Faith Healing, from Jesus to Neurotransmitters
Deepak Chopra - June 10, 2008

An article in the Washington Post On Faith section in response to their question: "Do you believe that faith can effect your health or is that a lot of new age nonsense?"

Faith is too vast a subject to generalize about, -- its effects are indisputably not "New Age nonsense," unless you want to call Jesus nonsense. When he performed healings, he ascribed them to the faith of the one being healed, not to his own miraculous powers. Now that society has shifted its values radically toward materialism, faith healing is a suspect phenomenon. Proof requires an agent one can see -- such as neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and others -- to "explain" how the brain might trigger the immune system.

The minute you ask how mind influences body, you find yourself on the dividing line between secular and religious values. If only it were that simple. It tends to be true that people who hold deep religious beliefs (in the power of prayer, for example) are healthier than the norm, but the same holds true for vegetarians, rural dwellers, and anyone who is relatively free of anxiety, depression, and external stress. So if you are a vegetarian who lives on a farm in Iowa, no one can say that praying every day, once it is added to these other factors, significantly increases your well being. (If you believe in a vindictive, angry God, it might even do the opposite.)

Well-being is subjective, and even though Western medicine largely discounts subjectivity, that in itself is a belief system. If you lose a thousand dollars in the stock market and it happens to be all the money you have, the effects on mind and body will be devastating compared to the same loss suffered by a billionaire. The difference comes down to a subjective feeling of helplessness and insecurity compared to a subjective feeling of security and abundance. Yet we know that throwing money at someone's unhappiness isn't a panacea. Rich persons don't necessarily feel secure -- depression and anxiety are tricky matters, often needing no external causes.

Nor is it easy even to define faith. Belief can be a form of denial, a defense that covers up underlying problems. Faith, as defined by Jesus, is the key to miracles and the Kingdom of God. This implies that faith creates transformation. It allows a person to transcend physical boundaries and step into the unknown (too bad that Lazarus isn't around to give his side of the issue). At the very least faith induces subjective well-being with about as much reliability as pharmaceuticals, minus damaging side effects. Which is not to imply that anyone should place absolute faith in faith.

My own view is that faith is a small part of the enormous field of consciousness. In our drugs-and-surgery society, we don't take enough advantage of non-material approaches. For example, studies in heart disease led by George Vaillant, in the 1950s tried to explain premature heart attacks, then at epidemic levels. Vaillant found a mild correlation between artery disease and high cholesterol levels. This finding changed the course of treatment, ignoring the stronger correlation he found, which didn't fit the materialistic model. Men who faced their psychological problems in their twenties were considerably less likely to have a premature heart attack then men who didn't. And the evidence for the existence of a "cancer personality" has gained credibility through studies that show certain traits, such as suppression of emotion, raise the risk of many diseases (although a specific connection to cancer remains tenuous).

Although the deleterious of stress and its connection to the major epidemics of our time such as heart disease, cancer, and infection have been well documented over several decades, there has been little research on what peace of mind does to our biology. I can see how a sense of "peace that passes understanding", and an internal state of euphoria, could lead to healing. There is more and more evidence that when the mind is at peace and also happy, there are biological consequences. An internal state such as this is more than mere subjective well being. Neurotransmitters such as dopamine, oxytocin, opiates, and serotonin are simultaneously secreted. These neurotransmitters are associated with euphoria, self confidence, and a pleasurable feeling. They also happen to be immunomodulators, in that they fine tune the activity of the immune system and are associated with a return to homeostasis (Homeostasis is a state of dynamic non change in our biology in the midst of a changing environment. Disease is a disruption of homeostasis.) It is, therefore, becoming increasing clear, that the mind and body are inseparably one and that which we call faith is an important component in the phenomenon of healing. It is no accident that the word health, the word healing, and the word holy, all imply a return to the memory of wholeness.

