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someone, greater than one- self.  This should not be confused with religious belief for a person can be spiritual without being religious. Unfortunately with the advent of modern scientific medicine came a clear sepa- ration between spiritual, reli- gious, and scientifically founded beliefs.  With the emergence of holistic thera- pies, there has been a resurgence in promoting spiritual and religious heal- ing and studying its effec- tiveness in a whole host of disorders. Spirituality includes an array of beliefs including a feeling of love, compassion, empa- thy, gratitude, and a sense of inner peace.  There is a diminished focus on self (68). Love and social sup- port are a part of a person's spirituality which provides healing and influences car- diovascular disease.  A study examining individuals who described their parents as providing loving support in the 1950's went on to show that these individuals developed less hypertension and heart disease as well as fewer other non-cardiac con- ditions later in life (105). Therapeutic Touch, a thera- py that draws upon some of the principles of spirituality and spiritual beliefs, was developed in the United States in the 1970's.  It draws much of its premise from ancient Chinese medicine, as well as modern medicine.  At the root of therapeutic touch is the belief in a common "life force" or energy field. By interacting with this energy field, it is believed a person can influence the healing of another.  Surprisingly, it does not actually involve touching a person, but instead the provider holds their hands at a short distance from the per- son receiving the care and the provider moves their hands throughout the per- son's perceived energy field. These techniques have been widely embraced by nursing schools and now they are being taught throughout the United States.  In a 1984 study, these techniques were provided to patients in a car- diovascular unit and those receiving such treatments showed a marked reduction in anxiety, important to the reduction of blood pressure and heart rate, key compo- nents to the treatment of indi- viduals with CHD (106).   Religious belief is a part of the American fabric.  In fact, 96 percent of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit (107).  These beliefs impact healing.  In a study conducted at Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1995, religion was found to be beneficial to healing 81% of the time, neutral 15% of the time, and harm- ful 4% of the time (108).  In cardiovascular disease, reli- gious older adults have been shown to have lower blood pressure and lower death rates from CHD than their nonreligious peers (109).  While not specifically identified as treating cardio- vascular disease, faith, hope and forgiveness are tenets of most religions and have also been identified as important to a person's healing response. Prayer is also a part of most American religions and it too has important healing power.  A 1986 poll by MD magazine found that one- half of doctors believe that prayer helps patients and two-thirds reported praying for patients (110).  By pray- ing, a relaxed state is induced in which breathing, heart rate and metabolism slow, blood pressure drops, and brain waves become less active. PET THERAPY Pet therapy could easily have been included in the Mind/Body or Spirituality sections of this article because it crosses over to so many facets of holistic therapies.  Pets are loved by their human companions

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