What
is healing energy?
Abstract
This
article explores the roles of rhythmic processes in the dynamics of healing. It
begins with a close look at the oscillating magnetic fields emitted by
practitioners of therapeutic touch and related methods. Medical researchers are
using similar fields to ‘jump start’ healing in a variety of soft and hard
tissues. What is different about the fields emitted from the hands of energy
therapists is that they appear to ‘scan’ or ‘sweep’ through a range of
frequencies. As a result, we propose an hypothesis
that is also a definition: ‘Healing energy’, whether produced by a medical
device or projected from the human body, is energy of a particular frequency or
set of frequencies that stimulates the repair of one or more tissues. The
cascade of activities initiated by such signals may provide essential
information to cells and tissues, and open channels for the flow of information
that coordinates repair processes. This is also significant for prevention and
for restoring normal function after trauma. When considering the roles of
rhythmic interactions, the concept of entrainment is important. For
example, brainwaves are entrained by the thalamus. Research
on the thalamus shows periods of inactivity, when the brainwaves are said to
‘free run’. During these periods, the brainwaves may be entrained by
external sources, such as the biological rhythms of a therapist or geomagnetic
oscillations. Entrainment is a highly controversial topic, although the likely
mechanisms are well understood. They involve the pineal gland and
magnetite-bearing tissues, which serve as magneto-receptors. Also explored is
rhythmic entrainment as a therapeutic tool, and its recent application in
resolving severe trauma and abuse. A theory of consciousness called microgenesis can account for many of the phenomena
described.
(From the J O U R N A L O F
B O D Y W O R K A N D M O V E M E N T T H E R A P I E S Apr/9 7)
At
all levels, nature is a composite of rhythms. The vast cycles of the heavens
represent an extreme of virtually unimaginable scale, with times measured in
light-years. At the other limit are the minute oscillations of atoms and
subatomic particles, vibrating trillions of times per second. Life is immersed
in this spectrum, and contributes its own unique set of rhythms. One long cycle
is that between birth and death. Superimposed upon that rhythm are many cycles of replacement of the atoms comprising the
body (Schoenheimer 1942). Some tissues, such as bone
and fascia, are completely replaced some 10–15 times during a lifetime, while
others, such as skin and intestine, are replaced 10,000 times during the same
period. Certain enzymes last only a few seconds before they are renewed (Ratner 1979). Each organ has its own set of activity
rhythms, such as the ovary, with its monthly cycle. Shorter yet are the rhythms
of the cranial/sacral pulse, the breath, the
heartbeat and the brainwaves, which average about one tenth of a
second in duration. Even shorter are the vibrations of molecules, which spin,
wiggle and shake millions of times each second. Our intellectual history shows
a continuing fascination with the ways life is tied to the rhythms of nature,
including the earliest astrological speculations, which far antedate the modern
science of astronomy. Recent scientific explorations have replaced many early
superstitions with accurate and repeatable observations and measurements. This
exploration has had a pulse of its own, as ideas of one generation give way to
new truths, based on new data. In terms of healing, important rhythms have been
discovered by medical researchers who are employing magnetic pulses for ‘jump
starting’ the repair of a wide spectrum of tissues and for treating diseases.
While a variety of signals are being tested, medical interest has especially
focused on pulsing magnetic fields of low energy and extremely low frequency
(ELF). (The ELF range is arbitrarily defined as frequencies
below 100 Hz, Miller 1986.) Similar frequencies emanate from the hands
of practitioners of therapeutic touch and related methods. Moreover, the fields
emitted by practitioners are not steady in frequency, but ‘sweep’ or ‘scan’
through the range of frequencies that medical researchers are finding effective
in facilitating repair of various soft and hard tissues. This is a recent and
profoundly exciting correlation. Let us take a closer look.
Several
frequencies are being tested in medical research laboratories to determine the
types of tissues they affect. These are
sometimes called ‘frequency windows of specificity’. References to
the original reports are given in the review article by Sisken
& Walker (1995). In addition, various frequencies are being tested for
their effects on specific diseases. Some of these studies can be found in
various United States Patents (e.g. Sandyk 1995, Liboff et al 1993). Dr John Zimmerman recorded a signal
from the hand of a practitioner of therapeutic touch (Zimmerman 1985, 1990).
The signal frequency was not steady, but varied from 0.3 to 30 Hz, with most of
the activity in the range of 7–8 Hz.
There
is an obvious correlation between biomagnetic
emanations from the hands of therapists and the ‘frequency windows of
specificity’ found by biomedical researchers. While such correlations are
exciting, they do not prove anything. More investigation is needed. Research
begins with testable hypotheses that can be verified or refuted. We therefore
present an hypothesis that is also a definition of
‘healing energy’, whether it is produced by a medical device or projected from
the human hand:
‘Healing energy’, whether produced
by a medical device or projected from the human body, is energy of a particular
frequency or set of frequencies that stimulates the repair of one or more
tissues.
Other frequencies are
involved. Medical
experimentation is not confined to the ELF region of the energy spectrum.
Popular devices such as the Diapulse machine emit 27
MHz (27 million pulses per second) and have been studied extensively. Clinical
trials of the effects of the Diapulse on injuries
have shown reduced swelling, acceleration of wound healing, stimulation of
nerve regeneration, reduced pain and faster functional recovery. References to
this literature are given in the review by
Sisken & Walker (1995).
2
Hz Nerve
regeneration, neurite outgrowth from cultured ganglia
7
Hz Bone
growth
10
Hz Ligament
healing
15,
20 and 72 Hz Decreased skin necrosis, stimulation of capillary formation
and fibroblast proliferation
25
and 50 Hz Synergistic
effects with nerve growth factor
(From
Sisken & Walker 1995)
181
Referenced
above was the feature of the ELF portion of the spectrum emitted from the hands
of the therapeutic touch healer. Other frequencies and other forms of energy
are undoubtedly present. These frequencies can be explained, in part, by the
presence of the coherent Fröhlich oscillations. For
every frequency produced by the body, there are usually harmonics and
sub-harmonics (i.e. signals that are exact multiples or fractions of the
‘fundamental’ frequency).
