Deliberately caused bodily damage.
Meaning has the power to drastically modify our experience of pain. It also can dramatically affect our health, both positively and negatively--a phenomenon I explored previously in this column. Spiritual meanings may be the most powerful forms of meaning, because they can provoke healing responses that appear miraculous, such as in DCBD. DCBD bridges medicine, neuroscience, religion, and anthropology. Consequently, it is regarded as too sprawling by scientists who prefer to work in a confined, limited area. DCBD also carries the stigma of being "weird" and "foreign." So it isn't surprising that researchers have given it a wide berth over the years. At long last, however, this attitude is changing, and a few brave investigators are coming forward. In my imagination I see DCBD as a territory marked by bold signs: ATTENTION PROSPECTIVE NOBLE PRIZE WINNERS: LOOK HERE! Is anybody out there up to the challenge?
Dossey
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D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000523:psychology*