationwide for physicians, nurses, artists, and patients on how to use creativity and spirituality in healing.

He is the author of 21 books including the best selling Well Body Book, Well Baby Book, Well Pregnancy Book, and Seeing With the Mind’s Eye, one of the first books on guided imagery. Find out more about Michael on his website.

Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.