Mary Dean Atwood , Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist with a doctorate from the University of New Mexico. Dr. Atwood had a full time private practice in Oklahoma City for many years and has lived and practiced in New Mexico and Arizona. During these years she studied and researched Native American practices at the same time she was studying Eastern meditation and philosophy. She found similar universal truths and healing practices in both and believes that using these methods for healing our mind, body and spirit are invaluable in today’s hectic world.
She believes body, mind and spirit work together to form the well-being of the self and therefore believes in holistic healing. She talks of the importance of the foods we eat, the thoughts we have, and the importance of respecting our Higher Self. The good news is that beginning to heal one of these aspects then facilitates improvement in the other two aspects as they work together.
Therefore, positive thinking (not worrying or being depressed) but being joyful can help heal the body and the soul. Good nutrition helps improve our mental state and lifts our spirits. A faith in the Divine aspect of the self helps heal the body and the emotions. An extra dose of good work in any of the three (body, mind, or soul) can help the other two get away with a few over-indulgences. But to work on all three makes a winner that is ahead of the game and can ride with life’s punches without getting knocked out.
Dr. Atwood, is an unabashed mystic. Webster’s dictionary defines a mystic as one who professes to undergo mystical experiences by which he intuitively comprehends truths beyond human understanding. Mysticism is defined as the doctrine that it is possible to achieve communion with God through contemplation and love without the medium of human reason.