Are there Books that mention Spindrift's Theories and Tests?
Yes. There are 21 books recorded here. They are:
(1) The Miracle of Prayer, by Rosemary Ellen Guiley, Ph.D., pages 49-54, Pocket Books, 1995.
(Dr. Guiley includes an overview of Spindrift's history.)
(2) Recovering the Soul: a Scientific and Spiritual Search, by Larry Dossey, M.D., pages
54-62 and 77-78, Bantam Books, 1989. (Dossey describes the Spindrift prayer experiments
on plants. He also shows how questions were asked which led to how the experiments were designed.)
(3) Healing Words, by Larry Dossey, M.D., pages 85-87, 97-100, 104, and 164-165, Harper Collins,
1993. (Dossey includes over one hundred researchers' tests of prayer and Spindrift's.)
(4) Prayer Is Good Medicine, by Larry Dossey, M.D., Harper Collins, 1996. (Dossey focuses on
Spindrift's philosophy and theory throughout this text.)
(5) Be Careful What You Pray For...You Just Might Get It, by Larry Dossey, M.D., pages 9,
145, and 154, Harper, 1997. (Dossey gives insights into "evil intentions" creeping into prayer.)
(6) Where God Lives, page 118, by Dr. Melvin Morse. In a section entitled "Dissecting Prayer,"
Dr. Morse writes:
The Spindrift Research Group in Oregon found that rye seed that was prayed over germinated more quickly than seed that was not prayed over. They then explored whether asking for a specific end result in a prayer was better or worse than simply asking for God's will to be done. They concluded that the most effective prayers were the ones that merely asked for God's presence.Here's what the Spindrift Research Group had to say about the workings of prayer:
'Scientifically, it is shocking to think of a force as intelligent, loving, kind, good, and aware of needs. But each test prayer somehow linked to a loving intelligence moved the seeds towards their norms.'
Their findings, that a non directed approach to prayer works best, fits with my theory that prayer can bring an organism into closer harmony with its universal pattern.
(7) Embracing Our Essence: Spiritual Conversations with Prominent Women,
by interviewer Susan Koag, page 23, Health Communications, Inc., 1995. When author/speaker
Dr. Joan Borysenko discussed prayer from a non directed and directed point-of-view, she said:
It's better to pray for the best outcome to happen in that situation whatever it is, and for all to have the strength of mind and the love in their hearts to be able to let go and let God.It's best to pray by holding in our minds a pure and holy consciousness of whatever or whomever we're praying for. This is what Spindrift, a scientific organization that studies prayer, calls non directed prayer--as opposed to directed prayer, which specifies a desired outcome.
(8) The Power of the Mind to Heal, by Joan Borysenko, Ph.D. and Miroslav Borysenko, Ph.D.,
Hay House, 1994. (Spindrift is mentioned on pages 57, 58, and 204.)
(9) Fire in the Soul: A New Psychology of Spiritual Optimism, by Joan Borysenko, pages
182-184, and 233, Warner Books, Inc., 1993. (Dr. Joan Borysenko does an excellent job of
describing what was accomplished at the Spindrift laboratories in Illinois and Oregon.)
Here is an excerpt from Fire in the Soul.
There is a non-sectarian foundation in Salem, Oregon, called Spindrift whose purpose is to carry out experiments on the efficacy of prayer. ...Spindrift is listed in the resources section at the end of this book [doesn't have current address; use website for contact]. You can also read an excellent review of the Spindrift studies in Dr. Larry Dossey's fine book Recovering the Soul, which outlines the Spindrift findings on the most effective ways to pray [found on pages 52-64].As Dr. Dossey reports, the Spindrift research is based on [John Klingbeil's] underlying assumption that all of us have "divine attributes, a qualitative oneness with God." In their early research, Spindrift investigated the power of prayer to restore the vitality to seeds that were [stressed] by being soaked in salt water.
The seeds were planted in a shallow container of vermiculite, divided by a string into side A and side B. Following prayer for one side or the other, the seedlings were counted. In many repetitions of the study, the prayed-for side sprouted significantly more seedlings than the "untreated" side. ...
As a result of these studies, Spindrift suggests that we pray by holding in our minds a "pure and holy" consciousness of whomever and whatever we are praying for. ... This type of prayer does not specify an outcome. It does not demand that a sick person be made well or that a poor person become rich. It only blesses the person with wholeness in the understanding that our sight is too narrow to know what a person requires for their wholeness, but that God certainly knows.
(10) Making Miracles, by psychologist Paul Pearsall, pages 137-139, Prentice Hall Press, 1991.
(Pearsall formulates "...based on the Spindrift research..." what he calls "...The Ten
Commandments of prayer.")
