For more than two decades, Christian Science practitioner-healers Bruce and John Klingbeil began rigorous testing of prayer under scientific conditions. They used laboratory experiments to illustrate the subtle effects of spirituality. Their purpose was to promote research and education in the fields that investigate prayer, consciousness, the placebo effect, and spiritual healing.

Bruce and John thought optimistically that their Spindrift research would be met with openness from both the religious and scientific communities. After a few years of pursuing their work, it became clear this optimism had been misplaced, and in 1983 their church leaders punished them by removing Bruce as a practitioner.

Undeterred, the two moved to Salem, Oregon, where they continued their research for ten years. The toll of being expelled from their church, the continual harassment from the spiritual and scientific communities, the loss of income, and the potential of legal persecutions tied to Spindrift led to dramatic choices by the researchers before their work was recognized as groundbreaking research on how prayer is an ordering-mechanism that turns disorder into order. Bruce said, "Spiritual progress is made drip by drip."

The Spindrift founders researched the positive and the negative effects of prayer. They asked, "When does prayer benefit? When does prayer curse? Failures of prayer seem evident. Are successes of prayer evident?" Through consciousness research, the Klingbeils sought ways to address these questions to help bridge science and religion.

We present the Klingbeils' work for your consideration for you to judge the work for yourself.