How self awareness aids our patients: part 1 (Proceedings)

Energy to most of us is something that turns lights on and off and runs our cars. We don't realize we are made of energy, and that we interact with other humans and animals on an instinctive, energetic basis. Having an awareness of how we affect others allows us to be better colleagues, practitioners and care givers.

To understand the concept of energy theory from a scientific basis, we have to take a brief lesson in physics. Newtonian physics describes the motion of hard, indestructible substances in space caused by their mutual attraction. Gravity, motion, and acceleration are all examples of constructs described by Isaac Newton. In addition, Newtonian physics states that all causes give rise to an effect, and the future of a system can therefore be predicted. For example, heating water creates steam, chilling it creates ice. Newtonian physics explains motion, acceleration, gravity, and the orbits of planets, but really doesn't elucidate what's occurring at the subatomic level. Subatomic properties can't be described by gravity or other Newtonian concepts. The calculations just don't agree.

Albert Einstein was one of the brilliant individuals who understood that Newton's theories didn't explain all of nature, and he wrote about concepts that didn't fit with the current understandings. His theory of relativity is one important example. This theory states that space and time are intimately connected in a four-dimensional continuum he called a fabric. Consequently, space and time are one entity; time is an illusion based on distance from an event. Einstein also theorized that events are ordered differently depending on an observer's relative velocity. Simply stated, the act of observing something changes it. Water, ice and steam could not be predicted unless taking observation into account. Is the observer expecting to see water, ice or steam? This was the beginning of quantum physics, and Einstein's theories are the basis for distance energy healing and prayer, and modern concepts such as String and M theory and the physics of consciousness.

While theoretical physics is captivating, its understanding is not vital in order to grasp the concept of life as energy. What is extremely important, however, is the knowledge that all living and non-living substances are made of vibrating electromagnetic energy – just like light, sound or microwaves. How we coalesce into solid mass is determined by our individual wave properties. Everything has a unique vibration; therefore, everything has its own energy. Obviously we can't visually see this, but it is a fact that every bit of our essence vibrates. And as we vibrate, we create a vibration around us. We literally send off invisible waves in all directions, and these waves are made of electromagnetic energy, creating a magnetic field. So, when I use the word energy, I mean the magnetic field that is within and around all things. Everything has a unique vibration; therefore, everything has its own energy.

The concept I would really like you to stop and think about is this. All energy is connected. Physicists now know that space between a nucleus and other parts of the atoms isn't empty, but contains a low vibration called dark matter. They also believe that a vibratory substance they have named the cosmic lattice connects the entire universe. The energy that is flowing through all of existence is connected to us. Your magnetic field merges with everything around you. We are truly all the same; all species are part of the same "force field". The human-animal bond is not only emotional; it is physical.

Electromagnetic fields are composed of waves, so it's important to have a basic understanding of wave theory. Waves traverse long distances quickly and interact with other waves around them. When one wave hits another object that is vibrating similarly, it resonates with it. If you put two guitars on opposite sides of a room and plucked the E string on one, the sound would travel across the room and interact with the opposite guitar. Because the corresponding E string is of a similar frequency, it would resonate with the vibration and produce a sound. We use the word resonate to mean that we are in synch with something -- it feels good. When we are around someone who vibrates at a similar frequency, we resonate and feel good. Ever meet someone and instantly not like him or her, but not know why? Our energy fields know exactly why – we don't resonate. If we are fearful or angry, we produce uncomfortable vibrations. We have all felt unsettled around certain people, or felt tension in a room. Environments are partially created by the magnetic fields of everyone in the room. That's why we feel vibrant and full of life around some people, and tense, anxious or tired around others – even if they don't say a word. This gives new meaning to the term body language.

The other property of waves that's extremely valuable is entrainment. When two waves of similar frequencies resonate, their frequencies entrain, and they will eventually vibrate at the same rate. One wave increases or decreases the frequency of the other. Two pendulums of equal weight and length that are swinging different rates will quickly swing together. The wave from one entrains the wave from the other, and they synchronize. The more closely the waves resonate, the more in synch they become. We observe entrainment frequently in nature. A school of fish that changes direction in a moment happens because all of the individual fish are acting as one unit. Their fields are entrained, so they move together. We also see this with the dormitory effect. Women living in close proximity will have their menstrual cycles together – their biorhythms actually entrain with each other.

The concepts of resonance and entrainment form the basis for bioenergetic medicine techniques such as Healing Touch, Healing Touch for Animals, Therapeutic Touch, Reiki, Pranic and Reconnective Healing. The practitioner's energy field entrains the patient's energy field and changes its vibration, allowing the body's instinctive healing mechanisms to work more efficiently. Entrainment can occur from the opposite perspective as well. If we are in a negative state of being – angry, fearful, chaotic—we can entrain others to these vibrations. How we feel and act influences the people and animals around us – positively or negatively.