Spiritual Healing: The Value of Meditation & Prayer in Healthcare

By Alan L. Pritz

Healing is a complex science as well as art. There are many dimensions to the process, many slices in the healthcare pie. Fundamentally, however, one thing common to all modalities is the ability to rouse, harness, and use life force to achieve the shared goal of healing. In Western medicine this may not be the way treatments are considered, but it is the way results are achieved. Lest it seem I’m critical of Western medicine, I’m not. It’s a very honorable profession requiring years of study to apply complex biomechanical and chemical treatment protocols. Yet to a very real degree, this style of medical practice is hindered by not including or understanding the metaphysical dimensions of energy and spirituality as they relate to healing. Not alone, the same deficit holds true for many complementary paradigms and psychological health systems as well.

Spirit created all forms of healing; physical, mental, and spiritual. To quibble about what kind is better is a waste of time. They all have value. However there comes a point when all the poking, prodding, sniffing, adjusting, rubbing, and talking may do no good. That’s when people turn to the Divine, in desperation! Though capable of amazing results, unless one has full cooperation of the mind and perfect faith, spiritual healing may not work, or, can require significant time. Otherwise, results can be instantaneous. I mention this because conviction that one possesses faith and unobstructed consciousness doesn’t make it so. Belief isn’t the same as faith and shouldn’t be confused as such. Such realities about spiritual healing can clash with misconceptions about it.

The point of this article is not to get sidetracked on semantics nor discourage people from pursuing spiritual healing, but to provide an understanding for its basis and suggest why involving spiritual practice in modern healthcare has an appropriate place.

Background

My frame of reference comes from the time-tested yogic tradition. It is a metaphysical approach that goes to the Source of well-being and is applicable to everyone regardless of religious orientation. Spiritual healing laws aren’t a function of sectarian belief.

Principles of Structure

Everyone acknowledges the interchangeable relationship between energy and matter. What is less recognized is the role of consciousness behind energy and matter. The body is made of chemical combinations that form cells, tissues, organs etc. Beneath these are atomic and sub-atomic structures. Beneath these are currents of life energy derived from strata of consciousness leading back to Cosmic Consciousness or Spirit. The body is ultimately a construct of frozen consciousness like dream images created during slumber. Life is sustained through a steady in-flux of intelligent cosmic energy that surrounds and enters the physical body. When the flow of this energy is unbalanced from depleted will, improper thinking, diet, trauma, etc., disease conditions arise. All mechanisms of healthcare infuse or rouse energy at an atomic level thereby restoring the energetic balance needed for healing to occur.

How Meditation and Prayer Apply

Medications, surgery, and many alternative therapies chiefly target the physical structure but not its life principle. By drawing on spiritual force directly rather than through intermediary modalities we can correct or prevent disease at its source, the atomic level, and create lasting health. One way of doing this is through meditation. During classical meditation one becomes absorbed in Divine consciousness. When a true meditative state is attained, body, mind, and soul are instantly charged with vital power and body/mind vibrations accelerate. By combining vibratory elevation with energy control, proper diet, and balanced living, the body’s life force can “electrocute” diseases before they occur, or, correct them if they’ve already developed.

Spirit can also be invoked for healing by prayer. It is necessary, however, that faith not lapse when confronted by contradictory circumstances. To receive divine healing, the mind must believe in divine aid. Persistence and positive mental states form the channel for Divine Grace to flow. Such faith can definitely be developed.

Studies

Perhaps the best book on spirituality and healthcare is Larry Dossey’s, Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and Practice of Medicine. It cites abundant evidence that prayer positively impacts humans as well as mice, chicks, enzymes, fungi, yeast, bacteria, and cells of various sorts. Most effective when done with love and faith, it works regardless of proximity.

Georgetown University School of Medicine reviewed numerous studies on the impact of religious belief in illness / recovery. In at least 80% of the cases, results suggested religious belief reduced anxiety, depression, anger, blood pressure, chemical dependency and increased survival rates.

Conclusion

While most healthcare modalities work well, all can benefit from a deeper understanding of spirituality in healing. Since this is a very sacred area, practitioners of all healing arts should approach it with deep respect and tolerance for their patients belief systems. That said, it is useful to consider that spiritual realities exist and can enhance healing efficacy. In private practice, suggesting this to receptive patients may give them a greater sense of power in co-creating health. As meditation and prayer exist in all faiths, inviting such disciplines into a healing regimen is not unfeasible. Given the interrelationship of body, mind, and spirit, modern healthcare would benefit by judiciously incorporating spiritual practices alongside traditional procedures. Many healthcare institutions realize this and hopefully this article offers a basis of understanding to further such behavior.