By Kevin Ness, Manager of Christian Science Committees on Publication Boston, MA — For many people today, the phrase “sending thoughts and prayers” has become a meaningless cliché. Christian Scientists’ annual meeting on June 4 offered the view that it doesn’t have to be that way. Church members gathered at the denomination’s Mother Church in
With the Easter season upon us, as a Christian Scientist I have been giving extra thought to why I love Jesus. And with that in mind, I’d like to share here, for my readers, this thoughtful piece by a colleague of mine – Tim Mitchinson from Naperville, Illinois – who expressed it so well, sharing how
By: Richard Evans, Manager, Christian Science Committees on Publication Boston, MA — When Christian Scientists convened in Boston, Massachusetts, Monday, June 6, for the annual meeting of their denomination, they faced a question that many mainline Christian churches also confront: can church be relevant today? Their perspective on this question—as on just about everything else—runs
Here’s a GUEST POST by Rich Evans, a colleague of mine in Arizona, about integrative medicine and a growing shift towards spiritual well being. Rich grew up in Michigan – in St. Joe – and spent summers working in Leelanau. He is currently the spokesperson for Christian Science in the state of Arizona – a state
Is the public finding better health by turning more to prayer? According to the Pew Forum’s Religious Landscape Survey, 56% of those surveyed in Michigan pray at least once a day and that goes up to 76% who pray at least once a week. Here is a thoughtful post entitled, “The Positive Health Effects of
You’ve probably heard the saying, “Don’t worry, be happy”. It’s a catchy tune sung by Bob Marley. Being healthy makes us happy. But did you know that being happy can help keep us healthy?
“Happy people live longer, probably because happiness protects physical health.”
This was the conclusion of a research paper by Dutch sociologist Ruut Veenhoven
in The Journal of Happiness Studies in 2008 that looked at 30 follow-up studies on happiness and its effect on health and longevity.
Placebos by Akacio S. ( /photographyk )
The placebo effect is usually considered to be the curative effective resulting from patients equipping a sugar pill with their belief in its ability to help. But it turns out that the placebo effect can result from the thought of the caregiver as well.
“Belief in or expectation of a good outcome can have formidable restorative power, whether the positive expectations are on the part of the patient, the doctor or caregiver, or both…” says Herbert Benson, M.D. writing (with Marg Stark) about what he calls “remembered wellness” in his book “Timeless Healing – The Power and Biology of Belief”.
Andew Weil, M.D. courtesy of greenlagirl
Andrew Weil, M.D., in “Why Our Health Matters” (page 43) writes, “Many doctors have told me about cases of spontaneous healing that they have witnessed in patients, some correlated with mental or emotional changes“.
So, how can we account for experiences like that? Or how can we explain healing accomplished in Christian Science through spiritual means alone?
It’s like a reverse marriage – sort of.
An Op-Ed piece entitled, “Medicine’s Great Divide – The View from the Alternative Side” published this month in the Virtual Mentor, the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics, describes the relationship between conventional medicine and alternative medicine like a bad marriage in reverse, starting with divorce, going through mediation, and working towards “a shy courtship”.
A recent (May 6) Op-Ed article in the Los Angeles Times entitled, “Diagnosis as disease” brings out some very interesting points about medical diagnosis and thinking of people as diseased. It tells us that “low diagnostic thresholds lead people who feel well to be labeled as unwell.” “Not surprisingly, some subsequently feel less well.” “In short, low diagnostic thresholds introduce more ‘dis’-ease into the population.”