The efficacy of Energy Medicine in the biomedical field of the United States has a rapidly growing scientific evidence base.
Energy Medicine is generally defined as the therapeutic use of energy. Energy Medicine taught by Healing Touch Program (HTP) implements the use of Energy Medicine to facilitate healing in the human organism. The Healing Touch Program implements Barbara Brennan’s theoretical framework, some of which is supported by a growing body of scientific evidence.
Healing Touch energy therapy is a non-invasive, evidence-based approach to health and healing which facilitates healing on all levels of the human organism including physiological, psychological, energetic and spiritual, through a heart-centered intentional direction of energy.
Healing Touch treatments employ non-invasive techniques to balance, energize and clear the human energy system — acting to enhance physical, mental, emotional, energetic and spiritual health and healing. When providing a treatment, the practitioner works directly with the human energy system to facilitate healing by placing the client in a position to self-heal.
In Healing Touch, the practitioner must use the four core concepts of centering, grounding, attuning and setting intention to provide a beneficial energy treatment.
Centering is the process of bringing focus to the heart center and holding a state of sincere love and caring.
Grounding is the process of visualizing a connection to the earth and the physical body, becoming fully present in the moment and releasing all distractions.
Attuning is a process of entering into conscious relationship with a client, usually through light physical touch.
Setting intention is to commit to a specific action, thought, emotion, way of being or belief.
In Healing Touch the practitioner is not attached to a specific outcome and they usually set an intention for the client’s highest good.
What exactly does all this mean? What is the human energy system? Why is it so important to center, ground, attune and set intent? How does this affect the physiological and psychological health of the human organism?
The Human Energy System
The human energy system is also known as the energy field or biofield. According to current scientific research and HTP (2011), the known composition of the human energy system is quite complex and includes many aspects. For example, the energy system is comprised of the Core Star, the Hara, the chakras (energy centers) and auric bodies (energy fields), the physical body and the meridians (energy tracks).
HTP (2011) describes the Core Star as the divine essence which emits the highest vibrational frequency and can be found in the heart or abdominal regions. The Hara, or Hara Line, is a column of energy that connects the tan tien (lower belly), the soul seat (heart area) and the individuation point (above the head), which is the point where the division between the invisible world of spirit and the physical world occurs.
According to HTP (2011) the Hara connects the physical body to earth and the spiritual dimension — and holds our birth intention and life purpose.
HTP bases its framework on the seven-chakra system, as there is a significant amount of supporting scientific evidence for its existence and the influence it has on healing and the overall health and well-being of an individual.
The seven major chakras (energy centers) spin and create the corresponding seven auric layers or auric bodies (energy fields surrounding the body) which interpenetrate each other and the physical body.
The seven chakras are the root chakra, located at the base of the spine and pelvic floor, the sacral chakra, located in the lower abdomen about two inches below the naval, the solar plexus chakra, located in the upper abdomen above the navel, the heart chakra, located in the heart, the throat chakra, located in the throat, the brow chakra, located in the center of the forehead and the crown chakra, locatedat the top of the head.
There are also numerous minor chakras throughout the hands, feet and limbs which can be found at each joint.
Each of the seven auric bodies, or layers of the energy field, is created by the energetic spin of its corresponding major chakra. For example, the root chakra generates the first auric body, or layer, which is the Etheric Field and is closest to the physical body. The sacral chakra generates the second layer which is the Emotional Field, the solar plexus chakra generates the third which is the Mental Field, the heart chakra corresponds to the fourth layer or Astral Body, the fifth layer is the Etheric Template, corresponding to the throat chakra, the sixth layer or Celestial Body corresponds to the brow chakra and the crown chakra generates the seventh layer or Ketheric Template.
According to HTP (2011) each of the chakras also has its own unique vibrational frequency which corresponds to specific colors of the rainbow, with the root chakra being red and vibrating at the lowest frequency, and the crown chakra being violet and vibrating at the highest frequency. Each chakra also correlates with and influences a specific area of the body. For example, the lower chakras such as the root through solar plexus correlate more with life force, emotional needs, thinking, feeling and earthly, physiological survival.
The higher chakras of the heart through the crown correlate with creativity, the higher mind and spiritual needs. The energy centers also correspond with the glandular system and neural plexus.
The Meridians, or energy tracks, are a well-known aspect of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Academy of Classical Oriental Sciences (2017) describes meridians as energy highways which run throughout the entire body and can be mapped, appearing as a web of intricate, interconnecting energy lines.
Just like the neurological system and physical body, every organ emits varying amounts of energy which can be measured in joules.*
The human energy field is electromagnetic in nature, emitting various measurable energetic frequencies. Basic physics demonstrates that electricity creates a magnetic field. Blood contains iron which is magnetic.
HTP (2011) cites scientific evidence by Dr. Rollin McCraty that indicates the heart generates the strongest electromagnetic field of any organ in the body which is 5000 times stronger than that of the brain!