The
possible involvement of infrared radiations should also be mentioned. There is
evidence that infrared radiations from the hands of QiGong
practitioners can increase cell growth, DNA and protein synthesis, and cell
respiration. There is also evidence that living systems emit microwaves (Enander & Larson 1977) and light (Rattemeyer
et al 1981, Popp et al 1992).
As
an example, the heart produces a variety of types and frequencies of energy
that propagate through the circulatory system to every cell in the body. The
fastest signal is an electromagnetic pulse (recorded with the electrocardiogram
and the magnetocardiogram), followed by the heart
sounds, a wave of pressure, and then a temperature change (infrared radiation).
Russek & Schwartz (1996) refer to this as a dynamical
energy system, and describe its potential for communicating information
throughout the body.
Medical
researchers have stated that energy field therapies are effective because they
project ‘information’ into tissues. This triggers a
cascade of activities, from the cell membrane to the nucleus and on to the gene
level, where specific changes take place (see Bassett 1995). The interpretation
of these findings is that particular repair processes are triggered by the
information contained in signals of specific frequencies. While this is an
interesting hypothesis, it leaves unanswered the question of why repair is not
activated naturally. Why should it be necessary to trigger healing with an
external signal? The following describes some additional considerations. The
living matrix is one medium through which the ‘cascade of activities’ takes
place. Complete health corresponds to total interconnection through this matrix
and its associated layers of water. Suppose accumulated physical and/or
emotional trauma impairs continuity. The application of
‘healing energy’, whether from a medical device or from the hands of an energy
therapist, would then open the network to the flow of energy and information.
Once the whole network is functioning, natural biological communications could
flow freely through the entire system, from the extra-cellular matrix, across
the cell membrane, through the cytoskeleton, to the nucleus and on to the gene
level, and in the opposite direction as well (Oschman
1993, Oschman & Oschman1994). In other words,
activation of specific processes goes hand in hand with opening of the channels
for the flow of energy and information. A leading medical researcher has
confirmed what alternative practitioners observe frequently: application of
therapeutic energy fields ‘can convert a stalled healing process into active
repair, even in patients unhealed for as long as 40 years’ (Bassett 1995). The
mechanism by which ‘active repair’ is initiated probably involves both
activation of specific cellular activities and the opening of the channels
or circuitry for the natural biological communications required for initiating
and coordinating injury repair. The free flow of messages through tissues is
essential for prevention and for simply ‘feeling well’. As an example of
experimental evidence for preventive effects, animals treated with magnetic
fields prior to nerve injury experienced the same acceleration of nerve
growth as animals treated after injury.
While
the focus in this discussion is on the healing of wounds, energetic bodywork can
be of profound significance to the organism even if no specific problem is
present. A healthy individual will be both happier and less likely to have an
injury or disease. If problems do arise, they will recover more rapidly.
Likewise, athletic, artistic and intellectual performance is enhanced when all
of the body’s communication channels are open and balanced. This point is well
understood in many complementary practices, in which regular maintenance
treatments or ‘tune-ups’ are given. These treatments are not for
specific ailments, but serve to reduce the future incidence of
medical problems, to enhance performance of all kinds of activities, and to
generally facilitate an individual’s progress in their personal evolution or
achievement of their individual ‘destiny’. One mechanism of prevention comes
from study of some of the effects of acupuncture: mild stimulation of tissues
(as by insertion of an acupuncture needle, acupressure, Shiatsu, structural
integration, massage, etc.) can simulate an injury without actually
injuring the tissue. By simulating an injury, the mild stimulus activates the
cascade of repair processes through the living matrix. Mild stimulation of key
points on a healthy individual is a sort of ‘test run’ or ‘tune-up’ of the
repair channels (Oschman & Oschman1994). Along
with the healing of injuries and prevention is the role energy therapies can
have in releasing or resolving long repressed ‘somatic memories’ associated
with trauma and/or abuse. This will be examined in more detail later.
If
the ideas presented so far are valid, there are a number of obvious
implications. First, on a practical level, manufacturers of medical devices
might find it worthwhile to test the effects of stimulators that scan through a
range of frequencies, rather than produce a single frequency. It would
obviously be worthwhile to simply record the natural emissions from the hands
of a therapist, and project the recorded signals into injured tissues. Some
research along this line has been done. A device has been developed that
projects signals comparable to those produced by a QiGong
practitioner (Niu et al 1992, Walker 1994).
Interestingly, this device produces an ELF acoustic signal. Literature
on this device and on other effects of QiGong can
beaccessed through the QiGong
Institute database.
Evolutionary
biology leads to an additional interpretation. The evidence presented so far
suggests that an ability of organisms to project and respond to ‘healing
energy’, as defined above, has evolved as a natural design feature of living
systems. Our ancestors lived in a world fraught with hazards, but had no
hospitals or clinics to help them mend wounds of the flesh. A natural ability
of individuals to facilitate injury repair in each other had obvious survival
value in the earliest communities. Evolution by natural selection took care of
the rest.
The
next mechanistic questions concern the sources of the oscillating fields
emitted by the hands of various energy therapists, and the reason the signals
scan or sweep through a range of frequencies. Research has led to detailed and
rather remarkable answers to these questions. The focus is on biological
rhythms and the ways they are regulated. Injury repair involves a widespectrum of biological rhythms associated with the
replacement of various tissue elements. How can these processes be coordinated?
The problem can be stated this way: Wound healing is a remarkable and intricate process,
involving the integrated and cooperative activities of a variety of systems.
Each wound is different, and the body’s response must be precisely appropriate
if structure and function are to be fully restored. Dynamic interactions take
place between local and systemic processes.A wide
range of physiological activities are activated, and all must be down-regulated
when repair is complete. Some repair processes persist for weeks or even longer after an injury. Until recently, the
medical approach has been almost exclusively molecular. Researchers have looked
for, and found, a variety of chemicals that influence the repair of tissues.
The clotting of blood involves a cascade of reactions involving many different
substances. Fibroblast growth factors stimulate division of the cells that lay
down collagen, a major structural protein used in healing wounds. Hence healing
can be promoted by adding natural growth factors, or genes for those growth
factors, directly to a site of injury (e.g. Vogt et al 1994).
