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SPIRITUAL HEALING
THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW LONG-TERM STUDIES OF HEALING
Adina Leah Goldman Shore, PhD, The long-term effects of energetic healing on symptoms of psychological depression and self-perceived stress
Institute of Transpersonal Psychology 2002 180 pp
Abbreviated Abstract: The present investigation examined the long-term effects of Reiki, a form of energetic healing, on symptoms of psychological depression and self-perceived stress as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Hopelessness (HS), and Perceived Stress (PSS) scales. Fifty participants in need of healing were randomly assigned to one of three groups: hands-on Reiki (Group 1), non-touch Reiki (Group 2), or Reiki placebo distance group (Group 3), and remained blind to treatment condition. Pretest data were collected before the onset of treatment; posttest data were collected upon completion of treatment 6 weeks later; and follow-up data were collected one year after completion of treatment. Although no significant difference between groups existed at pretest data collection, treatment groups exhibited significant reduction in depressive and stress symptomatology as compared with controls. One year later, these findings were maintained. The present investigation therefore recommends the integration of energetic healing into mainstream health care and traditional interventions.

WHOLISTIC APPROACHES
UK Soccer team uses Eastern medicine for sports injuries
An expert in oriental medicine is on hand to help injured soccer players at Bolton Wanderers. He is successful in treating sports injuries that have resisted conventional medical treatments. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2732505.stm

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Many believe there is no scientific proof that Reiki and other forms of spiritual healing work. This makes it difficult to talk to scientific or medical people about Reiki. Those trying to get Reiki started in hospitals or clinics are often confronted with this issue and many of us know of people who strongly resist Reiki because, according to them, there is no proof. Yet proof exists. In fact, there are over 124 scientific studies that show positive results for a variety of spiritual healing techniques. These include experiments involving people as well as plants and animals. These studies have been designed using the highest scientific standards and their results leave no doubt that spiritual healing produces meaningful results.

This information is available in a new book written by Daniel Benor, M.D. titled Spiritual Healing, Scientific Validation of a Healing Revolution. It is wonderfully written and well organized and contains descriptions of hundreds of scientific studies. Written for the Layperson, this book is easy to read. The studies are organized in different categories and include studies on cancer, heart disease, leukemia, anxiety, pain etc. It also contains descriptions of the methods and subjective experiences of some of the world's best-known healers! This groundbreaking book is available now and is certain to create a revolutionary shift in the acceptance of spiritual healing.

The following is a quote from the Introduction:

"Three branches of healing appear across the ages.20 The first is the natural gift of spiritual healing, which throughout history has sprung up as a wildflower bringing its healing essence, unbidden and uncontrolled by human will, to act as a balm for the ills of body, emotions, relationships (with other people and with nature) and spirit. This gift has cropped up spontaneously in the fertile soil of human diversity, sometimes in the most ordinary of Laypersons, sometimes in those who choose paths of ministering to physical or spiritual needs of others, and sometimes in the well-to-do and prominent, even amongst royalty. In recent decades we have learned to cultivate this flower within ourselves, sometimes inviting it to appear in the carefully-prepared soil of our inner being . . . . ."

If you would like to learn more about this book, please click here:

http://www.reiki.org/WebStore/Books/CP400.html

Spiritual Healing Scientific Validation Of A Healing Revolution by Daniel J. Benor, M.D. Foreword by Larry Dossey, M.D.

Above from reiki.org August Newsletter

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The Science Behind Reiki - What Happens in a Treatment?

Independent research by Dr Robert Becker and Dr John Zimmerman during the 1980's investigated what happens whilst people practice therapies like Reiki. They found that not only do the brain wave patterns of practitioner and receiver become synchronised in the alpha state, characteristic of deep relaxation and meditation, but they pulse in unison with the earth's magnetic field, known as the Schuman Resonance. During these moments, the biomagnetic field of the practitioners' hands is at least 1000 times greater than normal, and not as a result of internal body current. Toni Bunnell (1997) suggests that the linking of energy fields between practitioner and earth allows the practitioner to draw on the 'infinite energy source' or 'universal energy field' via the Schuman Resonance. Prof Paul Davies and Dr John Gribben in The Matter Myth (1991), discuss the quantum physics view of a 'living universe' in which everything is connected in a 'living web of interdependence'. All of this supports the subjective experience of 'oneness' and 'expanded consciousness' related by those who regularly receive or self-treat with Reiki.