Thought is a type of energy and proceeds form. Based on this information, current scientific research and previously noted information regarding the human energy system has determined that a healing response may be facilitated in an organism through appropriate manipulation of the energy system. According to HTP (2011) Energy Medicine treatments have assisted individuals to facilitate healing responses from subtle to miraculous which have been documented in all aspects of health including physiological, psychological and spiritual.
But how does working with the energy system facilitate healing? Well, it is actually very simple. It is all about intent! And here is the science to back that statement.
Evidence
Believe it or not, physics has some pretty simple answers as a result of numerous mind-blowing discoveries.
Einstein said, “Everything is energy, this isn’t philosophy, this is physics!”
Tesla stated that when science turned its eyes to the unseen, it would advance more in one decade than it has in its entire history.
Now, we are finally there. James Oschman, PhD observed that, In a few decades, scientists have gone from a conviction that there is no such thing as an energy field around the human body, to an absolute certainty that it exists. Moreover, science is explaining the roles of energy fields in health and disease as a result of the development of sensitive instruments. (Oschman, 2015)
Scientific research by McCraty, Bradley and Tomasino (2015) further validates and expands on the findings of basic physics which demonstrate that our bodies are electromagnetic and that the neurological system and heart are electric and generate magnetic fields.
According to research results provided by McCraty, Bradley and Tomasino (2015), the electric amplitude produced by the heart is 60 times greater than that of the brain and as previously stated, the magnetic field produced by the heart is 5000 times greater than that of the brain.
McCraty, Bradley and Tomasino’s (2015) findings further reveal that the heart is a sensory organ and capable of executive cognitive functions such as memory, perception, cognition, emotional processing, learning, decision making and communication, which are independent of the brain’s cerebral cortex.
According to McCraty, Bradley and Tomasino (2015) individual heart fields are constantly interacting with those of others close by regardless of speech or physical touch, communicating on an energetic level by radiating electromagnetic fields which are then received, translated and bear influence on the heart and nervous system of the recipient.
For example, McCraty, Bradley and Tomasino (2015) found that one person’s brain waves could synchronize to another person’s heart. Research results by Tiller and Dibble (2009) provides supporting evidence displaying that when individuals were in close proximity or touching one another, a phenomenon known as ‘entrainment’ could occur.
Entrainment is the process in which one individual’s brain waves synchronize with another’s heart. In this state of entrainment, each individual can receive stimuli and subtle messages from the other through shared effected brain wave patterns.
Tiller and Dibble (2009) also observed that the possibility of entrainment was especially strengthened when there was intention to do so. This is why being heart centered is so important!
When energy is viewed as the agent that causes physical effect, research identifies that the energetic emissions generated by varying conscious emotions and intentions of one individual can influence measurable changes in the physiology of another.
McCraty, Atkinson, Tomasino and Tiller (2013) found that cardiac coherence (a state of balance and harmony within the heart and among body systems) can be increased through intention. When an individual maintains a state of sincere love or appreciation, the resulting qualities of the energies generated can facilitate changes in the structure of water and in the conformational state of DNA.
The primary mechanism for improved health and healing in Healing Touch are the intentions set by the practitioner and the subsequent energies and frequencies they produce.
Anufrieva, Anufriev, Starchenko and Timofeev (2004) state that thoughts are forms of energy and that energy is transmitted through thought. Each thought also generates its own unique corresponding vibrational frequency, which is influenced and changed by the emotion and intentions being held by the practitioner.
Oschman and Oschman (2015) cite studies in which researchers observed huge biomagnetic pulsations emanating from the hands of Energy Medicine practitioners while they were holding sincere states of care, appreciation and love for a client while providing treatment.
Researchers also observed that the biomagnetic pulsations from the hands of practitioners matched the frequencies of their brain waves. The frequencies generated by the practitioners were further observed to fall within the full range of therapeutic frequencies identified by the biomedical field used to promote healing.
For example, Oschman and Oschman (2015) note that specific frequencies are known to promote healing, such as 7 Hz for bone growth, 15 Hz for capillary formation, 10 Hz for ligament healing and 2 Hz for nerve regeneration.
Lee, Huh, Jeong, Jang, Ryu, Park & . . . Woo (2003) performed a research study on the effects of Qigong energy training and energy therapy on immune cells. Participants were divided into intervention groups and placebo groups. The intervention groups received training and instruction on hand placement techniques and how to move Qi (energy), while the placebo groups were taught only hand placement techniques with no attempts made to move Qi.
Researchers measured immune cell numbers in all participants before and immediately after interventions, and once again two hours later. Results displayed significant increases in monocyte and lymphocyte numbers immediately after Qi therapy in the intervention groups compared to the placebo groups who showed no changes.
Significant increases in monocyte and lymphocyte numbers were also observed again when measured two hours after treatment in the intervention groups, with no increases observed in the placebo groups. Lee et al., (2003) state that these findings indicate that one Qigong treatment can facilitate increases in monocyte and lymphocyte numbers and these effects are not a result of simple human contact but rather the intentional direction of energy.