__________________
May your awareness be perfection

Good article! I only call miracles , miracles because that is the name that has been attached to something that occurs that is completely normal but people don't as a rule understand it. So yes I do believe in these things.

__________________
RevKathyV

http://www.myspace.com/divinelightinterfaith



www.divinelightinterfaithministry.com

My thoughts exactly.

By Shari Albert

With this buzz about the new i-phone I was seriously thinking about getting over my fear of technology and finally joining the year 2008. Almost as soon as I had this thought my 2003 Mac i-book G3 is sick.

I went to Tekserve in NYC to get a prognosis for my i-book G3. I know all you computer nerds out there are like, "What does she expect? Mac doesn't even make that model anymore." Ok, so I'm a bit of a luddite.

This is my first computer and the one on which I started to write, so I'm emotionally attached.

It has been slowing down consistently for about a year and developed Alzheimer's a few days ago. It doesn't recognize me or that it already has an airport card. It also refuses to acknowledge its software or passwords.

I stroke it's keys the way it used to like, I write funny things on it's keyboard, I even wipe the screen gently with a cloth and i-clear. No response. I have to take it to the Mac hospital known in New York, as Tekserve.

My tech dude is a very large Samoan looking guy with inked sleeves, ear gauges and an amazing smile. His name is Angel. A sign? I tell him I hope he lives up to the name his Mama gave him. After telling him what's wrong he disappears into the bowels of Tekserve with baby Mac.

Angel told the nice security guard to get me a cold Coke in a glass bottle while I was waiting. They have them there for the customers but the dispensing machine is broken, of course.

It was practically 100 degrees outside. A heat wave was enveloping Manhattan and making everyone cranky and their hair frizz. As I sipped my brown carbonated sugar water all I could think about was that I'd have to use that $1000 my Grandmother gave my Father to keep for my wedding. By the way, I'm not even dating anyone so any nuptials are simply a figment of the imagination, or a ghost of "wedding future", as it were. Still, I don't want to use it because somewhere in me I feel this is admitting some sort of defeat.

Angel emerges and looks like a friend who lost all your money at OTB. He told me baby Mac is dying. The only chance it has is if I '"sweep it" and reinstall the software. "Dude," I say," I don't have the original disc. I've moved coasts like, 15 times since 2003. I'm still trying to find my tax returns from 2005."

"That's all you can do, girl," he says with his low soothing stoner voice. He looks at my sickly little laptop and asks me who's the picture of the dude on my wallpaper.

I study meditation with a Swami in India and on my laptop I have a picture of his Guru, Shirdi Sai Baba. He's an ancient Indian Saint who's a healer and has performed many miracles. Baba (as he's affectionately referred to) also loves to make people 'sweat' in order to get them to their truth. I say to Angel, "Oh he's laughing his ass off at me right now. I've had a crappy few days, and he's making me think about what's really important and what's an illusion."

I am trying to get my act together after moving back to New York ...again. You know those dreams you have when you are trying really hard to get somewhere but your feet have cement blocks on them? That's how I've been feeling lately. It's exhausting. Sometimes, you just need a break.

"Maybe he'll take care of you? " Angel says with a derisive smile, pointing to Baba.

Just then two blond pony tailed girls in their early twenties come in and sidle up to the computer bar next to me. They are carrying a G5 desktop and put it down as they wipe the sweat away from under their Chanel sunglasses.

"Ummm... do you guys take donations?" They ask with the kind of voice possessed only by young women with their first grown-up New York job. They are carrying bags that cost more than my rent.

Angel looks at them like they're from planet Zork. I quickly raise my hand like I'm in 7th grade Math class and I finally know the answer.

"I do! I do!" I practically scream at them. "I desperately need a computer." Now they look at me like I'm the one from outer space.

"I'm an actress and a writer," I tell them, like they care.

Maybe they'd recognize me If I tell them about the movies I've done? Then I realize they were probably eight years old when The Brothers McMullen came out.

What is going on with my life?

