© GLOW IMAGES

by Don Ingwerson

Recently, many from Southern California traveled to Washington D. C. to visit with members of congress or their legislative staff members to discuss health care reform.  I’m sure in the near future we will receive reports from these individuals and I will share their comments with you.  In the meantime, you will find the following on the Federal Office web site as a reminder that work is on going and as new information becomes available it will be shared with you:

© GLOW IMAGES
Model used for illustrative purposes

A guest post written by Stormy Becker Falso, Committee on Publication for Georgia

“I mind my own business and I don’t eat junk food.”

It seems like good, practical advice, especially when the source is someone who has just turned 116. The Guinness Book of World Records has certified a Georgia woman, Besse Cooper, as the world’s oldest person. Cooper is one in a billion, according to Robert Young, a consultant on gerontology to Guinness.

The number of people living past the century mark has been increasing. A study by the Danish Aging Research Center is projecting that half of the babies born in the U.S. today are likely to live past 100. Dr. Kaare Christensen, the study’s lead author notes that this gives a very different perspective on an individual’s life plan.

While Besse Cooper followed two cardinal rules in her life, she also incorporated another component: daily Bible study. According to the North Georgia Advocate, Mrs. Cooper attended church into her 90’s and until a couple of years ago read her Bible daily.

Mrs. Cooper’s life demonstrates what studies have been finding. The benefits of spiritually are: longevity, better health, lower levels of depression and anxiety, and improved ability to cope with everyday life.

It isn’t longevity alone people are seeking but also the desire to put more “life” in the years. Media commercials show more and more images of active seniors.

And the 2012 Olympics included a 71 year old dressage competitor from Japan. Hiroshi Hoketsu first competed in 1964 Tokyo Games. Since then, he continued training and competing at the sport’s highest levels. While working in corporate management, he would ride before work every morning. One publication noted Hoketsu,”embod[ied] many of the best attributes of the Games – stamina, discipline, consistent athletic excellence, and, most important, an uncanny ability to defy the perceived limits of age.”

As the executive director of the Japan Equestrian Federation, Hideki Yamauchi, observed, “He has a strong will to improve himself and is never self-satisfied.” Asked about his key to his competition longevity, Hoketsu said, “Keep the motivation and you will keep young.”

More than anomalies, these outliers crack open the possibilities of active living – no matter how many trips around the sun.

© GLOW IMAGES

A guest post written by Charles Lindahl. Article originally posted October 30, 2012.

I have been a volunteer management consultant for over 10 years with the Executive Service Corps (ESC), an organization that matches retired executives with administrators and boards of nonprofit organizations that need help with planning, board development, fund raising, and executive coaching. Along the way, I have worked with nonprofit leaders to deal with issues of domestic abuse, child care, health care for seniors, homelessness and hunger, private universities facing challenges, theater managers needing management skills, and organizations helping low-income students stay in school and qualify for college.

What I found is that this activity has been very satisfying, so I was interested to learn of a research study published in August in Health Psychology that suggests that people who volunteer may live longer than those who don’t – as long as their reasons for volunteering are to help others rather than themselves. This was the first time research has shown volunteers’ motives may have a significant impact on life span.

In the study, researchers collected basic health and demographic information on the study group in 1992. In 2004, respondents reported whether they had volunteered within the past 10 years and how regularly, as well as their reasons for volunteering. In 2008, researchers then determined how many of the respondents were still alive.

The findings showed that those who volunteered for more altruistic reasons had lower mortality rates than those who did not volunteer. Overall, the percentage of non-volunteers who were deceased four years later was similar to the percentage of deceased volunteers who reported more self-oriented motives for volunteering. However, the percentage of volunteers’ deaths whose motivations were more focused on others was found to be much lower. Additionally, respondents who listed social connection or altruistic values as their predominant motive were more likely to be alive compared with their non-volunteers counterparts.

Although this is the first study to examine the impact of volunteers’ motives, it is just one of many studies describing the health benefits of volunteering. The Corporation for National and Community Service reports, “volunteering leads to greater longevity, higher functional ability, lower rates of depression, and less incidence of heart disease.” David Eisner, CEO of the corporation, said in a news release, “More than 61 million Americans volunteer to improve conditions for people in need and to unselfishly give of themselves. It is gratifying to learn their efforts are returning considerable health benefits.”

These findings are not surprising to anyone familiar with the works of a pioneer spiritual thinker, Mary Baker Eddy. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, she wrote, “Let unselfishness, goodness, mercy, justice, health, holiness, love — the kingdom of heaven — reign within us, and sin, disease, and death will diminish until they finally disappear.” She concluded almost 150 years ago that our thoughts, attitudes, and actions have a major impact on our mental and physical health. The evidence that she was right continues to grow.