It
is easy to see how molecules can regulate the rates of cellular processes by
activating or inactivating particular metabolic pathways. However, there is
something missing from the picture. How can the ebbs and flows of regulatory
substances provide a ‘blueprint’ for the elaborate architecture of cells and tissues
and organs?
Harold
Saxon Burr
was convinced that energy fields provide the ‘blueprint’ for living systems.
Molecular biology can account for the manufacture of the parts, in appropriate
quantities, but the forces exerted by living fields bring those parts together
in meaningful ways to produce living structure and function. Burr’s hypothesis
is supported in that Growth factors (molecules) stimulate the growth of nerves,
but magnetic pulsations at 25 and 50 Hz synergize or enhance the effect.
This point of view was expressed over a century ago by one of the fathers of
modern physiology, Claude Bernard (1839): ‘The genes create structures, but
the genes do not control them; the vital force does not create structures, the
vital force directs them.’ In the words of Strohman
(1993), the genes are important but not on top – just on tap! Genes are
undoubtedly involved at every step of development, and influence all
physiological processes, but this does not mean that genes are entirely
responsible for establishing order and function at every level. Modern evidence
comes from a wide range of studies on the effects of energy fields on
development and regeneration (e.g. Libbin et al 1979,
Borgens et al 1981, Jaffe 1981, 1982).
A
simple hypothesis can account for the beneficial effects of ‘healing energy’
projected from the hands of one person into the body of another - a variety of electrical,
electronic, magnetic and other energetic phenomena take place within healthy
tissue as a consequence of the communications needed to coordinate cellular
activities. The resulting energy fields are radiated from the hands of the
healthy individual. Whether caused by physical or emotional trauma, ‘the wound
that does not heal’ is a wound that is not receiving the natural regulatory
signals needed to initiate and coordinate repair processes. When healthy tissue
is brought close to such a wound, essential information is transferred via the
energy field, communication channels open and the healing process is ‘jump-started’.
Sources of ELF signal the functioning of the
heart, brain and some other organs resulting in oscillations in the ELF range of the electromagnetic
spectrum.
Over the last half-century, Robert O. Becker and
others have done important research on the role of brainwaves in healing. These
studies have many implications for bodywork and movement therapies. Modern
neurophysiology focuses primarily on the activity of less than half of the
cells in the brain (Becker 1990a, 1991). The ‘neuron doctrine’ holds that all
functions of the nervous system are the result of activities of the neurons.
Integration of brain function is therefore regarded as arising from the massive
interconnectivity of the neurons. This view is incomplete because it ignores an
evolutionarily more ancient informational system residing in the perineural connective tissue cells that constitute more
than half of the cells in the brain. Perineural cells
encase every nerve fibre, down to their finest
terminations throughout the body. The perineural
system is a direct current communication system reaching to every innervated
tissue. The perineural system establishes a ‘current
of injury’ that controls injury repair. Historically, the injury potential was
discovered before resting and action potentials of nerves (Davson 1970).
The
current of injury is generated at the site of a wound, and continues until
repair is complete. One function of the current is to alert the rest of the
body to the location and extent of an injury. The current also attracts the
mobile skin cells, white blood cells and fibroblasts that close and heal the
wound. Finally, the injury current changes as the tissue
heals, and therefore feeds back information on the progress of repair to
surrounding tissues. Becker’s research demonstrated that the current of injury
is not an ionic current, but a semiconductor current that is sensitive to
magnetic fields (the Hall effect). Semiconduction
takes place in the perineural connective tissue and
surrounding parts of the living matrix. Other tissues in the body are ensheathed in continuous layers of connective tissue. The
vascular system is surrounded with perivascular
connective tissue; the lymphatic system with perilymphatic
connective tissue; the muscular system with myofascia;
the bones with the periosteum. Conceptually, the
living matrix encompasses all of these connective tissue systems, including the
cellular and nuclear scaffolds within them.
It
has been suggested that the current of injury is not confined to the skin, but
is a general property of layers of cells, called epithelia (Oschman
1993). If this is so, a current of injury will arise in any tissue, epidermal,
vascular, muscular, nervous or bone, that is injured.
Which systems are activated will depend on the depth and severity of the
injury. This perspective is leading to a detailed explanation of how the body
coordinates its responses to injuries of all kinds. Oscillations of the brain’s
direct current field, the brainwaves, are not confined to the brain. Instead,
they propagate through the circulatory system, which is a good conductor, and
along the peripheral nerves, following the perineural
system, which reaches into every part of the body that is innervated.
Similarly, oscillations of the heart’s electrical activity are not confined to
the heart muscle, but are propagated through the vascular system, perivascular connective tissue and living matrix to all
parts of the body. The measurable brain waves arise because of the rhythmic and
synchronized spread of direct current through large populations of neurons in
the brain. The field is relatively strong and partly coherent because it flows
through massive numbers of parallel neurons in the vertically oriented
pyramidal portion of the somatosensory cortex (see Kandel & Schwartz 1981). Becker’s research shows that
brainwaves regulate the overall operation of the nervous system, including the
state of consciousness. There is a neurophysiological
basis for this concept. The brainwaves cause the local fields around individual
neurons to vary rhythmically. The local field, in turn, determines the
sensitivity of the neurons to stimulation. When the local field is such that
the neuron is ready to send a signal (called the threshold for depolarization),
a small stimulus will cause the nerve to fire. When the local
field is far from the firing level (far from threshold), a much larger stimulus
will be needed for the nerve to be excited. Hence there is a rhythm in
the excitability of nerve cells throughout the body. Sophisticated research
using microelectrodes has confirmed that the probability of a nerve firing in
the brain changes rhythmically in relation to the electroencephalogram (Verzeano 1970, Fox 1979). The significance of these
phenomena to consciousness will be discussed shortly.
Entrainment
When
considering the timing of any biological rhythm, the concept of entrainment is
important. Physicists use this term to describe a situation in which two rhythms
that have nearly the same frequency become coupled to each other, so that both
have the same rhythm. Technically, entrainment means the ‘mutual phase-locking
of two (or more) oscillators’. For example, a number of pendulum clocks mounted
on the same wall will eventually entrain, so that all of the pendulums swing in
precise synchrony. For this to happen, the pendulums must have about the same
period, which is determined by their length. What couples the pendulums are
vibrations (elastic or sound waves) conducted through the structure of the
wall.
