The dark side of consciousness and the therapeutic relationship.

Following the publication of my 1993 book Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine,1 I received several letters from religious individuals who were profoundly upset. The views of prayer and healing set forth in my book differed from theirs, and they wanted to set me straight. Some of the letters dripped with venom. The writers denounced me as a heretic and blasphemer. They often inserted religious tracts that described the fires of hell-my fate-in lurid detail. The angriest letters were unsigned with no return address-a postal drive-by in which the perpetrator could not be traced. Most of the letters concluded in the same way. Although my views on prayer were completely erroneous, the writers granted that this was not my fault. Standing outside their religion, I simply could not avoid being deluded. Therefore, because of their love and concern for me, they would pray that I would see the light and understand prayer and healing correctly.