From the forthcoming book Capturing the Aura,
Edited by C. E. Lindgren. Nevada City, CA: Blue Dolphin Publication Co.
Introduction
References to a light or aura surrounding the human body can be found from the beginnings of recorded history throughout many cultures both Eastern and Western. Until recent times, perception of this light has been restricted to mystics, philosophers, sensitives and artists. Many who were unable to perceive this aura have doubted its existence.
Skepticism regarding auras has been centered mainly in the West. In the late 1800's there was great interest and research into life energy and the use of electrical and magnetic devices for healing in the United States. There was no standardization at this time, and some of these treatments may have been dangerous or harmful. In 1909, the U.S. government sponsored the Flexner Report with the aim of upgrading and standardizing medical care and education nationally. This report not only made electromagnetic healing treatments illegal, but it ruled that electromagnetic energy is in no way involved in physiology or medicine. Research in bio-energy came to be considered disreputable and preposterous. (Eidelman)
In Eastern and other cultures and sub-cultures, treatment of illness through the aura energy of the body is an ancient and continuing practice. Mystics and "seers" have traditionally held highly respected positions in these cultures as shamans, healers, and medicine people. Western academia, by contrast, has derided intuitive knowledge during the last century. Recent developments, however, negate the possibility of true objectivity in research and demand an integration of subjective experience and scientific methodology.
Research in the 20th century has led to the development of sensitive technology which has proven the existence of luminescent energy fields surrounding living organisms. Through technology we are now able to observe, measure and explain the energetic basis for auric healing. This chapter will aim to integrate the realms of science and spiritual belief in order to present an understanding of energy healing that relies not on faith but rather on knowledge both intuitive and intellectual.
Psychophysics: The Wave of the Future
In approaching the aura or electromagnetic human energy field from a scientific perspective, one must be prepared to expand on the traditional scientific approach in order to create a bridge between knowledge that has been established by traditional science and the core of knowledge shared between many metaphysical schools of thought.
The traditional focus of science on the mechanical processes involved in phenomena limits the scope of knowledge obtained to the physical or mechanical realm. While this approach has yielded a great deal of knowledge about the physical world, in order to adequately observe psi phenomena, or phenomena not explainable by known natural physical causes, one must expand the traditional mechanical model to include the non-physical dimension. Psi phenomena such as telekinesis, extra-sensory perception and spiritual healing contradict physical law by transcending space and time. It is no wonder that "scientists" often conclude that psi phenomenon do not exist. They are trying to study five-dimensional phenomena through a three-dimensional model (the fourth dimension being occupied by time).
Traditional science typically stands at the edge of the known world and tries to move into new territory with only the maps of the already-conquered territory to guide them. A concrete example of this is the well-known belief in Europe before discovery of the Americas that the world was flat, and that nothing existed beyond the ocean which they saw disappearing into the distance. This approach by scientists tends to blind them to the potential scope of the vast unknown territory ahead. Pioneers, on the other hand, tend to use a plane (or boat) to fly into the wilderness and then work their way back, and in the process they create the maps for the less daring to follow after them.
Some of the greatest thinkers and inventors in history were such pioneers, and they often faced the same sort of scorn from the "establishment" that researchers of psi phenomena face today. A study of people historically recognized for their creative and innovative work led to the development of a six-step model of the creative process based on the words of these individuals. In order to even begin such a creative and innovative process, the studied concluded that a person must possess a "capacity to see things without prejudice for the conventional." (Schwartz) That relatively few people possess such a capacity is the basis for the perceived chasm between "science" and "spiritual" understanding. While there is much work to be done in integrating these two spheres of thought, there is in actuality no true conflict between them.
What does this have to do with auras? Despite the skeptical reaction of many well-educated individuals to the existence of the aura, electromagnetic fields have been proven to exist around all living things. (Perhaps it is the educational process itself which teaches the "correct" approach to learning that in fact limits the ability of the well-educated to see beyond their prescribed window of perception). Hard data exist in abundance that illustrate the nature of life and all matter as empty space with patterns of energy running through it, and which also demonstrate the effects of the interactions of these subtle energy fields.
