This classic book, long out of print in English, challenges accepted ideas of illness by suggesting it's not an enemy to be fought. When you see your symptoms as bodily expressions of psychological or spiritual conflicts, you can use them as guides to inner work. You can respond to troubles with infection, allergies, respiration, digestion, skin, nervous system, heart and circulation, sexuality and pregnancy, even accidents, with practical actions that heal the heart and mind.

The authors are psychologists--one trained in spiritual traditions, the other in natural healing and psychotherapy. The goal of their archetypical or interpretative medicine is to help us see that just as every disease pattern expresses a certain content, every organ and every region of the body has a particular significance. The goal is that we can then build up a field of "contagious good health" and take control in finding our own life mission and path of development.

In the German-speaking world, Ruediger Dahlke's books have attracted a large following and have contributed to creating an ever-expanding consciousness for psychosomatic correlations and a holistic approach to medicine. There are over 200 translations of his books in 24 languages.