Warm
hugs, heartfelt prayers may be just what the doctor orders this
Holiday season
Larry Dossey, M.D., bestselling author and expert on the connection
between health and spirituality, says there is a lot we can do to
stay healthy this holiday season. He's not referring to cold
medicines, doctor visits or flu shots. He's talking about ordinary
things that are good for your health. In his latest book, "The
Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things,"
Dr. Dossey cites a number of "ordinary things" that are healing,
such as music, prayer, nature, optimism, touch, and even risk
taking. Relying on anecdotes, personal history, and scientific data,
his research on an emerging image of consciousness addresses how we
can meet our inner needs alongside those of our physical bodies.
Consider this:
-- Recent studies show that people who follow a religious practice
-- it does not appear to matter which -- live significantly longer
(7 to 13 yrs.) and have a lower incidence of most major diseases.
-- A survey of more than 1,000 physicians showed 59 percent prayed
for their patients, while 42 percent encouraged their patients to
pray. (Dr. Dossey refutes a recent Harvard study regarding the
ability of prayer to heal and cites the JACM- Achterberg study that
tracked effects of prayer using Functional Magnetic Resonance
Imaging Analysis, showing prayer to have proven effects on health.)
"Spirituality has a legitimate role to play in the future of
American Healthcare," says Dossey. A survey of nearly 2 million
patients involving 1/3 of the nation's hospitals found that one of
the lowest patient satisfaction ratings was in the area of the
emotional and spiritual aspects of care that they experienced when
they were hospitalized. See
http://www.pressganey.com/files/addressing_es_needs.p df.
"So, this holiday season, as the cold and flu season goes into full
swing, a warm hug or a heartfelt prayer might be just what the
doctor orders," says Dossey.
On Friday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m., Dr. Larry Dossey will speak at the
Washington National Cathedral on the topic "Healing Between Spirit
and Medicine." The lecture is co-sponsored by the Cathedral College
of the Washington National Cathedral and the Washington Society for
Jungian Psychology. See
http://www.jung.org.
Larry Dossey, M.D. is a former internist and chief of staff of
Medical City Dallas Hospital, the former co-chair of the Panel on
Mind/Body Interventions for the National Center for Complementary
and Alternative Medicines at the National Institutes of Health,
executive editor of the peer-reviewed journal, Explore: The Journal
of Science and Healing, and the author of ten books on the role of
consciousness and spirituality in health.
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The Washington Society for Jungian Psychology (WSJP) is a nonprofit,
educational membership organization open to all who are interested
in learning more about the psychology of Carl Gustav Jung,
originator of analytical psychology. WSJP programs include lectures,
workshops, courses, book explorations, film nights, and "evenings
with" invited speakers.
Through its programs, WSJP promotes an approach to life that assists
in efforts toward becoming the persons we are meant to be, wholeness
of the personality, living an authentic life and becoming connected
to our own religious and spiritual depths