When I was a boy, I remember watching Dr. Norman Vincent Peale on television. As young as I was, about 7 or 8 years old at the time, while I didn't really understand what the power of positive thinking was all about, even at that young age, I found his broadcasts somehow soothing. His voice, I remember, carried a certain authority... not the authority of a boss, or a police officer, or a disciplinarian, but rather the authority of someone who, just by the sound of his voice, came across as someone who knew exactly what he was talking about, had a calming effect on me. The words he spoke, seemed to be directly right at me, and at that time in my life, while most might think that Dr. Peale was speaking above my head, he was not. So while I didn't fully understand everything he said, there was something in his presentation that planted in me an understanding of the power behind his words, and the belief, even at that tender age, that he was a very wise individual. Years later, I had a spiritual teacher who told me "Words are things", and admonished me to choose my words carefully, because they had power. At the time, I believed I understood what she was telling me, but in hindsight, I realize that I had only a very basic understanding of what she had said. I understood that my words could affect someone in a positive or a negative way, and that that was why I needed to be on guard about the words I used, but I didn't fully grasp just how words were things... how they had power, or more precisely, where that power came from. Most of my life, I've had an insatiable curiosity. My curiosity has always been strong, and so one day, when I saw a documentary that promised to explain exactly what we, and everything about us, is made of, I watched, eager to learn the secrets this documentary seemed to promise me. The documentary was about the different theories the scientific community has developed explaining life, such as entanglement theory, string theory, multi-universe theory, quantum mechanics, and that sort of thing. Much of what I saw was well beyond my grasp, but the document talked about something I hadn't heard before, and that was that in the Universe, absolutely everything, including our bodies, and everything we saw was made up of vibrations and that what we perceived as solid, when looked at from a scientific point of view, was not solid, but vibrations, that everything vibrates, not just our bodies... not just things like trees, rocks, the earth itself, absolutely everything is vibrations, and that includes words. This thought grabbed my attention. The documentary said that everything vibrates, and like a rock thrown into a pond, vibrations cause ripples, and those ripples can have an effect on others... sort of like the butterfly effect. Ah ha, I thought... I was beginning to understand just how words have power, and why they're things. I thought, well an automobile has power. It has the power to take us where we want to go, and it does so much quicker than if we had to walk, so that particular vibration is good. An automobile also has the power to destroy lives, if one is not careful, and for some, and so the automobile can be a not so good vibration. Then I learned that it isn't just physical things that are made up of vibrations, it's also thoughts, so that means that thought are things, and that thoughts also have power, and for me, that opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Now, I must admit that I've never read Dr. Peale's book, The Power of Positive Thinking... it's just one of those books that I've told myself I'll get around to one day, but the one thing about the book that I already know is that I don't have to read it to believe in the power of positive thinking, because if thoughts are vibrations, and vibrations are things that have an effect on the world, then it only makes sense that yes... thoughts have power, both for good, and for not so good.
One of the reasons I didn't read Norman Vincent. Peale's book in the past was because he was a man of the cloth, and for many years, I avoided anything that smacked of religion, and so I committed the cardinal sin of judging a book... not so much by it's cover, but by the profession of the man who wrote it. Later on, as I wrote in my post about whether or not prayer works, I came to believe in God... I still had little regard for religion, but later on in my search for the secrets of the Universe, when I saw that documentary and came to understand the concept that everything consists of vibrations, what that said to me was that if the thoughts we have (vibrations) are negative, then that's what we're putting out, and that if we're having positive thoughts, that's what we're putting out, and because even thoughts are things, then it makes perfect sense that there absolutely is power in thoughts, and that power can be harnessed by thinking positive thoughts. Also, if one considers this alongside the law of Karma, then we begin to understand the idea that what we put out is what's returned to us.
So all this is why I believe prayer can work, especially if a large group of people are all praying for the same thing, and directing that prayer (thoughts) at someone in need, such as someone undergoing a surgical process that could end badly, then those positive thoughts... those vibrations, can have a ripple effect, for the good, because when brought about by a large group of people praying, sending positive thoughts to another, then prayer is not only powerful, but can create positive outcomes.
I recall some years ago, a friend of mine had developed some lumps in his chest, and at the time, the belief was that the lumps were cancerous legions. I knew that he had an appointment at the hospital to have some testing done, and that he was extremely concerned, as anyone in his position would be. So I asked my spiritual advisor at the time if there was anything I could do to help my friend, and she told me to send positive thoughts, which I did. Some time later, I called my friend to find out how the testing had gone. I was surprised when his mother answered the phone, and frankly, I anticipated the worst, wondering why his mother was taking the call and not him. I didn't inquire as to why she answered my call because I was bracing for the worst and I didn't want to appear to be prying, or to cause her to be any more upset than she would have been had the testing delivered bad news. In any event, his mother told me that he was out of the house, but that she wanted to let me know that when he went to the hospital to undergo the tests, the lumps in his chest had just disappeared. The doctors had no what happened; they were at a complete loss for anything that would explain why the lumps, that had been so prominent prior to the testing were no longer there.
So, did my sending my friend positive thoughts make those lumps disappear? I don't know, and I'm sure I'll never know for certain, but I choose to believe that perhaps, in some small way, did have something to do with it. Anyway, if you're interested in learning more about the power of positive thinking, if you haven't already, you might pick up Dr. Peale's book, but I would also suggest you do a YouTube search on the subject. I know you'll find a lot of different videos on the the power of positive thinking, and maybe, like me, you'll discover for yourself, the power of words, and the power of thoughts... positive thoughts, and if you've already seen that power working in your's or someone else's life, then this little essay of mine may serve simply to reinforce what you already have accepted as fact. And if you're a skeptic, remember what I always like to say... only an open mind can hold the secrets of the Universe. 🙏
From Wikipedia: Norman Vincent Peale was an American Protestant clergyman, [1] and an author best known for popularizing the concept of positive thinking, especially through his best-selling book The Power of Positive Thinking (1952). He served as the pastor of Marble Collegiate Church, New York, from 1932, leading this Reformed Church in America congregation for more than a half century until his retirement in 1984. Alongside his pulpit ministry, he had an extensive career of writing and editing, and radio and television presentations. Despite arguing at times against involvement of clergy in politics, he nevertheless had some controversial affiliations with politically active organizations in the late 1930s, and engaged with national political candidates and their campaigns, having influence on some, including a personal friendship with President Richard Nixon.