Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine

While conducting research on the power of prayer and healing, I was encouraged to get this book and I am so glad I did! I could not but this book down once I began to read it. This is a must read if you are interested in the subject. It is well written and it is based on true experiences in Dr. Dossey's practice.

This book reaffirmed my belief in prayer, and helped me to better understand its healing powers.

Dr. Dossey explains in HEALING WORDS how prayer-based healing works. It has been scientifically proven in hundreds of experiments to be a balanced part of health care that can significantly decrease health problems and significantly improve our quality and quantity of life. Dossey shares some of his own real-life stories of caring for patients... including an American Indian shaman, who requested Dr. Dossey's medical help for his aching neck! This book contains a wealth of information about prayer experiments written in Dossey's characteristically down-to-Earth style. I love the way Dossey raises questions about whether some prayer experiments are ethical, and why some scientists continue to resist the mounting body of evidence that so clearly shows how prayer has a powerful effect on healing.

Dossey again displays an inquisitive intellect. This work transcends a narrow, dogmatic "god," to approach a universal "non-local" mind which encompasses and connects all existence. Dossey is cognizant of the power of words and emotion... of the impact they can have on humanity. This is not "New Age;" it is a modern compilation and interpretation of ancient wisdom. Bravo!

I've known Larry (the author) since the old times when everyone in medicine seemed to scoff professionally at his interest in the healing power of prayer. Now, quite rapidly, science is catching up with Larry's insights, and we realize just how powerfully our thoughts, spiritual and otherwise, influence our physical bodies.Larry's book still stands as a classic presentation of the power of prayer in healing. His text offers a very complete presentation of the large amount of research that has in fact been conducted, to prove the power of prayer. And from reading this book, you discover from the studies, what works and what doesn't, which prayer variables are active and which don't matter ... really astounding insights come from this book - plus pragmatic guidelines for how we can all use our own minds and our link with the divine, no matter our particular religious preference, for helping us gain and maintain optimum health - and helping others as well.