Brainwaves.
Dominant
brainwave frequencies recorded with the electroencephalograph, with electrodes
on the scalp, indicate that the frequency of brainwaves is constantly changing.
Delta activity occurs during deep sleep and in certain brain disorders. Theta
activity occurs during various stages of sleep in normal adults and during
emotional stresses, including disappointment and frustration. Alpha brainwaves
have been associated with a normal and alert state of mind. Beta waves
are normally seen over the frontal portions of the brain during intense mental
activity. Beta waves of higher frequencies, up to 50 Hz, are associated with
intense activation of the nervous system or tension.
Brainwaves
are not constant in frequency, but vary from moment to moment. The ‘pacemaker’
or ‘rhythm section’ is located deep in the brain, specifically in the thalamus.
The system is known as the thalamic rhythm generator or pacemaker (Andersen
& Andersson 1968). Careful research is
determining the cellular basis of the rhythms (Destexhe
et al 1993, Wallenstein 1994). Calcium ions slowly
leak into single thalamocortical neurons, which
oscillate for 1.5–28 seconds, triggering and entraining the brain waves, which
spread upward throughout the brain. Eventually the thalamic oscillations cease
because of
the excess calcium built up in the thalamocortical
neurons. During this ‘silent phase’, lasting from 5 to 25 seconds, the brain
waves are said to ‘free-run’. It is during this phase that the brainwaves are
susceptible to entrainment by external fields, as will be discussed below.
Eventually the thalamic oscillations begin again, after the cells have restored
their calcium levels to the point where they are able to oscillate again. The
electroencephalographic waves spread not only throughout the brain, but
throughout the nervous system (via the perineural
system) and into every part of the organism. In this way, the brainwaves
regulate the overall sensitivity and activity of the entire nervous system
(Becker 1990a, 1990b).
This
article is heading toward a discussion of the possibility that external
signals, including signals projected from the hands of an energy therapist, can
entrain brainwaves during the thalamic ‘silent’ or ‘free-run’ period. The
reader should be aware that the entrainment of biological rhythms is a subject
as controversial among biologists as the vitalism
versus mechanism issue. The controversy is about whether biological rhythms are
predominantly timed by ‘internal clocks’ or by ‘external clocks’. While there
are good arguments on either side of this issue, the current consensus among
scientists is that biological clocks are mostly set by internal pacemakers,
such as the thalamus, and that organisms are, for the most part, independent of
natural energy cycles, such as those discussed below.
However,
the history of science has repeatedly demonstrated that scientific consensuses
have a rhythm of their own, as ideas of one generation give way to new truths,
based on new data. Most scientists and non-scientists alike take a firm
position on one side or the other of this question. For many, it is obvious
that life is part of a larger fabric, and that rhythms of the sun, moon,
planets and other celestial bodies must affect us (e.g. see
Leonard 1978). For others it is equally obvious that any such effects, if they
do exist, are minimal. For many scientists, there is strong bias against any
concept that might be taken as support for astrology, a field that is widely
frowned upon. There are good reasons to suspect that a person’s point of view
on this subject is based less on logical analysis and more on their individual
emotional and personality structure. This perspective will be addressed later
in this article, when energetic aspects of personality structure are examined.
Evidence
will be presented that the ‘free-run’ periods, when the brainwaves are not
paced by the thalamus, allow the brain’s field to be entrained by external
electric and magnetic rhythms, either natural or man-made. What is the source
of natural electric and magnetic rhythms? The magnetic field of the earth,
called the geomagnetic field, causes the compass needle to point toward the
North Pole. However, if you look carefully at a compass needle, with a
microscope, you will see that the needle is rarely still – it dances back and
forth in a variety of rhythms. Some of these rhythms are diurnal (24 hour), some are much slower, and others are quite fast, in
the ELF range. The latter are called geomagnetic micropulsations.
They are caused by a unique geophysical mechanism known as the Schumann
resonance. In the 1950s, a German atmospheric physicist, W.O. Schumann,
suggested that the space between the surface of the earth and the ionosphere
should act as a resonant cavity, somewhat like the chamber in a musical
instrument (Schumann 1952). Pressing the keys on a wind instrument changes the
size of the cavity and therefore changes the frequency of the standing waves
within that cavity. In a musical instrument, tones are generated when the
musician blows over an orifice or reed. Energy for the Schumann resonance is
provided by lightning. While you may be experiencing calm weather where you are
now, there are, on average, about 200 lightning strikes taking place each
second, scattered about the planet. To use the physics terminology, lightning pumps
energy into the earth-ionosphere cavity, and causes it to vibrate or
resonate at frequencies in the ELF range. In the 1960s, Schumann’s theory was
confirmed (Galejs 1972, Balser
& Wagner 1960). Lightning creates electromagnetic standing waves that
travel around the globe. As electromagnetic waves, the Schumann resonance can
be detected either as
electric or magnetic micropulsations. The
waves are reflected from the ionosphere, back to the earth, back to the
ionosphere, etc. This ‘skip’ phenomenon has been widely studied, because it is
the basis for long distance radio communication. Radio signals of certain
frequencies can travel great distances because they are reflected by the
ionosphere. The average frequency of the Schumann resonance is about 7–10 Hz.
But when the ionosphere gets higher, the cavity gets larger and the resonant
frequency drops. Rhythms of terrestrial and extraterrestrial origin alter the
height and other properties of the ionosphere, and thereby alter the Schumann
frequency in the range of 1–40 Hz. There are times when solar activity leads to
‘magnetic storms’ that disrupt the ionosphere, and Schumann resonances
cease. To summarize, the Schumann resonance is created by terrestrial
activities, and is modified or modulated by extraterrestrial activities. In
radio terminology, the signals are frequency modulated (FM).
The Schumann resonance is a unique electromagnetic phenomenon created by the
sum of the lightning activity around the world. Electromagnetic pulses from
lightening travel around the earth, bouncing back and forth between the
ionosphere and the earth’s surface. At any given point on the earth, the
Schumann resonance shows up as electric and magnetic micropulsations
in the range of 1–40 Hz. The frequency and strength of the signals depend on
the distribution of global thunderstorm activity, local meteorological
conditions and the conductivity of the earth’s surface at the point of
observation. Bursts of Schumann pulses are easier to detect in fair weather,
and occur more often during the day than at night. These terrestrial factors
are, in turn, influenced by more distant extraterrestrial factors, such as
solar and lunar position, sun spots, planetary positions, etc. For details, see
Pressman 1970, Dubrov 1978.
