Hit with a major illness, Craig Farnsworth has found great comfort in the prayers and writings of the Baha'i Faith.

As soon as he learned he had a brain tumor, which after removal was diagnosed as an aggressive form of cancer, Craig Farnsworth did the opposite of what most people would do: He bypassed the usual stages of response -- grief, denial, anger, bargaining, and depression – and started on a spiritual path of healing.

Craig Farnsworth Mr. Farnsworth, 56, a Baha'i since 1970, doesn’t consider himself stoic or heroic. He says his atypical reaction to having cancer comes from being steeped in the Baha'i Faith, which stresses the power of spiritual healing:

“Be ye assured and confident that the confirmations of God are descending upon you, the assistance of God will be given unto you, the breaths of the Holy Spirit will quicken you with a new life.” – Abdu’l-Baha

But, as Baha’u’llah cautions, “Prayer alone is not sufficient . . . The best result can be obtained by combining the two processes, spiritual and physical.”

Guided by these and other Baha'i writings, Mr. Farnsworth, who lives in Cleveland, designed a “fact-based spirit-guided plan,” which he outlines on his blog, Fact-Based Spirit-Guided Path.

His plan consists of these elements: prayer, meditation and visualization, eating well, taking supplements, and exercising; welcoming the healing power of radiation and chemotherapy rather than fighting or dreading them; and keeping in mind his goal of long-term survival and an “excellent quality of life.”

In addition to starting a blog, which includes entries by his wife, Susanne Alexander, Mr. Farnsworth has asked friends, family, business associates, neighbors, community colleagues, staff at the Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette and in Haifa, Israel, members of his Toastmasters group and members of Baha’i institutions to pray for him. Confirming emails of prayerful support have come from around the world.

In the operating room before surgery to remove his tumor, Mr. Farnsworth recited a short Baha'i prayer for healing. He told the operating staff that many people were saying prayers for him and the success of the surgery, and that he had been praying, meditating and visualizing building a cocoon around the tumor to assist them in removing it in one piece.

The surgeons were able to remove the tumor in one piece, which Mr. Farnsworth says is unusual and was not predicted by his surgeons. “I like to think part of the success was because of the prayers and my spirit-guided plan,” he says. “I felt I was more a participant than a passive object.”

Before taking his daily chemo pills, Mr. Farnsworth plays a healing hypnosis tape he made with a professional hypnotist. During MRI’s and radiation treatments, he plays a singing version of the Baha'i long healing prayer. “The technicians love it,” he says.

Mr. Farnsworth says he takes great comfort from looking at photos of his grandchildren, two daughters and son, who, in an unfortunate irony, also is being treated for a brain tumor. (Mr. Farnsworth and his son are participating in an international genetic study to find a genetic marker for brain tumors.)

Another key tool in Mr. Farnsworth’s spiritual toolbox is a colorful Baha'i-themed poster, “Three Tools of Healing” (medical treatment, prayers, and joy and laughter).

With his detailed plan, the support of his wife and family, his photos and the poster, Mr. Farnsworth says “there’s nothing else I really need to help me get through this.”