Be Careful What You Pray For...You Just Might Get It

This is a great book for anyone who prays, meditates, uses affirmations, or practices any form of magick. But it's about praying, right? Yes, it is, but the author takes the subject far beyond the recitation of memorized prayer. He discusses various forms of negatively remotely influencing another - or a thing, situation, or possible outcome. With plenty of academic research throughout the book, he backs up his observations with hard data. That's very difficult to do when dealing with something as seemingly intangible as any form of prayer.The author points out that whenever we pray/affirm/whatever to win, to succeed, to do well, we may well be creating a situation where someone else will have to fail. That seems obvious, right? What if the person whom you beat out for that great job has four kids and a wife with cancer at home, and really did need that great job more than you? Not so good now. You, for purposes of example, are young and single with little responsibility. But you were "successful" at getting what you prayed for, weren't you?Most people simply don't think things through when it comes to prayers and similar work. Prayer is assumed to be benign, yet how could it possibly be, when both sides in a war will pray to the same god for victory? ... when people pray for a specific form of prosperity, not realizing it can only come at another's expense? The point is that there is always a cost, so pay attention, and be careful. Prayer can be very powerful (as evidenced by the research in the book - research that is fascinating because it doesn't not involve prayer toward people, but to bacteria... which cannot be self-reporting their condition with a prayer-positive bias since they don't talk per se..)The most fascinating aspect of this book is a couple of chapters on "Medical Hexing" and "Death Prayers". These two chapters alone are worth twice the price of the book. It has long been known that what a doctor says to you about your health can have a tremendous effect on your long term well-beig - or lack thereof. The author demonstrates with several examples of individuals whose health radically declined, in the ABSENCE of organic disease, because of something a doctor said, or in one case, a comment made by a doc while a patient was under anesthesia. Doctors are shamans of our time... their words carry great power on the subconscious level, and I do hope this book will be read by MANY doctors. We will all be better off for it.The idea of praying someone to death is taboo, of course. The author bravely discusses this malevolent form of attack - and points out many cases in which a death prayer happens without the person realizing that they are, in effect, praying for harm to come to another.There is also information about protection from these negative influences. Note that the protection is primarily in the state of the mind of the prayee.I recommend this book for anyone interested in their personal well-being who is also interested in the power of the human mind. I absolutely recommend it for doctors, surgeons, therapists, and pastoral counselors. You have -- we all have -- far more power in our words than we usually realize. This book makes it clear that it is long past time to pay attention.

Having read several hundred books on spirituality, prayer, religion (etc), I'd say this is one of my top five favorites. The only downside is the title. The book's focus is a little bit more on the power of NEGATIVE prayer than anything else.I've never had any patience for religious teachings or faith systems that require you to check your intellect at the door before entering into a holy and inspired place. That's the beauty part of this book. It's written for people who love God and people who refuse to ignorantly worship "an unknown God."Nearly every page of my copy of this book has been highlighted, as I've found so many powerful truths contained there. One of my favorite stories is Dossey's telling of "The Death Prayer."He writes, "When Europeans first came to the Hawaiian Islands, they encountered a practice they literally called the 'death prayer'. They developed a horror of this practice, which came to be the 'most feared phenomenon in old Hawaii.' Eventually, laws were drafted prohibiting it" (p. 98).Dossey then goes on to write in depth about why this prayer is so powerful and how The Lord's Prayer is truly a strong weapon against this "negative prayer.""One native healer said, 'Have you ever heard of the Lord's Prayer. Do you remember the words, 'Deliver us from evil?' You white people have one of the best forms of protectoin, and you don't even know it! Why, I even use it myself!' he said with a grin" (p. 196-197).On page 24, Dossey writes, "I have often thought that a handy definition of negative prayer is 'prayer without empathy.'"As a mature believer, I'd highly recommend this book for all people who take their praying seriously. For Christmas, I purchased a copy of this book for my dearest friends, so they could understand a bit more about the awesome power of prayer - for good and for evil.Some of the best quotes:"We can feel the presence of another as keenly through animosity as we can through love" (p. 183)."Curses permeate our religious life. The most obvious example is the condemnation of the unsaved to eternal, unimagineable suffering in hell" (p. 12).And in talking about the death prayer of the Hawaiian Kahunas, he wrote,"Not only did [William Tufts Brigham] confirm Long's [early 1900s American psychologist] impression that the kahunas could kill people at a distance with negative mental intent...he also described how the curse could be fatal to the individual who perpetrated it" (p. 98).Powerful book. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to protect themselves from evil people and their evil thoughts and purposes.

Nice copy of used book. Arrived in timely manner. And now, what everybody says, "you should read this book." Very interesting information on the possibility of "one mind," and how our thoughts and even our prays may have a negative outcome on the very thing we want. This is the second book I have read from this author and actually I like it better than "One Mind," which is also a good book. This author packs lots of information into his work which makes for an inspiring and informative read.

Dr. Dossey has the most balanced view of God/the Supreme/ the Absolute that I have yet to run across. Good and Evil doe exist in the Universe and God is the creator and master of all.God in his infinite humor will sometimes give you what you ask for so be very careful what you pray for and what you ask for.

Delighted with book content, condition, and quick delivery

Kind of a frightening book that shows how negative thoughts can impact other people.It is worth re-reading to remember all the principles that this book illustrates to protect oneself against other's negative thoughts.This book shows how negative thought, prayers, spells, and curses work.

Not a favorite of mine as it talks of the devil alot and I am only into talking of Jesus. Thank you for your speedy shipment and I will buy other books from you.

I ordered this book for a friend. She loves it

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