Religion and Spirituality
The British Navy took two centuries before they required the use of citrus fruit in preventing scurvy on long voyages, despite the overwhelming evidence for it. Just a tiny teaspoon of lime juice a day could prevent a lethal disease, but at the time that was thought to be crazy and theoretically implausible (Dossey, 2005). Today it is hypothesized that there is a role of spirituality in health and much like that spoonful of lime juice it is considered a radical idea (Dossey, 2013). Many people over the world use prayer, and it has shown a positive correlation to improved health (Jantos, & Kiat, 2007). Many Americans often pray about their health (McMillan, & Taylor, 2018). In fact, spiritual and religious practices like prayer are one of the most prevalent complementary therapies in the US (Plotnikoff, Wolpert, & Dandurand, 2017). They are how humans relate to the natural world, other people, and oftentimes internal states of being (Plotnikoff, Wolpert, & Dandurand, 2017). Spiritual direction can help to tend to a part of a person on a journey through life, and connect them with their health and innate wisdom (Plotnikoff, Wolpert, & Dandurand, 2017). Spiritual direction can also be helpful to people that feel stuck, are suffering, and to understand a deeper relationship with God or higher power when burdened by a difficult diagnosis (Plotnikoff, Wolpert, & Dandurand, 2017). Prayer having an effect on living organisms is an ancient belief spanning across ideology, religion, culture, and race (Dossey, 2005).
A project allowed for the measurement of hospitalized patient’s responses to massage therapists’ offering prayer after a massage showed that patients welcomed it if the practitioner showed “genuine kindness and respect.” (McMillan, & Taylor, 2018). Prayer has been used both as an ancient and modern practice as an intervention for illnesses and to promote health (Narayanasamy, & Narayanasamy, 2008). Advocates believe prayer has a healing power in health care, and while critics are still sceptical it may be more than coincidence or placebo (Narayanasamy, & Narayanasamy, 2008). Nurses are even called on to pray with and for patients and although evidence is inconclusive there are indications that it has potential for both patients and nurses as a healing power (Narayanasamy, & Narayanasamy, 2008). A 1999 study of prayer in patients with coronary heart disease stated "We have not proven that God answers prayers or even that God exists.... All we have observed is that when individuals outside the hospital speak (or think) the first names of hospitalized patients with an attitude of prayer, the latter appear to have a 'better' CCU experience" (Dossey, 2005).
Unfortunately, despite the marvelous successes of neuroscience in the past century we as a species are still just as far from understanding spirituality and the cognitive process as we were even a century ago (Dossey, 2005). And, although prayer and spirituality show signs of improved health and efficacy it is never meant to replace medical care (Jantos, & Kiat, 2007). But, the game is early and this field of research hardly existed just a few years ago (Dossey, 2005). We have never had more information on how to make changes and live out our lives (Dossey & Mace, 2013). The information age has brought tools for transformation and the most powerful tool may be a spiritual consciousness and it is near impossible to hide from it.
References
Dossey, L. (2005, May) Spirituality, Prayer, and Medicine: What is the Fuss Really About. Virtual Mentor/AMA Journal of Ethics. May 1;7(5). pii: virtualmentor.2005.7.5.oped2-0505. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2005.7.5.oped2-0505. 3-20-15. http://journalofethics.ama-assn.org//2005/05/oped2-0505.html
Dossey, L. & Mace. L. (2013) One Mind, One Consciousness-when spirituality meets Science-Dr. Larry Dossey. Lilou Mace TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCFcyC5BUl0
Jantos, M., & Kiat, H. (2007). Prayer as medicine: How much have we learned? The Medical Journal of Australia, 186(S10), S51-53. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17516884/
McMillan, K., & Taylor, E. J. (2018). Hospitalized Patients’ Responses to Offers of Prayer. Journal of Religion and Health, 57(1), 279–290. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0454-5
Narayanasamy, A., & Narayanasamy, M. (2008). The healing power of prayer and its implications for nursing. British Journal of Nursing (Mark Allen Publishing), 17(6), 394–398. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2008.17.6.28907
Plotnikoff, G., Wolpert, D.& Dandurand D.E. (2017) Chapter 114: Integrating Spiritual Assessment and Care. (Rakel, D. ed.) Integrative Medicine, 4th Ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier.
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