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Healing Arts Report
Volume 1, No.
4
SCIENCE REPORT: The future of bioelectro-magnetic medicine HEALING ARTS: The use of imagery for healing PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT: How do alternative scientists and practitioners on the leading edge find support? COMMENT: The dangers of psychic technology bone repair; developing treatments for osteoporosis might be a logical next step. Early diagnosis of major illnesses may make it possible to provide much earlier effective natural treatment. One such possibility is being researched by Barbara Brewitt, Ph.D., a research associate at Bastyr University. Bioelectro-magnetics is the study of how living organisms interact with electromagnetic fields.1 The electromagnetic spectrum includes a wide range of radiation, from low to high frequency. These forms of radiation include electric currents, heat, radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x rays, gamma rays, and cosmic-ray photons. The field of bioelectric medicine (BEM) has an untapped potential for both diagnosis and treatment of illness for three reasons. It is * sensitive to subtle organic change * very quick to use * comparatively easy to use, once the technical irregularities are overcome The study of bioelectro-magnetic medicine could provide the conceptual framework that may explain how acupuncture, homeopathy, and healers produce effects that cannot be explained by conventional medicine. Nonconventional therapies are based on experimentation, observation, and description, but not on theory. Having a workable theory for how bio- electric medicine works would contribute possible methods for proving effectiveness as well as opening up additional uses for it.2 For example, bioelectric medicine is already being used for
The Potential of Bioelectric Medicine The permeability, or conductance, of an electrical charge on skin at acupuncture points is two to six times stronger than on skin adjacent to those points. According to Dr. Brewitt, certain diseases are associated with even higher conductance. The early stages of cancer and chronic viral infections, such as Epstein-Barr and HIV, show this characteristic pattern at the acupuncture points relating to lymphatics, joints, and connective tissue. On the other hand, terminal stages of cancer and AIDS are associated with lower than normal electrical conductances, particularly at spleen points.3 Such findings emphasize the importance of developing more reliable electro-dermal screening (EDS) instruments. Difficulties in Using EDS Instruments Dr. Brewitt points out that there are three variables which cause scientists to hesitate in using electro-dermal screening instruments, even though they have been available for many years. 1. Different instruments vary in the amount of voltage they apply. 2. The instruments measure the points for varying lengths of time, which then register as different readings. 3. Knowing the exact point location and being able to exert consistent pressure are both important to collecting consistent data. Therefore, the skill and reliability of the operator affects the reading of the instruments. The full potential of bioelectric medicine cannot be achieved until devices are developed which are more consistent in what and how they measure. Electrical Fields Outside The Body Electric fields produced outside of the body can be natural, such as those from another living being or from the earth's geomagnetic field. Artificial external fields include those created by power lines, radio broadcasting towers, or medical devices. Some of these artificial fields have been blamed for electro-pollution and causing health risks. High energy fields are able to dislodge electrons from an atom or molecule. These are the forms of radiation known to be harmful, such as x-rays. This characteristic of dislodging electrons is called `ionizing'. There has been concern in recent years that long-term exposure to non-ionizing fields may also have health risks. Examples receiving publicity recently include children living in homes under power lines developing a higher incidence of leukemia and pregnant women, working daily at computers, having riskier pregnancies. Regeneration The discovery that oscillating non-ion- izing electromagnetic fields in extremely low frequencies can have beneficial effects is the foundation of bioelectric medicine. According to the panel who wrote about bioelectro-magnetism for Alternative Medicine: Expanding Medical Horizons, the applications for nonthermal, nonionizing electromagnetic fields include bone repair, nerve stimulation, soft tissue wound healing, treatment of osteoarthritis, electro-acupuncture, tissue regeneration, immune system stimulation, and neuroendocrine modulations. It has also been found that specific frequencies have specific effects on specific tissues, just as drugs do. One theory about how it works is that the cell membrane receptors respond to the electro-magnetism, influencing the cell's inner processes. Research in the area of nerve regeneration has already