Update:
I shall not make any statements along the lines of stating that distant healing does not work or will not work.
However I will make a statement that states that it might be impossible to conduct a scientific study or research that proves that it does work.
Unless one can harness radiation across miles of space to zap cancer.
Rd00
It's all socks across the carpet.
A dear old friend of mine was a Medicine Man. When people would hear about this they'd say stupid things like "can you shoot lightning bolts". He answer was always the same; "Sure give me wool socks, shag carpet and a few moments to demonstrate"
Naturally they'd insist that static was hardly magic, however if you look back far enough in history it would have been. The power of positive thinking falls under the placebo effect. Any potential benefit from well-wishes is equally as dramatic as the spark generated by socks on the carpet.
The most generous and realistic study of the group had a 57% success rate, which is slightly higher than the expected 50/50. However not by a broad enough margin to provide true credibility. It's just not a substantial enough statistic.
If both parties truly believe in the benefit it will more likely help, however this is covered under the placebo effect, and begs the question of is it the helper that's helping, or the belief in the person needing the help.
Reality can only be "bent" so far, and attempts to do so - once explained - are no more dramatic than that little jolt of electricity in my old friends analogy.
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EXAMPLE ONE;
While exploring an old Native American grave site, a friend of mine had a major panic attack, which rapid spiraled into a asthma attack. I took a deep breath and traced my hand down his forearm. He was immediately calm, and could breath fine.
(a friend of mine, while looking on was prepared to laugh when it didn't work.. but when it DID work was shocked, and became an instant believer. UNTIL I explained how it really worked.)
The physical contact, as well as the uncharacteristic tenderness of the touch startled him out of the attack.. Sure I altered my personal energy flow to give things a little push, but it's no great healing feat. It's just socks on the carpet.
EXAMPLE TWO;
A coworker of a friend of mine had been having terrible luck, believing VooDoo was being used against her. My friend asked me if I could do something about it. I tossed together some random things in a small bag.. crow feather, animal tooth, some dirt, a couple stone beads, etc..
I instructed my friend to tell their coworker that it was a powerful gris-gris, and to bury it under their doorstep. Their luck turned around virtually overnight, and they haven't had a problem since.
What did the bag really do? It countered their belief that they would have nothing but bad luck. As a result they stopped manufacturing their own bad luck. Any basic energies put into the bag as well as the nature of the contents only reinforced their belief that it would work.
Once again, socks on the carpet.
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Moral of the story; There IS power in belief, but in the end it's all head-games and can't be considered a reliable form of treatment.