"Ummm, our boss said we have to donate it to like, a charity?"

"I am a charity!" I insist. "Is that computer better than the one I have?" I stage whisper to Angel. His big eyes look at me and say, 'are you kidding me?'

The bigger blond pony tail girl looks at the smaller one and says, "I guess we can give it to her. I mean, it doesn't make a difference if we do that or find someone else."

I look at Angel like he has a hotline to heaven and is in control of my fate. He tells the blond ponytails, "Dude, I have no idea what's going to happen to this machine when it leaves my hands."

"Should we give it to her?" big blond ponytail girl asks the little one who cocks her head to the side with an apathetic gesture of "Why not?"

I jump up and down like I just a reality show and smile so hard my cheeks hurt. I break out into a happy dance on the floor of Tekserve.

Angel makes sure the G5 works and then charges me $65.99 to transfer all my data from dying baby Mac. He then helps me into a cab and says, "Girl, it's your lucky day."

And so it was. Thanks to a couple of white chicks, an Indian Saint, and an Angel.

P.S. Right before Angel transferred the data from the laptop to my new G5, he looked at it quizzically. He then informs me my laptop was now working perfectly and he had no idea how that would be possible.

I told him some things are simply mini miracles.

Shari Albert: A Saint, an Angel and a Mac G5 - Living on The Huffington Post

__________________
May your awareness be perfection

I completely believe in miracles. And I also think more and more of us are going to have highly synchronistic stories to tell like the one just posted. And these are not really "miracles". They just ARE. We just never were in a place where we could see them before.

I'll tell you a little story of my own, maybe not quite as dramatic, but a miracle to me all the same.

Last year when I was moving to a new state, I came out for a visit with my sister and my son. I needed to find a place to rent, so on a Sunday afternoon, I set off to look for a place in a particular suburb near my new workplace. For whatever reason, I didn't turn on the road which would have taken me to that suburb, and I kept driving. And driving and driving. Down what was a very industrial road, not at all auspicious for a nice place to live. Warehouses, semi-trucks, power transformers, etc. I think we were all wondering where the heck we were going down this unpromising road. But I kept driving for quite a ways. I seemed to recall a town down this road, when I lived not too far away many years ago. Then I saw a sign for the town, so I turned. Still no sign of any sort of housing though. This was a semi-rural area.

And then up ahead was a little hill, filled with houses. I drove about another mile, and my sister said "Look, an open house sign." I looked at the neighborhood. Very nice. Too nice. And I wasn't looking for a house to buy, just rent. But still, I turned anyway and followed the signs.

I drove up to this wonderful house with a huge front porch in a somewhat less expensive part of the neighborhood. In fact, probably one of the more unassuming houses in the neighborhood. But still probably too much. Even so, look at that porch. I had always wanted a big front porch like that. And covered. I could hang baskets of flowers. And even sit outside on a rainy day. But still, I didn't even want to get out of the car. Because I KNEW it must be too expensive. There was no price outside, so I couldn't check. And my sister urged me to go in (after all, it's fun to look at open houses, right?). And my son was more than ready to get out of the car. So rather reluctantly I got out too.

I walked into the house. And all I can say is that I thought I was in a dream, as it was like something out of Miracle on 34th Street, I kid you not. Anyone who has lived in many homes knows those things that you have always been looking for. I already mentioned the porch. Well, next I found out that this house had a view, not only out the front (although you couldn't see it on this cloudy day), but the back too, where there was a tiny yard but wonderful English garden. Be aware that this house was NOT a mansion, not some $1 million dollar home, but still looked to be way out of reach for me. Remember, I was looking for a RENTAL. (Have I mentioned I'm a single/divorced mother?)