These studies have laid the foundation for a bridge between "science" and "spiritual or energy healing." Quantum theory extends current physical knowledge to provide us with models for understanding how psi phenomena may manifest, and is perhaps the best vehicle for crossing the unknown territory ahead. While quantum physics is a realm of theory rather than proven law, it provides us with working models that, so long as they encompass what is known and do not conflict with current understanding, provide valuable channels for establishing future foundations of knowledge and subsequently deeper exploration into the nature of life or consciousness. When we integrate "psychic" experience, scientific research and quantum theory, a model of energy healing and other psi phenomena can be developed that is harmonious, wholistic and enlightening.
The Cross-cultural History of Auras
References to the aura can be traced back to the very beginnings of civilization. In the West we are likely most familiar with the aura as a glowing light or halo surrounding the heads of Jesus, Mary and saints in religious art. The aura denoted spiritual energy long before it's depiction as halos in Christianity, however. Ancient Egyptian art is full of representations of the aura. Energy as the basis for life is at the core of Eastern religions; in China this energy is called "Chi," in India, it's referred to as "prana." In mystical Hindu writings one finds reference to the "thousand-petaled lotus of light" surrounding the head of those who achieved enlightenment. (Walker)
One finds numerous allusions to visions of light and to light as the source of life in literature as well. One of the earliest written examples comes from the writings of Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1179), who produced major visionary and theological writings over the course of her lifetime. She describes in her writings her visions of luminous objects, as well as other visionary experiences of light. She was a composer of music and some say the ethereal tone of her work is the foundation for what has come to be known as New Age music. (Lerman)
Centuries later, Lord Alfred Tennyson wrote of death as a diminishing of light and slowing of the "wheels of Being," which could be said to correspond to the chakras, the body's life energy vortexes referred to in Hindu religion.* Certainly light is cross-culturally held to be the essence of spirit or "God," as is reflected in language such as "divine light," the "light of the Holy Spirit" and "enlightenment." The Bible is full of light imagery. **
*Be near me when my light is low, When the blood creeps, and the nerves prick and tingle; and the heart is sick, And all the wheels of Being slow..." Lord Alfred Tennyson, In the Valley of Cauteretz, 1847
**Now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." Corinthians 1, 11 "The Lord is the source of my light and my safety, so whom shall I fear?"Psalm 26:1
Scientific Research Supporting Life Energy Fields
Until recent times, conscious perception of these light energy fields was the province of clairvoyants, healers and "sensitives." With the development of ever more sensitive technology, however, we are now able to objectively measure these energy fields and interactions. That all living organisms are surrounded by electromagnetic fields is not disputed. The electrostatic field surrounding the human body can be easily measured by a static meter. These fields have been measured and even photographed in experiments with humans, animals and plants.
For example, EKG's measure the electrical impulses of the heart. EEG's measure the magnetic fields around our heads resulting from the tiny electrical currents in the brain. Polygraph tests measure the human body's electrical potential, and fluctuations in this energy provide feedback in response to the subject's thoughts and emotions. Kirlian photography captures the electromagnetic fields of living systems on film, and has proven that the conditions of these fields correspond to the life energy of the biosystems they emanate from.
Kirlian photography is able to transfer the aura of the subject to film by placing the subject of the photograph (such as a leaf or a human hand) directly on the film or photographic plate and passing high-frequency electrical currents through it. Kirlian photography has demonstrated that the auric energy emanating from plants and animals changes with alterations in the physical, mental and emotional states of the subject and its environment.