© GLOW IMAGES

by Don Ingwerson

Years ago, I had my office and car windows shot out because of community resistance to a school that I was closing. This created a fearful condition for me and for my family. As I tried to resolve this stressful situation, a painful and unbearable thumping in my head developed. I was able to handle it, as I’ll explain in a minute.

I was reminded of this situation recently when I thought about the current stresses people throughout this country are facing.

Presently, I live in an area of the country where a lot of families have lost their homes and businesses because of economic conditions. Kids have changed schools and friends. Moms and dads have new pressures – many outside their control. I haven’t been personally affected, but the deeper I look into my community, region, and nation, the more I observe new and sometimes threatening situations, beyond my control, that are developing: reduced school funding, public services not being provided, and lack of resources for safety-net services. The social mood seems to be changing in ways I have never experienced before.

According to Alan Hall’s article “Bear-Market Stress is Weakening Society,” “Stress is born of the same fear that drives stock prices lower, tanks economies and escalates foreclosures, and also increases the risk of disease…” He describes foreclosure as being “forced out of your home” and as “one of the most disruptive and stressful financial calamities that a family can suffer.”

Research studies indicate that foreclosures create a public health crisis and harm the health of families and communities. For example, some say that communities with high foreclosure rates have a greater need for hospitalization for conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart failure.

Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC’s Chief Medical Editor, says that “stress is a huge factor in creating these conditions.”

How can those societal conditions that are creating stress and fear be tempered?

One study found that almost half of the American population turns to prayer to address health concerns. I’ve found that helpful in my own life.

Back to the story about when my car and office windows were shot out and I had severe head pain, I was instantly healed of the pain when I turned my thought toward a divine sense of things instead of focusing on the picture in front of me. A thought came to me that I knew from a book on spirituality and health called Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.

It was about the idea that my human mind could yield to a much bigger sense of consciousness, what I would call divine Mind. I embraced that idea and the pain dissolved.

Recognizing the causes of fear and stress, and thinking through how to address them in thought, is important in improving health. This recognition needs to be at the individual as well as the societal level. We can each participate in this in our own way today, perhaps even by considering for a moment the peace and calm that the idea of an infinite Consciousness brings.

Article first published in Blogcritics.

© GLOW IMAGES
Model used for illustrative purposes

by Don Ingwerson

As you know from previous blogs, GWish (George Washington University Institute of Spirituality and Health) has been at the forefront to promote the concept that spirituality is tied to health and is an important component to healing. I found this article from George Washington University Newswise to be especially interesting because it details a recent conference in which leaders from all over the world and of a variety of disciplines, faiths, and cultures met to develop recommendations on integrating spirituality into health care systems worldwide. “The conference challenged this diverse group of researchers, educators, and policymakers, physicians and nurses, and chaplains and clergy from more than 20 countries to look critically at the current state of health care and creatively assess how to better serve patients by integrating spirituality into compassionate and person-centered health care.”

As the search for health continues, these types of discussions will shift thought and policy to a more person-centered care. To read the full article, click here: GW Convenes International Consensus Conference on Spirituality in Health Care.

© GLOW IMAGES
Models used for illustrative purposes

A guest post written by Ingrid Peschke, a Christian Science practitioner and a legislative advocate for spiritual healing in Massachusetts. You can also read this post on my weekly syndicated blog, “Health Conscious” at MetroWest Daily News.

Patient-centered care is the buzzword in the healthcare industry.

More people today are online, asking questions, finding their own path to treatment and healthy outcomes. They’re also recognizing the value of treatment that considers them as more than just a bunch of moving parts, but recognizes their spiritual and emotional well-being as well.

Still, this trend may not be catching on yet everywhere, specifically with the senior population and in clinical settings.

My friend Dara recently flew a few states away to be with her elderly father in the hospital after a minor operation. It quickly became apparent just how vital her presence was to advocate for his care. One of my friend’s priorities was to be sure that her dad was surrounded by the kind of care he was used to, which included prayer and spiritual support. Dara’s mother was right by her husband’s side as well, but she, too, needed her daughter’s spiritual, emotional, and practical support.

“At one point mom said it was time for dad to have his pain medication, so I asked dad if he felt any pain.” The doctor had said to give pain medication every two hours, “But we’re talking about morphine…that’s strong stuff!” Dara said. Her dad felt fine so they chose to skip the morphine.

Then the doctor indicated that there may have been evidence of cancer during the operation. Apparently, as soon as the chart has a check-mark next to cancer, a whole team gets mobilized. Soon there were cancer counselors and specialists coming by the room, assuming that something very dire had in fact occurred.

