INTENTIONAL HEALING: Exploring the Extended Reaches of Consciousness

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the possible use of intention as a unifying concept in the study of mind/body/spirit healing. Broadly defined, intentional healing involves the projection of awareness, with purpose and efficacy, toward the well-being of another. The concept of intentional healing encompasses a wide spectrum of health-promoting or healing-triggering activities. This paper will review recent basic science and clinical trials in the area of intentional healing-focusing on the complexities of differentiating between psychological, psychosocial, and psychic influences. Discussion includes issues of experimenter effect, patient expectation, the relationship between baseline psychological factors and medical outcomes, as well as experimental design questions such as choice of healers, structure and duration of intervention, and constructing appropriate blinds. This paper is based on Dr. Schlitz Keynote Address made at the Thirteenth Annual ISSSEEM Conference, Return of the Sacred Science: Celebrating the Mysteries of Healing Uune 19-25, 2003)