Semyon Kirlian, the developer of this photography, was asked in 1950 to photograph the energy radiations of two nearly identical leaves presented to him by a stranger. He and his wife stayed up late into the night, but despite their efforts one leaf revealed strong energy flares on film while the other barely registered even weak luminescence. When they showed their dismal results to the stranger the next day, he became very excited, for despite their identical appearance, the leaf that had revealed strong energy had been plucked from a healthy plant, and the leaf that had registered little energy had been plucked from a diseased plant. Subsequent Kirlian research has shown that the energy photographed around plants is indeed related to its vitality or life, for if a leaf is injured or allowed to die the energy will gradually diminish and then disappear. (Tompkins and Bird)
Kirlian photographic research of the human aura reveals energy fields surrounding people's physical bodies. Scientific research has further determined that this energy is concentrated in hundreds of points on the body that seem to correspond to Chinese acupuncture points. (Tompkins and Bird)
Interaction of Electromagnetic Fields:
Research into the energetic aura surrounding plants and humans has found that non-biological electromagnetic waves have strong impacts on the energy fields surrounding living organisms, and even that the electromagnetic fields of living organisms interact with and affect each other. All living beings are in constant communication, even down to the cellular level.
The following two experiments demonstrate the effects of non-biological electromagnetic radiation on the human energy field. NASA conducted a series of experiments in which physicists altered the electromagnetic energy content of a special "shielded" room while maintaining other variables such as gravitational force and oxygen content at constant levels. When the electromagnetic energy of the room was decreased, auric fields were observed to become randomly disorganized, scattered and incoherent. Subjects reported disorientation and burst into tears as though their very lives were threatened. When the electromagnetic energy of the room was increased beyond normal levels, the auric fields returned to normal patterns and lightened in color with increased white vibrations. Subjects reported clear thinking and an expansion of their consciousness. (Free)
Other studies of the effects of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by high-voltage power lines in North America reveal links between long-term exposure and cancer. For example, New York telephone cable splicers exhibited 165% more leukemia, 100% more brain cancer and 145% more prostate cancer than control subjects. Los Angeles children with cancer were twice as likely to live in houses near high power lines as controls. In Sweden, children living near high voltage lines exhibited 120% more leukemia, 120% more lymphoma and 420% more tumors of the nervous system than children not living near power lines. (Maxey)
Interaction of the electromagnetic energy of living organisms has been explored extensively and yielded some surprising results. Cleve Backster conducted experiments in which he removed oral white blood cells from a subject and then removed the cells from the subject's physical presence by a distance of a half-mile. The subject was then asked to watch television while the television was monitored for content and the cells were monitored for electrical potential. Interviews with the subject show correlations between periods of emotional arousal in the subject during the television viewing and the electrical activity of the cells. (Stone)
Backster subsequently experimented with his own cells, and found that he could cause them to react electrically to his thoughts. Sending them love resulted in a spike in electromagnetic energy, and the decision to use an antiseptic breath freshener (which would kill other cells in his mouth) produced an intense reaction in the cells. This apparent ability of living human cells to read a person's mind mirrors Backster's extensive previous experimentation that demonstrated that plants respond to people's thoughts, feelings, and especially their intentions. (Stone)
Not only do the energy fields of people and plants effect each other, but highly sophisticated measurements reveal that the tiniest change in any system in the body affects all other systems of the body in some manner. (Bentov) How is it that these systems impact each other? The answer to this also provides a mechanism behind psi phenomena such as extrasensory perception, telepathy, and energy healing.
Everything, everyone, every action, every thought, every feeling--ALL is energy. Physicists have established that all life, indeed all matter, is empty space with matrices of oscillating fields of energy running through it, and that these waves of energy radiate out at the velocity of light into the farthest reaches of the cosmos and interact with all the other radiating waves.
The more researchers magnify and study the nature of matter, the more apparent it becomes that matter is not solid, but rather is empty space and moving energy. The very fibers of our physical bodies are mainly empty space!
