Internet offers resource for world prayer

Since its advent in 1999, The World Prayers Project has grown into a major "multicultural prayer site" accessed by millions across the globe. The prayer collection, which continues to expand, includes a vast reservoir of prayers ranging from "meditations" and "celebrations" to "adorations" and "invocations." The purpose of the project, as given in its mission statement, is both spiritual and humanitarian:

"The mission of The World Prayers Project is to improve human relations by celebrating the many forms of prayer and honoring the benefits of spiritual, cultural, and natural diversity.

"The World Prayers Project (WPP) is a nonprofit, educational, public service organization whose founding objective is to gather and present historic and contemporary World Prayers in a unified, multifaith archive on the Internet.

"As the global community draws closer together, it is increasingly essential to resolve cultural conflicts and misunderstandings and to more fully appreciate the great wisdom, beauty, and intelligence found in the diversity of world traditions. Our organization is committed to shape this prayer collective into an educational and inspirational resource for the human family. All life-affirming spiritual, cultural, and ethnic traditions are invited to participate.

"Thousands of prayers a day are being sent across the digital network from our website to people visiting from over a hundred nations. As the Internet and its supporting technologies become available to more and more people throughout the world, so will our sphere of positive influence expand."

The site is funded entirely by private donations.

The World Prayers Project
www.worldprayers.com

THE MIND'S ROLE IN HEALTH

"It's not news that the mind and body have a relationship when it comes to health. What is new is the growth in services for Springfield [Illinois] residents who are searching for ways to treat their bodies holistically.

"The Center for Holistic Health opened earlier this year, and St. John's Hospital's nearly decade-old mindbody program is growing and moving to a new home. ...

"Michele Reinold-Jackson, a transpersonal therapist at the Center for Holistic Health, said the goal is to give patients the tools to take their health into their own hands. It's about first educating them that the 'mind' doesn't refer to the brain. It's attitude, perception, mood, spirituality, and a person's entire set of beliefs, Reinold-Jackson said. ... It's knowing that the mind and body are one system. ...

"The SIU [Southern Illinois University] School of Medicine has been teaching an elective course on alternative healing for 20 years, but about one-third of every class signs up for it, said Phil Davis, associate professor in the Department of Medical Humanities at SIU.

"The course covers spiritual healing, homeopathy, chiropractic care, traditional Chinese medicine, and ayurveda, or traditional medicine of India. ...

"The earliest healers that we're aware of were religious leaders in their communities. Davis said. ... Faith is difficult to measure, Davis said. Still, prayer is perhaps the earliest known form of mind-body medicine and probably the most frequently applied."

Amy Denney
"Understanding the link between the mind and recovery"
The State Journal-Register
(Springfield, Illinois)
November 8, 2004

PHYSICS AND SPIRITUALITY JOIN HANDS IN THREE NEW BOOKS

"Physicist and author Vitalij Garber connects two bodies of knowledge that have clashed in modern culture. The three books in 'The Triad' series, Communion with the Absolute, The Spirit-Body Communication, and The Spirit Force (now available through AuthorHouse), join the findings of recent physics research with spiritual, Christian ideas about experiencing God. Garber discusses how spirituality and science are not opposing forces. New discoveries in physics indicate the need for a 'spirit force,' he writes. ...

"In The Spirit Force, he explains how one needs to augment today's laws of physics, which he claims are only theoretical models for the operations of the universe, to account for spirituality. His groundbreaking ideas highlight a new phase of understanding in spiritual and physical phenomena.

"Packed with insight and creativity, Garber's 'The Triad' series combines ... spirituality and proven science to present a fascinating theory about the human mind and contact with the absolute."

Jamie Thompson
"Science and spirituality as complements—author's three
books tell how physics can unlock keys to reaching God"
Author House Publishing
www.authorhouse.com
November 17, 2004