What if medicine was more of a balm for the soul than a drug for the body? What if the heart of the treatment was heartfelt compassion from doctor to patient? A kind of heart to heart, in other words.
According to Donna Helen Crisp, this more spiritual approach is ideal, practicable and effective. As clinical assistant professor at the University of North Carolina’s School of Nursing in Chapel Hill, Crisp writes movingly about the need to address the compassion issue. She observes, “True compassion replaces ‘niceness’ when physicians understand that suffering is about more than the flesh; that it also encompasses a person’s mind and spirit, hopes and dreams, sense of control and fears about what is to come.” (Raleigh News & Observer, December 9) She adds that states of thought such as loneliness, hopelessness, powerlessness and loss of dignity may be “invisible yet powerful dimensions of patient suffering.”
Some years ago my friend, a Christian Scientist, suffered from frightening symptoms of heart disease. Accustomed to prayer as a first response to her health challenges, she began to seek spiritual inspiration about the problem, looking for unwholesome states of thought that were behind physical symptoms. A sense of guilt over a family situation surfaced. Memories of a much loved grandmother’s rebuke came to light. Apparently my friend had chosen a life that was not the one her grandmother had wished for her, and the grandmother had lamented many times, “You’re breaking my heart.” In a flash of revelation, my friend saw that she’d done nothing wrong, that she’d always loved and revered her grandmother, and that she was not the cause of her grandmother’s self-inflicted disappointment. She was innocent, and in God’s eyes so was her grandmother. All guilt was washed away with this prayer-based thought process, replaced by compassion for both her grandmother and herself. She was also permanently cured of the heart disease symptoms.
“It is only with one’s heart that one can see clearly,” Crisp quotes Saint-Exupery. Hearts touch hearts. Thoughts change, things improve, and we are restored to wholeness.
When Santa stops in North Carolina, he may find treats of banana pudding, lemon chess pie and red velvet cake waiting on the mantelpiece. These three are dessert faves down here, and some of our waistlines prove it.
Maybe you tipped the scale a little higher this morning than you expected. You’re looking a bit Santa-ish and the holidays have only begun? Can we talk turkey here?
If you’re like millions of Americans you may already be overweight or even obese going into the holidays. So how will you survive those sugar plums and even gain a little (sorry!) on your path to more healthful eating?
Rather than forcing yourself to diet or adopt extreme exercise regimens, consider a spiritual approach. As you think about your thinking, you may discover layers of discontent, self-blame, shame and in some cases gluttony. Now don’t feel bad; rather, you can feel good! You’re created to have control over your thoughts and don’t need to obsess over food or lack of it. Accept your right to contentment: you’re YOU, and that is enough! Quiet moments of prayer or meditation will establish this truth in your thoughts and bring confidence, calm and a sense of normalcy about eating.
Christian Science teaches the essential innocence of man in God’s image, opposed to the sinful, weak, fallen man of some other religions; opposed also to psychology’s approach with therapy, drugs, material regimens or will power. While nutritionists like Joy Bauer can help, simply claiming this innocence can actually restore healthful, more balanced eating habits.
Years ago I took a big step toward this balance. Staring at a large piece of chocolate cake on the counter one day, I was almost transfixed by the desire for more, more, more. But reaching out in thought to the source of peace and contentment that I call God, the unhealthy cravings faded away. Although I can’t say I’ve never overeaten since that time, I can say I’ve remained free from unwholesome helplessness about food. And my weight has stayed the same.
Our local NPR station WUNC broadcast an interview recently with Duke University’s Dr. Jeffrey Brantley, an expert in Integrative Medicine and Mindfulness Stress Reduction. His claim that the mental realm influences the physical is by itself nothing new. But he adds that being present in the moment, being aware of our very thoughts and choosing to obey only the good ones– these states can improve our health and wellbeing, as it has done for him and many others. He likens this to Tai Chi, Yoga, meditation and especially prayer. He urges us to “Be still and know that I am God.” He’d also like us to buy his book Five Good Minutes.
Christian Science is sometimes dismissed as just one more “mind over matter” approach, and particularly one that borrows heavily from nineteenth century healer Phineas Quimby. On the contrary, although religion founder Mary Baker Eddy did study Quimby’s methods early in her career, she later broke completely from him and his practice of mesmerism. She discovered that it was not the human mind that healed, but the Divine Mind, God. Only an appeal to this Mind and an attempt to understand its spiritual nature, and therefore our own, effected complete and permanent healing. Even more, this appeal to the one Mind so transformed the individual that character failings, harmful appetites and unwholesome attitudes also tended to disappear along with the physical ailment. Talk about a stress-free Mind body connection!
Dr. Paz-y-Mino C specifically cites Christian Science (which has a results-oriented 140-year record of healing) and mistakenly links it with faith healing.
Why mistakenly? Because that would be like saying that getting on a 747 and flying to Europe is the same as just wishing that you could fly to Europe. One gets you there, the other – well, not so much!
The doctor goes on to cite all of the advances in medicine. New drugs. New technologies. New research. It all appears quite remarkable.
But does that automatically mean that Christian Science prayer isn’t relevant? Does it mean that it’s outdated or ineffective? Or that it’s superseded by modern medicine as the doctor suggests?
That’s a conclusion that I think we shouldn’t jump to. It just doesn’t hold water.
How so?
Well, because thousands upon thousands who’ve relied on Christian Science have in fact experienced healings of diseases and other physical problems.
And I’m one of them.
So, to discount or reject Christian Science prayer as a practical method of healing because it doesn’t follow the path and guidelines set out by medicine simply doesn’t make any sense.
Welcome to the official site of the Christian Science Committee on Publication for North Carolina. I serve as a media spokesperson and legislative contact for Christian Science in the state and am responsible for conveying correct information about Christian Science, its practices, and its discoverer, Mary Baker Eddy.
Cynthia P. Barnett
Phone: 919-909-0169
Email: northcarolina@compub.org
Twitter: cynthiabarnettp
By Ken Girard