brought great hope to people suffering from spinal cord injuries. Richard Gerber, M.D., author of the definitive text on energetic medicine, Vibrational Medicine, discusses the pioneering experiments of Dr. Robert O. Becker, an orthopedic surgeon in New York. Becker was interested in the fact that salamanders are able to regrow limbs while frogs, only one evolutionary stage away from salamanders, have lost this potential. He measured the electrical differences between the two animals at the stump of a limb and discovered that both the salamander and the frog showed a positive potential. However, the salamander's stump soon reversed in polarity to a negative potential, which gradually returned to zero over the days that it regrew a new limb. When Becker artificially used a negative potential on the frog's healing stump, to Becker's surprise, the frog grew a new limb!4 How Is Electricity Affecting Organisms? One of the profound questions raised by bioelectric medicine is whether electrical stimulation is affecting cellular function or whether it is affecting the holographic potential of the body's subtle electrical field. Scientist Rupert Sheldrake describes the idea that there is a kind of memory in nature, something like a collective memory expressed through `morphic fields', which are thought of as existing within and around each organism. Sheldrake points out that the idea of morphogenetic fields was already known in biology. It's not his invention. He describes the possibility of invisible patterns underlying the growth of organisms, nervous systems, or instincts. Whether such fields exist and whether they are related to the subtle electric fields are questions still being researched. Morphic fields might also be described as fields of habit set up through repeated activity. In humans, they might develop through habits of thought and speech. The more a particular thing is thought or done, the easier it is for others to learn. It is an evolutionary concept but not all that is involved in evolution. It is a kind of natural selection. According to Sheldrake, successful ideas get repeated, "then through repetition they become probable, more habitual." Morphic fields seem to organize self-organizing systems like molecules, ecosystems, or plants. There is a phrase to describe this -- something seems to be `in the air'. Similar fashions or inventions may be designed simultaneously by two people living thousands of miles apart. We don't know what is going on, but morphic resonance could help explain it. Sheldrake describes the phenomenon of morphic resonance being observed in laboratories. When a new kind of crystal is designed, it tends to be very difficult to form. As the chemistry is repeated in labs all over the world, however, it may become so easy to form that it begins contaminating other substances and can become problematic. Scientists assume there must be a mechanistic explanation but it's never been proven. Morphic resonance could explain some of the events of the past and give us new tools for the future. Bioelectricity may be the tip of a morphic resonance iceberg. Through these subtle energies, we may learn how to choose or influence already-existing probabilities for the purpose of improving health and healing. Dr Brewitt can be contacted through Bastyr University. Phone 206-823-1300. For those interested in subtle energies, contact The International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine, at 303-278 2228. They publish a peer-reviewed journal, Subtle Energy, and a membership magazine, Bridges, and sponsor an annual conference in June with research presentations as well as experiential workshops. Dr. Richard Gerber is currently working with the World Research Foundation in Sherman Oaks, CA at 818-907-5483 to create a multidisciplinary healing research center and information exchange. Rupert Sheldrake, Ph.D. is author of A New Science of Life and Seven Experiments That Could Change the World. Visit a website which has interviews and listings of his scientific publications at http://pw2.netcom.com/~kevelaer/Rupert.html Psychiatrist Finds Imagery To Be Most Effective The world changed dramatically in 1974 for Gerald Epstein, M.D., a psychiatrist practicing in New York City, when he met a young man in Israel who had suffered from depression. This man had been treated with conventional psychoanalysis for three years with no improvement. After only four sessions with therapist Mme. Colette Aboulker-Muscat, his depression lifted. Her method was called visual imagery or waking dream therapy. Dr. Epstein's encounter with her enabled him to see the task of therapy differently, to go beyond every day cause and effect to what we as humans can create. He became an apprentice of imagination. Through it, he learned the unity of mind and body. Modern science has begun to research the ways in which the mind and body are connected. Experiments in hypnosis have shown how belief can create burns or poison ivy rashes. On the other hand, science has been reluctant to experiment with the reverse, using the same mental powers to