In the insecurity of night-time darkness when the moon played tricks with creases in curtains or when my heightened sensitivity allowed fear amplify the ordinary sounds of night I often said a prayer or two and fell asleep.

In the insecurity of night-time darkness when the moon played tricks with creases in curtains or when my heightened sensitivity allowed fear amplify the ordinary sounds of night I often said a prayer or two and fell asleep. The prayers seemed to ease my fear. It has now been established that there is a psychological benefit in prayer. New research indicates that prayer has physiological and psychological benefits. No particular prayer. No particular religion. I read an article from the British Medical Journal recently on this topic. Research from the school of Positive Psychology has shown that people who pray, who have this spiritual dimension and invest in it are amongst the happiest and healthiest on our planet.