The more I walked through this home, the more amazed I became. You know those little mental checklists you make when you are looking for a home? Not just the "must haves", but the "nice to haves" and "wouldn't it be cool thing" too? Well, I was checking off items on my list one after another after another. These don't need to be $1 million items by the way. You know, the little things. Like a mud sink. A door to the garage from the back yard for the dog. A pantry. Lots of windows. Check, check, check. It was my Miracle on 34th Street. And I just drove right up, the VERY first place I looked at, when I wasn't even looking.

At that point, it became painful. Here I stood in my dream home. How much did it cost? Faith. I finally saw the flyer. Yep, quite a lot, and definitely NOT a rental. But MUCH less than I thought. In fact, HALF of what I expected. And when I got home, to make a long story short, little miracles started appearing, showing me how I could afford it. And when I finally negotiated for it, it turned out a couple of offers had mysteriously fallen through on this house (I found out from a neighbor later), and it had been on the market for many months, as if it was just waiting for me. Yes, I managed to get an even better price. Still, it took faith (which I must admit I didn't always have) since it defied my expectations, while at the same time far exceeding them.

And guess what, when I computed it all out with my new salary in this new location, I discovered I would be paying almost EXACTLY the same for housing relative to what I was making, not even counting the tax benefits of owning instead of renting. Wow, how could that be? But it was. And even the down payment turned out not to be nearly as painful as I feared.

And so here I sit in my Miracle on 34th Street house in a little town I discovered is like a dream town out of a novel, where we have REAL small-town events, where people actually attend! It turns out the price was so low because people haven't really discovered this town yet, not so much as others in the area. It's not on the interstate you see (wow, quiet too!). And guess what, when I was taking all those turns, I was actually working my way back closer to my workplace without knowing it, and I have discovered little back roads through absolutely gorgeous rolling hills and trees to get to where I work, NO traffic at all, within 15 minutes. And awesome schools too. And parks. And trails.

And here is where it gets a little bit eerie. One day I called a dear friend. And as I talked to her, a memory suddenly came to me, one I had long ago forgotten. When we were both about 20 years younger, I had visited her parents' house. She was actually a little bit embarrassed about it because she didn't want me to feel inferior (they had a beautiful house in a nice area, and I grew up in a very modest house in another area of town). When I saw her parents' house, I instantly fell in love with it. It was like my dream house. I don't know why. Maybe partly because I was a little bit envious. It was kind of like my "ideal" house, that's all I can say.

And on that day when I talked to my friend, I realized that my little dream house was EXACTLY her parents' house in miniature. And I mean EXACTLY, just with a few less extra rooms. With PRECISELY the same layout for each and every room that we did share, the entryway, the kitchen, the living room, in precisely the same locations, even the stairway configured the same way. The layout exactly the same. In miniature. Right down to a little den with glass doors and built-in shelves (which I thought was cool in her parents' house - my den is much smaller, but ...). Yes, I'm missing one room off the kitchen, ok, and I don't have a 4 or 5 car garage (not by a LONG shot, lol), but this is just plain weird.

And I forgot to mention the view. Yet ANOTHER miracle. I didn't see it at first since it was cloudy. (I live in the Pacific Northwest, lol.) Then one day, there it was. I woke up at dawn on a clear and sunny day. I wandered down the stairs and there it was. The view of a dramatic mountain. Rising from sea level to 11,000 feet. Perfectly framed by tall trees. Radiantly pink and white in the glow of the rising son. Nothing blocking it at all. Like in a postcard. It was on the house flyer. I thought they had just pasted a picture from a postcard, so I ignored it. The only limited times I had spent in the house, it was cloudy. But no, this postcard view was MY view. Wow. How did this house linger on the market for SO long? With a view of the mountain like THAT? Wintertime in the Pacific Northwest perhaps? Or maybe it was simply waiting. Waiting to be my Miracle on 34th Street.

And out another window, far in the distance, mountains almost just like what I used to see in another place where I grew up (Colorado). And two more snowcapped peaks, wow look, 3 more. Like home. Only better. And the ocean within a little over an hour too, some of the most dramatic coastline in the world.

