THE UNCOMMON TOUCH. An investigation of Spiritual Hearling

Brossura illustrata, formato cm. 23 x 15,5 e pagine 275. ’’IN INGLESE’’. An attempt to examine the phenomenon of spiritual healing scientifically. Harpur, a Canadian religious writer, first explodes some stereotypes: TV evangelists who practice faith healing are simply charlatans; spiritual healing is an ally, rather than a critique, of conventional medicine; and spiritual healing includes in its definition those patients who simply believe they will get well, and do, as opposed to those who have given up, and die. Harpur cites testimony concerning historical figures such as the famous blind healer, Geoffrey Mowatt, then alludes to the work of Wilhelm Reich, a physician and student of Freud who postulated orgone energy. Orgone energy is a massless life force that is, perhaps, tapped into through the laying on of hands. The Canadian biologist Bernard Grad attempted to measure orgone energy in the laying on of hands of a contemporary healer, Oskar Estebany, with double-blind experiments involving mice. Wounded mice that Estebany had handled recovered more rapidly than the control group. There’s much here, too, on what might be called the positive thinking aspects of prayer. Welcome evidence for those inclined to welcome it; for skeptics, Harpur will make fascinating reading. Ottime condizioni. V953