On Science and Faith and Healing

“Faith is a bird that senses the dawn
And starts to sing while it is still dark.”

— ANONYMOUS

There have been numerous studies on the effects of prayer on healing. The results have tended to be widely divergent and often inconclusive – but with a widespread statistical reflection of the need for more study.

Some of the most credible research on the medical side comes from mind-body master Larry Dossey, M.D., who has conducted extensive meta-analysis and assessment of research on the efficacy of prayer and light healing on late stage cancer patients, and has found an impressive, statistically significant correlation between those treated with these types of techniques and recovery rates. Conversely, another of the most prestigious and widely cited studies by proponents of spiritual healing was so deeply tainted by manipulation and lies that it was eventually disclaimed by the major university that sponsored it, and proved to be the springboard for a federal fraud conviction and prison sentence for one of its authors.

It is sadly the case that, throughout history, the siren song of spiritual or mystical healing has been the calling card of countless phonies, charlatans, con men, and snake oil salesmen. You go in with a bad back and come out with an empty wallet (and a bad back). Even if we are somehow fortunate enough to experience “the real thing,” we are then swept up in a landslide of criticism, resistance, and ridicule – some of it well organized by the medical-scientific machine, and some of it fueled by the irrational fears and flames of conflicting ideologies.

For every study that suggests a research link between prayer and healing, there are countless counter-arguments, rejoinders, rebuttals, and denials from legions of well-meaning “authorities,” whose principal motivation seems to be to save people from their own faith. The most vocal conflict erupts between hardcore materialist science ideologues and the aggressive fundamentalism of some religions that embrace healing though divine intercession as a central tenet. The message gets all twisted up in the conflict.

The Answer Lies At The Intersection of Science and Faith

I suggest that the answer lies not at the extremes but at the intersection of science and faith. For all the heated controversy surrounding the study of the topic in the West, there is an impressive background of scientific support for the medical value of practices such as T’ai Chi and Qi Gong in the East. These core practices are directly involved with the movement and channeling of energy through the body and the integration of the being at physical and nonphysical levels, providing well-documented benefits in longevity, cardiovascular function, neurological conductivity, stress reduction, analgesia, and relief from high blood pressure, insomnia, and depression. These conditions obviously represent a hugely significant and profitable slice of our medical pie. The general difference is that traditional medicine aims at symptoms, while Spirit-energy healing aims at causes.


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“Cause” is a fascinating subject all by itself. In the physical universe there are no observable causes, only effects. Was it the cue ball striking the eight ball, the hand moving the cue stick, the arm moving the hand, the person moving the arm, the Earth moving the person, the orbit moving the Earth, and so on and so forth, ad infinitum? Where in the chain of effects does the cause reside?

This question lies at the frontier of theoretical physics, one of our most powerful and rapidly advancing sciences, which demonstrates that everything in our universe is subtly interdependent with everything else. We’re all connected to and part of something infinitely greater than ourselves. Whether we choose to see God as the Old Man in the Sky who sits in judgment of our lives and hands out sentences in eternity for our behavior here on Earth, or whether we choose to view the miracle of our existence as a function of the harmonic interactions and reverberations of infinite patterns of energy from which all organization of matter emanates, the ultimate question of cause remains elusive and unanswered.

Far be it from me to try to explain quantum mechanics, especially in the context of my little book about healing, but it is safe to say that it appears that predictable instantaneous interactions between matched particles occur across incalculable distances of space-time as some sort of intelligent communication – a phenomenon Einstein referred to as “spooky action at a distance,” since he was busy proving that things just don’t move around the Universe at faster than the speed of light. It also appears that observation – the interaction of a quantum system with the measurable environment – plays a key role in collapsing the inherent potential of the system into a defined physical reality. The implication here is that nothing is definite until it is observed.

One of the most notable quantum theorists of our time, David Bohm, gave us an elegant description of a holographic universe comprised of an invisible implicate (or enfolded) order and a manifest explicate (or unfolded) order, and further postulated a Source from which both are generated – a Source that very much resembles the state of pure awareness as described throughout human history by saints and sages.

