Energy healing is an enormous subject! This article is a brief introduction, with examples and a discussion of the principles of energetic healing. If matter is nothing but condensed energy, then all healing is energy healing. However, energy healing techniques are usually defined as those in which the movement or balancing of energies is the primary intent and focus of the technique.

All energy healing methods postulate the existence of invisible fields of energy that permeate and create our bodies. These fields go by various names including the chakras, the aura, the acupuncture meridians, the vital force, chi, qi, the odic force, orgone energy and others. Enhancing, balancing, or otherwise altering these fields or frequencies of energy is the key to all energetic healing methods.

THIS INFORMATION IS NOT INTENDED TO PRESCRIBE OR CURE ANY AILMENT. FOR SPECIFIC HEALTH CONCERNS, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR PHYSICIAN. 

There are thousands of energy healing methods. Space only permits a brief mention of a few of them. Some are household words, while others are less well-known. While many are Eastern in origin, a surprising number developed in the West. While some may appear a bit strange, there are scientific studies and textbooks available on all these methods.

• Acupuncture originated in India and is thousands of years old. It postulates the existence of energy channels in the body, called meridians, that control all bodily functions. The acupuncturist assesses these meridians by feeling wrist pulses, tongue diagnosis, body smells, skin color, and other methods. Needles, herbs, moxa (burning herbs) or other methods are then used to balance the flow of subtle energy or chi through these meridians. The theories of acupuncture are quite elaborate and include physical, mental, emotional as well as spiritual well-being.
• Acupressure, jin shin jyutsu, foot reflexology and zone therapy are also based on channels of energy or chi flowing throughout the body. Instead of needles, the practitioner uses touch or pressure to affect the flow of energy in the meridian system. These techniques are also thousands of years old and quite sophisticated.
• Electro-acupuncture according to Voll (EAV) is a 20th century Western science that blends acupuncture principles, homeopathy and electrical measurement. The patient holds an electrode in one hand, while the practitioner tests acupuncture points on the other hand or a foot with a metallic probe. The electrical machine, called the Dermatron or Vega instrument, tests the patient's response to the frequency of various conditions and remedies that are placed in the circuit of the machine. Some instruments are linked to a computer. These can scan quickly through long lists of symptoms, conditions and remedies. Remedies are in the form of homeopathic drops or purely electrical frequency treatment.
• Diathermy, acuscope, multi-wave oscillators, Rife machines, Bioenergy Field Enhancement Units, microdynameters and other frequency generators are also forms of energy healing. Royal Rife, for example, became well-known over fifty years ago for developing a frequency generator that could destroy cancer and other conditions by purely electrical means. The patient holds electrodes or places his feet on metal pads to receive the frequencies. Nicola Tesla patented the multi-wave oscillator, a high-voltage device that affects the chakras. It broadcasts healthful frequencies into the body. Diathermy machines are commonly used by chiropractors and physical therapists to warm and gently stimulate the tissues. Electrical therapies, though often suppressed by medical authorities, have been used in the Western medicine for many years.
• Polarity, therapeutic touch, craniosacral work, Feldenkreis, rolfing, chakra balancing and shiatsu are other popular energy healing techniques. The recipient generally lies down on a table while the practitioner places their hands near or on the body to transmit or move energy around the body. Sometimes massage movements are used. Often just touching the body or placing hands above the body are sufficient. Prayer and the laying on of hands are also among the ancient energetic methods of healing.
• Tai Chi, aikido, judo, karate, tai kwon do and other martial arts are a combination of self-defense training and energetic healing.
• Tantric, kundalini and other forms of yoga, chi king and taoist exercises and practices are another type of energy self-healing. These involve postures, movements, breathing or other exercises designed to enhance energy flows for a healthful life.
• Meditation, imagery and visualization techniques in some cases are specifically concerned with becoming aware of and altering energy flows in and around the body. Some forms of chanting, singing, instrumental music, Sufi and other dance methods, and other movement therapies also have as their intent energetic healing. In the East, the energetic component of music or singing is often primary. Western arts are often less aware of the energetic component, although it is clearly present to those who are aware of it.
• Macrobiotics is a dietary healing system that is energetically-based. The idea is to balance the yin and yang qualities in the body by altering one's intake of yin or yang foods. Cooking is studied as a way to alter the energies of foods by the addition of heat, salt and water to our food. Ayurveda identifies energetic qualities of foods, herbs and other treatments that are used together to bring energetic balance to the body. Western nutrition science can be approached on an energetic level, as nutrients and toxic minerals affect the subtle bodies and energy channels of the body.
• Aromatherapy is the application of herb and flower essences for healing. It may be considered an energetic method. Indeed, the energetic qualities of the oils can be measured. The use of gem elixirs for healing, and the use of crystals worn on the body or placed in a home are other forms of energy balancing and healing. It is well known that different minerals have different vibrations. The Bach flower remedies and the Schussler cell salts are energetic uses of flower essences and tissue minerals.
• Color, light and sound therapies are well-researched forms of vibrational healing. Sometimes the body is exposed to colored lights, or the patient drinks water from colored containers that have been left in the sun to acquire the frequency of that color. For example, it is known that 'warm' colors such as red increases vitality and can cause inflammation. 'Cool' colors such as blue and green have a calming effect.
• Fung shui is an oriental method of balancing the energies in a home or other space in order to enhance the healthfulness and harmony of the environment.
• Applied kinesiology is a method of testing muscle strength and is an energetic testing method.
• Geopathic sciences are concerned with the energies of the earth, and their relationship to our health. The science of sacred geometry is concerned with the energies of certain shapes, the placement and arrangements of objects such as pyramids, and the abilities of certain forms or shapes to concentrate, absorb or broadcast energies. Astrology is the study of the energies that emanate from the planets and other heavenly bodies, and their effects on our lives.