Did I tell you how I ended up moving? One day I made a choice, a rather dramatic one, it had to do with choosing to help people. I made a very conscious decision to fully step into being a bridge builder. Even vocalized it out loud. That was on a Saturday. And on the following Monday, I learned that I would either need to transfer to another state or quit. Completely out of the blue. There was NO sign of this the week before, none whatsoever. So I was pushed out of my comfort zone. On the road to paradise.

How could I just drive up and find my dream house on a day I wasn't even really looking? Did I tell you? Before I had left on that trip to my new state, a card had come in the mail that caught my attention. It said "Your rewards are waiting".

Did I tell you about my dream job, the one that just appeared out of nowhere when I wasn't even looking? A job which somebody described as and I quote "If they could create a job perfectly designed for you, this would be it." That happened some months later...No, it didn't come with any more money, but it didn't matter. It was the perfect job for me.

Is this what it FEELS like to begin to glimpse heaven on earth? People are suffering. Do I DESERVE to have these things? I was suffering once. For a very long time. More than I have shared in this forum. There was a very long time I was barely existing, and now I can't WAIT to see what comes next! But does suffering make me any more "worthy" than anyone else? Is this a COMPETITION? I think not...still, it's not so easy to accept when it happens, even if it is just simply "enough" and maybe a little bit more. Not the lottery. Not bags of money on my doorstep. But a little piece of paradise. Just like my little English garden, which turned out to be quite a joy too.

Heaven on earth is built one person at a time, one little piece of paradise at a time. And it's not just about things of course, but it IS about building a life of peace and happiness. Can we simply accept it?

No, I didn't do it perfectly. I didn't even have 100% faith. I had plenty of doubts, and I didn't even want to walk in my house (and by the way, I also didn't want to pursue my dream job at first either). I didn't even practice "the law of attraction" or "the secret" the right way, lol (but don't get me started on that - we can talk about that later). But still, here I sit in my dream house, and I need to go to bed soon so I can make a difference in my dream job tomorrow, a job where I even get to help people. Heaven on earth is about that too, you know, when you work in your passion. Guess what I do at work? Build bridges. Between people. Who knows, maybe my next job will be at home. Or maybe even a teacher too. I'm feeling the urge to write a book...and that den with a view...hmmmm....

Peace and Love,
BridgeBuilder

P.S. I have houseguests here at the moment, and somebody is up late, and I could swear I just heard them change the channel to "Field of Dreams". I recognize the music...

__________________
To build a bridge, it is not enough just to have an understanding of both sides of the river, although that is a challenge indeed. Only with the guidance of Love can one master the chasm in between.

If it was "completely normal" (by which I assume you mean natural) then of course it was not a miracle after all, so there's no reason to believe in miracles.

I do, of course, believe that there are things we don't understand yet, and as Arthur C. Clarke points out, any sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic.

In his discussion of miracles in "An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding," David Hume defines a miracle as "a transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the Deity, or by the interposition of some invisible agent". He then goes on to say that we must ask ourselves the question about whether that is more likely, or that the miracle story was made up is more likely. Thus, he suggests that such an event should be labeled a "miracle" only where it would be even more unbelievable (by principles of probability) for it not to be.

Although Hume leaves open the possibility for miracles to occur and be reported, he offers various arguments against this ever having happened in history:

• People often lie, and they have good reasons to lie about miracles occurring either because they believe they are doing so for the benefit of their religion or because of the fame that results.
• People by nature enjoy relating miracles they have heard without caring for their veracity and thus miracles are easily transmitted even where false.
• Hume notes that miracles seem to occur mostly in "ignorant" and "barbarous" nations and times, and the reason they don't occur in the "civilized" societies is such societies aren't awed by what they know to be natural events.
• The miracles of each religion argue against all other religions and their miracles, and so even if a proportion of all reported miracles across the world fit Hume's requirement for belief, the miracles of each religion make the other less likely.
  (Source, Wikipedia)

