tolerance; and it invites people to define for themselves what ‘communication’ is,
and who or what ‘the Absolute’ may be.” According to a Sufi saying, prayer is when
you talk to God and meditation is when God talks to you. In this definition, medita-
tion is thought of as passive and receptive and prayer as active and engaging. The
boundaries between meditation and prayer, however, are often blurred.
Dossey has proposed that prayer is “nonlocal,” an idea derived from the field of
quantum physics. The word local means that something is present in the here and
now; each of us exists here and not somewhere else, and now and not at some other
time. The word nonlocal means that something is not confined by place or time. All
the major theistic (belief in a personal God as creator) religions agree on the nonlo-
cal nature of God; that God is everywhere, is not confined by space and location,
and exists throughout time. According to the concept of nonlocality, consciousness
cannot be localized or confined to one’s brain or body, nor can it be confined to the
present moment. Consciousness is basic to the universe, perhaps similar to matter
and energy. According to this theory, neither energy nor information travels from
one mind to another, because the two minds are not separate but rather intercon-
nected and omniscient. Dossey has proposed that consciousness-mediated events
such as prayer, telepathy, precognition, and clairvoyance may be explainable as
developments continue in quantum physics. As in any new theory, the nonlocal the-
ory raises more questions than it answers. Evidence exists that prayer works, even
though the exact mechanism is unknown at this time.The Universality of Faith
Throughout history and around the world, people have called upon a Divine Being
to sustain them. People are nourished by life-affirming beliefs and philosophies.
They meditate and say prayers that elicit physiological calm and a sense of peace-
fulness, both contributing to longer survival. Benson believes that a genetic blue-
print makes believing in the Great Mystery part of people’s nature. Through the
process of natural selection, mutating genes retain the impulses of faith, hope, and
love, and faith is a natural physiologic reaction to the threats to mortality everyone
faces. Benson goes on to say that “according to my investigations, it does not matter
which God you worship, nor which theology you adopt as your own. Spiritual life, in
general, is very healthy.”Illness as a Spiritual Crisis.
Serious illness presents a spiritual crisis. As long as people are well, they maintain
their autonomy and their ability to function at home, work, or school. Their feelings
of self-worth are supported as they find meaning and purpose in their many activi-
ties. Once serious illness occurs, some of these things change. Ill people may have to272 ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TOALTERNATIVE MEDICINE