Energy Medicine: A Scientific Perspective

If you are like many people, you may have had an inner response to the title of this column. "Energy medicine" is an emotionally loaded term that encompasses everything from the most extreme woo-woo to commonly accepted practices, like Therapeutic Touch. But there is a scientific basis for energy medicine.

Consider this. The human body is made up of molecules. These molecules are made up of atoms. Physicists tell us that these atoms are not still; they are constantly pulsating and vibrating in measurable frequencies and held in their patterns by an electromagnetic field. Measuring brain waves and heart waves are well-known "conventional" ways of detecting the frequencies and flow of energy in the body.

Equipment that can measure the frequencies of other organs like the liver, the pancreas and colon has been under development for many years now. With these tools, we are beginning to be able to determine the difference between a liver that is pulsating at a healthy frequency and one that has a compromise in function. Furthermore, we are also able to alter the unhealthy frequency so the liver cells pulsate in a healthy way. All this will be done non-invasively -- no surgically inserted apparatus or drugs. Star Trek medicine.

The dual concepts that the body consists of atoms held together in an electromagnetic field and that by influencing that field we can create changes in the body is not new. Japanese have known for many years that magnets applied externally have beneficial effects in certain conditions. Chinese medicine is based on the premise that there is a flow of energy in the body that runs along certain circuits, or meridians. When there is a blockage in one or more of the meridians, energy stagnates and ill health results. Acupuncture and other techniques release the blockages so energy flows once again.

Music and art are other forms of energetic medicine by virtue of the way they make us feel through the effects of their unique vibrations. While listening to music or viewing art, our bodies release tension as our vibrational frequencies adjust to those of the medium we are experiencing. We are transported to the special places only art and music can take us.

For centuries, different forms of laying-on of hands have been practiced as a means of altering the energetic pattern of the body. In modern times, Therapeutic Touch, Reiki, Joh-Rei and others are widely practiced. What we've observed here is that there is also a connection between the attunement or intention of the practitioner and the effectiveness of the therapy. But this is a discussion for another time.

Although much of modern Naturopathic Medicine is practiced using evidence-based therapies, the roots of our profession are deeply grounded in how the state of the mind contributes to the state of the body - how the power of the mind and the power of energies beyond the mind alter the energetic patterns of the body. As naturopathic doctors, we have a wide variety of energetic therapies in our repertoire, including flower essences, craniosacral therapy, orchid essences, homeopathy and yes, a type of laying-on of hands.

I've always thought that Jesus was able to heal the sick and create miracles because he was incredibly attuned to energetic patterns -- the pulsations of atoms -- given off by human bodies, minds and spirits. He knew how to alter the frequencies with just a look, or the touch of his hands.

In the end, who cares where healing comes from? If a particular therapy is non-invasive, harmless and in any way alleviates suffering, why not? Why limit ourselves to accessing only the world of coarse medical reality, when an entire universe of movement and pulsation is also available?