If we take a section of muscle from our leg and magnify it we'll discover the muscle is composed of very ordered fibers. If we magnify the fibers we find long fibers made of organized, coiled long molecules. These molecules, magnified, reveal a highly ordered, essentially crystalline material. This material magnified dissolves into atoms clustered in groups, vibrating rapidly and rhythmically. Suppose we are able to magnify the atoms. At first we perceive indistinct balls pulsating about fixed molecular points. As we magnify further, we see less and less. The electron shell dissolves under magnification to reveal a vacuum. An infinitesimal speck located in the relatively vast space of the atom suggests the nucleus. On a scale where the nucleus is 1mm, the radius of the electron orbit would be approximately 10 meters, the ratio being 1 to 10,000. The intervening space is a vacuum. Imagine magnifying the nucleus, which dissolves from a shadowy pulsation to reveal more vacuum, or empty space, etc... (Bentov)
The microreality reveals that "solid" matter is in essence empty space filled with pulsating fields of energy. These fields interlock with neighboring fields as their waves radiate out into the cosmos. By our bodies' very nature as transmitters of energy, they are also receivers, as is true of man-made transmitters and receivers. In this way life is constantly in communication and interacting with everything else in the universe on subtle or generally imperceptible levels. This common basis of all things as interconnected energy is reminiscent of the "Oneness" of existence central to many spiritual philosophies.
The Underlying Mechanism in Energy Healing: Thoughts are Energy
The nervous system of the body is a conductor of electrical impulses that order our bodies' biological rhythms from breath, heart beat, and movement to the functioning of our immune system and beyond. As science has well established, all electric currents radiate electromagnetic fields.
Physical, observable phenomenon such as the gross bodily functions are composed of energy and this is also true of thoughts and emotions; they just don't share the same range of frequencies. Thought is simply energy that causes the neurons in the brain to fire in a certain pattern. This produces currents in the brain that can be measured through electrodes on the skull. We know that no energy is lost in a closed system, so if this energy can be measured outside of the head, it means that the thought energy radiated out as electromagnetic waves at the velocity of light into the environment and eventually the cosmos. (Bentov)
Just as light energy can be focused in a laser, thought energy can be focused to a target. Unfocused light energy simply spreads out in waves, much like the soft light given off by a lamp, but focusing light with a laser sends the light out in even, coherent waves that can be directed in a narrow beam over large distances. Consider thought energy as a force affecting the surface of water. If we drop a stone in water it radiates out in ever-weakening ripples or waves, but by pushing the water forcefully with a hand we can manipulate the flow. It is within the electromagnetic spectrum and perhaps even subtler levels that the energy that is our thoughts or feelings can affect other fields of energy such as those of the body. Conscious awareness and manipulation of this subtle energy is the basis for energy healing.
Thought Energy: Brain v. Mind
You may well be wondering if the body and brain are just conductors of energy, then where does thought originate? Where do these pebbles come from anyway?
Clearly, consciousness is separate from the physical body and the physical brain.
Our language is rich with the understanding of the nature of mind as separate from the physical. Phrases such as "pass out," "out of your mind," "out of touch," and "light out" (to depart suddenly) reflect at least a subconscious understanding that it is possible to be separate from your brain or body. For example, if one is "knocked out" (literally, knocked out of the body) then the body will continue to function, its heart will beat, it will breathe, the blood will circulate, etc... The consciousness can be experiencing nothing or experiencing "realities" or "dreams" that in no way involve the physical body. Many models of consciousness portray the body as the subconscious, the mind as the conscious, and the soul or spirit as beyond these.
In dreams a car is often a symbol for our bodies. A driver can get out of a car and leave it running, but in order for it to move in a purposeful manner, a higher consciousness (the driver) is needed. The driver is the mind and the source of thought. As this driver, or the mind, exists independent of the physical body, it may be said to correlate to ideas of a "soul" or "spirit." The source of the soul is believed spiritually by many to be "God," or the ultimate creative force of the universe. As science is now validating metaphysical beliefs regarding auric life energy, perhaps one day we will be also able to somehow observe and measure "God." For now the origins of the mind are beyond the scope of intellectual knowledge.
