Introduction

In my previous article "Studying the effects of an ancient form of healing …" (Veterinary Times 15th October 2001) I presented the results of a two-year clinical trial studying the effectiveness of Energy Field Therapy (EFT) in the treatment of a wide range of chronic diseases in over 80 animals.

EFT is a modern form of ancient "off the body" Chi Kung healing (where Chi = energy and Kung = skilful management), which in this study proved itself successful in producing either a significant improvement in health, or complete cure, in 79% of the animals treated.

My own introduction to EFT nearly 4 years ago, left me with many more questions than answers. That it worked for me was without doubt - a long-standing back problem of many years, which had proved refractory to many other forms of complementary therapy, was resolved over the course of several months, without the therapist laying a hand upon me! During the treatment process itself, I could feel various bodily sensations, which I was told reflected the corrections being made to the distortions in the energy field around me. I was also informed that the re-creation of the "blueprint" for health in this electromagnetic flux would support healing in the diseased parts of my body. That these sensations were in fact part of a healing phenomenon was confirmed by the subsequent disappearance of my physical symptoms.

Without a conceptual framework to understand my experience, I felt frustrated to be presented with what was obviously an effective form of healing, without any awareness of the philosophy behind it, or an understanding of how it was possible to create healing in this way. My desire for both led me to study Energy Field Therapy for 12 months at the Terton Institute in Stroud under the guidance of Mark Caldwell, who has over 25 years experience in this field.

In this article I would like to present a small selection of some of the scientific evidence that offers support for both the existence of the electromagnetic field around living organisms and its significance to health. I would also like to share my own experience of learning to sense and work with this energy for the purpose of healing.

Taoist cosmology

Over 3,000 years ago, when Oriental seers perceived the direct connection between the quality of Chi flow (electromagnetic energy, Qi or vital force) in and around the body and the state of health, there began the development of a highly sophisticated set of integrated healing practices designed to allow people to increase the balanced flow of this energy through their bodies for the purpose of healing.

Central to this philosophy, was the deceptively simple premise that as disease arose as a direct consequence of disruption to the healthy flow of energy both through the body and within the external electromagnetic field, well-being would naturally return if the normal pattern of flow could be restored.

Although each of the many different practices that arose to address healing at the different levels of being have a particular focus of their own (Tai Chi, Tao Yin, Chi Nei Tsang, Chi Kung and Acupuncture, for example) they all still share the principle of strengthening and harmonising energy flow in accord with this philosophy. In acupuncture for example, this is done by the placement of needles or other devices at strategic locations along the pathways of energy circulation, the "meridians" so that energy flow can be directed towards areas of depletion and away from areas of congestion, creating balance. In Tai Chi the intention behind the co-ordinated movements of body, breath and awareness is to achieve a similar effect.

Modern scientific support

The work of the following pioneers demonstrates the existence of external electromagnetic fields around all living organisms and provides compelling evidence that the qualities of this energy are intimately associated with physical, emotional and mental health.

Kirlian photography

In the late 19th and early part of the 20th century, two Russian scientists Semyon and Valentina Kirlian developed a photographic technique that allowed them to demonstrate the electrical discharges present around people and plants. As their research progressed, they discovered that they could predict illness in plants by changes in the energy emissions from the leaves, long before they showed overt signs of disease. They were able to do this consistently for a wide variety of plants, with a considerable degree of accuracy and later went on to demonstrate the same phenomenon in people.

The Kirlian photograph to the right shows beautifully the electromagnetic field radiating out from a person's thumb placed in the centre of the plate.

More recently, contemporary researchers have made use of the advances in technology to create a Gas Discharge Visualisation (GDV) camera, which allows the energetic field to be captured and displayed "real time" on a computer screen, removing the need for a darkroom and avoiding the time delay involved in processing photographic film or paper. This is rapidly becoming the preferred method of enquiry for a whole movement of Bio-energy research and makes it much easier to demonstrate for example, how specific therapeutic interventions can affect an individual's energy field, or how changes in the environment or emotional states can impact health.

Electrodynamic fields ("Fields of Life")                  Image © Stan Kendz

Following the Kirlians, beginning in the 1940's, Dr Harold Saxton Burr (professor of anatomy and neuroanatomy at Yale University School of Medicine) began investigations into this field of enquiry, which were to span 30 years. He developed extremely sensitive equipment that enabled him to measure the energy fields of organisms ranging in size from the single cells of slime moulds to humans and trees! His work revealed that all living things are "moulded and controlled by electrodynamic fields". It appears that these energy fields rather than simply arising as a "by-product" of cellular form and function, actually provide the energetic templates that both give rise to structure and regulate physiology. The interdependence of these electrodynamic fields and their associated cells means that alterations in one are immediately reflected by changes in the other.