Evidence for
entrainment by external fields
The
Schumann oscillations propagate for long distances and readily penetrate
through the walls of buildings and into the human body. Schumann frequencies
have considerable overlap with biomagnetic fields
such as those produced by the heart and brain, but the Schumann resonance is
thousands of times stronger. There is similarity of a train of Schumann signals
and brainwaves. A number of biologists have concluded that
the frequency overlap of Schumann resonances and
biological fields is not accidental, but is the culmination of a close interplay
between geomagnetic and biomagnetic fields over
evolutionary time (e.g. Direnfeld 1983). Hence
researchers have examined interactions between external fields and biological rhythms.
Organisms are capable of sensing the intensity, polarity, and
direction of the geomagnetic field (Gould 1984). There is evidence that geomagnetic rhythms serve as a time
cue in the organization of physiological rhythms (e.g. Wever
1968, Gauguelin 1974, Cremer-Bartels
et al 1984), although this continues to be controversial. A variety of behavioural disturbances in the human population are
statistically related to disturbances in the earth’s electromagnetic field or
to man-made interferences:
•Howard et al (1965) documented
a relationship between increased geomagnetic activity and the rate of admission
of patients to 35 psychiatric facilities.
•Venkatraman (1976) and Rajaram & Mitra (1981)
reported an association between changes in the geomagnetic field due to magnetic
storms and frequency of seizures in epileptic patients.
•Becker (1963) and Friedman
et al (1963, 1965) also studied the relationships between psychiatric ward
admissions and behaviour and geophysical parameters.
•Perry et al (1981) correlated
suicide locations in the West Midlands, England, with high magnetic field
strengths due to 50 Hz power lines.
Many studies have demonstrated the probable entrainment of brainwaves by
external rhythms of natural and artificial origin:
•Reiter (1953) measured
reaction time, an important factor in traffic safety. Upon entering a cubicle
at a traffic exhibition, visitors were asked to press a key. When a light came
on, they were to release pressure on the key. Their reaction time, i.e. the
time between ‘light on’ and ‘key release’, was recorded for many thousands of
visitors over a 2-month period. At the same time, the ELF micropulsations
(Schumann resonances) were monitored. The micropulsations slow when a thunderstorm is approaching,
and Reiter found that the subjects were slower to respond during such periods.
When the micropulsations speeded up, into the range
of alpha brainwave activity, reaction times were faster.
•After the traffic
exhibition, Reiter took his test cubicle to the University of Munich and lined
the top and bottom with wire mesh connected to an electrical generator. He
introduced artificial low-level, low frequency signals similar to those of the
earth’s field. Under these controlled conditions, the effects of the fields on
reaction time were comparable to those obtained during the exhibition.
Moreover, subjects in the laboratory experiments repeatedly complained about
headaches, tightness in the chest, and sweating of the palms after several
minutes of exposure to 3 cycle/second fields. When the headaches faded away,
there was often a feeling of fatigue. These symptoms resemble the so-called
‘weather sensitivity’ complaints that some people have before the arrival of a
thunderstorm.
•Hamer (1965, 1969) pulsed subjects with low intensity artificial electric
fields from metal plates on each side of their heads. Fields of 8–10 Hz speeded
up reaction time, while slower oscillations of 2–3 Hz slowed down reaction
times significantly. Similar results were reported by Friedman et al in 1967.
•In 1977, Beatty reported
studies on the practical significance of brainwave entrainment for people such
as air traffic controllers, who need to maintain an alert state for long
periods. Subjects monitored a simulated radar screen, watching for certain
targets to appear. In agreement with the findings of Reiter and Hamer, slower brainwaves were correlated with slower
reaction times and poorer performance in the task.
•Wever and colleagues at the Max
Plank Institute in
electric field. This field dramatically restored normal patterns to
the biorhythm measurements. Each of these studies concluded
that biological rhythms can be entrained with natural and
artificial ELF electric fields. Entrainment of brainwaves can set the overall
speed of responsiveness of the nervous system to stimulation. This is called
‘reaction time’, and is an easily measured parameter of consciousness.
The
results support Becker’s contention that the pulsing DC electrical system
(brainwaves) set the tone of the entire nervous system. These studies do not
mean that when a thunderstorm approaches, everyone will get drowsy, react
slowly and accidents will happen. Instead, they suggest that there is a
statistically greater chance of slower reactions and more frequent accidents
under these conditions. Geomagnetic pulsations do not affect everyone the same
way. However, there is evidence that geomagnetic pulsations strongly entrain
brain waves during meditation and other practices, in which one ‘quiets the
mind’ to allow the ‘free-run’ to be dominated by geophysical rhythms.
In
the internal pathways involved in the body’s responses to external magnetic
rhythms, the pineal gland is the primary
magnetoreceptor. Between 20 and 30% of
pineal cells are magnetically sensitive. Exposure of animals to magnetic fields
of various intensities alters the secretion of melatonin, the electrical
properties of pineal cells, and their microscopic structure (reviewed by Sandyk 1995). In addition, various animal tissues contain
particles of organic magnetite. Two separate research groups have now recorded
magnetically influenced impulses in single neurons connecting magnetite-bearing
tissues with the brain (reviewed by Kobayashi & Kirschvink
1995). The question of whether living systems are sensitive to the earth’s
magnetic field has been bitterly controversial for more than a century. There
are now a number of plausible and well-documented mechanisms for such
interactions, and abundant evidence that they take place. Moreover, Becker’s
research has shown how geomagnetic entrainment of the brainwaves can affect the
entire nervous system at a very high level of control, i.e. the perineural DC system that extends throughout the body and
has roles in regulating injury repair. In terms of an energetic paradigm for
bodywork and movement therapies, there is no need for us to hypothesize that
geomagnetic fields, modified by terrestrial and extraterrestrial events,
entrain brainwaves. Scientists from around the world have already done so, and
continue to build solid supporting evidence. Part B of this article explores
how
these concepts may apply in the therapeutic setting.
