Here are introductory pieces from editorials in the IJHC
from Volume 5, No. 1 January 2005 through the present.

Click here for editorials starting in 2000, Volume 1, No. 1

EDITORIALS BY DANIEL J BENOR, MD
 

Editor's Musings

Volume 5, No. 1, January 2005

COMMON DENOMINATORS ACROSS HEALING MODALITIES
 
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
                                                                           - Buddha.

Is it possible to identify commonalities across the hundreds of variations on the themes of healing?

Between Acupuncture and Zen, your problems may be addressed at many possible levels within the wholistic spectrum. Each modality has its unique characteristics and blends of elements to address your ills - through body, emotions, mind, relationships (with other people and environment) and spirit. One or more of these healing approaches may have precisely the key you are seeking to help you resolve your problems - or may miss the mark in some way that leaves you with minimal response or no benefit at all.
Most of the complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) therapies make broad claims to help many of the same problems. Evidence is beginning to accumulate to show that many of these claims are accurate.

Despite their differences, I am impressed that we can identify several common elements among these therapies - having experienced and studied many of them, and having reviewed the available research confirming the efficacy and effectiveness of a broad spectrum of CAM studies (Benor 2004).

Here is my distillation of the essence of healing interventions - common elements that are found across the spectrum of modalities:

Several exercises are described in this editorial. They are intended as light introductions to the various therapies, not as an instruction manual for doing deep, transformative work on yourself - which is best done with the assistance of a trained therapist.


GENERAL HEALING FACTORS IN THERAPY

Facing issues/ not running away from dis-ease or disease

Making a firm decision to explore your problems is the first step.

Often, we run away from our difficulties. In an initial crisis, avoidance may be a constructive approach.  This leaves us more energies to deal with a current situation.

Coming out of the bathroom, Brenda was shocked to find her 3 year old daughter, Sue, unconscious at the bottom of the stairs. Sue had a knot on her forehead from the obvious impact of her fall, and was bleeding from her shin where a broken bone was protruding through the skin. Brenda picked her up and ran to her car, arriving at the local emergency room in record time. She collapsed in a sweat after placing Sue on the hospital cart.

The staff found no fractures, and Sue woke from her concussion a few minutes later. Fortunately, after several weeks' recuperation, she was none the worse for her mishap, a testimony to the natural recuperative powers of a young body.

Looking back on these events, Brenda was amazed at how matter-of-factly she had done what was necessary at the time to deal with her daughter's injuries. She had no memories of any emotional reactions until she handed Sue over to the hospital staff. Then, she was flooded with fear, guilt ,and anger at herself for not having prevented Sue's tumble down the steps. Ordinarily, she would have cringed at the sight of such injuries, but in these circumstances she had no emotional responses whatsoever at the time of the accident.

Shutting off feelings in an emergency like this allows a person to be more clear-headed and to do what is logically necessary. Had Brenda been overwhelmed at the bottom of the stairs by her feelings (as she was after arriving at the hospital), she might not have dealt as well or as quickly with Sue's injuries.

In other situations, avoidance may reduce immediate distress, but may leave residues and scars from the emotional traumas. In these situations, avoidance helps us not feel the tensions of our stresses, but does not resolve our problems. Even worse, we may end up investing enormous energies in pretending that these memories and feelings are not locked away inside us, continuing to run away from these buried traumas.

Many therapies offer us opportunities to stop running away from our memories and to face the issues we have buried inside us. Just by doing so, they bring us to a place of healing...

Full editorial in International Journal of Healing and Caring - On line
Click here for subscription details 

IJHC  Volume 5, No. 2, May 2005

CLEARING THE VESSEL THROUGH WHICH HEALING POURS

Introduction

We are both physical beings and energetic beings, living demonstrations of Einstein's equation, E = mc2.  Einstein pointed out early in the last century that matter and energy are two sides of the same coin, and quantum physics has amply confirmed this.

Conventional, Newtonian medicine has been very slow to absorb this fact. Whether we perceive an object as material or as energy depends simply on how we examine it. This is as true of a living organism such as a tree, a bacterium, or a human being as it is of a lump of lead, a cloud or a subatomic particle (Benor 1990).

Many complementary/ alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners - represented by spiritual healers, acupuncturists, homeopaths, and medical intuitives - have been saying all along that they address the energy body of their clients, while the conventional caregivers address the physical body.

