Best Type of Prayer
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Blog Post #78
"One of the most important contributions made by the Spindrift researchers is the
distinction between directed prayer and nondirected prayer.
With directed prayer, the practitioner has a specific goal, image, or outcome in mind; is attempting to steer it in a precise direction — praying for an illness to be cure, for pain to go away, for rapid seed germination.
Nondirected prayer is an open-end approach in which no specific outcome is held in the imagination: no attempt to tell the universe what to do.”
— Larry Dossey, M.D., Recovering the Soul: A Scientific and Spiritual Search
…continued from Post #77
Excerpts from Recovering the Soul: A Scientific and Spiritual Search
Which is a more effective prayer?
“Directed and nondirected prayer was put to the test by Spindrift researchers.
The organic system involved was a mold growing on the surface of a rice agar plate, the kind that bacteriologists… routinely use. The mold was stressed — washed in an alcohol rinse to retard its growth but not enough to kill it. A string was placed across the mold dividing it into A (the not prayed-for) control side and B the prayed-for side. When directed prayer was used to encourage the growth of side B, growth remained static. When directed prayer was replaced by nondirected prayer, in which no goal was outlined in the mind of the prayer practitioner, side B began to multiply and formed additional concentric growth rings.
They also demonstrated… the ability of prayer to influence random processes in nature. For this germination experiment they put 500 stressed mung beans, oversoaked in saltwater, in each of three paper cups with holes punched on the bottom. The cups were marked either H for 'heads', T for 'tails' or C for 'control.' Then a penny was put in a box, shakened and the box was not opened… The practitioners directed the effects of their prayer to correspond to the upturned side of the penny, without knowing whether it was actually heads or tails. At the end of the week there were twice as many sprouted mung beans in the 'heads' cup as the other two; and when the box was opened the penny was also heads.
To find out if it was a coincidence, a series of tests was done, with consistent findings. The Spindrift researchers found that they could correctly call the face of a die, predict the number of a playing card, or the denomination of a bill in an envelope, depending on the setup of the experiment.
“The researchers found that with directed prayer it was difficult to know the best outcome for the patient. Their experiments suggest that nondirected prayer moves organisms toward those states of form and function that are best for them, and that the practitioner need not know what that 'best' is… prayer, linked to a loving intelligence, moved the seeds toward their norms... in the direction that was best for the individual need.
“When problems arise, it is our own preferred outcome that we usually pray for. We believe we do know what the norm should be, and we waste no time in telling the universe how to behave… Is it not then better to follow a nondirected form of prayer, relying on a higher Universal Intelligence to make the decision and to decide what is best for our particular exigency? Especially in view of the fact that nondirected prayer appears more potent anyway?
Conclusion
“Both methods of praying were shown to work but the nondirected approach — Thy will be done — appeared quantitatively much more effective, frequently yielding results that were twice as great.”
— Larry Dossey, M.D., Recovering the Soul: A Scientific and Spiritual Search
Peace Affirming Prayer
Peace fills my mind and flows through all my thoughts.
Peace fills my heart and flows through all my love.
Peace fills my soul and goodwill flows to all.
Peace fills my being and permeates all my activities.
Peace within. Peace without. Peace everywhere.
Peace in my mind. Peace in my heart. Peace in my soul.
Peace in me. Peace in my home. Peace in my country. Peace in my world.
Peace everywhere.
Amen.
Ukrainian folklore characterizes pysanky as a symbolic, talismanic writing that invokes a higher Universal Power for help, while believing with faithful certainty that It will. The contemporary version of this characterization is a paper-and-pen journaling practice called prayer writing that develops a personal relationship with God.
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