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*******
PART B
Summarizing the pathways involved in magnetoreception,
the regulation of brain waves and therapeutic emissions from the hands of
therapists:
Micropulsations of the geomagnetic field, caused by the Schumann
resonance, are detected by the pineal and magnetite-bearing tissues associated
with the brain. During the ‘free-run’ period, when the brainwaves are not being
entrained by the thalamus, the Schumann resonance can take over as the
pacemaker, particularly if the individual is in a relaxed or meditative state
(Schumann signals are thousands of times stronger than brainwaves). The
brainwaves regulate the overall tone of the nervous system and the state of
consciousness. The electrical currents of the brainwaves are conducted
throughout the body by the perineural and vascular
systems. The biomagnetic field projected from the
hands can be much stronger than the brainwaves (Seto
et al 1992) indicating that an amplification of at least 1000 times takes place
somewhere in the body. Alternatively, the body may simply act as an effective
antenna or channel for the Schumann micropulsations.
The projected fields scan or sweep through the frequencies medical researchers
are finding useful for ‘jump-starting’ injury repair in a variety of
tissues.
E N E R G Y R E V I E W P A R T 3 B
Evidence
has been presented that strong biomagnetic fields are
projected from the hands of practitioners of therapeutic touch, QiGong, and other methods. Repeated practice of various
hands-on bodywork techniques might increase the size of brain areas devoted to
movement and sensitivity of the fingers involved. This, in turn, could enhance
the biomagnetic output from those areas of the brain,
as it does in those who practice with a stringed instrument. Increases in the
strength of the brainwaves would lead to a corresponding increase in the output
from the fingers, as the brainwaves are conducted to the fingers via the perineural and circulatory systems. Hence
the possibility of coupling or entraining the biomagnetic
rhythms of therapist and patient. If the therapist relaxes into the
state of consciousness typical of meditators,
practitioners of therapeutic touch and QiGong, etc,
it is likely that their brainwaves will, from time to time, become entrained
with the micro-pulsations of the earth’s field. If the patient is relaxed, both
individuals may become entrained with the earth’s field. There is remarkable
documentation for this concept. In 1969, Robert C. Beck began a decade
of research on the brain wave activity of ‘healers’ from a wide variety of
subcultures around the world (Beck 1986). Beck recorded the electrical brainwaves
with an electroencephalograph (EEG). All the ‘healers’ produced similar
brainwave patterns when they were in their ‘altered state’ and performing a
‘healing’. It did not matter what the healers’ beliefs and customs were, all
registered brainwave activity averaging about 7.8–8 cycles/second while they
were in their healing state. Beck studied exceptional individuals who were
famous or who had
developed reputations as healers, psychics, shamans or dowsers. He
studied a charismatic Christian faith healer, seers, ESP ‘readers’, an
authentic Hawaiian kahuna, practitioners of wicca, Santeria, radesthesia and radionics. Most of these so-called ‘sensitives’
entered an altered state of consciousness and produced nearly identical EEG
signatures, which lasted from one to several seconds. The obvious question is
how these individuals, unknown to each other and located thousands of miles
apart, developed the same brainwave frequency during their ‘healings’. Beck
noted that ‘… the subjects were practicing opposing disciplines, and came from
totally disparate teachings, and held opposing viewpoints, and would barely
acknowledge the existence or authenticity of practitioners outside their belief
systems …’ Beck performed additional studies on some of his subjects and found
that during the ‘healing moments’ their brainwaves became phase and frequency
synchronized with the earth’s geoelectric micropulsations, the Schumann resonance. There is evidence
for coupling of both cardiac and brain rhythms between two individuals in the
same room who are sitting quietly, facing each other, with eyes closed, without
touching (Russek & Schwartz 1994, 1996). The
electrocardiograms and electroencephalograms of both individuals are recorded,
and the rhythms are analyzed for the presence of between-person
cardiac–brain synchronization. Such synchronization is present, and it is
enhanced if the subjects are connected electrically, such as by a wire held in
the left hand of one person and the right hand of the other. This approach
opens the door to a variety of quantifiable studies of the healer–patient
relationships in terms of energy coupling. If there is entrainment of rhythms
in two individuals who are not touching, what can we expect from commonly used
therapeutic situations?
Taken
together, the research summarized here points to a remarkable model that may
explain the unusual emissions of ‘Qi’ or
‘healing energy’ and other phenomena observed in a wide
variety of energy therapies. What these practices have in common seems to be
periodic entrainments of brainwaves and whole-body biomagnetic
emissions with the Schumann resonances in the earth’s
atmosphere. The Schumann resonance, in turn, is governed by terrestrial and
extraterrestrial rhythms produced by cyclic astronomical activities. The result
may be a whole-body collective oscillation, partly driven by the energy of
higher frequency Fröhlich oscillations, entrained
with geophysical fields, involving virtually all of the billions of collagen,
membrane phospholipid and contractile protein
molecules throughout the body, and, possibly, the associated water molecules.
What links brain electrical activity, as measured with the EEG, the biomagnetic emissions from the body measured with
magnetometers, and healing responses, is the perineural
direct current regulatory system described by R.O. Becker. If these
speculations are correct, the next question is what function coherent biomagnetic emissions would serve in healing. The ‘healing
power’ of projected fields may arise from their ability to entrain similar
coherent rhythms in the tissues of a client. Perhaps such entrainment enhances
the evolutionarily ancient communication and regulatory systems involved in
wound healing and defence. Martial arts techniques
appear to involve projecting fields at points in the body’s energy system that
are sensitive nodes in a solid state informational and power distribution
system (Oschman1993). The thalamus maintains the rhythms, and the ‘free-run’
periods allow the brainwaves to be entrained by rhythmic micropulsations
that are tied to terrestrial and extraterrestrial rhythms. It is during these
free-runs that we extract information on rhythms taking place in our
environment. Hence it may be necessary to expand our definition of
‘information’ in the context of healing. We have seen how medical devices and
therapeutic ‘hands-on’ methods inject ‘information’ into cells and tissues, and we can now see how some of the information
content of these messages may relate to distant activities in the larger
environment.