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evangelicalhumanist: Greek "eu"=good and "angelos"=messenger. Spreading the good news of Humanism.

hey there...BridgeBuilder....i have just sat here reading your post with a smile...I soooooooo relate to your story....Heaven on Earth is truely wonderful....I find myself sad sometimes that why do i see it and yet so many dont seem to....then i read storys like yours that lets me know other do....and for those that dont... it is to be in there time..and i continue to trust...have faith...what ever word one uses..and the crazy part of that is...not sure in what..that might make one think one a little crazy...but what ever it is...i feel i have been to hell and back..and see bites of it more then i like...but the good always seems to.. in the end trump the bad....thank goodness...even with the hardest of days..i remind myself of this...again thank you for yet another up lifting reminder story of how good life really is .....much love....

EH said:If it was "completely normal" (by which I assume you mean natural) then of course it was not a miracle after all, so there's no reason to believe in miracles.

That is my point, EH it is normal but not a miracle..but the term has been applied to it by others because they do not understand it, so in that respect it is a miracle...so yes I believe in miracles (though they are not in truth unnatural)

__________________
RevKathyV

http://www.myspace.com/divinelightinterfaith



www.divinelightinterfaithministry.com

But there is a reason to believe in those things we do not understand, especially when you see them occur in very concrete ways.

I completely agree that these things are "natural". We just don't understand the "nature" of reality. I don't believe there is any such thing as "supernatural" either. It's just that "natural" is far richer than we can even begin to know. Many scientists, for example, only choose to focus upon what I would call a "subnatural" world. Why they don't see the things some of us are seeing in the "natural" world, I have no idea. But there are actually scientific explanations for that too - studies that show you perceive what you EXPECT to perceive. I have witnessed small yet amazing things in ways provable to myself as a scientist (i.e., not "in my head" or hallucinated or even just "perceived"), and even jointly with others, that would stop just about anyone in their tracks, scientists included, as it would not fit within their perception of "subnatural". In fact, I showed one of these things to a friend once at work, and she almost fainted (no, it wasn't an apparition or anything like that - it was a very concrete provable thing, but it blew her away). She wasn't used to "natural".

In peace,
BridgeBuilder

__________________
To build a bridge, it is not enough just to have an understanding of both sides of the river, although that is a challenge indeed. Only with the guidance of Love can one master the chasm in between.

I have 2 anecdotes from my life which were miraculous to me, I certainly believe in miracles.
When I was 16 I was hunting in January for rabbits along the bank of the North Saskatchewan river and foolishly decided to cross over to an island in the middle. It is about 1/2 of a mile across at that point. I got out close to the island and the ice broke and I fell in, but I was inside a massive bubble like a wine cup and I could see water all around and below me moving fast but the bubble was strong enough to hold me. I climbed out and made my way back to shore. I have since been very respectful of ice.

About 6 years ago I lived in Northern Alberta and in February I was cutting down poplar trees with my chainsaw. I was expanding the open area for the berry bushes and making firewood. It was about 28 below Celsius.
One of the trees fell partways and got stuck during the fall and the way it got hung up it was kind of bowed and under tension. It was about 60 feet tall and around 14 inches across. So a fair sized tree. I started cutting it, but I was in a hurry and didn't assess the situation well and took my 266 Husquavarna and began cutting it. The tree was about head level.
I got just about through the tree when it gave a mighty crack and hit me in the head like a baseball bat with enough force to throw me over ten feet airborne back into a brush pile.
Strange thing was though at the moment of impact I felt nothing, like it hit a wall or force field in front of me. I got up still holding the running chainsaw and went right back to cutting wood like nothing happened. Then about 5 minutes later after I had dealt with the tree I started thinking and looked at how far I got thrown. I didn't even have a mark or bruise or even the slightest headache. I had my wife look me over later that day and she couldn't find anything unusual. And I worked the rest of the afternoon in that area.