On a remote peninsula in Northern Greece, eight hundred feet above the Aegean Sea, sits a dramatic looking monastery. It is only one of twenty that grace the Holy Mountain. Because this impressive structure juts out of steep jagged cliffs, as if it grew right out of the stone, the monks consider it a miracle that it hasn’t fallen into the sea.
Millions believe this is the most sacred place on earth. Prayers have been offered from Simonos Petra, or Simon’s Rock, every day without interruption for over a thousand years. This beautiful, tranquil and isolated site has remained virtually unchanged for a millennium. The monks that live here lead a disciplined and simple life of prayer with a focus on reciting the words of Jesus. This is Mount Athos, the spiritual capital of Orthodox Christianity, and everywhere else is the “outside world.”
Science has taken a special interest in the members of this Greek Orthodox community. Despite its population of about 2000, it has only one doctor and he is not very busy. These men live long lives with exceptionally low incidents of cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s. In a thirteen year study of 1,500 monks between 1994 and 2007, none had developed lung or bowel cancer and only 11 had prostate cancer, far below the international average.
Scientists attribute their good health to their simple meatless Mediterranean diet high in olive oil and plant proteins. They eat only twice a day for ten minutes at regular intervals. Science also attributes the monks’ extraordinary health to their self-sufficient labor-intensive lifestyle. They pick fruit in the orchards, farm the land, maintain the enormous property, and move building materials through the mountains with the help of mules.
However, modern science is only now beginning to address another significant and central detail of their lives which may hold the real answer to their longevity and health. These holy men have only one goal; to get closer to God.
The intense focus on this one goal creates the calm center amid the challenges of life around which the monks at Mount Athos organize their lives. Above all, they credit their health to their mysterious relationship with God. When asked about the cause and effect when someone becomes seriously ill with cancer, Father Maximos, a monk from Mount Athos responds,“You cannot know. It is a mystery that can never be cracked open by the human intellect. The only certainty we can have is that there are spiritual laws at work, as outlined by the holy elders, those human beings who have knowledge of God. How these laws work in specific situations, only God Himself knows.”
Perhaps only God knows, but there does seem to be a remarkable relationship between our understanding of God and our degree of proximity to God, and these two in turn have a relationship with our health.
Making Sense of the Connection
Science acknowledges that some of the greatest challenges to the physical body are a result of stress related events associated with daily living. Research also reveals that stress affects health adversely primarily by suppressing immunological functioning. Negative responses to the pressures of life often lead to conflict, frustration, and resentment which all have detrimental consequences to the body. Research is now also showing that there is a connection between religion, spirituality, and health. This connection is complicated and dependent on several factors extending far beyond weekly church attendance.
While religious practice has measurable health benefits, including increased life expectancy, there may be a more critical component. Sincerity. An authentic and earnest pursuit to develop a personal relationship with the tradition’s concept of the divine is essential. In his introduction to the Bhagavad Gita, Juan Mascaro writes, “The seers of the Upanishads did not establish a Church, or found a definite religion, but the seers of the Spirit in all religions agree that communion with the Highest is not a problem of words but of life.”
The masters of all sacred traditions emphasize that sincerity and pure intention is required by the devotee. Personal experiences then grow out of that sincere relationship and from that relationship the devotee develops the characteristics or virtues traditionally associated with adherence to sacred traditions. In essence, the devotee becomes what they revere.
Regardless of the path taken, the religion-spirituality-health connection occurs when believers incorporate timeless teachings and practices into their lives and exercise authentic forgiveness, compassion, patience, kindness, and selflessness. These traits must be internalized, not merely mimicked, in order to be sustainable and have an effect on the mind and body. All of the components of religious practice are designed to not only evoke cognitive consent but also touch the senses through symbol, color, sound, movement, smell, touch, and taste. These - in the form of candles, incense, bells, chants, art and so on - facilitate a shift of consciousness from the mundane to luminous, heart-centered spiritual awareness that leads to an anchoring in the certainty of the felt presence of the divine in life.
It is this certainty, this sense of deep purpose and confident faith, that releases the tension and allows the body to heal and regenerate. The science of modern medical research may be on the verge of rediscovering the essential importance of understanding the mystery of illness and health as they relate to spiritual practices.
In contrast, there seem to be fewer health benefits from adhering strictly to rigid dogmatic rules. Mechanical responses that arise from rote memorization and mimicked gestures, void of a sincere desire to draw closer to the divine, may be thought of as un-sprouted seeds that will only sprout when watered by a passionate desire for transcendence. Without this desire, consciousness may remain focused on superficial problems and solutions that lead to stress and illness.
The Role of Holistic Medicine
Throughout most of history, the physician within a community was also the shaman or priest. Only in modern times has health care been separated from spiritual care. As data from studies continues to support the connection between religion, spirituality, and health, and as a holistic approach to healthcare becomes recognized as essential to the patient, I believe health care providers will need to educate themselves about religion and spirituality. With close to 90% of patients considering themselves to be both spiritual and religious, and many reporting that their religious beliefs and practices are powerful sources of comfort, hope, and meaning, particularly in coping with illness, I hope that physicians of the future will become, if not experts, at least conversant in religious traditions so as to be able to address the care of the whole patient.
Science might be well served to continue studying religious communities that practice sincerely and have at the center of their heart’s desire to be close to the divine such as the monks of Mount Athos.
As Father Maximos explains, “The most basic illness that the holy elders talk about…is the heart’s ignorance of God.”
References
Carlisle, L. (1994). In A Spirit of Caring: Understanding and Finding Meaning in the Doctor-Patient Relationship. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.
Koenig, H. (2004). Religion, spirituality, and medicine: Research findings and implications for clinical practice. Southern Medical Association, 97(12), 1194-1200
Markides, K. (2001). The Mountain of Silence. New York, NY: Random House, Inc.
Mascaro, J. (1962). The Bhagavad Gita. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
McIntosh, D. & Spilka, B. (1990). Religion and physical health: The role of personal faith and control beliefs. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, 2, pp. 167-194.