Extra-Sensory-Perception: The Product of Extra-Sensitive Nervous Systems
Fascinating work with plants reveals much about the interaction of subtle energy between living systems. Of particular interest are findings related to the subjective interference of experimenters and discrepancies in results achieved by different observers.
By hooking plants up to polygraph equipment (and later EKG and EEG equipment), Cleve Backster and other researchers discovered that not only do plants respond to experiences in their environment, but they respond most intensely to the intentions of people in their environment. In other words, they seem to be able to pick up on people's thoughts. The strongest readings obtained were in reaction to the destruction of living cells, whether they were plant, animal or human cells. The death or threat of death to living cells caused intense electromagnetic reactions by the plants.
While many of the amazing results of experiments with plant energy fields have been reproduced over and over, the sum of the experiments has revealed that some people are better able to affect and monitor the energy reactions of the plants. This may be because the energy of some individuals interacts more powerfully with the experiment (such as is suggested in experiments that show that the expectation of the observer influences the outcome). It is likely, however, that sensitive people are better able to attune themselves and establish "communication" or energy interaction with plants. (Tompkins and Bird)
One plant energy researcher, Marcel Vogel, emphasizes the ability to approach experimentation with an open mind unbound by preconceptions as the key to being able to produce phenomenon. He experimented with children and had them try to connect with a plant's energy. Having established this connection, he had them gently move their hand back and forth over the leaves. Eventually, the plants would begin to oscillate or sway with the movement of the child's hand, despite there being no physical contact between the child and the plant. These experiments have proven to be much more successful with children than with adults, and Vogel speculates this is because children have no preconceptions and are able to establish empathy with the plant in a way adults in Western culture would likely find ridiculous. (Tompkins and Bird)
He also asserts that altering his state of consciousness was necessary to fully connect with the energy fields he was studying. The value of altered states of consciousness in perceiving beyond the normal human range is one theme shared historically by many spiritual schools of thought.
Altered States of Consciousness and Extrasensory Perception
If everything is empty space with patterns of energy running through it, then it is these patterns, or the wavelengths or vibrations of these patterns that determine whether something is a car, a person, a thought, etc... Differences in these frequencies determine the exact form of the field in its every detail. There is a range of vibrations that compose ordinary human consciousness and manifestation on the physical plane. For example, our eyes perceive light frequencies between red and violet. We know that infrared and ultraviolet rays exist but they are beyond our visible range of perception. Our ears perceive sound waves between 20 and 20,000 Hz. Dogs can hear pitches that are higher. Just because people can't hear it doesn't mean the sound doesn't exist. We can't perceive x-rays or microwaves with our senses, but have developed technology that is more sensitive than our physical senses that can measure these waves. Vibrations existing outside of the of the range of the five human physical senses normally escape our conscious perception.
Clairvoyants and healers either come programmed with an expanded range of perception, or can alter the state or frequency of their of consciousness in order to perceive energy vibrations outside of the normal human range. Higher frequencies and forms are invisible to most humans because these higher frequencies are beyond our perception. (Bentov) Through altered states of consciousness one can expand the range of their perception to perceive these higher frequencies.
In Stalking the Wild Pendulum, Itzhak Bentov created a strong metaphor to demonstrate the relationship of altered states of consciousness to "extra-sensory perception." He compares consciousness to listening to a radio. When listening to a radio, the closest station broadcasting on a certain frequency is the one we hear, but there are many stations broadcasting on that frequency that we don't hear because of the noise of the one broadcasting that is closest to us. If we can selectively turn down the volume of that local station (or our physical consciousness), and turn up the volume of other stations we can perceive broadcasts that generally go unnoticed.
