Today’s meditation was written by Cathy Self, Senior Vice President for the Baptist Healing Trust.

     The title of today’s meditation is crafted of literally powerful words. The intention with which we come into relationship with ourselves, with others, and with the world has great power. Whether by invitation, belief, or hope, we participate in the creation of something that is, increasingly, believed to produce physical effects in ourselves and others. Distant healing is a phrase that has been recognized and used by the National Institutes of Health for almost a decade. Numerous studies seem to show a cause and effect relationship between prayer and physical healing – even in patients who did not know they were being prayed for. In some sources, rather than prayer, this phenomenon is referred to as energy healing, spiritual healing, or non-local healing.

     One author has captured the results of hundreds of scientific studies and suggests that our beliefs and emotions can actually trigger genes to "turn on," and some of these turned-on genes appear to then affect certain aspects of our immune system such as the production of white blood cells that are so important to the body’s defense against bacteria and viruses. There are even studies that have shown the impact of spoken words and even thoughts on how water freezes.* We have within us, it appears, the potential to actually heal with Love.

     These scientific studies, of course, seek answers to what many have believed and observed but not been able to explain. At the very least these inquiries help me remember that within each of us is great power, possibly greater than we can even yet fathom. My thoughts, my intentions, my prayers carry a very real potential for better health in both myself and in others. The belief that this power is part of a greater scheme and design rests comfortably within my understanding and experience of Love.

     Many faith traditions are enriched with iconic manifestations of healers whose lives are captured through recorded stories of miracles. The Kiersey Temperament sorter describes one personality "type" as healer and depicts those individuals as highly compassionate and empathetic to the needs of others, desiring to bring peace and integrity to their companions and to society at large. We at the Baptist Healing Trust profess that meeting need with Love can create not just sacred encounters but healing encounters. We are not just providing care, we truly have from within the power to heal.

     This realization causes me to marvel at the great responsibility I carry through my thoughts, beliefs, and intentions. My presence and spirit not only impact my own health and well-being, but potentially and physically impact the health and well-being of those around me, whether near or far, family or stranger. I am especially challenged, in reflection, by the words of the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu:

If you want to awaken/ all of humanity, then/ awaken all of yourself.

If you want to eliminate/ the suffering in the world,/ then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself.

Truly, the greatest/ gift you have to give/ is that of your own self/ transformation.

     We are nearing the end of the work week for many. Whether today, tomorrow, or sometime in the next few days, each one of us has been offered the invitation of Sabbath – for rest, for re-creation, for trans-formation (perhaps at the level of our very own genes!). In that time, I offer to you my prayers, my thoughts, my intentions for your health and well-being. May you taste and touch with joy the beauty within, and from that place together may we all, and each one of us, delight in the gift of healing. 

* Dawson Church writes about epigenetics in his book "The Genie in Your Genes" and Dr. Masaru Emmoto discusses the energy of words and thoughts in his book "The Message of Water."