Therapeutic Intent. The idea that consciousness can have a direct effect on a living organism is an ancient and culturally universal belief. The shamanic cave art of Altimira, Tres Freres, and Lascaux presents compelling testimony that our genetic forbearers had a complex view of spiritual and physical renewal, one that has survived to the present unchanged in at least one fundamental respect. The intent to heal, either oneself or another, whether expressed as God, a force, an energy, or one of many gods, has consistently been believed to be capable of producing a therapeutic result. Why? The answer must surely be that regardless of ideology or religion, culture, or race, the manifested result of Therapeutic Intent has compelled belief. It has survived and been used for thousands of years because people get better and the various practices seem worth preserving from generation to generation. This can be said, while still acknowledging that many people get well simply because of the self-correcting nature of Nature; or, to a more limited degree, from psychophysical self-regulation. And, from at least the third millennium BCE on, many more have regained their health because of the intervention of their civilization’s health system. The high […]