According to Wikipedia, “Energy medicine is a comprehensive term for practices that include, but are not limited to: acupuncture and acupressure, laser therapy, light therapy, magnetic therapy, qi gong, energy psychology, Reiki, Johrei, Healing Touch, Therapeutic Touch, Touch for Health, Applied Kinesiology, Emotional Freedom Techniques, NAET, Tapas Acupressure Technique, Brennan Energy Science, Eden Energy Medicine, distant healing, intuitive medicine, and intercessory prayer.”

Techniques that are used to manipulate energy in the body are derived from ancient healing arts found in numerous cultures, races, and religions. This “life force energy“ is called qi or chi by the Chinese, ki by the Japanese, baraka by the Sufi’s, light by the Christians, ka by ancient Egyptians, prana by Hindus, and ho’omana (which, literally, means “keeper of balance” and making of energy) by the ancient Hawaiian kahunas (experts in Huna).

In many forms of medicine that originated in the East, this universal life energy is viewed as the flow of energy that sustains life itself. It is believed that dis-ease occurs when this vital energy is out of balance, and healing is enhanced when balance is restored. The idea of using energy to diagnose and heal is also used in Western medicine in the form of electrocardiograms and electroencephalograms to record the electrical energy of the heart and brain, respectively. Other forms of Western medicine’s use of energy include but are not limited to: electrical stimulation to suppress pain, electromagnetic fields to help fractured bones heal, and sound waves to heal bone outgrowths and dissolve kidney stones.

The scientific world is relatively new in their understanding in comparison to what the metaphysical and spiritual teachers have known for centuries – that the universe is not composed of matter; but rather a kind of force that has been referred to as “energy”. Objects perceived by our physical senses that appear separate to us as solid matter (i.e., book, table, chair, etc.) are really comprised of particles that vibrate at different speeds and it is the speed that holds the pattern of their physical form. This is a very simplistic explanation of these complex interactions, but basically, the world of subatomic particles is an inseparable network of interactions.

According to Tamisha Sabrina of The UK Reiki Federation, Research & Development, “Independent research by Dr. Robert Becker and Dr. John Zimmerman during the 1980’s investigated what happens whilst people practice therapies like Reiki. They found that not only do the brain wave patterns of practitioner and receiver become synchronized in the alpha state, characteristic of deep relaxation and meditation, but they pulse in unison with the earth’s magnetic field, known as the Schuman Resonance. During these moments, the biomagnetic field of the practitioner’s hands is at least 1000 times greater than normal, and not as a result of internal body current. Toni Bunnell (1997) suggests that the linking of energy fields between practitioner and earth allows the practitioner to draw on the ‘infinite energy source’ or ‘universal energy field’ via the Schuman Resonance. Prof. Paul Davies and Dr. John Gribben in The Matter Myth (1991), discuss the quantum physics view of a ‘living universe’ in which everything is connected in a ‘living web of interdependence’. All of this supports the subjective experience of ‘oneness’ and expanded consciousness related by those who regularly receive or self-treat with Reiki.”

“Zimmerman (1990) in the USA and Seto (1992) in Japan further investigated the large pulsating biomagnetic field that is emitted from the hands of energy practitioners whilst they work. They discovered that the pulses are in the same frequencies as brain waves, and sweep up and down from 0.3 – 30 Hz, focusing mostly in 7 – 8 Hz, alpha state. Independent medical research has shown that this range of frequencies will stimulate healing in the body, with specific frequencies being suitable for different tissues. For example, 2 Hz encourages nerve regeneration, 7Hz bone growth, 10Hz ligament mending, and 15 Hz capillary formation.”

In his book entitled, “Energy Medicine — The Scientific Basis” (published in 2000 by Harcourt Brace/Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh), James L. Oschman Ph.D. (degrees in biophysics and biology from the University of Pittsburgh) also cites the above research investigations. Additionally, in an interview with William Lee Rand (a reprinted article from the Reiki News Magazine, Vol. One, Issue Three, Winter 2002), Oschman further discusses how Zimmerman “found that this pulsing field is produced by the of hands of practitioners of Therapeutic Touch and Healing Touch, but non-practitioners do not produce such signals.” Oschman also states, “The basic physics of induction is important because it helps explain some of the effects of Reiki, laying on of hands, and other hands-on and hands-off therapies. In essence, the biomagnetic fields produced by a practitioner’s hands can induce current flows in the tissues and cells of the individuals who are in close proximity.”

In the same referenced interview above, Oschman addresses the potential of distance healing — an aspect of Reiki healing energy. Oschman states, “There are several phenomena in physics that could mediate healing at a distance. For example, scalar waves have the extraordinary property of affecting the structure of space everywhere, instantaneously. Scalar waves therefore do not have a velocity as such, and their effects do not diminish with distance. Now that there is growing evidence for healing at a distance, as well as the benefits of prayer, the scalar wave is being reexamined for its possible role in mediating such phenomena. This is important because many of the complimentary therapies are discovering the healing work that can be done locally can also be done at a distance.”

As conceptual ideas of non-locality become addressed, “energy medicine” begins to take on the quantum physics viewpoint of a “living universe in which everything is connected in a ‘living web of interdependence.” During an interview entitled, “A Romp Through the Quantum Field” (published in Awareness Magazine Sep/Oct issue 2006), Dr. Bruce Lipton (a renowned cellular biologist, author of the book entitled, The Biology of Belief and many other publications) states, “Your thoughts are not contained in your head — they are a part of the Quantum Field.” Lipton continues, “When playing through your nervous system, the thoughts generate a vibratory field similar to that of a tuning fork. Thought vibrations interact and entangle with harmonically-resonant structures in the Field. Simply, we activate and bring into our lives the things that we think about the most.” In part 2 of the interview (Awareness Magazine Nov/Dec issue 2006), Lipton describes a new science called epigenetics that is a “new perspective of human biology that does not view the body as just a mechanical device, but rather, incorporates the role of a mind and spirit. This breakthrough is fundamental in all healing because it recognizes that when we change our perception or beliefs we send totally different messages to our cells, causing a reprogramming of their expression.”

To summarize the above-quoted scientists and put together this collective information into a succinct and simple way of describing the important aspects of energy medicine, it is important to understand that energy fields exist in and around our physical bodies. Additionally, we have the power within to heal ourselves, but our physical and emotional experiences create patterns that are difficult to alter. Practitioners of energy medicine assist in mapping the way for clients to become aware of energy pulses and patterns that are stored in the body that either have created dis-ease or have the potential to create physical problems — before they become completely manifested. Through this process, distorted energy fields can become known and balanced to help clients shift their energy field as well as their perceptions about their state of being. To paraphrase Dr.Bruce Lipton (from the conference entitled, Bodies of Earth/Cells of God [Santa Fe, NM, Nov. 2004]), energy healing works because it is in alignment with the way nature works.