Just Because Something Is Unknown Doesn’t Mean It Isn’t There

The search for answers lies at the heart of both science and faith. Why is it so difficult to grasp the concept of intelligence as a fundamental property of the universe from which all structure and function derive? The universe is both expanding and infinite, which appear at first to be mutually exclusive concepts. Perhaps it is in the shifting of our conceptual understanding that our true nature can be revealed. Perhaps it is the recognition that we know nothing that leads to the source of all knowing.

I recognize the inherent difficulty of quantifying the phenomenon of Spirit-energy healing, and it is not my intention to join the contentious debate. I believe that, as Einstein put it, “Faith without science is blind; science without faith is lame.”

I have a lot of respect for mainstream medicine, particularly in the areas of diagnostics and acute crisis intervention. Arguably though, there are also a lot of ways in which our dominant medical treatment model leaves the patient deeply wanting, even when the symptoms are successfully eradicated.

The toxicity and trauma of our treatment approach sometimes make the cure seem worse than the disease. And little to no attention is given to the nonphysical manifestations of the illness or injury – which are much closer to the “causes” of the condition than the actual symptoms. The symptoms are merely an external representation of the whole internal composition that includes the body, mind, emotions, and spirit.

Working Consciously To Heal The Suffering

Many of us have had the experience of feeling helpless seeing a loved one suffer, feeling that there’s nothing we can do, that the best we can offer is sympathy. Spirit-energy healing suggests that there is, in fact, something we can do. We can work consciously to heal the suffering.

There are many, many ways to apply loving consciousness as an instrument of healing. If we accept the fundamental validity of the central premise – that there exists a form of nonlocal energy that can be consciously applied to effect healing – then we also accept that there are countless variations through which that consciousness can be expressed.

Healing is not about the form; it is about a sacred, timeless interaction between Spirit and all human beings. It is, by its very nature, something simultaneously too enormous to comprehend and abundantly available to all of us. This is where anyone who would genuinely put these practices to work must take a leap of faith.

Every experience and insight throughout this process brings with it a number of choices. How is this an opportunity for healing? How do I apply this learning? How can I use it to help others? What do I do now?

In a very real way, this work has caused me to completely reorganize my life around the principles of love, compassion, integrity, and service. I’ve confronted the resistance of my own doubts and uncertainties. I’ve thought, Hey, I’m not all that good myself; how can I possibly help anyone else?

Still, it is obvious to me that I’ve been called to this work, and I’ve been called to share it. It has been my intention to share it in this book from an authentic, experiential place, to communicate that our abilities to heal and be healed are natural gifts of our spiritual composition.

I invite you to look within and find that place inside and ask yourself if you have a calling to this work. You will know the answer immediately. If the answer is Yes, if you are called to do this work, then I urge you to follow your inner knowing and simply begin. The sooner you do so, the sooner you’ll start to see results.

The biggest hurdles to succeeding with this work are our own internal considerations. Put those aside for a while. You can always have them back if you want them, but I suggest that a few healing experiences of your own will quickly count you among the converted.

Since this journey began, I’ve come to believe that Spirit wanted to give me a message, so She did what She had to do to get my attention. She succeeded. At times, I have secretly wished that She could’ve been a little gentler about it. Now She wants me to give you a message: This is Her gentle way of telling you She wants your attention, too.

©2016 by Doug Heyes. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher,
Findhorn Press. www.findhornpress.com.

Article Source

The Touch: Healing Miracles and Methods
by Doug Heyes.

The Touch: Healing Miracles and Methods by Doug Heyes.Within each of us, there exists a wellspring of radiant healing energy that can be accessed, channeled and used for personal healing and facilitating healing in others. THE TOUCH centers on the practice of RAM Healing™ (Radiance Aesthesia Method™) – a powerful approach to healing.

More info and/or order book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1844096963/innerselfcom

About the Author

Doug HeyesFollowing a life-changing personal healing, Doug Heyes discovered “The Touch” – the gift for healing he describes as “the natural birthright of all human beings. “ He left a successful career in show business to plunge headlong into the waters of holistic health and healing. An outdoor rescuer, adventurer, athlete, student and teacher, he gives a straight-up, first-person account of his amazing journey and extraordinary demonstrations, and offers a simple, powerful method – RAM HEALING – for awakening the Inner Healer in all of us. Visit his website at www.dougheyeshealing.com