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According to the results of several studies, remote prayer or mental intention certainly can and does have a physical effect on physiological systems.

One laboratory (Bengston and Krinsley, 2000) has published findings in the Journal of Scientific Exploration demonstrating the curing of cancer in mice by such methods. In a controlled experiment, these scientists employed a noncontact form of “laying on of hands” in an attempt to cure mice of transplanted mammary adenocarcinoma. There were three groups such that one had a group of healers place their hands just above the mice with healing intention and no contact. The other two groups were control groups (one in the same room and one in a separate room from the experimental group) that were treated exactly the same except they were not given mental intention with hands.  Following three replications, 87.9 percent (29 out of 33 mice) were cured of the cancer in the experimental group compared to 69.2 percent (18 out of 26 mice) being cured on site. None of the control mice off site were cured. Furthermore, when the scientists re-introduced tumor cells to the treated, cured mice, the cells were rejected, suggesting a long-term physiological effect.

Scientific reports of this type of mental phenomena date back to the 1960s. A study published in the Journal of Parapsychology shows these effects can occur from a distance on fungus cultures in a laboratory (Barry, 1968). In this study, ten subjects were told to use conscious intent to suppress the growth of fungus. Each subject concentrated on the cultures for fifteen minutes from a distance of approximately 1.5 yards. The cultures were then incubated for several more hours. An impressive 151 out of a total of 194 culture dishes demonstrated retarded growth.

More recently, remote prayer has been shown to have significant beneficial effect on hospital patients. Harris et al. (1999) published significant results in the Archives of Internal Medicine for a double-blind experiment involving 990 consecutive patients admitted to a coronary care unit (CCU). Patients were randomized to either receive or not receive remote, intercessory prayer. The team of outside intercessors prayed for patients in the prayer group daily for four weeks. Patients were made aware that they were being prayed for, and the intercessors never met the patients and were given only the patients’ first names. The medical course from hospital admission to discharge was summarized in a CCU course score derived from blinded, retrospective chart review. The results showed that the prayed-for group had about a 10 percent advantage compared to the usual-care group and this difference proved to be significant (P = .04).

What does all this mean? Perhaps it means nothing at all. Or maybe, it means we could benefit greatly from re-conceptualizing what is possible and practical in placing health and well-being into our own hands. If nothing else, let it be a reminder that there is still an enormous amount to learn about our minds and there is so much potential in the power of our thoughts. In line with these findings, the former editor of Nature, Sir John Maddox, stated, “The catalogue of our ignorance must…include the understanding of the human brain…. What consciousness consists of…is…a puzzle. Despite the marvelous success of neuroscience in the past century…, we seem as far away from understanding…as we were a century ago….The most important discoveries of the next 50 years are likely to be ones of which we cannot now even conceive” (Maddox, 1999).

Barry J. 1968. General and comparative study of the psychokinetic effect on a fungus culture. Journal of Parapsychology. 32: 237-43.

Bengston WF, Krinsley D. The effect of the “laying on of hands” on transplanted breast cancer in mice. Journal of Scientific Exploration. 2000;14(3):353-364.

Harris W, Gowda M, Kolb JW, Strychacz CP, Vacek JL, Jones PG, Forker A, O’Keefe JH, McCallister BD. 1999. A randomized, controlled trial of the effects of remote, intercessory prayer on outcomes in patients admitted to the coronary care unit. Archives of Internal Medicine. 159(19):2273-2278.

Maddox J. 1999. The unexpected science to come. Scientific American. 281(6):62-67.

The universe is constantly moving toward a state of chaos. Indeed, incredible amounts of energy and work are required to keep matter organized. This natural tendency for disorder is known as entropy. Entropy is evident in everything that we do, in every space that exists. There is constant flow seeping through the cracks of every structure set in place. Perhaps we are most vulnerable in the realm of the nonphysical, for very few have mastered the art of creating structure out of something as evasive as a cloud or even more intangible, like a thought. The written language is arguably the closest humans have come to pulling scattered thoughts together into a form that is comprehensible. At the other end of that same spectrum is the absence of language as can be found in silent meditations.

It is so easy to get caught up in the chaos of our own and other people’s thoughts. Our experience of every moment in life is subject to responses to every internal and external stimulus in the universe. How often have you woken peacefully to have your entire day shaken up by one little phone call or email carrying the ripples of someone else’s sadness, anger, or confusion? I dare to say distraction is more often than not our normal state of existence. So how do we learn to ride that powerful wave of chaos and not wipe out in the wash? And then, once we learn to ride, how do we master the ride with the kind of stealth and grace that others can look upon with complete and utter awe? Isn’t this the skill to strive for? It matters not what wave we choose to take on in life. What matters is how we ride it.

This ultimate challenge must be taken on at the level of the mental, the physical, and the emotional. Each of these realms is like a circle, or a sphere, ever so persistently contracting and expanding. Each is a boundless entity, breathing in, out, and all around the source which is center.

Bring it back to center. Bring all back to center. Whatever the moment and experience is, always be able to bring yourself to center. The instructions are simple yet the knowing is never enough. A certain shift must first occur. Transformation of the knowing into the Being is how we access what we call Center. Being breath, being silence, and being acceptance. The body manifests in the realm of the physical where our breath serves as source. Thoughts manifest in the realm of the mental where silence serves as source. Feelings manifest in the realm of the emotional where acceptance and peace serve as source.

In source is center and from center, there is choice. Where there is choice there is a sacred freedom, the freedom required to gracefully master the art of creating form from chaos. Here, we no longer wait for the perfect wave to arrive. Here, we simply create the perfect wave of our lives.

Always remember…bring it back to center.