In today’s Denver Post, Electa Draper reports that “Christian Scientists push for health insurance that covers spiritual care.” The story revolves around an actual case:
The burn victim, in his early 20s, was a Christian Scientist. When ER doctors told him he faced six months of skin-graft surgeries, he turned to his religion. His religion told [...]
Tags:animal magnetism·Christian Science·Electa Draper·Franz Anton Mesmer·hypnosis·insurance coverage·Mary Baker Eddy·mesmerism·mind over matter·Phineas Quimby·placebo effects·placebo healing·prayer healing·snake oil·spiritual healing·spiritual health care·sugar pills
There are some scholars — such as James McLenon and Stephen Sanderson, who contend that shamanic techniques of healing played in an important role in the evolution of religion. I tend to agree and discussed the issue in “Judge Not and Be Persuaded (or Healed):
“Essential to McClenon’s argument is that the people being treated by [...]
Tags:Antonio Damasio·Christian Science·emotions·healing·health·hypnosis·Jaak Panksepp·James McLenon·placebo effect·placebos·shamanic healing·shamans·Stephen Sanderson·suggestion·Tor Wager
Over at Inkling Magazine, Meera Lee Sethi reports on a brilliant study which shows that when believers are told that the person to whom they are listening has divine powers, the regions of their brain responsible for high level executive functioning — in other words, the areas involved in critical thinking and judgment — show [...]
Tags:faith healing·hypnosis·James McClenon·James Walker·Lakota·placebo·priming·shamanic healing·suggestibility·suspension of disbelief·wicasa wakan
