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Larry Dossey, M.D. is a cardiothoracic surgeon whose book, Prayer is Good Medicine, details both anecdote and science to prove his book title true.
Some of the science includes the work Herbert Benson, M.D., who studied Christian prayer, transcendental meditation, biofeedback and various relaxation techniques to assess there impact on the body.
The common thread Benson found to these techniques was that they resulted in deep rest to the body with slower breathing and heart rates, lower stress hormones and reduced blood pressure. He dubbed this the Relaxation Response and he found our body really doesn’t differentiate between prayer and meditation.
More recent studies show the power of placebo, that is, how the belief we are healing sets off our “internal pharmacy” aiding pain relief and healing. It’s also been shown that a “sense of awe” leads to longevity.
The Rev. Stephen Blackmer feels we need to go to the forest to find salvation. An ecologist who has worked for decades in land conservation, he started Divinity School nine years ago after hearing a voice more than once say to him, “You are to be a priest.”
As he studied the Bible, he was struck by the repeated references to the natural environment. He wondered if the lakes and rivers, mountains and gardens written about were an integral part of the spiritual journey. He began to realize that for many people, especially in this time, it is necessary to get into nature to pray.
Two years ago, he started The Church of the Woods, a 106 acre forest in New Hampshire, with contemplative hiking trails but no buildings. He names climate change as the biggest problem man faces, and feels we must see the Divine in all of nature to become better stewards, and in each other to become better humans.
The writings of Emerson and Thoreau celebrate a similar connection to nature, as well as the oneness of mankind. The joy of the outdoors is clear in their fellow poet Walt Whitman’s work when he revels in being “face down in wet grass”. Hopefully we can follow his lead, get outside, mediate-pray-or-zone out and gain the compassion and empathy he exhibits when he says:
“In all people I see myself, none more and not one a barleycorn less/and the good or bad I say of myself I say of them.”
John Huntington is a local business owner in Oracle. He is a chiropractor with many years in the community. He writes a health related article in Pinal Nugget.
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