Sign in | Log in

The Unintentional Healing Power of Facebook

The Unintentional Healing Power of Facebook

Darrell Fusaro (October 24, 2013)
Fusaro 2013

Tools

“When people say or post ‘sending prayers.’  Do you really think they are praying?”

That’s a question a listener of the radio program I co-host, “Funniest Thing! with Darrell and Ed”, asked in a Facebook message.  My answer was, and is, “Yes!”  Since prayer is to think loving or affirmative thoughts regarding a person or situation, Facebook has given us the opportunity to utilize the power of prayer more efficiently.  These are exciting times.

Several weeks ago our 17-year-old dog, Sunny, had a major stroke.  She passed out and when she regained consciousness she remained still, had no use of limbs; they were limp.  She would not and could not eat.  After calling our veterinarian it was clear nothing medically could be done for her.  We were dreading the thought this might be it.  But before giving too much thought to putting her to sleep, I posted Sunny’s condition with a photo of her on Facebook and asked for positive thoughts and prayers.  What happened?  100's of likes and "sending prayers" comments rapidly began to accumulate.  Soon after she began to show signs of improvement and 48 hrs later she was miraculously back on her feet and eating as if nothing ever happened. 

The thing is the 'like' or comment IS the prayer.  To believe that prayer only counts as prayer when you are repeating rote verses in a church or begging God for help is B.S.  Jesus himself even said that was nonsense.  The positive thought you have after reading a friend’s post is a powerful prayer in itself.  It floats off into the ethers loaded with love and instantaneously begins to remedy the situation.

So yes, when someone says they'll pray, they already have.

In addition to Sunny’s experience, two of my childhood friends were diagnosed with cancer and shared their condition on Facebook, receiving many ‘likes’ and “sending prayers” comments from friends during the course of their treatment, both have made miraculous recoveries. 

“Love is the most powerful chemical in the universe,
and dissolves everything which is not of itself!”

–Florence Scovel Shinn


"Thank you for all your prayers, I feel better than ever!" –Sunny

DISCLAIMER: Posts published in i-Italy are intended to stimulate a debate in the Italian and Italian-American Community and sometimes deal with controversial issues. The Editors are not responsible for, nor necessarily in agreement with the views presented by individual contributors.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - RIPRODUZIONE VIETATA.
This work may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission.
Questo lavoro non può essere riprodotto, in tutto o in parte, senza permesso scritto.

It is also the Saving Power

It is also the Saving Power of Facebook. Animal lovers all over the world have shared and saved many fur friends that may have otherwise been lost, euthanized, or left suffering. I have laughed, cried, screamed, learned, and wondered because of things I read on Facebook. For all the negatives and criticisms, I will stick with Facebook. And continue Sharing, Liking, and Praying :)

I agree completely.

I absolutely agree. When my partner was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago a few interesting things happened. At first people came out of the woodwork when it was new news and they showed up. Lot's of hospital visits, help, visits at home, taking him to chemo. Then it tapered off. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon, people were genuinely concerned and care, but they also have their own lives to live and they continued to inquire about him and send good thoughts and prayers, but they also had to attend to their own responsibilities. I started to think of the phenomenon after that as "FaceBook Concern". Where real people who really care take a moment to actually express their concern, support and good wishes and prayers. I had to ask myself, "do I do this? How does it work? Does it matter? Does it help? Do I do enough?" The answer is YES. Every good thought, or inquiry about Sam and sometimes even for my wellbeing, helped. It gave me strength and made me feel less alone. Sometimes people heard about it much later and had the same reaction and came and helped. So for me, even a "like" on a status is worthwhile. We are dealing with a life and death thing, but to me it doesn't matter if it's a bad day, or a breakup or Starbucks was closed, I don't compare people's pain or experience, it's all valid. So because of this experience, I pay attention and do the same for others. The progress for Sam is really really slow but he is making progress and those thoughts and prayers and kind words have made it that much easier, having far more impact that the effort itself to express them.