What if there was a reason to believe that spiritual practices- from meditation to prayer and beyond- are not just good for the soul, but also good for the body, good for physical health? Wouldn't we want heath care professionals and medical researchers to investigate, to engage the evidence, and to find ways to make use of such practices? This talk reviews 15 years of efforts by health professionals to do just that, along with the complex and sometimes uneasy conversations these efforts have triggered.
Anne Harrington, PhD is the Franklin L. Ford Professor of the History of Science and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University. She is also Faculty Dean of Pforzheimer House, a residential position involving oversight of 400 Harvard College undergraduates. She is the author of three books: Medicine, Mind and the Double Brain (1987), Reenchanted Science (1997) and The Cure Within: A History of Mind-Body Medicine (2007).
