As Alex Trebek, the beloved longtime Jeopardy! host, battles advanced pancreatic cancer, his wife, Jean, has found solace in her spirituality. In an interview with SurvivorNet, Trebek shared her thoughts on Religious Science—she is a licensed practitioner of the faith at the North Hollywood Church of Religious Science—including her use of sound healing and Reiki.

Sound healing combines crystal bowls with the human voice to create a calming experience, she explained. Reiki is a “meditative practice that promotes relaxation, reduces stress and anxiety, and promotes a positive mental state through gentle touch”, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Trebek, whose soothing voice SurvivorNet compared with “waves crashing on the beach, a crackling fireplace and a symphony of wind chimes,” says her faith helps her stay centered and upbeat during life’s challenges. She shares her experience and perspectives on her spirituality with the public through the online magazine insidewink, which she cofounded in 2018.

The Los Angeles resident made clear that while she had “played her sound-healing crystal bowls for Alex in the past,” this spiritual practice was her own endeavor. That said, she believes her practice benefits others in her life, including her husband.

“It comes from a place of love, because I want to uplift him,” Trebek told SurvivorNet, “and when I keep my own self buoyed and [am] enjoying my life, I can actually share that with him. He can look at me and have a sense of ‘life is beautiful; my wife is doing something good.’”

Religious Science was founded in the early 20th century by Ernest Holmes, who in its doctrines wove a tapestry with threads drawn from many of the world’s major religions, such as Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism. At its center are tenets familiar to the modern self-help movement, including the power of positive thinking, gratitude and optimism.

Trebek, who was raised Catholic, says daily meditation, often while walking outside, is at the core of her own spiritual practice. She is particularly fond of a mantra attributed to the author Neale Donald Walsch: “If I don’t go within, I go without.”

To read the SurvivorNet article, click here.

To access a newsfeed of Cancer Health articles about complementary and alternative medicine, click here.

To learn about Alex Trebek’s work to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer prevention, see “Raising Your Voice for Pancreatic Cancer”.