(11) Research in Healing, Volume One: Holistic Energy Medicine and Spirituality,
by Daniel J. Benor, M.D., pages 142, 285-287, and 352, Helix Editions Ltd. United Kingdom,
1992. (Through persistent networking Dr. Benor, a psychiatrist integrating local and nonlocal
distant healing in his practice of psychotherapy, chronicles and summarizes over 1500 references
to spiritual healing research from around the world. Volume Two will cover Holistic Energy
Medicine and the Energy Body. Volume Three will cover Research in Spiritual Healing.
Volume Four will cover Healing in the Light of Recent Research. Dr. Benor can be reached
by e-mail at danbenor@erols.com. Coming soon -- Healing Research, Volume I, Revised
edition Spiritual Healing: Scientific Validation of a Healing Revolution, by Daniel
J. Benor, M.D., Southfield, MI: Vision Publications (in press).)
(12) The Second Coming of Science: an Intimate Report on the New Science,
by Brian O’Leary, Ph.D., pages 80-84, 86-87, 151, North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California,
1992. (A former U.S. astronaut, Dr. O’Leary found his mind dwelling on ways to merge
spirituality with paranormal phenomena within an open-minded theoretical and experimental
framework designated as “New Science.” His book explains several theories and speculations
about how consciousness works in human beings. Spindrift's theories are included.)
(13) Miracle in the Void, by NASA astronaut Brian O’Leary, Ph.D., Kamapua’a Press, 1996.
(Includes a photograph of the Klingbeils. Spindrift is mentioned on pages 45, 77, 78, 85, 116,
124, 126, 130, 163, 165, 168, 188, 189, and 208.)
(14) How to Pray: Tapping Into the Power of Divine Communication, by Helene
Ciaravino, pages 25, 27-29, and 212. Square One Publishers, 2001. (An excellent book
discussing prayer including several Spindrift experiments and conclusions about prayer.)
Ms. Ciaravino makes an important point on page 24.
Clearly, scientific research into prayer is only in its infancy. In the coming years, we can look forward to further studies on the power of prayer and spirituality.
(15) Body and Soul: Your Guide to Health, Happiness and Total Well-being,
page 103, published by Kensington, 1999. (This book is based on the PBS television series
“Body and Soul” which was produced by Beacon Productions of Watertown, Massachusetts.
For more information on the television series see www.pbs.org/bodyandsoul/.)
(16) Ikigaino Sozo, a Japanese book by Mr. Humihiko Iida has ten pages about the Spindrift
prayer experiments.
(17) The Celestine Vision, by James Redfield, pages 66 and 67, Warner Books, Inc., 1997.
(The author relates the results of the various experiments without mentioning the Spindrift
Research Foundation by name.)
(18) A Journey into Prayer: Pioneers of Prayer in the Laboratory, by B. William Sweet,
(The author details Spindrift's theories, experiments, and the antagonism
the Spindrift founders received for attempting to experiment scientifically with prayer. The
book lets the reader answer the question, "Is testing prayer of Satan or Science?" The book
offers new information on how to build communication links between science, theology, and
medicine.) Click here for a Press Release about the book.
Here is an excerpt from Journey into Prayer.
I mentioned to Bruce Klingbeil that among the people I knew, most were interested in the huge miraculous healings, the big scores, not the smaller effects of healing brought out in the Spindrift tests. Bruce told me that the point was, 'Even though the healing-results from our tests are modest [in comparison to so-called miracle healings], once having seen controlled tests of thought and prayer, society might start thinking of reasons to test prayer on healing.'
(19) Spiritual Marketing, by Joe Vitale, page 108, 1st Books www.1stbooks.com, 2001.
(Joe Vitale relates how the Spindrift prayer style of trusting what the universe has to say
may help results be better than what we personally anticipate. Mr. Vitale's book is about
creating wealth.)
(20) Modern Buddhist Healing: A Spiritual Strategy for Transforming Pain, Dis-Ease,
& Death, by Charles Atkins, page 47, Nicolas-Hays, Inc., 2002. (Charles Atkins praises
Spindrift's efforts. In his experiences with meditation using Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
[which is a distinction from Zen], Mr. Atkins has found "mantra-powered visualization"
internalized within the body to be better than open-ended prayer.)
(21) The Power of Flow, by Charlene Belitz & Meg Lundstrom, page 160, Harmony Books, 1997. (A Spindrift finding is mentioned without mentioning the Spindrift name.)
* The Findhorn Foundation is one organization best known for its work with the power
of spiritual energy on plant growth. Click below for reaching the Findhorn Foundation
in Scotland. www.findhorn.org