Dara didn’t want to further alarm her parents, so she reassured the counselors that the first test was inconclusive and the doctors had to run it several times. Finally, she told them that they were a family who believed in the power of prayer and positive thinking, and typically preferred a spiritually-based approach to caring for their health.

In the end, Dara’s father went home and when the tests were returned they found no cancer in his body.

Dara said, “There were just so many times that I asked myself, ‘What would have happened if I hadn’t been there to help out?’” The nurses told her that family members don’t usually stay in the hospital as advocates for their parents.

Dara has experienced the beneficial effect of Bible-based prayer in all kinds of situations. And this was no exception. She said she kept thinking, “My father isn’t made up of numbers, percentages, etc. I just couldn’t believe that all of those technical numbers were his identity.”

Dara was surprised no one ever asked about her parents’ religious beliefs since that’s such a big part of their life and their concept of health.

Asking about a patient’s religious affiliation isn’t always comfortable for doctors. But today more medical professionals in training are learning about the variety of religious beliefs and the effect of prayer on well-being. Harvard Medical School is one of the schools that led the way to incorporate classes on spirituality and medicine, courses which are now found in about 80% of medical schools, compared to only 3% twenty years ago.

Murray Levine, professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology at the University at Buffalo, concludes that “modern research is supporting what untold millions of people over the ages have found about the power of prayer.” He says, “Religiosity, faith, spirituality and the practice of private prayer are related to health and well-being.” (More Doctors Are Treating Patients’ Emotional, Spiritual Pain).

Dr. Nancy Kehoe in Belmont, MA, has come up with a helpful assessment tool for doctors to inquire about their patients’ spiritual and religious history and current practice. Dr. Kehoe told me that while she was at Cambridge Hospital in the 1970s it struck her that “it was so odd that a person’s religion was never mentioned in a clinical context. It seemed like such a critical aspect of a person’s life.”

That prompted her to put together a comprehensive religious history questionnaire to be used in clinical settings. She said in the over 30 years she’s been looking at this issue “there’s certainly been a shift [in awareness] since I started.”

Dara said, “My parents aren’t used to going to doctors so they get intimidated. They wouldn’t have offered their position on their religious beliefs if I hadn’t been there.”

Maybe more people will begin sharing their religious beliefs as more medical professionals become aware and comfortable asking the questions and recognizing the benefits.

Prayer-centered care could become the new buzzword.

© GLOW IMAGES
Model used for illustrative purposes

A guest post written by Mary Lou MacKenzie

The popularity of the current best seller, Proof of Heaven by Dr. Eben Alexander, indicates a yearning and interest that most of us have for a deeper understanding of what constitutes eternal LIFE. No matter how full ones life is here and now, most of us wonder at some time or another what eternal life feels like.

Whether or not one accepts what Dr. Alexander experienced as valid, he certainly poses some interesting questions that make us wonder. He relates a journey that he experienced while everyone else around him saw him as in a coma. As he expressed it, he experienced an awareness that life is in our conscience and not in the body. For instance, he states on page 76, “…I understood that I was part of the Divine and that nothing – absolutely nothing – could ever take that away. The (false) suspicion that we can somehow be separated from God is the root of every form of anxiety in the universe…” He also felt an overwhelming sense of unconditional love.

There are certainly many Biblical statements that support Alexander’s experience. In Romans 8:6 Paul writes, “…to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” In Hebrews 11:5, written possibly by a woman authoress, it states, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death;” And the discoverer and founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, has stated in her seminal work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “Life is real, and death is the illusion.”

Many years ago, I experienced something that made all these quotations ring true. We had a kitty, my son’s favorite kitty, who had not eaten for some time and appeared to be close to passing on. Money at that time was in very short supply so going to a vet did not seem to be an option. I had prayed fervently for this loving kitty, but to no avail. One morning in my attempt to not feel the approaching “pangs of death,” I began to look up citations in the Bible and in Eddy’s works about death. Passages like the ones quoted above began to take on greater significance than ever before, and I became immersed in them. After several hours of study, I heard a meowing at the back door. There was this kitty, well and full of life, not death. This same kitty lived to what many would refer to as a “ripe old age” and brought many years of joy to our family, especially our son.

It does seem that through these experiences, a mortal sense of life becomes less and less real to us and, as Dr. Alexander found, that the spiritual sense of life becomes ever so much more real.

© GLOW IMAGES
Models used for illustrative purposes

by Don Ingwerson

This post was originally posted July 30, 2012

Early in life, I discovered the importance and the relationship between health and performance.