Zimmerman (1990) in the USA and Seto (1992) in Japan further investigated the large pulsating biomagnetic field that is emitted from the hands of energy practitioners whilst they work. They discovered that the pulses are in the same frequencies as brain waves, and sweep up and down from 0.3 - 30 Hz, focusing mostly in 7 - 8 Hz , alpha state. Independent medical research has shown that this range of frequencies will stimulate healing in the body, with specific frequencies being suitable for different tissues. For example, 2 Hz encourages nerve regeneration, 7 Hz bone growth, 10Hz ligament mending, and 15 Hz capillary formation. Physiotherapy equipment based on these principles has been designed to aid soft tissue regeneration, and ultra sound technology is commonly used to clear clogged arteries and disintegrate kidney stones. Also, it has been known for many years that placing an electrical coil around a fracture that refuses to mend will stimulate bone growth and repair.

Becker explains that ‘brain waves’ are not confined to the brain, but travel throughout the body via the perineural system, the sheaths of connective tissue surrounding all nerves. During a treatment, these waves begin as relatively weak pulses in the thalamus of the practitioner’s brain, and gather cumulative strength as they flow to the peripheral nerves of the body, including the hands. The same effect is mirrored in the person receiving treatment, and Becker suggests that it is this system, more than any other, that regulates injury repair and system rebalance. This highlights one of the special features of Reiki (and similar therapies), that both practitioner and client receive the benefits of a treatment, which makes it very efficient.

It is interesting to note that Dr Becker carried out his study on a world-wide array of cross-cultural subjects, and no matter what their belief systems or customs, or how opposed to each other their customs were, all tested the same. Part of Reiki's growing popularity is that it does not impose a set of beliefs, and can therefore be used by people of any background and faith, or none at all. This neutrality makes it particularly appropriate to a medical or prison setting.

- Tamisha Sabrina

www.reikifed.co.uk

 

Football turns to Eastern medicine

Bruno N'Gotty is among the players to benefit

By Thrasy Petropoulos

Having their tongue assessed for colour and shape and pulse taken to gauge the health of their internal organs is perhaps not what Bolton Wanderers' footballers imagined would happen to them when they visited the physio's room.

Waiting for them, however, was John Brazier, the founder of the Northern Academy of Oriental Medicine, who did precisely that.

And if the idea of taking eastern medicine to premiership football seems unlikely, consider that before long a queue of footballers greeted Brazier's twice-weekly visits to the Reebok stadium.

Not only that, but some of the club's physiotherapists and masseuses are now looking to train in the ancient art and one player, Mike Whitlow, is even taking lessons at Brazier's Lytham St Anne's-based academy.

East meets west

It is, after all, a medicine based on 5,000 years of diagnostic knowledge

John Brazier

When Mark Taylor, Bolton's head physiotherapist, contacted Dr Brazier - the title can be used if it is made clear that it is related to eastern medicine - it was with a view of complementing his traditional western methods.

Yet even Taylor would not have imagined that Brazier, a former national karate champion, would prove so successful in helping to cure long-standing problems that would not respond to treatment.

One player, Ryan Baldacchino, was booked in for a third operation on his groin when he was referred to Brazier, who confidently predicted that he would cure the problem within three weeks.

"In my enthusiasm it took six," recalls Brazier. "But by then he was able to train and play and he did not need an operation.

"Ninety-five per cent of the time, players are amazed that I am able to accurately diagnose what they are suffering from by studying their tongue and pulse and asking them a few questions.

"But it is, after all, a medicine based on 5,000 years of diagnostic knowledge."

Tongue clues

French defender Bruno N'Gotty was another to benefit from eastern medicine where Taylor's western methods had proved unsuccessful.

Mike Whitlow is training in the discipline
"I examined the size and colour of his tongue, which tells us a lot about the internal organs," Brazier explained. "A big, fat or discoloured tongue, for instance, tells us that certain organs aren't functioning properly.

"And where in western medicine the pulse is used to measure heart beat, in oriental medicine there are certain points on the wrist which show how strong your lung, digestive and kidney systems are.

"With Bruno, I diagnosed pulse weakness on the spleen, which is symptomatic of a digestive imbalance, and oedema - or excessive water under the skin.

"In Chinese medicine the spleen exists to extract nutrients from food and distribute it to muscles and into the body generally.

"Another symptom of a weak spleen is loose bowels - and Bruno was going to the toilet five times a day.

"Initially I treated him with acupuncture in the stomach and legs to strengthen the spleen and kidney systems.

"Then I gave him an abdominal massage which stimulates the kidneys.

"And finally I did reciprocal muscle treatment on him to get his muscles working more efficiently.

"After two weeks of being treated a couple of times a day he was back to full fitness."

Celebrity choice

Chinese medicine is now the preferred choice of treatment for some high-profile celebrities.

Barry Sheene, recently diagnosed with stomach and throat cancer, is exploring eastern medicine as an alternative to chemotherapy, and Richard Gere, a converted Buddhist, uses acupuncture in a quest to appear more youthful.

"But the aim is prevention, not cure," said Brazier. "I did martial arts for 20 years.

"And in traditional martial arts, which is self-defence, there is an element of medicine.

"Your job is to keep people healthy as well as safe."

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