Ales Rarus

I'm not talking about tent revivals and Benny Hin. This is serious stuff. Prayer Is Good Medicine By Larry Sokoloff

"Inspired by a visit to a hospital in India run by Sri Sathya Sai Baba and his followers, two Duke University researchers are investigating the effects prayer and other nonmedical practices can have on a patient's recovery after angioplasty."

Our Prayers Are with You Science is placing more faith in distant healing. By Angela Pirisi

"Greeting card companies have long known something science is only now trying to prove: Sending 'get well soon' sentiments can help people feel better."

No Side Effects Medical research shows meditation helps treat heart disease, cancer, and more. By Carolyn Edy

"An apple a day is all well and good, but 40 minutes of daily meditation might prove far more effective in keeping the doctor away. The real surprise? Your doctor might just be the one to give you this advice."

Om Is Where the Heart Is Recent research has found that reciting mantras or prayers reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes. By Alison Rose Levy

"The power of sacred words is so widely recognized in the East that it's considered inauspicious to mispronounce even a single Sanskrit syllable. Apart from their literal meaning, mantras are believed to contain a vibrational power that can lift people to higher spiritual states. According to Hindu belief, consciousness congeals into matter progressively, moving from sound to the sacred syllable Om to ordinary language, and from there to the entire manifest universe. Therefore, reciting mantras can carry people back to the very source of Being."