Meditation Can Foster Healing

In 1994, I began my doctoral studies in meditation and healing. I already knew that there are many types of prayer. Some prayers are public, some are private. Sometimes we pray by reading and reciting written prayers. Sometimes we pray by listening into the spoken prayers of others. Sometimes when we are alone, we pray by talking to God out loud. But many people pray by talking to God in silence, talking to God in their head or heart. And sometimes we pray by thinking about something, or pondering something. Such prayers are called meditations.

I also discovered that meditative techniques have been used in the medical community to help people overcome stress, anxiety, headaches, back pain and heart disease. In addition, Jeanne Achterberg notes that diseases of the immune system including cancer, allergies, infections, the autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and a multitude of other conditions that are a consequence of either a sluggish or hyperactive immune system can be positively addressed and affected through meditation and visualization.

Fascinated, I began to put the practices I was reading about to the test. Although I was unable to reverse the neuropathy which had caused me to lose my vision and made it difficult for me to walk, I did learn how to relax, let go of stress, relieve headaches, undo back and leg cramps, and improve my overall physical coordination. More importantly, by combining traditional forms of Christian prayer and meditation with those developed by the medical community, I received tremendous spiritual benefits.

In 1996, I recorded a series of meditation tapes and began to teach meditation for healing in church groups, special classes and on retreats. The results have been fantastic as people have learned how to release physical and emotional stress, let go of pain and find inner healing and peace.

If you struggle with health problems for which there seems to be no solution, why not try putting the power of your spirit to work in your quest for healing? Take advantage of the body-mind-spirit connection. Three things are required: training, practice, and patience. Here in Richmond you can receive training in meditation at the Center For Creative Life Growth. You may also want to experiment with recorded meditations. You will find a wide variety of choices. I recommend tapes recorded by Dr. Bernie Siegel, and Diana Keck, of Mountain Spirit Tapes.





Dr. Greene is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and a resident of Richmond, IN. He is also the author of Feeling Better: The Wisdom of the Doc, You Can Feel Better: How to cope with chronic pain and physical disabilities, and co-author of Walking Free: the Nellie Zimmerman Story.


For further information about his books, please visit www.densmorereid.com

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