Still, for all of the transformations wrought by the masterful new engines of medicine and by their multitudinous varieties of fuel, there is one singular ingredient of the art of healing that should not be allowed to vanish. That ingredient, so basic and so changeless, is a relationship; it takes place in the quiet surroundings of the sickroom or

Sickness is boring. We were made to be well, to move, to run, to feel the wind on our faces, and when we are sidelined from all of this, our very body chemistry objects. We spiral quickly.

The ultimate enriched environment is nature. Nature is the most aesthetic of places, because it is our original home. Nature appears throughout this book, as an aesthetic experience that neuroaesthetic researchers have been studying, and as a way to enliven the senses through uses of color, shape, smell, pattern, touch, and sight that emulate the n

In recent years, it’s been recognized increasingly that patients who feel that their doctors care about them and relate well to them are more likely to express satisfaction with their medical care, take medications as prescribed, experience less pain and anxiety, have better control of conditions like diabetes and asthma, and are less likely to ini