An
idea of this sort would have been very suspect a few years ago, before the
extensive research that has documented the exquisite sensitivity of a wide
variety of organisms to environmental energy fields. These studies have been
particularly valuable
in explaining the ability of animals such as homing pigeons to
use geomagnetic fields in their navigation. Certainly, for those who use their
hands to enhance the functioning of their fellow beings, the ‘free-run’
periods, when allowed to happen without intellectual processing, can give rise
to moments of profound insight and deep healing. This is the ‘healing state of
mind’ that is the goal of many healing and religious traditions.
The
thalamic relay oscillations resume from time to time. This is important
physiologically because there are times when the Schumann resonance stops (as
during magnetic storms, when the ionosphere is temporarily disrupted or even
vanishes). Therapists often blame themselves for periods when their work seems
less effective than usual, when the real problem may be meteorological or
astrophysical phenomena that are beyond their control. Therapists need also to
be aware of aspects of their local environment, such as the conductivity of
subsurface soils, which can be an important factor in the ‘reception’ of
Schumann resonances. Remarkable as these ideas may
seem, they are not new. Deepak Chopra, in his lectures and writings, has
interpreted the ancient Vedic scriptures, some of the oldest writings known:
‘Healing involves aligning our bodies with the larger body for the effortless
flow of information’. Or: ‘When my body is completely in tune with the cosmic
body, I feel comfortable’.
Trauma energetics
This
inquiry into energetics becomes far more meaningful
when referenced to exciting developments in the therapeutic setting. Pioneers
are constantly standing on the shoulders of their teachers, students and
clients, looking beyond familiar territory, scanning for new potentials for
methods mastered, taught and practiced. One such pioneer has, for our mutual
benefit, openly and honestly documented his life-long exploration. His name is William
Redpath, and his book is Trauma energetics, a study of held-energy systems (1994). The
following summarizes his journey, partly with his own, well chosen, words. Redpath takes us through the evolution and resolution of
his own childhood trauma. In the process, he raises thoughtful questions about
what lies beneath our traumas and abuses, and the ways they affect our actions
and interpretations. Because of a professional interest in tragic history,
theory and performance, and, later, in various therapies, Redpath
shares insights about our artistic, dramatic, and therapeutic characterizations
of trauma. His personal trauma was vividly re-experienced 46 years later: the
slow motion of his fall, an altered perception of time and space. His teachers
(e.g. Peter Levine) cautiously led him back, to face the event, to renegotiate
its meaning, to dilute or titrate its
toxicity. He was guided to look into the dark places, where the energy was
stored. The toxicity cleared slowly and agonizingly as he struggled to emerge
from its influence, to reintegrate himself. He
recognized that certain behaviours had become
addictive, repetitious, toxic, regrettable. Aspects of
body, mind and spirit had been encapsulated by the event. Large shifts, sea-changes,
unfolded as encapsulating boundaries fell away. Others present at the time of
his trauma, who had been experienced as enemies or
antagonists, or with fear or anger, were seen with new compassionate,
empathetic eyes. In an intuitive and incremental process, his detoxification
was rewarded by moments of hope, enlightenment, movement and freedom,
experienced deeply and simultaneously. Developmental processes long on hold were
gradually reactivated, with profound consequences for moment-to-moment reality.
Redpath’s search was characterized by a remarkable
tenacity – from each insight, no matter how carefully and painfully acquired, there arose a set of questions:
•Is this all there is?
•Is this always so?
•If there are exceptions,
what do they mean?
•Is it not our lesson to
learn how traumas are laid in, how to dissolve them, and how to sustain the
resultant freedom?
•Might this be progress?
•Might this be the real
source of all of the world’s horrors, both individual and collective?
•Might trauma resolution be
the only real path to genuine enlightenment?
•Where in our institutions
are these vital lessons being taught?
Gradually,
through his own struggles and those of his clients, he came to see the
mechanism underlying trauma. He saw how his parents passed their own lineage of
trauma to him, concluding that the transmission was invisible and choiceless, beyond language and symbol. He realized that
held areas represent the body’s attempt to limit the damage of over-stimulation
and challenge. Years later, energetic regulatory systems continue to scan this
section of held-energy roughly 10 times/second (with each brainwave). Trauma is
set in place virtually instantaneously, in the fraction of a second before our
self-awareness can notice it. Remarkably, its resolution can be as quick and
almost as unnoticed.
In
terms of energetics, one unusual moment of healing
stands out. A recurring pain had been diagnosed as a duodenal ulcer. In
addition to the usual antacids, Redpath began a
series of reflexology and bioenergetic sessions,
which seemed to help. He learned how to breathe into the place of a pain. One
supposed ulcer spasm attracted his close focus and breath, and there was a
sudden connection, accompanied by a powerful pulse of energy from the apparent
site of his ulcer, up and out of his eyes. It felt like the electrical
sensation of putting a finger in a light socket. In an instant, he knew his
‘ulcer’ would not bother him again, and this proved to be the case. Describing
his experience to professional therapists was disconcerting, for they had no
capacity to relate to it.
This
event was a dramatic revelation of the potential healing forces that resided
within himself. The only way he was able to come close
to a comparable energetic experience was through acupuncture. (Perhaps his
release was actually an energetic discharge along the stomach or small
intestine meridian, both of which extend from the abdomen up to the area near
the eyes.) Redpath discerned that our brains are
continuously poised to resolve our afflictions, and allow what he calls serious
action. This is defined as movement that is not referenced to, or motivated
by, traumatic patterns, either within ourselves or in the culture around us.
‘What if serious action begins not with a movement, but with an immobility,
which our brain continuously scans for?’ Redpath
found what appeared to be subtle energetic representations of trauma that are
readily approachable and resolvable. Because these energetic ‘signatures’
reside outside the thought and speech centres of the
brain, it is easier to unravel them without entering into their narrative
representations. This is a definite departure from the methodical analysis of dreams
and narratives used in conventional Jungian or Freudian therapies, which do not
consistently alter basic patterns. Traditional therapy seeks the memories,
ideas, sensations, feelings, thoughts as primary, while Redpath
was discovering that there was something prior, preverbal. Moreover, this
‘something’ could be reached directly, bypassing what lay in between. He began
a new therapeutic style with his Rolfing clients who were interested in
experimenting. Gradually he shifted his focus to victims of sexual and physical
abuse. They lie on the table, clothed. Many are relieved when they learn that
they do not have to begin with their ‘story’. For the problem is not so much in
the facts of the abuse, enormously difficult as they might be, but in the cognitive
perception and storage of those facts.
