Comments on: High crimes and prayers

By: Fern

Fern — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:14:40 +0000

Believe it or not I found that some people do not connect or feel comfortable with GOD< SOURCE< DIVINITY or have a confused orientation to their feelings ( based on childhood conditioning or past experience) So When someone tells me something that they are suffering with, at the end of the session I will say: I will hold you in my meditations. Or sometimes I simply pray for the person, without telling them directly ( as I have a daily prayer session) and I add “if this is meant to heal let it be so”. There are other times when I ask myself
“is this mine to do”. So a general prayer sometimes replaces specific well wishes.

By: christine

christine — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:31:58 +0000

Function & Form: at the end of the day, perhaps it is just an Ad Min. oversight. There are people who want and not want certain things at their disposal (blood, priests/ministers, meat, medicines) all of which are discussed and are made ‘black and white’ on the Ad Min. sheet. Perhaps all that is needed is for ‘pray’ to be put on the form too. (as it is causes such a confused situation)

By: Penny

Penny — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:23:55 +0000

We do not know the content of the prayer. Maybe she prayed a blessing on the woman. That hardly constitutes prayer. I grew up in the Baptist church although I am not a Baptist today. In all those years, I never heard anyone pray for the healing of a patient unless they were asked to come and pray. That doesn’t mean people did not pray for healing, it just means that I never heard of an aggressive prayer for healing. However, I did hear people pray God’s blessings on people and pray for the comfort of the sick. I can’t imagine anyone offended by a blessing. There are so many things in humanity that are inexplicable.

By: steve

steve — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:10:29 +0000

… and, Christine, if a nurse said “praise Jesus” before an injection I would doubt her expertise, and would request a replacement with more confidence in her own marksmanship.

;-}

By: Robin Turner

Robin Turner — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:57:14 +0000

Having read in The Intention Experiment about cases where prayer had a negative effect on patients, I might be alarmed at the prospect of my nurse praying for me!

By: Christine Hasan

Christine Hasan — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 05:20:43 +0000

Slightly off topic but after last night’s Intention I was left wondering something.
I couldn’t get a latch on Irma and felt that my Intention wasn’t working. I went on to consider that after the young man, Daniel, who made such an amazing recovery , we have had no feedback.
My questions are these. Is it possible that the recipient’s knowledge of our Intention affects the outcome? Did Daniel heal better because his awareness was not blocking our Intentions in some subliminal way?
Further , do other people on here feel that they ‘work’ better when they have a photo of the person needing the Intention to work from?

By: Infinite Love

Infinite Love — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:35:44 +0000

As a Registered Nurse, I’m left wondering how many people realize that the first nurses were indeed Nuns.
The entire issue is so ironically bizarre that I don’t believe I could have dreamed this up in a million years.
It seems so surreal to me.

By: Robert

Robert — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:57:06 +0000

Funny, apparently there have been many studies trying to point out the effectiveness of intercessory prayer. And apparently some have been more thorough than others.
Both Mrs. Lynne McTaggart ( in The Field) and Dr. Fred Gallo (in Energy Psychology) mention many studies that suggest that intercessory prayer and healing meditations as effective. Dr. Richard Gerber (in Vibrational Medicine) also stresses on loving meditation, and mentions the effects that Trascendental Meditators have had on certain cities’ crime rates, as well as Mrs. McTaggart. Healing and crime rates.

So even though meditation is technically not prayer, both share common elements and bear similar subtle mechanics. And the best thing is that their effects go beyond placebo, as suggested by the Targ and Sicher studies reported in The Field and many other investigations regarding remote healing.

I agree with Reen in being prudent when inclined to praying for clients. Mostly because of legal statutes that wish to guarantee that everyone’s religious beliefs be respected, in this case by not allowing that any religion to benefit “unjustly” in a given individual’s dire moment by using prayer with a hidden proselytizing motive. Sadly, some laws are made after a reason is given for them to be made. In the end fear and ignorance may seem to win on this round.

But if there’s a will there’s always a way.

So if not sure of the clients religious convictions or spiritual beliefs, you may try remote healing or remote prayer, in which studies apparently suggest that they function just about the same as hands on healing or hands on prayer only without the placebo statistical factor.

By: Reen

Reen — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 20:51:46 +0000

Interesting comments all. May I clarify one thing: I am not against prayer, and not a disbeliever in the power of prayer/meditation. It is the setting and timing I am opposing, and a certain religious branch which dictates proselytizing – cui bono?

The home care nurse PEG, assumed she saw evidence of her client’s religious orientation and (asked for) a blessing. She lucked out, in more ways than one. However, I have a cross with Jesus in the room my mother used to stay in, and am not a catholic.

I also have known nurses who do believe prayer is part of their care giving, but they do it silently. No problem there. But to actively “minister” as I believe evangelicals call it, is an invasion of privacy and inappropriate in a nursing home or hospital where, like CHRISTINE, a person may think “the end” is nearer than she is told. Which disturbs the therapeutic environment it should be at all times.

Only do this when you have established the religious orientation of a client. You might do this during the admission assessment, during which it would be perfectly fine to find out what, if anything, the client likes, needs, or wants spiritually. It is included in the admission assessment sheets in the USA.

Get permission from the client in writing when she co-signs the admission review and from your supervisor (who in turn should check with the hospital clergy services and even have one of them confirm this with the client).

And, especially in a room which is NOT private, do this very quietly or even silently, because it may disturb roommates, especially confused ones.

☯Namasté☯

By: Lorraine Dell

Lorraine Dell — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:45:42 +0000

There is lots of research to say that spirituality promotes mental health – being ill is not helpful to anyones mental health. There is also research evidence that people being prayed for – even if they are unawre of this have better out comes. Prayer is merely a type of intention – the nurse sought to get permission to offer this intention. Maybe part of the learning from this in our too politiacally correct society is to simply offer prayers/intentions and wait to see the results without saying ahything.