Energy Medicine and Energy Healing
By Harriet Cooke, MD
holisticooke@aol.com

The following is an introduction to energy medicine and energy healing. It first serves to clarify where we are at with the definitions and language within the field of energy medicine, including a look at the relationship between energy, consciousness and matter and how this applies to the confusion in establishing working definitions in this field. The essay then briefly touches on the multiple dimensions of healing, the concept of self-healing and self-healing practices, and when and how we move from self- healing practices to enlisting the help of an energy medicine practitioner, including how one might go about finding an energy medicine practitioner. In closing, the essay reminds us that we are not only creatures that respond profoundly to subtle energetic therapies, but that we are also gross physical beings and the role of non-subtle energies in our healing.

In 2003, following a conference on the topic of, “definitions of healing energy”, the Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine journal devoted an entire supplemental issue to definitions and standards (Jonas and Chez 2003). However, the terminology for energy medicine is still in evolution. Some use the terms energy medicine as an umbrella term for the whole of vibrational therapies, which includes hands-on bioenergetic  therapies (such as Reiki, Craniosacral therapy, Energetic Healing, Polarity Therapy, Healing Touch, Therapeutic Touch and many others), pet therapy, acupuncture, homeopathy, flower essence therapy, as well as the powerful electromagnetic and imaging technologies used in conventional western medicine. Many practitioners of energy medicine, however, limit the use the term to refer to the subtle energies that radiate from a practitioner’s hands, abide by the laws of time and space, and that have recently been measured using high tech equipment such as the SQUID magnetometer (Oschman 2002). Some also use energy medicine to refer to subtler energies that work in the realm of non-local consciousness, through the morphogenic, or zero point field (McTaggart 2002), such as distant healing and prayer, and which are as yet immeasurable. There is growing consensus that different terminology is needed to describe this non-local healing domain.

In defining energy medicine it is helpful to remember the relationship between energy, matter, and consciousness. The intimate relationship between energy and matter has been shown through Einstein’s E=MC2. The relationship between consciousness and matter continues to be elucidated by the work of IONS and the army of scientists who study the science of consciousness. Mystics from all traditions repeatedly bring back the experience of a unified field of consciousness from which all material existence arises and returns. Quantum physics validates this experience through dissection of physical matter into probabilities that are affected by conscious intention and attention. From this we can summarize that there is an intimate relationship between consciousness, matter, and energy, and that at some level, these are a unified phenomena. Energy medicine works with this unified phenomenon to affect changes in our emotional and physical realities.

Given these issues, it is easy to see why different schools/ disciplines sometimes use different language to describe the philosophy and principles of what takes place during energy medicine sessions and the healing that transpires. What is important is to not get hung up on the language, but to allow it to inform our general understandings, while we take it with a grain of salt. “Just because language is limited, we need not lapse into speechlessness (Dossey 2003).”
A distinction can also be made between energy medicine and energy healing. The medicine is that which is shared with the patient/client and which facilitates the innate healing ability of all people. Healing is what takes place within the patient/client who is receiving the medicine.

There are multiple dimensions of healing- healing on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels. As these dimensions are interconnected, healing on one level is often, but not always, accompanied by healing on another level. The spiritual and emotional penetrate the physical. At the same time, there is a subtle physical component to the emotional and spiritual. Spiritual healing involves the development and evolution of our awareness into a greater capacity (as giver and recipient) for love, forgiveness, and creativity. It also covers the transcendence of karmic patterns, the remembering of our essential nature, and the development of our capacity to live in this world while maintaining the memory and being of our deepest and eternal self.

One of the greatest blessings of energy medicine is its capacity to expand our awareness of self-healing, and our ability to be our own primary care practitioner of energy medicine. In her book, Energy Medicine, Donna Eden gives a wonderful overview of energy medicine followed by an explanation of the anatomy of the energy body, and practical exercises for self-healing. She writes, “The return of energy medicine is one of the most significant cultural developments of the day, for the return of energy medicine is a return to personal authority for health care… a return to practices that are natural, friendly, and familiar to the body, mind, and soul.” The familiar practices of Yoga and Qigong are also powerful self-healing practices which have been validated by not only the centuries of their use, but by modern research as well.

So when and how do we move from self-healing practices to making an appointment with an energy medicine practitioner? For some people, their energy medicine practitioner is their primary care provider. Others work with energy medicine practitioners for specific spiritual, mental and physical health issues. Some stumble into the work through more conventional healing doorways, only to discover that their practitioner practices some form of energy medicine and includes it with their usual care. For myself, I find that when I have exhausted all that I know, or I am just plain exhausted, it is time to let go and invite the energy, stamina, wisdom, and love of a healer who is not similarly depleted. Although I continue to try to observe and avoid those things that deplete my energy and vitality for life, this is not always possible (or known). I have my blind spots. We all do. This is the time to make appointments and call on the healing abilities of others. I also believe that this action of calling on the healing capacity of others is part of our health and wholeness. To be whole involves an integration of all parts of us, which includes both our power and our humility.

Choosing a practitioner is a very personal process. For some it is a gut process, intuitive, a resonance as soon as they hear about a practitioner or hear the name of a practitioner two or three times in the same week from independent sources. Sometimes it is a client’s conventional practitioner such a massage therapist, physical therapist, chiropractor, naturopath or even western medical practitioner. Some people want to know how many years a practitioner has been practicing, where and what have they studied? Do they have credentials? Many systems of healing that have a long and sustained history such as acupuncture offer such a credentialing process. However, many newer energy medicine disciplines simply have certification that the practitioner has gone through the established training program, with further certification that they have had sufficient experience with that particular discipline to receive certification from within the discipline. The meaning of the certification varies with the discipline and the rigor of the training program. Ultimately, there needs to be a resonance between the particular practitioner and the patient.

In addition to formal training in energy medicine practices, there is sometimes an informal “initiation” into the world of energy healing. Shamanism acknowledges this sort of experience as critical to the development of the shaman and his/her healing capacities. However, since self-healing capacities are part of the nature of being human, consistent, persistent work toward self-healing hones our capabilities for healing others. Meditation is a powerful, if not critical self-healing practice. It was the gateway for my own intro-duction to energy healing, and is a practice I recommend and teach to all of my clients.

I was taught that if a patient hasn’t experienced any improvement in three visits, it is probably not the right practitioner for them. I find this to be very generous and personally will only give a practitioner two tries before moving on try a different practitioner. Patients who work with me generally appreciate some change in their sense of well being after a single session, even if it is only transitory. Sometimes only single sessions are necessary, sometimes multiple, and sometimes, for chronic conditions, long-term relationships develop. It is often beneficial for patients to work with a variety of practitioners including other energy practitioners. Each therapeutic relationship is unique as are the goals of patients coming for energetic therapy.

Finally, as we think of energy medicine, it is important to remember that not all energy medicine needs to be in the subtle energetic spectrum. As human beings, we are made of subtle AND gross physical anatomy and energy. An extensive body of research on physical exercise has demonstrated physical and emotional healing and well-being that comes from both aerobic heart racing exercise, and that regular gentle walk in the park. Similarly, clinical nutritional and biochemical research has shown dramatic healing in some individuals from healthy nutrition and needed supplementation. The key to healing as a human being is to keep all these dimensions of ourselves in mind and in balance, and to work on all levels of our being, the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual, in our journey toward health and wholeness.

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