In his book Prayer Is Good Medicine, physician and researcher Larry Dossey maintains that praying for oneself or others can make a scientifically measurable difference in recovering from illness or trauma. It is one thing to understand such a healing intellectually; it is another to know it from experience.

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I know that Mom doesn't want to think about death — does anyone? — but it seems that death is thinking about her.

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By adding the universal year 2000 (2+0+0+0=2) to the 4th month of April, we come up with the vibration of 6. The 6 month asks us to tune in to how we can be of service to others through expressing the healing power of love. The challenge this month is to learn how to tap into our love of beauty and harmony so that we can come into balance. Take some time this month to work on beautifying your environment. By doing so, you will feel more harmonious and balanced, and others will feel healed solely by being in your space. Try to see yourself as a channel for unconditional love flowing through. As you tap into this love yourself, you will be able to give it to others without feeling burdened or drained.

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Something good is happening, and I like it. Although my life continues to be a dance along a razor's edge of balance, I notice a new theme emerging. Actually, it's more like a tectonic shift in the bedrock of my soul. I hesitate to talk about it because I've had some serious run-ins with that obnoxious belief that says "bad things will happen to you" if you talk about the good things in your life.

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How can something as simple as a waiting-room chair affect the outcome of an acupuncture session? How could lighting make someone who is ill feel even worse? What color is best for people in chronic pain?

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When I was a young boy I felt called. It wasn't exactly clear to what I was being called, or even who was doing the calling, but I definitely experienced a call to some kind of spiritual path. Raised Catholic, the only examples I had of people following a spiritual life were priests and nuns. I considered pursuing the priesthood, but even as a young child I guessed that a vow of strict sexual celibacy was not for me. I had no mentor to provide me with alternatives, so I struggled as best I could to protect the small, sacred internal flame from every strong, profane gust of the everyday world.

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The above quotes by two great Sufi masters describe the concept of "polishing the heart," which can provide valuable information on working on both personal and spiritual growth. Sufism uses the analogy of the human heart being like a polished mirror that reflects the light of the divine. The more polished one's heart is, the more the divine can be reflected. Unfortunately, our hearts are usually covered with dust and rust, so not as much of the divine can be reflected through us. This dust and rust is our lower unconscious, our shadow side, all those parts of ourselves that we'd rather pretend do not exist. Our job is to polish our hearts, so more divine attributes can shine through us.

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Do you remember going on treasure hunts? They probably go by many different names. The basic theme is that you get a clue, follow it to another clue, and another, and eventually you find the "treasure." What would happen if you approached your personal growth that way? READ MORE...

We've just finished poring over the many responses that we received to our January 2000 reader survey. First of all, I offer many thanks to all of you who took the time to provide thoughtful comment to help us chart our next steps. I also want to say a sincere and humble "thank you" for your overwhelming validation of our work. READ MORE...