Energy medicine and biofield therapy are not mainstream concepts in the West. Western medicine has focused on a view of the human body that does not embrace it being the energy field physics demonstrates it truly is. This is no critique of mainstream western medicine which accomplishes amazing things everyday, it is acknowledgement that opportunities for wellness are lost by excluding biofield therapy in wellness. In truth, there is no conflict between mainstream and energy medicine; so why don’t we fully embrace both as working together toward the same ends?
There seem to be two main camps in regards to belief in biofield therapy: the denial and placebo group, and, those who enthusiastically embrace it; both groups appear at times to be zealots to their own opinion and viewpoint. The denial and placebo group tend toward the Newtonian view of a matter-first universe, whereas physics has clearly demonstrated that everything is first and foremost energy, and its all connected. The enthusiastic embracer group tends towards an overly spiritual viewpoint that jumps over physics and lands closer to blind faith. If biofield therapy works, it must work according to the laws of physics as demonstrated in the visible universe. There is a danger in ignoring the science in favour of dogma and opinion, and an equal danger is being overly selective about what science we choose to believe and follow. Don’t just fall into one camp or another, educate yourself. Knowledge is power, get some.
Where is the Research?
Dr. James L. Oschman, Ph.D., a leading researcher in energy medicine, notes that despite at least 100 years of research into the energy/medicine connection it remains “controversial” yet “with a little background in physics and biophysics, energy medicine ceases to be a mystery” (Oschman, 2008). Einstein is quoted as saying “There is no place in this new kind of physics both for the field and matter, for the field is the only reality” (n.d., as cited by Capek, 1961). Propelled by physics it is clear that full understanding of the human condition and its optimal health will only come through greater understanding of its relationship with energy.
Oschman, J. (2007)
Other clinical research suggests that Reiki and other biofield therapies demonstrate promise for reduction of pain and anxiety in a variety of patient cases. One study suggests that these same therapies may provide benefits to those suffering from dementia by lessening negative behaviours while being well tolerated by patients.
Reiki
Two studies on Reiki stand out in that they are both studies of the clinical studies: Thrane & Cohen (2014), and, Jain and Mills (2010). These two studies note positive data regarding the effects of Reiki in certain groups, and most specifically with regards to the effects of Reiki for pain management and anxiety reduction. Both note issues with the clinical studies in their research including potential evidence of bias, small sample sizes and short study duration. They recommend further, high-quality studies be conducted into the effects of energy medicine as a complimentary therapy.
Please follow the reference links below for more information.
Colour in Healing
Despite the use of light and colour in conventional medical treatments chromotherapy (the use of colour as a wellness therapy) remains controversial and is not accepted by medical science. Modern medical professionals have supported chromotherapy prior to it being disregarded by medical science, and there are more recent studies on chromotherapy that are reviving the research into the effects of colour frequencies on human wellness.
Dr. Edwin Babbitt, M.D., wrote a large volume work in 1878 on the topic called “The Principles of Light and Color”, and included detailed descriptions of which colours he used to treat specific conditions. Dr. Babbitt created a template for a coloured glass sheet which provided colour positions on certain portions of the body.
In the 1920’s Dr. Kate Baldwin, M.D., F.A.C.S., used the Spectro-Chrome system in her Philadelphia, PA, medical practice, initially being supported by the hospital board. One of her cases was apparently described in the Atlantic Medical Journal in 1924 and was in reference to an 8-year old patient: “One of my most famous cases was a little girl named Grace Shirlow. About four-fifths of her torso was burnt. She was burned beyond the middle of the body; it went up to the clavicle and under the arm. Burns went from the elbow up clear into the axillary, down to the groin, about four inches on the left leg; back up onto the back and around onto the side. It was not only the skin that was destroyed, but the fascia of the muscle. The fascia is the covering of the muscle.” (World Research Foundation, 2016). In her article Dr. Baldwin describes being able to assist her patient regenerate tissue with the use of colour frequency.
Azeemi (n.d.) makes reference to Russian/Indian research using Kirilian technologies: “They took pictures of the electromagnetic energy glow around the human body and discovered that actual disease appears first in the aura and is then transferred to our physical body and can be detected 6–8 months prior to appearance in our physical body. Thus, they have established the fact that chromotherapy can be a preventive treatment” (p. 36). Azeemi’s research included irradiating distilled water with visible colour wavelengths and concluded that “This work confirms the scientific aspect of chromotized water, i.e., the charge quantization leads to discrete fractional quantum states. We have successfully developed recurrence relationship for ‘Fractional Quantum states’ and associated energy eigen values, thus providing a scientific base for Chromotherapy. It proves the conjecture as well and provides scientific evidence to the phenomenon of ‘charge quantization’, which has never been presented before” (p. 98).
Azeemi & Raza (2005) note that Einstein’s theory of relativity “determined that energy and matter are dual expressions of the same universal substance” (p. 481). They cite numerous other works on chromotherapy to hypothesize “visual colors with their unique wavelength and oscillations, when combined with a light source and selectively applied to impaired organs or life systems, provide the necessary healing energy required by the body. Light affects both the physical and etheric bodies. Colors generate electrical impulses and magnetic currents or fields of energy that are prime activators of the biochemical and hormonal processes in the human body, the stimulants or sedatives necessary to balance the entire system and its organs” (p. 482).
If you have any questions as to my head-space and timing with regards to the use of complimentary vibrational therapies please refer to this page.
Please follow the reference links below for more information.
References:
Azeemi, S. (n.d.). A quantatative study on chromotherapy. Retrieved November 5, 2016, from www.ksars.org/ResearchFiles/1407274040_373S.pdfz
Babbitt, E. (1878). The principles of light and color. New York: Babbitt & Co.
Einstein, A. (n.d.) as cited in Capek, M. (1961) in The Philosophical Impact of Contemporary Physics. Princeton, N.J.: D. Van Nostrand). p. 319.
Jain, S., & Mills, P.J. (2010). Biofield Therapies: Helpful or Full of Hype? A Best Evidence Synthesis. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 17 (1), 1-16. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-009-9062-4
Oschman, J. (2007). [Interview with Teil]. Retrieved October 20, 2017, from http://energyresearch.homestead.com/Videos.html
Oschman, J.L., 2008. Energy Medicine and Longevity. Chapter 27 in Anti-Aging Therapeutics, Volume X, Edited by Klatz, R. and Goldman, R., American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, Chicago IL, pp. 211-218.
Thrane, S., & Cohen, S. M. (2014). Effect of Reiki Therapy on Pain and Anxiety in Adults: An In-Depth Literature Review of Randomized Trials with Effect Size Calculations. Pain Management Nursing: Official Journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses, 15(4), 897–908. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmn.2013.07.008
World Research Foundation. (2016). The color of truth – Kate Baldwin, M.D.. Retrieved October 30, 2016, from http://www.wrf.org/men-women-medicine/kate-baldwin-md.php