Prayer Medicine

By David Spero Stress can kill, and fear is behind most of our stress. Unfortunately, we have an awful lot to be afraid of these days. At Christmastime, I wonder if prayer can help us deal with our fears, and maybe even with the causes of those fears. When I say "prayer," I don't mean any particular religion. It doesn't have to be religious at all. It could be meditation or just tuning in to nature and our own bodies. But being part of a faith or belief system might make prayer more powerful for some people. When I say "fear," I'm including all our deepest personal fears, like about diabetes, or death, or our children, or finances. I mean fears about the environment, like global warming and nuclear disasters. Fears about wars and politics count too. There is truly a lot to be scared of, but fear doesn't help much. Christmas is a good time to find hope. Christmas has always been a time to look for new hope and new beginnings. According to History.com, "Centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter." December 25 is four days after the winter solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. As the days started to get longer after the solstice, people knew the sun wasn't going away. The worst of winter darkness was behind them, and they could look forward to longer days and more light. It seems like most Northern cultures have celebrated around Christmastime. The Romans had Saturnalia, wh...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - Category: Diabetes Authors: Source Type: blogs