{"id":22030,"date":"2026-03-11T12:16:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T12:16:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/inspiration-and-healing\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:13:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:13:25","slug":"inspiration-and-healing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/positive-thinking\/inspiration-and-healing\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspiration and Healing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is there a link between how we think and how we feel? Does a positive attitude<\/a> pay off in healing and better health outcomes?<\/p>\n

Depends on who you ask. In an op-ed column<\/a> in last Tuesday\u2019s New York Times<\/em>, Richard Sloan, a professor at Columbia University Medical School, argued in the negative. He doesn\u2019t believe the data supports the notion that there is a causative relationship between a good attitude and good health.<\/p>\n

The primary concern behind Sloan\u2019s article is valid: If a person\u2019s mind has power over the body then wouldn\u2019t it stand to reason that he or she is in part blameworthy for their physical ails? Sloan argues that it is cruel and unfair to hold a sick person accountable on those grounds and I totally agree. My wife has lupus and it is very hurtful when people seem to think that if only she had a more optimistic outlook she would get better. It is hard to be positive when you\u2019re sick. Some days you are just completely bummed out.<\/p>\n

To Sloan\u2019s other point I have to take exception. I think the jury is still out on whether a person\u2019s thinking can directly impact health and healing. We may never be able to prove this. Still, in a more general way it makes sense that optimism is a key advantage in keeping or regaining your health. A positive person is more likely to eat right, exercise, take medicine, get rest and follow through on physical therapy. These things are good for her, she believes in them, she does them. Her health is more likely to improve than the negative, fatalistic patient who is probably less motivated toward positive behaviors that improve health.<\/p>\n

Some of the most inspirational stories Guideposts<\/em> has ever published are about amazing journeys in healing, where faith<\/a>, prayer<\/a> and a strong spirit play crucial roles. Some people get better because of a miracle. For most, though, they recovered because they took on the battle with an optimistic view. I can\u2019t see where not believing helps you as much as believing.<\/p>\n

What do you think? Is a positive attitude good for your health? Post below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is there a link between how we think and how we feel? Does a positive attitude pay off in healing and better health outcomes? Depends on who you ask. In an op-ed column in last Tuesday\u2019s New York Times, Richard Sloan, a professor at Columbia University Medical School, argued in the negative. He doesn\u2019t believe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[339],"tags":[79,55,27],"ppma_author":[481],"class_list":["post-22030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-positive-thinking","tag-healing","tag-inspiration","tag-positive-thinking"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInspiration and Healing - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inspiration and Healing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Is there a link between how we think and how we feel? Does a positive attitude pay off in healing and better health outcomes? Depends on who you ask. In an op-ed column in last Tuesday\u2019s New York Times, Richard Sloan, a professor at Columbia University Medical School, argued in the negative. He doesn\u2019t believe […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/positive-thinking\/inspiration-and-healing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Guideposts Articles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-11T12:16:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-10T06:13:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Edward Grinnan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/positive-thinking\\\/inspiration-and-healing\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/positive-thinking\\\/inspiration-and-healing\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Edward Grinnan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42ac4bf7241c7dd84b6c62c1bd41c04c\"},\"headline\":\"Inspiration and Healing\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-11T12:16:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-10T06:13:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/positive-thinking\\\/inspiration-and-healing\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":372,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"healing\",\"Inspiration\",\"Positive Thinking\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Positive Thinking\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/positive-thinking\\\/inspiration-and-healing\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/positive-thinking\\\/inspiration-and-healing\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/positive-thinking\\\/inspiration-and-healing\\\/\",\"name\":\"Inspiration and Healing - Guideposts Articles\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-11T12:16:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-10T06:13:25+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/positive-thinking\\\/inspiration-and-healing\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/positive-thinking\\\/inspiration-and-healing\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/positive-thinking\\\/inspiration-and-healing\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Positive Living\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Health and Wellness\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Better Living\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"Positive Thinking\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/positive-thinking\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":6,\"name\":\"Inspiration and Healing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\",\"name\":\"Guideposts Articles\",\"description\":\"Strengthening Faith. Providing Hope.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Guideposts Articles\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/gp-logo-white.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/gp-logo-white.svg\",\"caption\":\"Guideposts Articles\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42ac4bf7241c7dd84b6c62c1bd41c04c\",\"name\":\"Edward Grinnan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3bdd378cba4ed4557fbf1985b1368ee39198b3c083f3b99bdcacc4797e2634bb?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=gcdbe4f5ce340405b7eafc2f82dcb7da0\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3bdd378cba4ed4557fbf1985b1368ee39198b3c083f3b99bdcacc4797e2634bb?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3bdd378cba4ed4557fbf1985b1368ee39198b3c083f3b99bdcacc4797e2634bb?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Edward Grinnan\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/author\\\/edward\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Inspiration and Healing - Guideposts Articles","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Inspiration and Healing","og_description":"Is there a link between how we think and how we feel? Does a positive attitude pay off in healing and better health outcomes? Depends on who you ask. In an op-ed column in last Tuesday\u2019s New York Times, Richard Sloan, a professor at Columbia University Medical School, argued in the negative. He doesn\u2019t believe […]","og_url":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/positive-thinking\/inspiration-and-healing\/","og_site_name":"Guideposts Articles","article_published_time":"2026-03-11T12:16:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-10T06:13:25+00:00","author":"Edward Grinnan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/positive-thinking\/inspiration-and-healing\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/positive-thinking\/inspiration-and-healing\/"},"author":{"name":"Edward Grinnan","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/42ac4bf7241c7dd84b6c62c1bd41c04c"},"headline":"Inspiration and Healing","datePublished":"2026-03-11T12:16:34+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-10T06:13:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/positive-thinking\/inspiration-and-healing\/"},"wordCount":372,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization"},"keywords":["healing","Inspiration","Positive Thinking"],"articleSection":["Positive Thinking"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/positive-thinking\/inspiration-and-healing\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/positive-thinking\/inspiration-and-healing\/","url":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/positive-thinking\/inspiration-and-healing\/","name":"Inspiration and Healing - Guideposts Articles","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-03-11T12:16:34+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-10T06:13:25+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/positive-thinking\/inspiration-and-healing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/positive-thinking\/inspiration-and-healing\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/positive-thinking\/inspiration-and-healing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Positive Living","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Health and Wellness","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Better Living","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Positive Thinking","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/positive-thinking\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":6,"name":"Inspiration and Healing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/","name":"Guideposts Articles","description":"Strengthening Faith. Providing Hope.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization","name":"Guideposts Articles","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/gp-logo-white.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/gp-logo-white.svg","caption":"Guideposts Articles"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/42ac4bf7241c7dd84b6c62c1bd41c04c","name":"Edward Grinnan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3bdd378cba4ed4557fbf1985b1368ee39198b3c083f3b99bdcacc4797e2634bb?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=gcdbe4f5ce340405b7eafc2f82dcb7da0","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3bdd378cba4ed4557fbf1985b1368ee39198b3c083f3b99bdcacc4797e2634bb?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3bdd378cba4ed4557fbf1985b1368ee39198b3c083f3b99bdcacc4797e2634bb?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","caption":"Edward Grinnan"},"url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/author\/edward\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":481,"user_id":30,"is_guest":0,"slug":"edward","display_name":"Edward Grinnan","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22030\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22030"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=22030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}