People with exceptional hearing (sensitives) may pick up the signals from the weaker stations despite the noise of the local one, but anyone who turns down that loud station should be able to perceive these signals as well. This is how one can develop "psychic abilities" through meditation, or learning how to quiet the consciousness. It is interesting to note that many "normal" people report paranormal experiences through dreams or during sleep-states, for at these times one's consciousness is naturally more quiet than during waking hours. (Bentov)
Recall the analogy of thought to the movement of water, where dropping a pebble in the water produces waves that spread out and diminish in all directions, but pushing the water with one's hand allows one to direct the flow. Well, if the surface of the water is choppy and full of waves because it's constantly being bombarded with thought-boulders, it is unlikely that we'll notice the ripples of pebbles. By calming the surface of the water (quieting the consciousness) we can perceive the finer ripples or waves.
The fine line between Genius and Madness
When I first began consciously perceiving things (such as auras) that other people apparently weren't, I worried that I was going insane. I subsequently explored these events further and discovered that many people shared my experiences. As I had had no knowledge of these matters at the time I came to believe that what I had experienced was "real," and not manufactured through distortion of perceptions due to a malfunctioning brain.
It then occurred to me that perhaps the many people in mental institutions who see or hear things that "aren't there," are in fact simply perceiving energy beyond the normal human range of perception. I have since encountered this theory numerous times. What would separate these individuals from "psychics" is an inability to recognize that their experiences are extraordinary. The result is that they think everyone else is strange because they don't share their perceptions. In this scenario one might say that the "schizophrenic" was not trying to actively quiet his or her consciousness, or that local station, but in fact was perceiving an undifferentiated mixture of signals from several stations including the local one.
Healers: Receivers, Transmitters and Directors of Energy
Experiments have demonstrated that not only are those who are adept at quieting their consciousness better receivers of information via electromagnetic waves, but they are also better generators or channels of this energy.
A study of electrostatic charge on electrically-isolated meditators revealed that exceptional meditators can produce large surges in bodily electrostatic energy. The experiment compared 10 average meditators with 9 "'exceptional'" meditators (healers) in a Copper Wall Lab designed to electrically isolate the subjects from the ground. To detect electrostatic potential each meditator's body and the walls were "floated" on single-ended electrometer inputs. In 45 minute sessions, no body-potential surges reached 4 volts in the regular meditators, but in sessions with the healers surges ranged from 4 volts to 221 volts (with a median of 8.3 volts). When measuring the body-potential surges of the healers during a healing session, surges were recorded ranging from 4 volts to 190 volts. At the high end of this spectrum the surges are 105 times greater than EKG voltages and 106 times larger than EEG voltages, a phenomenon that can not be accounted for by any presently known biological processes. (Green)
A person adept at altering their state of consciousness can learn how to consciously receive and interpret energy or information from other living systems, to generate powerful energy surges themselves, and to direct the flow of this energy. These skills are the foundation of energy healing, or healing through the aura.
Disease and Healing: Harmonizing Energy for Health
The tiniest disturbance in one energy field disturbs the others around it, and in turn these spread out to ultimately the farthest reaches of the cosmos. Whenever a disturbance in these fields drives the fields out of harmonious rhythm, this discordant pattern of energy radiates outward and in turn disturbs the surrounding fields it encounters. Once this original discordant energy is re-balanced or harmonized, all of the energy effected by the original disturbance will return to order. At the same time, if one introduces strong harmonizing energy to a matrix of discordant energy fields, this harmonizing energy may "entrain" the discordant elements of the system, or bring them into order and harmony. (Bentov) When discordant energy is introduced to the human energy system, the unbalancing may produce disease. By introducing strong harmonizing energy to a discordant or "dis-eased" system, one can bring the system back into balance, or "heal" it.
