Energy and Healing

We are swimming in a sea of energy. There is virtually no place where there is no energy. Physicists describe the zero-point field where empty space still contains vast amounts of energy. Our bodies flow with rivers of kinetic energy in the form of blood and bio-electric energy in the brain/nervous system. Our cells are like tiny batteries holding varying energy potentials. We take in food and the cells transform it into energy. Our skin radiates thermal energy. Some people (probably more than you think) see auras, which appear as glowing energy around the body. Some can perceive the chakras, which are energy centers in the body. Some of those people have considerable success manipulating the energy flow to assist in healing. Acupuncture works, reportedly, by altering the flow of the bio-energy the Chinese call chi or qi.

Most of us were not raised to attend to the subtle sensations of energy. The world of our consciousness is on a macro scale and consists of awareness of things that can be easily seen, felt, heard, smelled and tasted. Think of the sense of smell. If you grew up with a race of people who had no noses and you could smell, how weird would that make you? Nobody would believe you. How could there be smell? You can’t see it. You can’t touch it. You can’t hear it. There is nothing there, the noseless would say. On the other hand, if dogs knew how little we can smell they would be shocked. We look at a beautiful sunset and wish our dog could have the same appreciation of it, while our dog smells a tuft of grass and can’t understand why we aren’t interested. Can’t we smell the beauty of the thing, so rich, complex, and vibrant? How nose-blind we humans are from a dog’s perspective.

We do see light well on a fairly narrow band of the electromagnetic spectrum. We have machines that can see infra-red radiation and x-rays that are farther out on the spectrum, so we believe in them. Our radios and cell phones also work by perceiving energy vibrations at a certain frequency of the electromagnetic spectrum. We can’t see that energy, but we know it is there.

Since some people can quite easily see the movement of subtle energy in a human body, perhaps we all have some capacity for such perception. Some humans have the capacity to play complex pieces of music on a piano using both hands moving independently. To those of us who can’t do that, it seems miraculous. Some people can juggle multiple objects in a way that astounds those of us who can’t. Clearly some have a natural talent for such things. It comes more naturally to them than to the rest of us, but most of us could learn to play the piano if we had good instruction and a lot of practice. The same goes for juggling. If you had to learn to juggle in the next 6 months or face execution, you could probably learn to juggle.

It is possible that our life depends on becoming more attuned to our body energies. Health problems, according to ancient healing traditions, are related to dysfunction in the flow of subtle energy in the body. When the flow is restored, healing occurs and pain is gone. There are many ways of accomplishing this.* Perhaps we can start by attending to the subtle sensations of our body. In a meditative way, tune in to your body. Where do you feel tension? That would be an area of blocked energy. Where do you feel vibration? That would be an area where energy is moving. Notice where you feel hot or cold. Do some parts of your body feel heavy, sluggish, empty or agitated? Maybe an energy stagnation issue. Or maybe the flow is chaotic or confused.

Energy seems to respond to intention and visualization. If you form the intention in your mind to smooth out the flow of energy in your body and visualize that happening, you might be able to sense a change for the better. For instance, you can visualize energy as light flowing through you, through your arteries and veins, flowing through your nervous system and your bones or lighting up every cell. Or the flow can be like water. Imagine you are being showered with life force energy. It can be like a steady rain that you collect in your upturned hands or that just fills your body like a jug. Or think of yourself standing under an energy waterfall. Bright, light energy flowing over you and through you soothing the system and renewing your vitality.

The hands of healers give off a measurable electromagnetic vibration and we all have energy flowing in our hands. Rub your palms together for 5 to 10 seconds. Feel the vibrational sensations and heat. Hold your hands in front of you palms facing each other maybe a foot apart. Bring your hands closer together and notice what you feel. You may feel the heat, but you may also feel something more subtle. You may have the sensation that there is a force field between your hands. It may feel a little bit like the repulsion one can feel pushing two magnets together. Lets assume that is a subtle energy vibration emanating from your hands.

Now you can use that energy to harmonize the energy in different parts of you body. Imagine, for instance, that the energy flowing out of your hands and fingers is like the teeth of a comb. Then use it to comb through the energy field of the rest of your body smoothing out energy tangles.  Use your hands as a comb or brush to gently smooth out your aura, whether you can see it or not.

Whether you buy into all this right now or not, recognize that the paradigm of how our body/minds operate is shifting. Open yourself to the possibility that we are energetic beings, and that we can learn to increase the coherence and harmony of our energy fields bringing us better physical and mental health. The information on how to do it is out there if you want it.


*Practices for improving health energetically include:

Acupuncture,
Shiatsu/Acupressure
Reflexology
Reiki
Chi Gong
Kinesiology
Brain Gym
Therapeutic Touch
Touch for Health
Thought Field Therapy
Massage
Magnet Therapy
Energetic Practices such as Matrix Energetics and Yuen Method Chinese Energetic Healing

References:

Donna Eden, Energy Medicine, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 1998.  
Adam, The Path of the DreamHealer, Dutton, 2006.   

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