THE POWER OF BELIEF
He wasn’t expected to live through the night. His body was riddled with tumors, his liver and spleen were enlarged, his lungs were filled with fluid, and he needed an oxygen mask to breathe. But when Mr. Wright heard that his doctor was conducting cancer research with a new drug called Krebiozen, which the media was touting as a potential miracle cure, he pleaded to be given treatments. Although it was against protocol, Dr. Klopfer honored Wright’s request by giving him an injection of the drug, then left the hospital for the weekend, never expecting to see his patient again. But when he returned on Monday morning, he discovered that Mr. Wright’s tumors had shrunk to half their original size, something that even radiation treatments could not do.
“Good God!” thought Dr. Klopfer. “Have we finally found the silver bullet – a cure for cancer?” Unfortunately, an examination of the other test patients showed no changes at all. Only Mr. Wright had improved. Was this a rare case of spontaneous remission, or was some other unidentified mechanism at work? The doctor continued to give injections to his recovering patient, and after ten days, practically all signs of the disease had disappeared. Wright returned home, in perfect health.Two months later, the Food and Drug Administration reported that the experiments with Krebiozen were proving ineffective. Mr. Wright immediately became ill. His tumors returned and he was readmitted to the hospital. Dr. Klopfer, however, was convinced that it was the patient’s belief that had healed him. To test his theory, he decided to lie, telling Wright that he had just obtained “a new, super-refined, double-strength product” that was guaranteed to produce better results. In reality, Dr. Klopfer gave him injections of sterile water.
Once again, the patient’s recovery was dramatic. The tumors disappeared and Mr. Wright resumed his normal life -- until the newspapers published the following announcement by the American Medical Association:
Nationwide Tests Show Krebiozen to be a Worthless Drug In Treatment Of Cancer!
Wright fell ill, returned to the hospital, and died two days later. In Dr. Klopfer’s report, published in the Journal of Projective Techniques, he concluded that when the powers of Wright’s optimistic beliefs expired, his resistance to the disease expired as well.
Each year, thousands of cases of remarkable recoveries are described, and although such “miracles” are often attributed to the power of faith and belief, the majority of scientists are skeptical of such claims. In the medical literature, spontaneous remissions—at least when it comes to cancer—are extremely rare. Estimates range from one in 60,000 to one in 100,000, but O'Regan and Hirshberg’s definitive overview of the topic, argue that as many as one in 3000 patients experience spontaneous remissions. Still, the majority of oncologists believe that an unidentified biological mechanism is at work rather than a true miracle. In addition, current hypotheses favor alterations in the body’s cellular, immunological, hormonal, and genetic functioning over psychological mechanisms. But the case of Mr. Wright is so unique—and is one of the few to be documented during a university research project—that his fluctuations in the course of his cancer are most likely attributed to how his mind affected the biological functioning of his body.
Still, hundreds of mind/body experiments have been conducted—including placebo studies and research on the on the power of meditation of prayer— and few scientists have attempted to explain what the underlying biology of belief may be. We have volumes of comprehensive statistics about the kinds of beliefs we hold, but the “hows” and “whys” have been embroiled in controversial speculation for years.
Fortunately, recent discoveries concerning the neural mechanisms of memory, cognition, behavior and emotion can now provide us with a new template from which to proceed. What I will propose in this book is a practical working model for understanding beliefs: how they emerge from the perceptual processes of the brain, and how they are shaped by personal relationships, societal influences, and our educational and spiritual pursuits. This model can help us to discern the difference between destructive and constructive beliefs, skills that are essential if we are to adequately address the individual, interpersonal, and global problems that are so prevalent today.
The study of human beliefs often raises unsettling issues, for most people are not aware that the majority of our beliefs are based on incomplete assumptions about the world. How, then, can these beliefs hold the power to heal us, or cause us to suffer and die? This question has haunted philosophers, theologians, and politicians for eons. . . .
“Good God!” thought Dr. Klopfer. “Have we finally found the silver bullet – a cure for cancer?” Unfortunately, an examination of the other test patients showed no changes at all. Only Mr. Wright had improved. Was this a rare case of spontaneous remission, or was some other unidentified mechanism at work? The doctor continued to give injections to his recovering patient, and after ten days, practically all signs of the disease had disappeared. Wright returned home, in perfect health.Two months later, the Food and Drug Administration reported that the experiments with Krebiozen were proving ineffective. Mr. Wright immediately became ill. His tumors returned and he was readmitted to the hospital. Dr. Klopfer, however, was convinced that it was the patient’s belief that had healed him. To test his theory, he decided to lie, telling Wright that he had just obtained “a new, super-refined, double-strength product” that was guaranteed to produce better results. In reality, Dr. Klopfer gave him injections of sterile water.
Once again, the patient’s recovery was dramatic. The tumors disappeared and Mr. Wright resumed his normal life -- until the newspapers published the following announcement by the American Medical Association:
Nationwide Tests Show Krebiozen to be a Worthless Drug In Treatment Of Cancer!
Wright fell ill, returned to the hospital, and died two days later. In Dr. Klopfer’s report, published in the Journal of Projective Techniques, he concluded that when the powers of Wright’s optimistic beliefs expired, his resistance to the disease expired as well.
Each year, thousands of cases of remarkable recoveries are described, and although such “miracles” are often attributed to the power of faith and belief, the majority of scientists are skeptical of such claims. In the medical literature, spontaneous remissions—at least when it comes to cancer—are extremely rare. Estimates range from one in 60,000 to one in 100,000, but O'Regan and Hirshberg’s definitive overview of the topic, argue that as many as one in 3000 patients experience spontaneous remissions. Still, the majority of oncologists believe that an unidentified biological mechanism is at work rather than a true miracle. In addition, current hypotheses favor alterations in the body’s cellular, immunological, hormonal, and genetic functioning over psychological mechanisms. But the case of Mr. Wright is so unique—and is one of the few to be documented during a university research project—that his fluctuations in the course of his cancer are most likely attributed to how his mind affected the biological functioning of his body.
Still, hundreds of mind/body experiments have been conducted—including placebo studies and research on the on the power of meditation of prayer— and few scientists have attempted to explain what the underlying biology of belief may be. We have volumes of comprehensive statistics about the kinds of beliefs we hold, but the “hows” and “whys” have been embroiled in controversial speculation for years.
Fortunately, recent discoveries concerning the neural mechanisms of memory, cognition, behavior and emotion can now provide us with a new template from which to proceed. What I will propose in this book is a practical working model for understanding beliefs: how they emerge from the perceptual processes of the brain, and how they are shaped by personal relationships, societal influences, and our educational and spiritual pursuits. This model can help us to discern the difference between destructive and constructive beliefs, skills that are essential if we are to adequately address the individual, interpersonal, and global problems that are so prevalent today.
The study of human beliefs often raises unsettling issues, for most people are not aware that the majority of our beliefs are based on incomplete assumptions about the world. How, then, can these beliefs hold the power to heal us, or cause us to suffer and die? This question has haunted philosophers, theologians, and politicians for eons. . . .
