Carefully controlled studies at Spindrift involving sprouting beans showed that there is a striking 85% difference between beans placed in ideal growing conditions and those which are under some kind of environmental stress (having too little or too much moisture, or are too hot or cold, or have too much salt). A difference has also been found between goal-directed thought (where seeds are imagined to be growing very well) and non goal-directed thought (where no specific outcome is requested or visualized).

We might guess that beans starting out in ideal growing conditions would respond best to prayer, and out-perform traumatized beans... and also that visualization would enhance the growth of these beans. What would you guess?

Interestingly, researchers at Spindrift discovered that the growth of mung beans placed in the ideal growing environment which were prayed for with either the goal-directed or non goal-directed thought did not improve as quickly and well as the stressed seeds. Healthy plants were already at the ideal rate of growth and did not improve as dramatically as the seeds that were too wet, too dry, or too salty. The stressed beans really took off! The next surprising finding was that seeds prayed for with visualization did not grow as quickly as seeds prayed for in a more general, non-directed fashion, although both kinds of prayer improved the rate of mung bean growth.

While humans are only distantly related to mung beans, it’s still refreshing to consider the possibility that some environmental stress can actually be good for our growth and development. I’ve found that when I’ve been under tremendous pressure, I’ve also experienced the most growth. Times of parenthood, death of a friend or relative, career change, divorce and moving stretch my sense of limitations, beliefs and boundaries and remind me to pray for the best outcome? - Since any more specific wish might not turn out to be best for me. Stressful times give me exciting new opportunities to break free of old patterns - much as a bean sprout breaks free of its husk to reach up to the light!

Other studies at Spindrift have shown that more frequent prayers sped the rate of growth of soybeans. This finding seems to indicate that more frequent prayers (or prayers by more people) can be dramatically more effective than solo prayer.

If you’re interested in trying out prayer experiments with beans at home, you can order your OCIA certified organic beans on the internet through http://www.sproutpeople.com, and view the Spindrift experiments at Spindrift research’s web site at http://www.xnet.com/~spindrif/. Here’s one experiment you can really sink your teeth into! You can have fun seeing the power of non-directed thought in your own home, and end up with some tasty sprouts when the experiment is over.

Cynthia Sue Larson holds a bachelor's degree in physics from UC Berkeley (1982), earned in conjunction with her pursuit of a more complete understanding of reality. Shortly after receiving her physics degree and working with scientists at the Space Sciences Laboratory in Berkeley, she earned an MBA degree from San Francisco State University with the intention that she would be able to help scientists better manage their projects. Following completion of her MBA degree in 1984, she worked as a project manager at Citibank for seven years at the California Data Center.

Cynthia currently writes articles for Magical Blend and Parabola magazines about reality shifts - discussing everything from the physics of prayer to the connection between language and our culture's view of reality. She has taught workshops and classes to dozens of people, and communicated with thousands more on the internet through discussion forums and chats. She has been interviewed by Elliot Stein for his Stein Online talk show.