heal the body. Over the years, Dr. Epstein has seen mental imagery heal many different disorders, including rheum-atoid arthritis, enlarged prostate, ovarian cysts, hemorrhoids, and even carcinoma of the liver. Neglected Skill With A Long History Waking dreams use the deep experience of inner life where the mind thinks in pictures or in nonlogical, intuitive ways. Many people are not even aware that they have this capacity because it is so neglected in contemporary education. The use of imagery is ancient, even in the Western world, from Egyptian, through Biblical times, and up to the mid-17th century when modern medical thinking began to dominate. Imagery was also used in Tibet, Africa, India, and among native North Americans. In this century, Carl Jung and Robert Desoille used imagery to treat emotional illness, and this built the foundation for developing the use of imagery to treat physical illness. Our Health Shouldn't Be Handed To Outside Authorities Dr. Epstein laments that our self-preservation has become something we hand over to outside authorities. Having the tool of mental imagery could help us feel more comfortable about regaining our power. He looks upon each of us as gardeners. Each of our lives is a garden to plant, weed, and harvest. Negative beliefs, anxiety, depression, fear, and panic are all weeds that choke the garden and keep it from being healthy. Positive beliefs and emotions are the abundance of a healthy garden. In Healing Visualizations, published by Bantam Books in 1989, he states, "Once you become an active gardener, you will gain more power over your health than you likely ever thought possible." When a friend asked Dr. Epstein for help to get rid of a bad cold, he prescribed an imagery exercise from Healing Visualizations called "The River of Life". He told him to do the exercise every three hours for up to three minutes until the cold cleared. It goes like this: "Close your eyes. Breathe out three times to relax yourself. See your eyes becoming clear and very bright. Then see them turning inward, becoming two rivers flowing down from the sinuses into the nasal cavity and throat, their currents taking away all the waste products, soreness, and stuffiness. The rivers are flowing through your chest and abdomen, into your legs, and coming out as black or gray strands that you see being buried deep in the earth. See your breath coming out as black air and see your waste products emerging from below. Sense the rivers pulsating rhythmically through the body and see light coming from above, filling up the sinuses, nose, and throat, all the tissues becoming pink and healthy. When you sense both the rhythmic flow and the light filling these cavities, breathe out and open your eyes." After one day the cold was gone. It may have been a coincidence but Dr. Epstein has been observing recoveries like this for over twenty-three years, many from much more serious disorders. He notes that the interest in imagery is growing and there are now two natural scientific journals devoted to imagery research: The Journal of Mental Imagery from Marquette University and Imagination, Cognition and Personality from Yale University. Preparing The Mind For Imaginal Healing Dr. Epstein suggests four aspects of preparation -- the first two are part of the exercise itself and the second two are part of the experience of doing this kind of imaging work. 1. Intention. Knowing what we wish to achieve. 2. Quieting. Avoid outside distractions. Attending to breathing out one to three times is enough to create light relaxation. At the same time, it also creates heightened wakefulness rather than the deep relaxation of meditation or other visualization techniques. 3. Cleansing. This has to do with "cleaning up your act" and examining relations with others as well as with ourselves. It has to do with the deci- sion to take a deep hard look at ourselves and be willing to recognize destructive behaviors. 4. Changing. Health comes from movement. As when riding a bicycle, balance is kept through continuous adjustment. Resistance to change leads to trouble. Letting go of preconceptions about yourself or others deepens the sense of well-being, even though it can be scary. Practicing a healing visualization often initiates a series of events that help bring healthy change. Dr. Epstein asks us to let our personal troubles be the starting point for taking charge of our lives. He knows we already have the gifts to do so, and, with practice, we can become our own authority. For information about Dr. Epstein's CE and CMEaccredited workshops, phone 212-988-7750. Working On The Fringe What happens when conventionally-trained health practitioners and scientists find themselves on the cutting edge of medicine, sometimes to their own dismay? They want to continue their service or research, but it may feel inappropriate for the setting they work in. How does their transformation take place? How do they deepen their studies and find like-minded colleagues? Where does it take them? In a previous issue of Healing Arts Report, we described the situation of Dr. Brian Berman