Using the BioWell Gas Discharge Visualization (GDV) device, an instrument developed by Dr. Konstantin Korotkov which can view, measure and analyze the human energy system through bioelectrography and electrophotonic imaging, Korotkov (2012) observed immediate energy increases in the energy reserves of Energy Medicine practitioners when they entered states of sincere love and gratitude in preparation for providing treatment. The hands of practitioners were also found to emit strong transformations of UV light parameters, increased emissions of radiation, x-ray, gamma ray and electromagnetic emissions with frequencies in the same ranges as those previously identified above by the biomedical field to accelerate the healing process.
Korotkov (2012) suggests that these findings confirm that states of sincere love and gratitude held by Energy Medicine practitioners facilitate significantly increased radiation emissions in varying ranges of frequencies from the hands and at times, the entire body of the practitioner. These findings further display that intentions of love and gratitude produce measurable energetic frequencies which can facilitate reproducible, beneficial long-range physiological changes in immune system function, as well as psychological and energetic health.
This is why intention is so important.
Interesting BioWell Scan Results Representation of the energy field around the body of a healthy, happy adult. Energy output 59 Joules. Balance 97%
Representation of the energy field around the body of a child experiencing strong anger. Energy output 30 Joules. Balance 53%.
Representation of a healthy, happy adult, chakra alignment 92% and index (fullness) 79%
Representation of a child experiencing strong anger, chakra alignment 80% and index (fullness) 10%.
Energy field of an Energy Medicine practitioner preparing to provide a treatment. Energy output 117 Joules, Balance 99%
Representation of an Energy Medicine practitioner preparing to provide a treatment, chakra alignment 91% and index (fullness) 100%.
What do the implications of these findings mean?
It is all about intent!
~ Karen O’Dell, MS, HTCP, ICWC
Karen O’Dell has her MS in Mind-Body medicine, is a Healing Touch Certified Practitioner, Certified Integrative Wellness Coach, Certified BioWell operator/analyst through the International Union of Medical and Applied Bioelectrography (IUMAB) and a registered psychotherapist. She teaches an introductory course on the human energy system and energy medicine for IUMAB and has worked as a home health and hospice care provider for 19 years receiving her medical training through the U.S. Army as a combat medic. Author Karen O’Dell can be contacted at LitleWanderer@yahoo.com
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References
- Academy of Classical Oriental Sciences. (2017). The Chinese medicine meridian system. Retrieved from http://www.acos.org/articles/the-chinese-medicine-meridian-system
- Anufrieva E., Anufriev V., Starchenko M., & Timofeev N. (2004). Thought registration by means of Gas Discharge Visualization. Institute of Physics of the Ural Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences.Retrieved from http://www.gdvsource.com/bio_energetics.php
- Healing Touch Program. (2011).Overview of human energy system presentation and practice: Level 1 curriculum. Retrieved from http://healingtouchprogram.com/content_assets/student/Overview_of_HES_Presentation.pdf
- Korotkov, K. (2012). Report of the experimental results of the educational sessions of the International Academy for Scientific Mental Healing (DrossinakisIAWG) under the direction of Prof. Dr. Konstantin Korotkov. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Konstantin_Korotkov3/publications?linkType=fulltextFile
- Lee, M. S., Huh, H. J., Jeong, S. M., Jang, H., Ryu, H., Park, J., & … Woo, W. (2003). Effects of Qigong on immune cells. American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 31(2), 327. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12856872
- McCraty, R., Atkinson, M., Tomasino, D., and Tiller, W. (2013). The electricity of touch: Detection and measurement of cardiac energy exchange between people. Retrieved from https://www.heartmath.org/assets/uploads/2015/01/electricity-of-touch.pdf
- McCraty, R., Bradley, R., and Tomasino, D., (2015). The Heart Has Its Own ‘Brain’ and Consciousness. In5d Esoteric, Metaphysical, Spiritual Database. Retrieved from http://in5d.com/the-heart-has-its-own-brain-and-consciousness/
- Oschman, J., and Oschman, N. (2015). Science measures the human energy field. The International Center for Reiki Training. Retrieved from http://www.reiki.org/reikinews/ScienceMeasures.htm
- Tiller, W. & Dibble, W. (2009). What is information entanglement and why is it so important to psychoenergetic science? Retrieved from http://www.tillerfoundation.com/White%20Paper%20VIII.pdf
* Joule, unit of work or energy in the International System of Units (SI); it is equal to the work done by a force of one newton acting through one metre. Named in honour of the English physicist James Prescott Joule, it equals 107 ergs, or approximately 0.7377 foot-pounds. In electrical terms, the joule equals one watt-second—i.e., the energy released in one second by a current of one ampere through a resistance of one ohm.
Copyright © 2006-2017 Healing Touch Program Inc., Energy Magazine™, Nov/Dec 2017
