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Tapping into this all-powerful source of spiritual healing can have many names, but most people in Western society call it prayer. The relationship between prayer (and religion or faith) and science has changed greatly in the past few decades, ever since Einstein pointed out that there's not much difference between energy and matter. Until then, scientists pretty much agreed that what you see is what you get. The material world reigned. |
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Today, more scientists and doctors are beginning to acknowledge the power of the mind to affect the material world. Although the scientific community isn't quite sure what to call this ability, the spiritual community calls it God, or universal energy, or chi. Many religions call the effort to direct this force ''prayer." And more scientists and medical professionals are looking at this force as a form of distant healing. |
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What Doctors Think About Prayer and Healing |
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One physician who is famous for his willingness to look into the possibilities of healing prayer is Larry Dossey, M.D. In his books, he describes his scientific quest to discover the relationship between healing and consciousness, and his exploration of the connections between medicine, mysticism, religion, and physics. In a recent TV appearance he remarked, "As a physician, I have had many experiences over the years that have led me to conclude that the world of clinical medicine is truly bizarre and unpredictable, and is a territory where almost anything is possible. Most of my colleagues, I feel, agree, for almost all physicians possess a lavish laundry list of strange happenings unexplainable by normal science." |
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While most doctors still don't write prescriptions reading, "Healing prayers, three times a day," more and more are willing to admit the connection of the mind and spirit with healing the body. Many Western doctors now prescribe visualization to patients with chronic pain and terminal illnessand admit their patients often improve after performing this powerful mind/body exercise. Study after study shows that patients without access to this type of technique and who express little hope of recovery or faith in healing seldom stage a comeback from serious disease. And almost every doctor agrees that getting well requires some level of optimism. |
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