of the University of Maryland's Division of Complementary Medicine. After studying conventional medicine, he gradually pursued more effective but less conventional therapies until he found himself `working on the fringe'. He wanted to understand the scientific basis for why orthopedic manipulation, massage, acupuncture, and homeopathy worked. If he could do this, he felt he could help bring them into the mainstream and make them available to more people. Conventional Science Opens New Doors Retired engineer and nuclear scientist William Gough came to appreciate unconventional science through four aspects of his own experience. First, his educational training in modern scientific knowledge gave him the understanding for what is acceptable in science, why it is acceptable, and how research is done. Second, through his role as a scientist, he became familiar with what modern science doesn't know, issues that are still disputed, mysterious, and unexplained. Third, his appreciation of ancient science and religion made him interested in how other and earlier cultures experienced the mysteries of health and consciousness. Fourth, some experiences in Gough's life were inexplicable according to the current scientific world view. He had personal experiences that expanded the boundaries of his own perception. He calls them what psychologist William James called "white crows." James said, "If you wish to upset the law that all crows are black... it is enough if you prove one single crow to be white." Scientists' Transformations An increasing number of scientists are moving away from linear cause-and-effect thinking to investigate the dynamics of biological self-regulating systems. For example, scientific investigations suggest that focused intention, prayer, and unconditional love have a measurable affect on the realm of being and represent an enormous healing potential. This information could make us realize that we can be the causative agent of change and improve the quality of life and sustainability of the environment. In a lecture at a recent subtle energy conference, Gough tells how the expanding scientific paradigm allows us to increase interaction between the nonphysical and physical worlds. This awareness has significant implications for the world of health and healing, including our understanding of health, subtle energies, and the practice of vibrational medicine. According to Gough, the current consensus about the nature of reality arose out of respect for modern science and its ability to manipulate and predict outcomes in the physical world. He believes, however, that any change occurring in this consensus is growing out of individuals changing their personal worldview because of the experiences they are having. Gough, who is president of the Foundation for Mind-Being Research, describes how certain scientific observations have brought into question the way space-time has been treated as a closed system and does not account for: * non-locality in quantum physics * complexities in trying to pinpoint the location of the mind * precognition or remote cognition * non-locality in psychology (archetypes) * synchronicity The Foundation for Mind-Being Research Gough's Foundation for Mind-Being Research sponsors lectures and sells audio and videotapes of them. They have included such notables as Dr. Russell Targ, a physicist who co- directed research in remote viewing at SRI International. That program consisted of hundreds of experiments in which psychics were able to correctly describe distant unseen places. From these experiments, the researchers themselves became convinced of the reality of psychic abilities. Applied to the field of health, for example, remote viewing could mean non-invasive physical diagnoses and greater safety in diagnosing unknown conditions. Another speaker at the Foundation was Rollin McCraty, Director of Research at the Institute of HeartMath. The Institute researches the role of the heart in overall health and teaches practical methods for helping the heart maintain its effectiveness in enhancing hormonal balance and the immune system. In addition, the Institute teaches clients how to apply the heartfelt emotions to life in order to improve physical health. Evidence Suggests Important Warnings According to the principles of the Foundation for Mind-Being Research, scientific methodology as it has evolved over the last three hundred years can continue to serve us well. However, the Foundation states these cautions: 1. The four-dimensional space-time world of ordinary human experience may be inadequate to accommodate the physics of mind-sciences. 2. The concept of energy may need to be enlarged to include more subtle forms that relate to the world of thought. 3. Focused attention and intention affect physical matter, implying that experi- mentors can bias their experimental results by their desires. 