This holistic model provides a working mechanism to explain the collective behaviour of cells. As Burr states "The pattern or organisation of any biological system is established by a complex electrodynamic field which is in part determined by its atomic physio-chemical components and which in part determines the behaviour and orientation of those components. This field is electrical in the physical sense and by its properties relates the entities of the biological system in a characteristic pattern and is itself, in part, a result of the existence of those entities. It determines and is determined by the components".

As Michael Talbot suggests in his book "Mysticism and the New Physics" this could explain, for example, how the longitudinal axis of an embryonic salamander's tail is established - a phenomenon which modern biology is at a loss to explain. "At early stages of development the cells which ultimately become part of the tail show no apparent specialisation. If one experimentally rearranges the cells, even though their ultimate fate is altered, the longitudinal axis does not change. Cephalic cells become caudal cells: right cells become left cells - with little interference in the process of growth. In some way the constituent cells of the growing system have their state determined and their behaviour and orientation controlled. Although no interaction occurs that could transmit information, and the cells are originally indistinguishable, they pattern themselves in an apparent collective behaviour".

Dr Burr proposed that these "fields of life" (L-fields) are the basic blueprints of all life on this planet, and that as measurements of their voltages can reveal physical and mental abnormalities, doctors would be able to diagnose illnesses before the usual symptoms appeared. (Burr Harold Saxton. Blueprint for Immortality: The Electric Patterns of Life. Neville Spearman Publishers.1972.).

Since Dr Burr's work, other researchers have continued to refine and develop the techniques for detecting the subtle electrical and electromagnetic changes that precede disease, for diagnostic purposes (Dumitrescu Ion MD & Kenyon Julian N MD. Electrographic Imaging in Medicine & Biology. 1983).

Emotional states and the energy field

Professor William A Tiller of Stanford University went on to use Kirlian photography to demonstrate the direct relationship between the energy field and the improved mental and emotional states of a group of successfully treated alcoholic and schizophrenic patients. As they recovered there were marked improvements in both the structure and the intensity of their fields.

On a much larger scale, Brent Baum's work with over 8000 trauma victims in the USA has caused him to conclude that the basis for the vast majority of destructive, restrictive and addictive behaviours, together with most physical ailments, has been the presence of unresolved memories of emotional distress - "trauma fragments", held in and around the body (encoded in disrupted energy patterns). During the healing of these memories he detected alterations within the energy field of the people he was working with, which correlated with a sustained and dramatic improvement in their physical and emotional well-being (Baum Brent. The Healing Dimensions: Resolving Trauma in BodyMind and Spirit. Healing Dimensions. Tucson, Arizona. 1997).

It has been my experience with the animals in the clinical trial, that as the disruptions in their energy fields were resolved, significant positive changes in their temperament frequently accompanied the improvements in their physical signs. In fact, owners have often perceived this feature of their animals healing to be one of the most important benefits. It was reported that anxious animals became more relaxed, irritable animals became more tolerant and accepting of social interactions, aloof animals became more interested in receiving and demonstrating affection, timid animals became more confident, aggressive animals became less defensive, depressed animals became happier and more interested in life and older animals became brighter, more alert and playful as though rejuvenated. These changes indicate how improved energy flow can effect healing at physical, emotional and mental levels concurrently.

Evidence for Chi Kung Healing

As scientific research begins to validate the principles of Chi Kung healing, it contributes to an already impressive body of clinical knowledge.

As mentioned in the previous article, the Qigong institute in USA (www.qigonginstitute.org) contains information on over 1600 scientific studies detailing the healing effects of improved energy flow in a wide range of chronic diseases, including allergies, arthritis, asthma, cancer, digestive disorders, hormonal imbalances, hypertension, immune disorders and strokes, to name a few.

In Beijing today there are Chi Kung hospitals that specialise in the treatment of serious diseases, including cancer, with considerable success.

Developing the ability to sense and manipulate energy flow for the purpose of healing

I can still remember clearly the mixture of scepticism and wonder I felt when I attended Mark Caldwell's introductory seminar on Energy Field Therapy. He began by stating unequivocally that the ability to sense and interact with the energy fields around people and animals to stimulate healing was a faculty that everybody possessed and asserted that all that was required to achieve this was a commitment to practice techniques designed to increase ones sensitivity to more and more refined forms of energy, on a regular basis.

