Energy Healing: Really help or is it just Placebo?

This cannot be measured with the instruments that exist today (with the possible exception of the single Egely Wheel) and with procedures that are certified as scientific. Recent research confirms that energy healing can help with many health problems for which modern Western medicine is either ineffective or unable to achieve significant improvement.

Today, more and more doctors are willing to incorporate these therapies into their practice. In the second part of our series, we will look at various energetic methods.

Healers use their hands to scan the patient’s energy field, or aura. Some people can also see the colors of the aura. The different layers of the aura reflect the physical, emotional and mental state of the patient. Disease, if accompanied by an energy surplus, causes a kind of bulge in the aura, while an energy deficiency disorder can result in the aura becoming thinner, potentially making it “leaky“.

The treatment itself is done by the healer removing the “bad“, diseased energy (called sweeping) and then replenishing the missing energy in the proper area, usually near the diseased organ or body part, usually by recharging a nearby energy center or chakra. More experienced healers, such as masters of pranic healing, work with coloured energy, which basically means visualising the energy to be transferred as coloured light.

The energy healing itself can be done without touching the patient, but also by the healer placing his or her hand on the appropriate part of the body. This is more of a technical difference, where it is more important that the healer is mentally attuned, concentrated on the treatment, in the right spiritual, meditative state, and able to assist the healing through meditation or prayer.

Some healers seek to transmit their own energy (bioenergetics), while others claim to draw on the forces of nature and just transmit divine or cosmic energy through their bodies. The interesting thing is that all spiritual healers say they can influence the patient from any distance. Some add that distance healing is even more effective than face-to-face treatment, and that the further the patient is from the healer, the more powerful the effect. If this is the case – and experience has shown this to be true – then it is not so much an energetic connection as a mental, spiritual one between the healer and the patient.

Interestingly, one yoga master, Yesudian, who has published several books in Hungarian, says: “If you carry thoughts of evil intentions, hatred or anger, their destructive power will show itself in your own body and soul. Their pernicious effects are indescribable. According to the yogis, thought is the greatest force in the body, greater than words, because it is a transcendental force that fills the whole world. However, good thoughts, however insignificant they may seem, always have the desired effect.”

The scientific studies that have investigated how sending prayers from miles away has improved the condition of AIDS patients, as well as patients treated in cardiac intensive care units, suggest that the claim about remote healing is certainly not false.

The controversy rejoiced when in 1998 the prestigious American journal JAMA published a study showing that therapeutic hands-on therapists could not detect that a 10-year-old girl had her hands 10 inches (about 25 cm) away from theirs. In a commentary, editor George Lundberg explained that this study disproved all claims about the effectiveness of spiritual healing. Subsequent analysis of the research, however (Benor, 2001; Dosey, 1988; Leskowitz, 1988), showed that the study was invalid in several senses.

First of all, it is unusual for the healer to keep his hands at a greater distance from the patient, rather the practice is to sweep and transfer energy along the aura around the body. So distance can be crucial here. The other problem is that the test was done in laboratory conditions and videotaped, which may have disturbed the concentration and mental focus needed for energy management. It should also not be overlooked that energy healing is usually done when the patient requests it. It is not yet clear whether the healer activates the energetic connection or is simply a resource for healing that the patient uses. In other words: they draw on the energy of the healer. Finally, it is also important to note that so far more than a hundred scientific studies have demonstrated the effects of energy therapy, but these were not taken into account in the JAMA publication mentioned above.

A big advantage of any energy healing is that there are no serious side effects. It is possible that the first few sessions may cause some symptoms to become more intense, perhaps even increasing the patient’s pain. However, the situation is similar to many other alternative therapies: worsening of symptoms, temporary relapse, may be a good sign that the patient is responding to the treatment. With the continued use of energy healing, the symptoms usually diminish and the condition of the patient improves. Another positive aspect is that energy healing can be used in conjunction with any other conservative medical or naturopathic therapy and there should be no dangerous interactions.

This method also complements other therapies well. If one lives in physical and mental harmony and peace with oneself and the surrounding world, one’s bioenergetic system (reflected in muscle strength) is also good. But if this harmony is disrupted, muscle strength is weakened.

An example: if someone is allergic to flour and a tiny sample of flour is placed near his energy field or aura, the kinesiologist will immediately notice a weakening of the corresponding muscle strength. The procedure can be used in this way to detect food sensitivities or food allergies. But the converse is also true: if a herb or supplement is useful for someone, if it is energetically strengthening, then an increase in muscle strength can be detected by the test.

Another possible use of kinesiology is to measure the effect of certain thoughts on the patient. Recalling pleasant, positive emotions and thoughts increases muscle strength, while thinking about negative emotions and traumas weakens muscle strength. Kinesiology is recommended mainly for the treatment of allergies, digestive problems and stress-related illnesses.

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