4. What we call `reality' may not be objec- tive but only something we have agreed upon. The Santa Fe Institute As more scientists and researchers share the experience of finding current scientific methods too narrow, they are creating organizations to help them address this need. The Santa Fe Institute has created a scientific research community with the express purpose of multidisciplinary approaches in tackling problems of high-risk research. It encourages people from other institutions to become visiting researchers. It also intends to remain small enough to allow those in residence to collaborate with each other freely. While their work isn't focused specifically on health and healing, the breadth and complexity of their research will no doubt influence the field of medicine. For example, they are studying the intricate interactions of the components of the immune system. Cells and molecules distributed throughout our bodies provide us with defense against pathogenic organisms. This system performs pattern recognition tasks, learns, and retains memory of antigens it has fought. It also develops over time. One of the studies being done may provide a key to understanding auto-immune disease. Medical Network Addresses Materialism The central concern of another group, The Scientific and Medical Network, is the relationship between science, medicine, and inner experience. According to David Lorimer, director of this international network of doctors and scientists, the bridge in that relationship is the study of mysticism and parapsychology, including healing. The aim is "to foster both rational and intuitive insights." Members of the Network believe that "science can be compatible with our sense of inner experience." They seek to extend the framework of scientific thinking beyond materialist reductionism or over-simplification. Groups Within the Network Several groups within the organization have been exploring health-related topics. The Science and Esoteric Knowledge Group has been examining postulates underlying scientific materialist and esoteric world-views. They would like science to include rather than reject inner experience. The Complementary Medicine Group is looking at holistic medical philosophy in relation to practice. The Consciousness Research Group has been formulating a scientific framework which includes inner experience. Lorimer mentioned some of the other topics the Network has been discussing: * the nature of spirituality and creativity * relationship of subjective and objective * the impact of technology * the importance of meaning and purpose Contrasting Views Lorimer discusses the way in which `medicine' has become separated from `meaning' and `man' has become separated from `spirit.' The words in the left column are used to explain the words in the right. external internal visible invisible objective subjective experiment experience This assumes that the words in the left are in some way primary and the words on the right secondary when, in fact, science needs to account for all of them. In addition, man invented machines and then used them and their principles of functioning to explain human beings. This type of science has addressed man's perceived need of predictability but does not address issues of inner experience and total health, including aesthetics, ethics, spirituality. The result is a kind of scientific fundamentalism which is exclusive, dogmatic, intolerant, and formulaic. It conflicts with a spiritual or complementary view of reality defined by inclusion, experience, tolerance, mysticism, and meaning. Dove's Medical Research Coordination While a number of foundations are sponsoring cutting-edge research, the Dove Health Alliance is planning world-wide efforts to support and facilitate scientific research specifically in complementary medicine. Over 200 researchers and practitioners of complementary therapies are setting the framework for collaboration and group effort. The plan focuses on developing new technologies as well as establishing the most effective treatment modalities for various conditions. Four locations for the research have been chosen near already-existing scientific research centers: San Diego Headquarters, Heartland Center in Topeka, Kansas, San Francisco Center, and a center in Moscow, Russia. Adding to the global impact of this project, the Dove Health Alliance will also work with the originators of the project, The Dove Healing Trust located in England, and other research programs in France, Germany, Austria, Holland, and Australia. Through the Dove Health Alliance, research on the frontiers of science will continue to explore such topics as how humans sense, respond to, and generate electromagnetic fields; how water is imprinted with electromagnetic or vibrational information that can be used therapeutically; and developing better and more consistent devices to clearly document the bioenergetic channels and energy centers within the human body. Additional topics include how solar radiation and the earth's magnetic field affect human health and illness; the effects of light, color, and sound on human physiology; restructuring DNA with bioelectro-magnetic fields; and using new high resolution microscopes to study microorganisms that transform as part of their life cycles. Validating Complementary