Every organ, tissue and cell of a living being has its own unique frequency: measurement of its energy indicates a consistent vibration or resonance. Cells are essentially organic electromagnetic transceivers that emit and absorb high-frequency waves. Extensive research has indeed shown that disruptions or imbalances in these frequencies correlate with disease, infection and injury. (Townsend)
As early as 1925 Georges Lakhovsky published a study that supported his theory that disease is the result of imbalance in cellular frequencies, or a "war of radiations" between the frequencies of the body's cells and those of bacteria, viruses or pathogens. If the energy of the pathogens is stronger than the frequencies of the healthy cells it is thrown off and the discordance produces disease. If they are unable to rebalance themselves, the cells die. If, however, the harmonious frequencies of the healthy cells are stronger, the microbes are killed and health is restored. (Tompkins and Bird)
More recently, Royal Rife isolated what is believed to be the cancer microbe, and under a special microscope that allows full color spectrum viewing without harm to the subject, he found that this cancer microbe radiated a magenta-colored frequency. He also determined other frequencies that would kill this microbe and many other harmful microbes. Many people who volunteered themselves in his research were completely cured of cancer and other diseases. (Townsend)
Several alternative treatments directly aim to alter or balance electrical currents in the body through technology. Transcranial eletrotherapy is used to treat alcoholism, drug addiction, stress and pain. It's aim is to stabilize the neuroelectric environment by applying electrical currents through the skin. An electroacuscope measures and corrects areas of altered electrical activity in the body. In disease or an injury, the movement of ions between cells is blocked, causing detectable physical changes on the body. By restoring electrical balance to the body, medical doctors have used these devices to successfully treat pain, injury and disease. (Janiger and Goldberg)
As above, so below
Another avenue for healing through energy involves affecting the frequencies of the non-physical body or bodies, or the energy field surrounding the body. Clairvoyants and mystics maintain that the human body is the physical core of several layers of non-physical bodies, which correspond to successively higher frequencies of non-physical life. The first layer beyond the physical is usually called the etheric or the astral body, and it is this body that is said to be a template or pre-form for the physical body. Because it is a template of the ideal physical, when a limb is amputated sensitives claim that the missing limb will continue to show up on the astral level. This phenomenon has been photographed through Kirlian photography on a plant, which shows the energetic outline of a whole leaf despite part of the leaf having been cut away.
This widely held spiritual belief that manifestation begins in the non-physical dimension and then manifests in the physical is supported by other research as well. Marcel Vogel discovered in microscopic research of magnified liquid crystal that through an "inner vision" or non-physical perception he was able to perceive activity not usually revealed in the microscopic field. He then developed methods of bringing these phenomena into the range of visual perception. He concluded from this research that crystals manifest from "pre-forms, or ghost images of pure energy which anticipate the solids." (Tompkins and Bird)
If manifestation begins in the non-physical planes, then if one can affect the non-physical energy or "pre-form" one can influence the physical manifestation. Here is one probable mechanism underlying psycho-somatic illness and energy or spiritual healing.
Beyond Theory: Energy Healing Works!
"Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily." Bible, Isaiah, 8
Many studies have been conducted that have resulted in verification of the power of healing energy. In fact, in researching this phenomenon, I was struck by how many universities have special elaborate facilities for conducting such research. These experiments rule out the power of suggestion and placebo affects by objectively measuring various aspects of the electromagnetic fields in healing situations. Kirlian observation of healing sessions has revealed that the observable energy of healers is smaller after a healing session, while the patient's energy is enhanced, indicating a transfer of energy. (Tompkins and Bird)
One experiment by Daniel P. Wirth, M.S., J.D., demonstrated that subjects who received five minutes of exposure to a Non-contact Therapeutic Touch Practioner experienced a significant acceleration in the rate of healing of identical wounds as compared with control subjects who either received no such exposure or exposure to a "fake" healer. (Wirth)
A thirteen years long series of experiments demonstrated the human ability to mentally influence biological systems regardless of distance or isolation of the subjects from all conventional and energetic influences. Many controls were implemented to rule out error or extraneous influences. Through intention, focused attention and visualization of desired outcomes, subjects were able to influence another person's "electrodermal activity, blood pressure, and muscular activity; the spatial orientation of fish; the locomotor activity of small mammals; and the rate of hemolysis of human red blood cells." The experiments have been considered laboratory analogs of mental healing. (Braud and Schlitz)
In an experiment by Dr. Valorie Hunt and colleagues at UCLA in which a sensitive or clairvoyant relayed her observations of the color, size, and energy movements of the chakras and auras of a healer and patient, it was found that the measured and mathematically analyzed energy patterns of the healer and patient corresponded to the auric colors observed by the psychics. The location of the colors and time of occurrence also corresponded with the quantitative data. Seven other aura readers achieved similar results. (Alvino) At last the observations of technology are approaching the depth of those of mystics throughout history!
