Medicine, Miracles, and Manifestations

Medicine, Miracles, and Manifestations: A Doctor’s Journey Through the Worlds of Divine Intervention, Near-Death Experiences, and Universal Energy
By John L. Turner
Career Press
ISBN: 978-1601630605
256 pages

“When the student is ready the teacher will appear” - a clichéd but inescapable fact. And a truth to which “Medicine, Miracles, and Manifestations” also bears eloquent testimony.

With well over twenty fascinating individual stories, both personal and otherwise, we get to know the author, Dr Turner, not merely through the narrative, as is often the case, but more through the workings of his mind. Every individual chapter is a stand-alone story yet also a compelling page-turner.

I personally connect very strongly with his story. Not only am I in the healing profession myself, but I also try to do much of the same: provide as extensive a “healing buffet” as I can muster for my patients. Not surprising then, that I found many ‘aha!’ moments in the course of this book, in fact there were times I was downright jealous of his ability and authority to coordinate the methods he describes with regular allopathic treatments!

Walking through a fascinating array of healing modalities all the way from the simple prayer, through to complex remote viewing one is struck by how the pursuit of his intuitive impulses seems second nature to the author. Blending his search for his own inner peace and metaphysical insight in the healing process he creates a compelling story, and a convincing sense of purpose.

Whether Nichiren Buddhism or Johrei, whatever the healing ‘flavor of the day’, the biggest and over arching takeaway point from this book (if indeed it is even meant to have one) is that there are many pieces of the puzzle we call ‘healing’. Depending on the sincerity of one’s pursuit of the healing arts one is rewarded with one or several (as in Dr Turner’s case) pieces of this universal puzzle.

Dr Turner is remarkable for pursuing such a variety of spiritual disciplines with equally single-minded perseverance. I was tempted to question why he needed to ‘try out’ so many different modalities, particularly as there is no attempt at closure or a ‘right answer’ in this book. And herein is an error we tend to make far too often in our present scientific climate. We still tend to use three-dimensional tools to measure what in retrospect, and with the benefit of experience, is multi-dimensional healing. Nothing is perhaps as important as being aware of these manifold dimensions, and that the true measure of a healing often necessitates that we step back from conventionality and view the bigger picture. Or at least as big as we can see it from our current level of evolution!

As with any well-written book, there are many hidden nuggets in this work apart from the obvious storyline. In my second reading in fact I made a significant discovery I had overlooked in the first go-around, and that too on a subject that has always been an area of confusion for me - the concept of free will vs. predestination. Indeed Dr Turner’s lucid discussion of this ambiguity, and my subsequent clarity proved the truth of that little cliché I began with: maybe it was time for me to read his book and I was ready to hear this truth!

Review by Zareen Khan.

Zareen is a holistic nurse practitioner in training.