Surrender as a form of active acceptance among breast cancer survivors receiving Psycho-Spiritual Integrative Therapy.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe a domain of spiritual coping known as "surrender," as experienced among women diagnosed with breast cancer who participated in Psycho-Spiritual Integrative Therapy (PSIT). Surrender is a concept similar to active acceptance, which has been studied extensively, but surrender in the context of spiritual supportive care has received little attention. METHODS: After participating in PSIT, which includes exercises in surrender, 23 participants completed an open-ended questionnaire about their experiences of surrender. Twelve women whose responses were most complete and expressive were selected to be analyzed for this study. A thematic analysis was conducted to better understand how surrender experiences may contribute to supportive care. RESULTS: Four distinct themes were identified: experience of surrender, facilitation of surrender, inhibition of surrender, and ease and completeness of surrender. Although the manifestations of surrender varied, women were consistent in describing these experiences positively. CONCLUSIONS: These findings build upon previous evidence that spirituality, optimism, and active acceptance have a positive impact on well-being in cancer patients. The findings provide insight into the usefulness of PSIT for women with breast cancer and inform future research on the intervention.

Evidence for correlations between distant intentionality and brain function in recipients: a functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis.

This study, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, demonstrated that distant intentionality (DI), defined as sending thoughts at a distance, is correlated with an activation of certain brain functions in the recipients. Eleven healers who espoused some form for connecting or healing at a distance were recruited from the island of Hawaii. Each healer selected a person with whom they felt a special connection as a recipient for DI. The recipient was placed in the MRI scanner and isolated from all forms of sensory contact from the healer. The healers sent forms of DI that related to their own healing practices at random 2-minute intervals that were unknown to the recipient. Significant differences between experimental (send) and control (no send) procedures were found (p = 0.000127). Areas activated during the experimental procedures included the anterior and middle cingulate area, precuneus, and frontal area. It was concluded that instructions to a healer to make an intentional connection with a sensory isolated person can be correlated to changes in brain function of that individual.