While in the military, I worked in a chapel located where all new recruits in that region were sent to do basic training.  As the chaplain’s assistant, I saw their loneliness first hand and often discussed the importance of prayer with them. Fear of the unknown, missing friends and family left them physically unable to serve; upon medical diagnosis many were directed to report to what the military calls “sick bay.”

I soon discovered that their lack of “mental peace” was creating their physical illness. As a result, the recruits were not able to physically perform to the standard expected by the military. It was apparent that their symptoms were being treated but not the root cause, which was mental and emotional. Once the mental and emotional issues were addressed, the physical symptoms disappeared and they returned to duty.

Based upon my experience, health screening must include more than a physical exam.

What I found interesting is that in an article, “Doctors asked to consider loneliness in health assessment,” author Carolyne Kruppa stated that an Archives of Internal Medicine study published June 18 urged physicians to screen for loneliness. By screening for loneliness, the medical community may be stretching beyond their normal role. Dr. Pacala, associate professor and associate head of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School picks up on this when he states, “Loneliness is less of a medical type of concept. I just think it doesn’t enter the medical mindset.” These reports indicate that loneliness may be a health factor but the medical profession is not equipped to diagnose and treat it.

My military experience tells me that treating loneliness is essential, and that it should be added to a list of medical screening items, which need to be considered when evaluating patients. And the treatment should include alternative therapies – one of which is prayer.

An NIH study I recently read found that prayer was a factor in improved health. “Those who pray had more favorable health-related behaviors, preventive service use, and satisfaction with care. Discussion of prayer could help guide customization of clinical care.” In the study, 47.2% of the people in the study said that they prayed for health and 90.3% of that group of people believed that prayer improved their health. Those people who prayed also showed more social support than those who did not pray. This support may very well counteract conditions of loneliness and enhance performance.

Pew research indicates that most individuals believe in prayer and do pray. An early Christian writer, Mary Baker Eddy, spoke of loneliness as doubt, darkness a wilderness time in one’s experience. It would seem from the research that many physicians are not interested in, or equipped to treat or diagnose loneliness, and that it could best be addressed by alternative therapies – especially prayer in which the public has expressed confidence and survey results have indicated improved health performance.

Article first published in Blogcritics.

© GLOW IMAGES
Models used for illustrative purposes

by Don Ingwerson

People are discussing health everywhere – in the grocery store checkout lines, at friendly gatherings, on the news, and through advertising. Christian Scientists have a different perspective on health and joining the conversations around you can raise thought and give a cup of cold water to someone who is searching for health! The information in this blog comes from the Federal Committee on Publication site:

Many people are seeking answers to their health problems and as Christian Scientists, what we have to contribute is vital to this discussion and is a natural outcome of the healings we’ve experienced. Speaking from our own experiences – concisely and without jargon – is one of the most effective ways of sharing how Christian Science has benefited our lives.

The “Talking With Others About Health” workshop is a great way to practice our communication skills, exchange ideas, and support each other in our ongoing quest to be better communicators. Watch the latest video from Russ Gerber, Manager of the Committees on Publication. And remember, you can always be in touch with your local Committee on Publication to host a workshop at your local branch!

© GLOW IMAGES

A guest post written by Cynthia P. Barnett, a media spokesperson and legislative contact for Christian Science in North Carolina, shares her thoughts on the power of prayer.

It’s a little word, really. One that often gets overlooked in the drama of an exciting story as it’s told or recorded. The word is a soft one to say; it’s a meek word. But more than most, it’s a mighty word.

The word is PRAYER. I nearly missed it myself, buried at the very end of the newspaper account of “Danny,” the Boston Marathon bombers’ carjack victim. In Eric Moskowitz’ description of this harrowing experience, we follow the event from the Tsarnaev brothers first taking over the Mercedes at gun point, to Danny’s eventual escape to freedom. While the carjacker/bombers stopped for gas, Danny bolted from his Mercedes toward a nearby Mobil station across the street.

“I didn’t know if it was open or not,” said Danny. “In that moment I prayed.”

The station was indeed open, and he was able to call 911 on a portable phone given to him. He referred the officers to a Mercedes tracking satellite system, leading to the eventual capture of the bombers. Danny was safe.

We may never fully understand the power of prayer to save, redeem, and heal. Many may overlook or even pooh-pooh this small word, although it is evidence of trust in a higher, more spiritual means of deliverance. Some may even dismiss spirituality; they may be caught up in materialism or secular perspectives. The very idea of God or Infinite Good can be discomfiting to such as these. They are unused to praying when in trouble.

But many, like me, have been saved, redeemed, and healed when we turn to it. Danny can say he’s one of us.

Link to Cynthia Barnett’s blog