The Scientific Power of Prayer
The mind body connection has amazing and powerful implications.
Dr.
Herbert Benson who founded the BHI, Bensen-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, which is a part of Massachusetts General Hospital, is a professor at Harvard Medical School.
He believes that physical health is influenced by thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
These same thoughts feelings and behaviors are also influenced by physical symptoms.
It is yet another of life's amazing cycles.
What is unknown is how thoughts, beliefs, and feelings affect the development of disease and recovery from disease.
We know that some people are able to change their thoughts through prayer and seemingly miraculous things happen, like the complete reversal of a terminal condition.
While we still have to figure out exactly how these thoughts and beliefs affect our body we do know that the mind and body communicate constantly.
What our mind thinks, perceives, and experiences is sent from our brain to the rest of the body on a steady basis.
The mind body approach to medicine attempts to teach patients to reduce stress and change their thoughts, negative behaviors, and embrace their beliefs to both control their health and to prevail over illness.
One powerful way people have been influencing their health and the health of others for centuries is through prayer.
All religions, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, or Christian, believe in prayer for healing.
Healing rooms, prayer groups and even online prayer groups can be found all across America and the world.
According to an article published in the Washington Post, "Surveys have found that perhaps half of Americans regularly pray for their own health, and at least a quarter have others pray for them.
" However the religious are not the only proponents of prayer for altering health.
Quantum physics cites a phenomenon whereby distant particles affect other's behavior in mysterious ways - thus having other people pray for you conceivably sends energy to you that can and does affect your health.
In addition to quantum physics citations, an abundance of studies have been done over the years which have found a strong correlation between prayer and health.
The reasons are still unclear however many theories are currently being tested.
In one study of 990 cardiac patients conducted at Saint Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.
, researchers found prayer improved health based on a composite score of measures that the researchers created for the study.
In a Heritage.
org interview with Dr.
Harold G.
Koenig, a tenured Duke University associate professor of psychiatry and an associate professor of medicine, the director and founder of the Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health at Duke University, he cites several smaller studies.
"In three of the studies you find a connection between religious involvement and immune and endocrine function; in five of seven studies, the religious experience lower mortality from cancer; in 14 of 23, they have significantly lower blood pressure; in 11 of 14, they have lower mortality; and in 12 of 13, clergy mortality is lower.
" There's no doubt that prayer has a significant effect on our health and mortality.
As scientists are able to better define parameters and control groups we'll continue to gain more insight on the hows and whys of this indisputable connection.
Until then, it's powerful to know that our thoughts and beliefs have a direct effect on our health and mortality and the health and mortality of others.
Dr.
Herbert Benson who founded the BHI, Bensen-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, which is a part of Massachusetts General Hospital, is a professor at Harvard Medical School.
He believes that physical health is influenced by thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
These same thoughts feelings and behaviors are also influenced by physical symptoms.
It is yet another of life's amazing cycles.
What is unknown is how thoughts, beliefs, and feelings affect the development of disease and recovery from disease.
We know that some people are able to change their thoughts through prayer and seemingly miraculous things happen, like the complete reversal of a terminal condition.
While we still have to figure out exactly how these thoughts and beliefs affect our body we do know that the mind and body communicate constantly.
What our mind thinks, perceives, and experiences is sent from our brain to the rest of the body on a steady basis.
The mind body approach to medicine attempts to teach patients to reduce stress and change their thoughts, negative behaviors, and embrace their beliefs to both control their health and to prevail over illness.
One powerful way people have been influencing their health and the health of others for centuries is through prayer.
All religions, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, or Christian, believe in prayer for healing.
Healing rooms, prayer groups and even online prayer groups can be found all across America and the world.
According to an article published in the Washington Post, "Surveys have found that perhaps half of Americans regularly pray for their own health, and at least a quarter have others pray for them.
" However the religious are not the only proponents of prayer for altering health.
Quantum physics cites a phenomenon whereby distant particles affect other's behavior in mysterious ways - thus having other people pray for you conceivably sends energy to you that can and does affect your health.
In addition to quantum physics citations, an abundance of studies have been done over the years which have found a strong correlation between prayer and health.
The reasons are still unclear however many theories are currently being tested.
In one study of 990 cardiac patients conducted at Saint Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.
, researchers found prayer improved health based on a composite score of measures that the researchers created for the study.
In a Heritage.
org interview with Dr.
Harold G.
Koenig, a tenured Duke University associate professor of psychiatry and an associate professor of medicine, the director and founder of the Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health at Duke University, he cites several smaller studies.
"In three of the studies you find a connection between religious involvement and immune and endocrine function; in five of seven studies, the religious experience lower mortality from cancer; in 14 of 23, they have significantly lower blood pressure; in 11 of 14, they have lower mortality; and in 12 of 13, clergy mortality is lower.
" There's no doubt that prayer has a significant effect on our health and mortality.
As scientists are able to better define parameters and control groups we'll continue to gain more insight on the hows and whys of this indisputable connection.
Until then, it's powerful to know that our thoughts and beliefs have a direct effect on our health and mortality and the health and mortality of others.
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