There are many more energy healing sciences, and there are many practitioners who do energy healing without giving it a name. As with many holistic therapies, these methods were suppressed in America for the past 80 years. Now they are rapidly gaining popularity. They tend to be safe, enjoyable and often easy to administer and to self-administer. They are a wonderful way to give and receive love.

All methods of energy healing share certain principles:

• Subtle energies are real, and reflect and affect our health.
• Subtle energies actually create our physical bodies. Therefore, subtle energy treatments address the causes of illness at deep levels.
• The intensity, quality, and balance of the body's energies can be altered by human contact, machines, potentized remedies, movements, breathing, and even one's thoughts and attitudes.
• Another human being can be used to direct or balance energies, to absorb or broadcast energies, or to act as a "jumper cable" to connect energetic points on the body.
• Resonance, induction and entrainment are important in energetic healing.
  • Resonance is a rapport or harmony that can be established between two energies, frequencies or individuals.
  • Induction is the idea that a frequency or energy sent out by one person, remedy or machine can cause a similar pattern in another person or substance.
  • Entrainment is the process of matching another ms vibration, and then altering your energy in order to effect change in the another.
• Distance is not a barrier for energetic healing, since the energies permeate all space. Treatments may be done hands on, at a distance, mentally, or using a surrogate to test remedies and to test frequencies. Some of the sciences use an object from the patient, such as a photograph, or sample of hair or blood.

It is most helpful for the client to be receptive to the treatment. No healing takes place unless the client wishes it to be so, whether or not healer and client are aware of it.

There are layers of energetic imbalances. While some energy medicine sciences suggest that one treatment is enough, most suggest a number of sessions to work through layers of imbalanced energies.

Most energetic healing methods blend physical, mental, emotional and even spiritual healing together to some degree. Unlike conventional medical science that often tries to separate these, the energetic healing arts often see them as interdependent.

The answer is that all have some merit. If all the methods did not contain some truth, they would probably not exist. Some methods are more 'analytical' and 'scientific'. Others are what might be called 'devotional' or 'feeling-oriented'. One is not necessarily better than another.

Some methods are better known. Some are more threatening to the medical establishment and have suffered more suppression and distortion by the media and medical authorities. Some are licensed while others are not. My experience is that licensing has nothing to do with effectiveness.

We are complex beings, so it should be no surprise there are many methods to help heal the body, mind and spirit. Which ones are for you depends on your condition, your belief system, and your rapport with a particular modality or practitioner. The best advice is to try a few methods. Even better, take some classes and experiment with some of the methods on yourself, friends and family. Above all, enjoy the many wonderful methods available to enhance your health and well-being.

1) Vibrational Medicine by Richard Gerber, MD.
2) Space, Time and Medicine by Larry Dossey, MD

Please feel free to click on the "contact me" button to learn more about any of the above, and I will get back with you. 

Empathy

Healing Circles