Redpath’s experience with psychoanalysis was that no matter how well
victims recovered critical memories, the patterns of their lives continued to
be tormented and disrupted. Where the pattern is most difficult, the brain must
figure it out, in the company of someone else, but without ‘help’. His method
is to simply place his hands under the base of his client’s head and neck. Over
a period of time, sitting quietly with their eyes closed, with some basic
guidance, he and his clients watch together as traumas complete themselves. He
came to distrust superficial releases, emotional or physical. They may
illuminate without removing the pattern. He suggests that clients not dwell in
the emotion, in contrast to traditional therapies. Instead, he asks them to lie
still and watch the brain do the work. The work is therefore not physical or
emotional or willed or intended. Instead it goes to the deep energetic level
that organizes or incarnates or underlays experience
itself.
Redpath describes the results as a reclaiming of the life force.
Among therapists and others involved, the various perspectives on life force
are sources of disagreement. Redpath suggests an
underlying reason for this: the trauma mechanism itself causes deep trouble for
our brains, which have inherent mechanisms of denial and self-concealment.
Arguments about mechanisms are another method of maintaining the concealment.
Similarly, there may be a deeper reason for arguments about whether or not an
individual’s biological rhythms can be entrained by rhythms in the environment,
including those of another person. One’s stand on this issue may relate more to
personality structure and boundary issues than to any intellectual arguments
that can be
raised.
Thanks
to the work of Redpath, our series on ‘healing
energy’ and ‘trauma energetics’ converge. Subtle energy is a concept vast and
controversial enough to provide a title to a journal, and to rally therapists
of diverse schools. But just what is this ‘subtle energy?’ If our quest is to
be complete, this question must be answered with some precision. We can now
begin to do this, thanks to a valuable but seldom discussed theory of
consciousness that has profound clinical implications. Rhythmic changes in
neuronal sensitivity described in Part A, and Redpath’s
trauma energetics, can be interpreted in the light of
an important concept of consciousness. Jason W. Brown of
Microgenesis is not discussed widely by neuroscientists, in part
because it is based on a wealth of clinical detail that few are familiar with.
For example, Brown’s work has not been mentioned in any of the articles in the Journal
of Consciousness Research. Microgenesis is a
profoundly important theory for complementary medicine, with many practical
applications, because it describes the origin of a ‘quantum unit’ of
consciousness in relation to waves of energy flowing upward through the nervous
system. The conscious unit is synthesized as a ‘bottom-up’ unfoldment,
a series of steps that retrace the evolution of the brain. These stages are
roughly described as the evolutionarily ancient reptilian brain, the newer paleomammalian or limbic system, and the neo-mammalian
cortex. Each conscious unit lasts about one tenth of a second, or the duration
of a single brainwave. The wave begins deep in the brain, in the thalamus,
which serves as a clock or ‘pacemaker’. From the thalamus the wave of
electrical activity spreads upward, into the evolutionarily newer brain
structures, ultimately reaching the surface of the cortex, where perceptions
and actions come together to form the conscious moment. The wave also spreads
outward through the perineural system, to all
innervated tissues in the body. The neural pathways involved in perception and
those involved in controlling actions are linked from the bottom of the microgeny to the top.
Hence
the brain stem contains a spatial map of the body and its relationship to its
surroundings. Brown describes this as an image-less space of will, direction,
intuition, subconscious, intention, archetypes and life-saving defensive
reactions. The next level is the limbic system, which is a viewer-centred space of image, dream or hallucination in which
‘objects’ are selected on the basis of memory. In the visual cortex, the features
and positions of objects in the world are discriminated. In the cortex, a
representation of objects is formed in relation to the musculoskeletal system.
At
the top of the microgeny, the conscious moment is
written on a ‘magic writing pad’ on the surface of the cortex. The image
gradually fades, from the top down, as a new wave arrives to take its place.
The continual replacement of the image on the writing pad occurs so smoothly
that consciousness appears to flow seamlessly from instant to instant. At the
same time as the conscious moment is perceived, the cortical ‘motor keyboard’
initiates actions through the musculoskeletal system. Perceptions of the moment
and actions upon the environment are integrated at the top of the microgeny. During the bottom-up process, the ‘meaning of
the moment’ is systematically extracted from a combination of personality
structure and sensory information. As the brainwaves extend to the periphery,
via the perineural system, each wave of sensation
references information, both conscious and unconscious, located throughout the
body. Sensation therefore enters the
microgeny at successive points. However, sensation does not
provide the building blocks for the construction of the world ‘out there’.
Instead, sensation constrains or sculpts or selects the developing world from a
deep ‘pre-object’ formed from the personality structure. Personality
structure is defined as the sum of the ‘fields’ of experience, concepts,
memories and archetypes. Hence the ‘meaning’ of the moment is extracted prior
to awareness of the moment. The ‘world out there’ is what survives a transit
through the microgenetic sequence. The result can be
a dream, a hallucination, an image or a perception of real objects in the
world.
The
personality structure includes Redpath’s ‘charges’ or
patternings or holdings or encapsulations installed
by traumas. It is probably in the lower, preverbal levels, the brain stem and
limbic system, that Redpath’s subtle energies have
some of their effects.
Additional effects may be at the level of ‘somatic memories’ stored in solid state form in non-nervous cells throughout the body (Oschman & Oschman 1994a,b). It is likely that Brown’s ‘fields’ of experience and Redpath’s ‘subtle energies’ are literal energy fields, microscopic electric and magnetic signatures stored in neural networks and in semiconductor circuits in non-nervous cells throughout the body. It is for this reason that traumatic aspects of personality structure are so approachable when the electro-magnetic rhythms of therapist and client are entrained to form a single collectively coherent pulse. By acting energetically, at this silent preverbal level, trauma can be resolved, while bypassing its narrative representations. The upward unfolding of the unit of consciousness retraces the stages in the evolution of the nervous system, and retraces the ontogeny of the mind, i.e. the development or ma