Tachyon energy, the Creative Force of the Universe
While study of the electromagnetic interaction of all life may seem revolutionary, quantum physics has gone even farther. Experiments showing the reaction of plants to mental influences suggest that there are forces beyond the electromagnetic spectrum responsible for the interactions, for plants responded even when placed in a Faraday cage which blocked penetration of electromagnetic waves. (Tompkins and Bird) Quantum physicists speculate that the force beyond the electromagnetic is something that has been given the name "Tachyon energy."
Tachyons are the theoretical source of subatomic particles, and the expansion of the tachyon field is speculated to be the creative force of the universe. Tachyon theory explains the instantaneous nature of psi phenomenon, which transcend Einstein's relativity theory that restricted the movement of energy in the universe to the speed of light. Tachyon theory postulates that there are actually two universes involved in creation: the visible, sub-light speed universe we are conscious of and an invisible, faster-than-light universe. This Tachyon energy is omnipresent, or exists holographically simultaneously everywhere because it travels faster than light, and hence takes no time to travel through space. (Takionic Products)
Tachyon energy is speculated to be the creative and sustaining force of all life, which requires a certain balance of energy to sustain itself. When a life form requires life energy, a vacuum is created and tachyon energy rushes in. The nervous system is viewed as a conductor for the absorption and processing of this energy. Energy healers are perhaps simply individuals whose sensitive or developed nervous systems make them more adept at manipulating or processing this energy. (Takionic Products) If tachyon energy is indeed the life force, then it is this force which may correspond to the vital energy of life called variously Chi or Qi by the people of China; bioplasma by Russian researchers; animal magnetism by Franz Mesmer, the father of hypnotism; orgone by Dr. Wilhelm Reich and the Force by Master Yoda and his disciples. Electromagnetic fields may prove to be merely the language through which this energy manifests and communicates.
While tachyon theory is at the frontier of physical research, there is now adequate knowledge regarding electromagnetic field interaction to explain energy healing. Tachyon energy is mentioned because there is always another layer of the onion to explore. I often visualize the galaxy from the outside the way humans may visualize a cell. Perhaps the planets are in some way similar to electrons orbiting an atomic nucleus (the sun). At the same time, the galaxy may be but an infinitesimal particle of say, a blade of grass of a larger system, which may itself be but a tiny particle of another system, etc... If the macrocosm (from our perspective) mirrors the microcosm, then the microcosm in turn reflects the macrocosm. At the level of atomic particles there may exist many levels of energy and life too small for us to perceive. A proton may be an entire "world" filled with lifeforms similar to the world of the earth.
Conclusion:
Recent technological developments have at last intellectually confirmed the ancient metaphysical knowledge that life is essentially energy and that this life energy is observable in the auras emitted by all living organisms. Scientific research into the nature this energy and the interactions between electromagnetic fields has produced results that mirror the observations and views of "sensitives" and healers. This research has provided evidence not only of the existence of the aura, but also of the mechanisms behind and power of auric healing.
Perhaps future research into the nature of life and consciousness will also benefit from serious contemplation of esoteric knowledge and the incorporation of spiritual philosophy in scientific exploration. With the recent observations that "objective research" is oxymoronic, given that the mind of the observer affects the results of the experiment, clearly the line between scientific methodology and subjective perspective has collapsed. Open-mindedness, or the ability to approach the unknown without prejudice for conventional thought has led to the greatest innovations in history, and continues to hold the most promise for future progress into the vast territory of the unknown.
Copyright Julia Jablonski, 1996
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Copyright Julia Melges Jablonski, 1996
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