Stories of Spiritual Healing
written by Kwang-Hee Park
reviewed by Tyger Wright
Kwang-Hee Park is an adjunct professor, chaplain, healer, and counselor. She is a Christocentric Quaker. In her professional work, she listens to people tell their stories. In Stories of Spiritual Healing, Park has chosen some of the stories that others have told her (with their names changed) – and some of her own – and uses these stories to demonstrate a process of healing that can result largely from prayer and spiritual connection.
Friend Park professes that she has felt the presence of a divine healing force as she has listened. She preludes each story in this book with a quote from scripture or a quote-worthy Christian, like Mother Teresa. She completes each story by recommending a spiritual practice that the reader might follow, such as an aspect of the story to reflect on, a writing assignment, or a meditation. A short, relevant prayer concludes each chapter.
This book depicts the confusions that swirl in the minds of diverse individuals, as well as processes that lead to a resolution. A few stories actually present no great dilemma, but illustrate the joy of a prayerful Christian life.
I do not personally relate to a personified god, as many of the people in Park’s book seem to. So at times, while I was reading this book, I had to extrapolate. Also, personally and in general, I wonder if people sometimes frame occurrences so that they will have a “dream come true” aspect, so to speak. But I balance this skepticism against the times I have heard of or felt very strongly a vibration in prayer that brings about something specifically wonderful and astounding. I have felt in the stillness of a prayerful yearning that clarity arrives. In this way, I was able to relate to the people and situations in Stories of Spiritual Healing.
I briefly rankled at the idea of a health professional sharing stories of her clients. But since the names were changed, and the stories are told as the means to the beneficial end of a worthwhile book, I decided, “No harm done.” I did wonder, however, if the book might have benefited from the inclusion of some stories of prayers that were not answered or spiritual connections that had difficult outcomes, and how practitioners coped and kept faith in such situations.
Stories of Spiritual Healing is definitely a book that has value for Quakers, especially if they are Christocentric. It presents ways to discern life directions, and ways to deal gently and prayerfully with human relationships. Human relationships need care and special attention from all people, and Quakers are no exceptions, particularly as they emphasize the central ideal of “the beloved community.”
Friend Park’s practices and prayers bring each story’s message further into a healing and worshipful mode. I sense that she has put her heart into this book with immense sincerity. It has the power to inspire. ~~~
Tyger Wright is a member of Storrs Friends Meeting in Connecticut and currently feels most at home as a Friend at Ben Lomond Quaker Center (PacYM).