Approaches The centerpiece of Alliance research is the plan to assist in the validation of the medical efficacy of various complementary medicine approaches and patient outcome studies. Clinical trials and standardizing data collection will provide a solid foundation for the use and effectiveness of complementary medicine. This proposed global effort may well make a significant contribution in building a new cost-effective and integrative health care system. The Foundation for Mind-Being Research phone/fax is 415-941-7462. Interim website is at http://www.epcomm.com/fmbr. To send for a catalog of tools and techniques to improve heart health, contact The Institute of HeartMath at 1-800-450-9111. Web address is http:www.webcom.com/hrtmath. For information about the International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine, phone 303-278-2228. The Santa Fe Institute can be reached at 505-984-8800. Website is http://www. santafe.edu. For information on The Scientific and Medical Network and their annual conference, now in its nineteenth year, contact David Lorimer, Lesser Halings, Tilehouse Lane, Denham Nr. Uxbridge, Middlesex, England UB9 5DG. Web address is http://www.cis.plym.ac.uk/SciMedNet/home.htm. To contribute to the Dove Health Alliance, contact president Karl Maret, M.D. at 5230 Carrol Canyon Road, Suite 214, San Diego, CA 92121. A prospectus including the ten-year budget and research programs has already been published. Phone 619-450-1954 or fax at 619-450-0576. E-mail is karl@dove.net. þ Skepticism Still Useful Philosopher Paul Saalbach, Ph.D., makes a suggestion. Although he is generally an advocate for subtle energies or `things unseen', he feels bound to play the skeptic when examining consciousness research. He reminds us that those who may want to throw out the bath water of the old paradigm, need to be clear about what they are getting rid of. Saalbach voices concern about man's ravaging the planet. Part of this destruction is fostered by tools of the old paradigm, the forms of logic that lead us to a materialistic and mechanistic view. The old science's motives are fundamentally noble. Skepticism, an essential component of the old science, can continue to be useful. Dangers of New Psychic Technology He points out that the new technology may be psychic technology and it may hold even greater dangers. He quoted the first law of magic -- never call up anything you don't know how to put down. There can be misuse through naivete and there can be misuse through an elite keeping power for themselves. If he were to draw a map of this world of possibilities, he would write, "Here be monsters." Saalbach explained that we need to steer between two dangers: (1) Repeating the uncritical and untestable speculation of the past, exemplified most clearly in the inability to account for moral and aesthetic values, consciousness, and the nature of mathematical truth; and (2) When developing new technologies of the psyche, lacking either restraint to use it safely or wisdom to use in unselfishly. Saalbach studied biochemistry and math, receiving his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He can be reached at: 2707 Valmont Road, No. 305C, Boulder, CO 80302, 303-443-4152. Best wishes, Barbara June Appelgren, Editor ENDNOTES 1. See B. Rubik et al., "Bioelectro-magnetics Applications in Medicine," Alternative Medicine: Expanding Medical Horizons, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1992). 2. See also Electrical Properties of Bone and Cartilage: Experimental Effects and Clinical Applications, ed. C.T. Brighten et al., (New York: Grune and Stratton, Inc., 1979). 3. See Journal of Naturopathic Medicine 6:1 (1996): 66-75. 4. See R. Becker, "An Application of Direct Current Neural Systems to Psychic Phenomena," Psychoenergetic Systems 2 (1977): 189-196. Healing Arts Report presents educational health-related information and news only. The material contained herein is intended for general information and should not be construed as medical advice or medical opinions. It does not apply to specific medical conditions, treatments, or other specific factual circumstances. It does not constitute recommendations for self-treatment nor is it intended to replace consultations with qualified medical care providers or information provided by manufacturers or retailers about their products. Decisions regarding diagnosis and treatment are to be made by the reader in the exercise of his or her judgment. The source of all news and information contained herein is provided. Healing Arts Report does not test or otherwise independently verify nor warrant the validity, accuracy, timeliness, completeness, or utility of its contents. Healing Arts Report Advisory Board Members: Deborah Crabbe, C.N.M., M.S. William Gough, M.S. Marc Micozzi, M.D., Ph.D. Joel Shepperd, M.D. Healing Arts Report is published monthly by Zillah, Inc. Copyright 1997 by Healing Arts Report Mailing address: P.O. Box 1728, Winchester, VA 22601 Editor: BJ Appelgren Publisher: Bruce Appelgren Internet Editor: Mark Schulte Editorial Assistant: Buster Katz  |