Mystical Angels

What do you think about this?

"Using prayer to bless someone whom is sick can make the sick feel comforted which in turn can help in the healing process. Although I do not understand all the ways of spiritual medicine, I do think that when used on someone who believes it adds to the ability to heal." Natalie points out that it is difficult to measure the effects of spiritual healing. It is! There is a book I just love that I will share information from with the rest of you throughout the class. It is called In Our Own Voices: Four Centuries of American Women’s Religious Writing. It is a compilation of letters, documents and sermons written by and about women dating back to the 1600s. As we talk about holistic healing practices I want to share with you what one Apache healer had to say about the surge in popularity of Native American medicine. She said: A lot of it is fake today. You can tell the fake medicine from the real. A lot of people will copy you. [. . .] You have to do it with dignity, with faith, and if you don’t have that you are not performing right. Anybody can copy a sweat; anybody can copy a ceremony or dance; anybody can copy these things, but if they don’t have the essence, it’s no use; it’s no good; it’s a waste of time; it’s a waste of money; it’s just a lot of hogwash – because the end result is what you look at after you’ve performed something. The end result shows the truth. (Begay, n.d.) What do you think this “essence” is that Begay talks about? What is it that gives ritual meaning? If someone can copy a ritual, how is it fake? What do you think she means by the “end result?” What is she talking about? Why does it matter? Reference Begay, M. (1995) An Apache medicine woman. In R.R. Ruether & R.S. Keller (Eds.), In our own voices: four centuries of American women’s religious writing. (pp. 398-401) New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

Public Comments

1. No...it really can't beyond the Placebo Effect. There are several peer reviewed studies that confirm it. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/40765.php http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/health/31pray.html?ex=1301461200&en=4acf338be4900000&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss