Talk Cancer

Question:

I invite you to consider the term "spiritual commitment" rather than religious commitment.  Spiritual commitment is a belief in a Divine Power (whatever that may be) …

Incorrect. Buddhists, for example, are spiritually committed without any belief in a "Divine Power." Paul Baran and   for e-mail replies, remove the CAPS in my address

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I invite you to consider the term "spiritual commitment" rather than religious commitment.  Spiritual commitment is a belief in a Divine Power (whatever that may be) … an as yet unexplained energy which governs our Beingness and very much affects patterns of thought and thus behaviour. Religions are many; they are systems designed by man with set patterns of how and what we are supposed to believe in.  I don’t think Almighty Spirit Divine Power, by whatever name we chose (God, Allah, Hare Krishna, etc) cares how we perceive the higher system of energy that runs our physical "motors", only that we accept and are open to the unseen force available to all of us to keep us balanced, healthy, vital and caring in mind and body in how we behave toward ourselves and others.  The Judeo-Christian religious doctrines call this energy "love".  Lack of it does cause physical breakdowns: cancer, heart trouble, etc.  People who meditate (or pray) know this to be true, if what they practice comes truly from Spirit, rather than a belief only in their own particular man-made religious practice.        

Aloha, Why must "spirituality" be linked to a "Supreme Being". Cannot Mankind accept responsibility for it’s own fate? Spirituality does not necessarily require that there is some sort "God" involved. It has been shown that animals can predict natural disasters. Is that God talking to them. People who are ill and have many friends concerned and praying for them are more likely to recover. Do they recover because of Heavenly intervention os because of the positive reenforcement of their fellow human beings. Tent revival faith healing has been shown to have some effect, but tests have show that healers can effect positive change without Divine intervention and even without the subject being aware of the procedure. It’s time that Humans take responsibility for the future of Humans and the Earth. The sooner we stop shifting responsibility to some Higher Being, the sooner we will deal realistically with the problems that confront us. What’s the saying? God helps those who help themselves. Keoni

Response:

The suggestion is made below to use the term "spiritual" instead of "religious".  The former is defined in the dictionary as "of the human spirit or soul, not physical or worldly…", while "religion" is stated to mean "belief in the existence of a superhuman controlling power…"  Yet, the author of the suggestion below attempts to define the spiritual as being a "Divine Power… which governs our Beingness…".  So, the suggestion seems to contradict the author’s own definition. Jai Maharaj http://www.flex.com/~jai Om Shanti The above is in response to the following: [References to Hawaii's rogue site lavatory.net deleted] – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I invite you to consider the term "spiritual commitment" rather than religious commitment.  Spiritual commitment is a belief in a Divine Power (whatever that may be) … an as yet unexplained energy which governs our Beingness and very much affects patterns of thought and thus behaviour. Religions are many; they are systems designed by man with set patterns of how and what we are supposed to believe in.  I don’t think Almighty Spirit Divine Power, by whatever name we chose (God, Allah, Hare Krishna, etc) cares how we perceive the higher system of energy that runs our physical "motors", only that we accept and are open to the unseen force available to all of us to keep us balanced, healthy, vital and caring in mind and body in how we behave toward ourselves and others.  The Judeo-Christian religious doctrines call this energy "love".  Lack of it does cause physical breakdowns: cancer, heart trouble, etc.  People who meditate (or pray) know this to be true, if what they practice comes truly from Spirit, rather than a belief only in their own particular man-made religious practice.        Many professional practitioners can tell you from experience that the human mind does not know the difference between physical and virtual "reality".  If you tell your mind something long enough, it will happen in your physical body.  A personal example:  a person I know long and very well always used to say, jokingly, about something which annoyed him "it gives me a hernia".  Several years ago, he developed a hernia.  That Science is only just discovering a link between physical healing and SPIRITUAL commitment in any form has some of us smiling and nodding "it’s about time".  I invite all of us to drop our agendas about how and what to practice to be healed, and stay open to the quiet space of Spirit in which we CAN be healed.  In this way, we assist medical practitioners in bringing power to their procedures, far beyond the medicine/surgery/etc. they use.  My dentist once asked me, before pulling a rather large impacted molar, "if you have the ability to withdraw the blood back from your gum tissue, it would be very helpful". He gave me 2 minutes.  I did, by asking my body to cooperate, and Spirit to intervene. The tooth got pulled with little or no "mopping up".  The dentist thanked me; I thanked him, and the tissue healed "in record time" he said, when I returned the next day. Aloha from Marjorie in Hawaii Hi, That faith in general is a power, is quite a common knowledge. And indeed it gives what one desires. Only there are different body’s of faith. And according to them, will be the kind of the received power. It may be health, success, or anything else and it can be of a religious kind or not. Rolf Helmecke Germany Munich On September 6, 1997, SCIENCE DISCOVERS LINK BETWEEN PHYSICAL HEALING AND RELIGIOUS COMMITMENT healing and the faith factor worldwide english feature by jane hughes edited by kleinfeldt washington september 2, 1997 introduction     science has discovered a link between a religious     commitment and physical healing.  and that beliefs or     expectations can have a profound impact on our health.       scientists call this phenomenon the "placebo" effect,     which has been shown to heal from 50 to 80 percent of     many disorders.  health reporter jane hughes has     details: text     according to a number of studies, people who regularly          attend church, for example, have 50 percent fewer deaths          from coronary artery disease and 74 percent fewer from          liver cirrhosis.  a link has also been established          between religious beliefs and reduced stress and          depression.  and one study showed that patients, who          were prayed for, had fewer complications after heart          surgery.          dr. david larson is the author of the teaching workbook,          "the forgotten factor" which discusses the relationship          between religion and health. tape     cut one – larson  :11          "there is enough of a research base for us to look and          see that faith can make a difference — whether it’s in          prevention, coping with illness or recovering from major          interventions." text     many doctors are uncomfortable discussing a person’s          faith and believe it is not their place to inquire about          it.  however, nationwide polls show that a growing          number of americans want physicians to pay more          attention to their spiritual needs and are eager to          include spirituality in their treatment.  according to          cnn, gallup, time and other polls, sixty to seventy          percent of americans say they would like to discuss          spirituality with their doctors.  and, says dr. larson,          they also want their physicians to join with them in          prayer. tape     cut two – larson  :19          "sixty-three percent of patients — five out of eight —          want their doctor to pray with them.  and, yet, only one          out of ten doctors ever even ask about spirituality.            faith and spirituality is not left out of these          practices because people are against it.  it’s because          they don’t know what to do.  they don’t know how to ask          the questions." text     david larson hopes younger doctors can be trained to          talk comfortably about faith with their patients.  he          founded the national institute for healthcare research          in rockville, maryland in 1994 to provide health          professionals with information about spiritual          approaches to healing.  one sixth of the 126 medical          schools in the united states are now offering courses on          the element of faith in the healing process.            spirituality is part of the curriculum at george          washington university medical school, here in          washington. a popular course being offered at harvard          medical school is called "spirituality and healing in          medicine."          dr. herbert benson is author of the bestseller "timeless          healing."  he says that physicians have long known that          belief can heal.  and with 99 percent of americans          professing a belief in god, he is not surprised at the          studies that show a link between religious belief and          health.  however, he says spirituality is just one part          of the total healing process. tape     cut three – benson  :27          "you should view this kind of healing as being part of          an overall approach to medicine — like a three-legged          stool, where one leg is drugs, another leg is surgery          and the third leg is what you can do for yourself.  and          in that third leg, we have relaxation techniques, we          have belief, we have nutrition and exercise.  belief is          definitely an important part of how we can help heal          ourselves." text     belief is at the heart of the "placebo effect" which is          improvement in the condition of a sick person who has          received a "sugar pill" — an inactive substance —          rather than medication — during a controlled medical          test.          dr. benson defines belief as being much broader than          belief in god.  he emphasizes that the benefits of the          faith factor are not the exclusive domain of the devout.          he says people don’t have to have a professed belief in          god to benefit from it.          how does the faith factor work?  why does there seem to          be a connection between faith and healing?  doctor          benson: tape     cut four – benson  :32          "we are beginning to understand — and i point this out          in my book, ‘timeless healing’ — that we have patterns          of brain activity that remember sickness.  other          patterns that remember being well. and, if you believe          that you

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Response:

I invite you to consider the term "spiritual commitment" rather than religious commitment.  Spiritual commitment is a belief in a Divine Power (whatever that may be) … an as yet unexplained energy which governs our Beingness and very much affects patterns of thought and thus behaviour. Religions are many; they are systems designed by man with set patterns of how and what we are supposed to believe in.  I don’t think Almighty Spirit Divine Power, by whatever name we chose (God, Allah, Hare Krishna, etc) cares how we perceive the higher system of energy that runs our physical "motors", only that we accept and are open to the unseen force available to all of us to keep us balanced, healthy, vital and caring in mind and body in how we behave toward ourselves and others.  The Judeo-Christian religious doctrines call this energy "love".  Lack of it does cause physical breakdowns: cancer, heart trouble, etc.  People who meditate (or pray) know this to be true, if what they practice comes truly from Spirit, rather than a belief only in their own particular man-made religious practice.        Many professional practitioners can tell you from experience that the human mind does not know the difference between physical and virtual "reality".  If you tell your mind something long enough, it will happen in your physical body.  A personal example:  a person I know long and very well always used to say, jokingly, about something which annoyed him "it gives me a hernia".  Several years ago, he developed a hernia.  That Science is only just discovering a link between physical healing and SPIRITUAL commitment in any form has some of us smiling and nodding "it’s about time".  I invite all of us to drop our agendas about how and what to practice to be healed, and stay open to the quiet space of Spirit in which we CAN be healed.  In this way, we assist medical practitioners in bringing power to their procedures, far beyond the medicine/surgery/etc. they use.  My dentist once asked me, before pulling a rather large impacted molar, "if you have the ability to withdraw the blood back from your gum tissue, it would be very helpful". He gave me 2 minutes.  I did, by asking my body to cooperate, and Spirit to intervene. The tooth got pulled with little or no "mopping up".  The dentist thanked me; I thanked him, and the tissue healed "in record time" he said, when I returned the next day. Aloha from Marjorie in Hawai