This article, titled "Prayer: Old Approach, New Wonders" by Larry Dossey, M.D. (published in The Quest, Summer 1990), explores the concept of the "nonlocal mind" through the lens of prayer and medical science.
Dossey argues that human consciousness is not confined to the brain or body but is an infinite, shared quality that can influence physical reality regardless of distance.
1. The Core Concept: Nonlocal Mind
The author distinguishes between two ways of viewing the self and the world:
Locality: The traditional view that things (including our "ego" or "self") exist only in a specific place and time. This view suggests that for prayer to work, it would have to travel like a radio signal, losing strength over distance.
Nonlocality: The idea that consciousness is omnipresent and "here-and-now" everywhere. Dossey asserts that "the self is local and God is not." When the mind operates through prayer, it enters a nonlocal state where distance and time are irrelevant.
2. Scientific Evidence: The Byrd Study
Dossey cites a landmark 1988 study by cardiologist Randolph Byrd at San Francisco General Hospital to support his claims. The study involved 393 heart patients in a double-blind test:
Method: One group was prayed for by home prayer groups; the other was not. Neither the patients nor the doctors knew who was in which group.
Results: The prayed-for group was five times less likely to require antibiotics and three times less likely to develop pulmonary edema.
Distance Factor: The study found that prayer was just as effective whether the person praying was in the same city or thousands of miles away, suggesting it does not behave like a physical "energy."
3. The Spindrift Experiments
The article details experiments by an organization called Spindrift, which used simple biological systems (like rye seeds and yeast) to test the effects of prayer:
Stress and Prayer: They found that prayer worked best when the organism was under stress (e.g., seeds placed in salt water).
Directed vs. Nondirected Prayer:
Directed: Praying for a specific outcome (e.g., "make the seeds grow").
Nondirected: An open-ended approach (e.g., "Thy will be done" or "the best possible outcome").
Key Finding: Nondirected prayer was quantitatively much more effective, sometimes yielding results twice as great as directed prayer. Dossey calls this "genuine spiritual healing."
4. Philosophical and Religious Foundations
Dossey connects his "nonlocal" theory to the "Perennial Philosophy" (as described by Aldous Huxley), which suggests a common mystical thread across all religions. He references:
Christianity: Meister Eckhart and St. Catherine of Genoa.
Taoism: The Chuang Tzu.
Buddhism: The concept of the Dharma-body.
Islam: The poet Kabir.
Native American Traditions: Black Elk and Luther Standing Bear.
5. Ecological Implications: Saint Francis
The author highlights Saint Francis of Assisi as the "Patron Saint of Nonlocal Mind." He argues that modern ecological crises stem from our sense of "separateness" from nature. By recognizing a shared, nonlocal consciousness with all living things (as St. Francis did), we can move from "dominion" over the earth to a sense of kinship and healing.
Summary Conclusion
Dossey concludes that the "fixation on flowing time and history" is a psychological barrier. To truly heal, we must break through the illusion of the isolated ego and recognize that at a fundamental level, the soul and the "Godhead" are one and the same.