It was a great credit to both Mark's conviction and his teaching ability that by the end of the year-long course, everybody in our group (more than 30 people, ranging in age from early twenties to late sixties) was able to do just this. For most, although not all of us, the exercises developed our tactile sensitivities to the point that we could begin to sense more and more subtle electromagnetic currents.

Without any form of training, we can all feel the relatively robust electromagnetic radiation called "static" emanating from television sets, however the ability to sense the less dense and higher frequency energy of human and animal energy fields requires a good deal of consistent, dedicated practice. The awakening of this faculty is no more mysterious than the development of expertise in any other human activity.

Consider the incredible rapidity with which blind people can read Braille. Yet if you or I were to put our fingers over the dots, we would find it extremely difficult to even feel the indentations on the page, never mind form an impression of the pattern that is there, or detect them with speed!

Imagine hearing like a conductor of an orchestra - distinguishing individual notes or instruments in a whole movement of music! These examples illustrate beautifully how, with dedication and training, any one of our sensory faculties can be cultivated to a considerably greater level of refinement.

Re-creating normal energy flow

The treatment phase of Energy Field Therapy consists of creating the external energetic conditions that favour the restoration of a more normal flow of energy through and around the patient.

This is achieved by the therapist making gentle hand movements several inches to several feet away from the surface of the body, in such a way that the electromagnetic interaction that occurs between the two fields allows stagnant energy in the patient's field to be dispersed, depleted energy flow to become augmented by the influx of energy conducted by the therapist and disrupted energetic patterns to clear. By varying the direction of these movements and their speed and location within the patient's field, different energetic configurations can be created to facilitate normal electrical activity to resume. This is analogous to the use of the magnetic field of one magnet to affect the field of another by varying the speed, direction, distance and polarity of the first relative to the second.

In practical terms, this means that the patient's field is scanned every few minutes to monitor the dynamic fluctuations in energy as they occur and the hand movements are continually adjusted to ensure that they re consistently encouraging the energy to flow as it should. It is this interactive component, in which the therapist responds directly to the individual requirements of a particular energy field as they arise that allows this form of treatment to be so effective. In a very real sense, it is in fact the patient's energy field that directs the whole treatment process.

Once improves energy flow is restored, the intrinsic healing mechanisms of the patient are activated in a most powerful manner.

Following a course of treatment with EFT, the healing reaction that accompanies the energetic adjustments and releases continues for approximately 8 weeks, after which the therapy can be repeated to maintain the momentum of change for as long as this is desired.

Summary

I hope that in reading this short overview colleagues can begin to appreciate the exciting convergence that is beginning to take place between the wisdom behind this and other forms of "energy medicine" and the discoveries of modern scientific research. As the saying attributed to St Augustin states:

"There is no such thing as a miracle which violates natural law. There are only occurrences which violate our limited knowledge of natural law."

In my final article I will describe how the healing process following EFT differs from that encountered in conventional medicine and illustrate this with case histories.

Bibliography

Baum Brent. The Healing Dimensions: Resolving Trauma in BodyMind and Spirit. Healing Dimensions. Tucson, Arizona. ISBN 0-9661990-0-6. 1997.

Dumitrescu Ion MD & Kenyon Julian N MD. Electrographic Imaging in Medicine & Biology. 1983).

Burr Harold Saxton. Blueprint for Immortality: The Electric Patterns of Life. Neville Spearman Publishers. Essex. ISBN 0-85435-281-3. 1972.

Chia Mantak & Maneewan. Awaken Healing Light of the Tao. International Healing Tao Publications. Thailand. ISBN 0-935621-46-6. 1993.

Talbot Michael. Mysticism and the New Physics. Penguin Books Ltd, London. 1993. (first published by Routledge & Keegan. 1981).

Contact details

I am currently developing a healing centre in North Hampshire as a venue for the treatment of both people and animals with EFT and other natural therapies and can be reached at:

The Tara Natural Healing / Energy Field Therapy Centre
64 Lymington Bottom Road
Medstead
Alton
Hants
GU34 5EP
01420 563198 or 07949 304898
vcgmacnally@care4free.net

Vincent G MacNally

Energy Field Therapist, VetMFHom. BVSc. MRCVS.

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