My personal passion for 25 years has been the study of spiritual healing and energy medicine. Let me offer several definitions:

Spiritual healing is a systematic, purposeful intervention by one or more persons aiming to help another living being (person, animal, plant or other living system) to improve their condition by means of focused intention, hand contact, or movements of the hands around the body without touching it. Spiritual healing is brought about without the use of conventional energetic, mechanical, or chemical interventions.

Some healers attribute spiritual healing to God, Christ, other Ôhigher powers,' spirits, universal or cosmic forces or energies; biological healing energies or forces residing in the healer; psychokinesis (mind over matter); or self-healing powers or energies latent in the healee. Psychological interventions and self-healing are inevitably part of spiritual healing, but spiritual healing adds many dimensions to interpersonal factors. (Benor 2001a; 2001b)

Energy medicine includes a broad variety of complementary/ alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, such as acupuncture, kinesiology, meditation, yoga, and spiritual healing. The term "energy medicine" derives from the perceptions and beliefs of therapists and patients that there are subtle, biological energies that surround and permeate the body. Recent research is confirming that these therapies can be helpful in treating many problems for which conventional medicine may have no cures. Growing numbers of doctors are integrating these therapies in their practices. (Benor, 2002)

Our states of health and illness depend both on physical and bioenergy factors. The latter will be the primary focus of this discussion. The complex interplays of physical factors contributing to our health (genetic, metabolic, infectious, toxic, traumatic, allergic, neoplastic, degenerative) will not be elaborated upon here. This is not to imply in any way that they are unimportant, but rather to acknowledge that they are adequately considered elsewhere.

Bioenergies

Biological energies surround and interpenetrate the body. You can feel some of these with your hands, and this is one of the ways that healers Ôread' a person's problems. Various bioenergy fields reflect the wholistic states of a person, including the body, emotions, mind, relationships (with other people and the environment) and spirit (Benor 2004; 2005; Brennan 1987).

Spiritual healers can identify symptoms and illnesses that may be the result of bioenergy blocks or excesses by passing their hands around the body, using very light touch or holding their hands near to but not touching the body. They can also identify physical and emotional traumas that may have contributed to the problems. They may interact with the biofield to correct imbalances and release Ôenergy cysts' that are created by traumas.

Many other CAM therapies address bioenergy imbalances. Acupuncture focuses on specific energy lines (meridians) that run through the body, with acupuncture points along these lines. Derivatives of acupuncture such as acupressure, applied kinesiology, reflexology and shiatsu address various aspects of meridian functions. Homeopathy and flower essences provide what is presumed to be therapeutic bioenergy patterning in water to correct bioenergy imbalances (Benor 2004; 2005).

Clear intent

Bioenergies respond to the psychological states and intents of the healer and healee. On the one hand, this leave healees and healers vulnerable to distortions and disruptions of their energy fields when their mental or emotional states are unsettled. On the other hand, this allows both healers and healees to alter the biofields through mental intent.

The more clear and focused the intent, the more likely there will be a positive result. Where intent is unclear, unfocused or mixed, the results are less likely to be positive.

Many factors can influence the clarity of healers' and/or healees' intents...

Full editorial in International Journal of Healing and Caring - On line
Click here for subscription details


Volume 5, No. 3, September 2005

LIVING IN A PLACE OF LOVE
  RATHER THAN ANGER, HURT AND FEAR


There is one Moral Principle the Love which springs forth from a willing heart, surrendered in service to God and Humanity, and which blooms in deeds of beneficence.
                                                     - Hazrat Inayat Khan
 

Introduction

Living in a place of love generates healing in you and in those with whom you interact. By clearing your blocks to being a vehicle for healing, you can bring more healing into the world. Through the web of consciousness and life you can contribute your healing to all of creation.
 
Anger

Anger is never without a reason, but seldom a good one.
                                             - Benjamin Franklin

Anger is a common emotion between people who live and work together. Couples and children argue and fight, parents are often angry with their children; children with their parents; employees often chafe and fester over employers' actions; and supervisors frequently are upset by employees' actions and inactions.

The good news is that anger often is a way of showing that we care, particularly in our personal relationships. It is a safe way to express caring, in that it doesn't leave the angry person vulnerable to rejection after exposing a 'soft belly' of positive feelings that are then not reciprocated. If we didn't care about the person who is the target of our angers, we would respond to perceived provocations with indifference, simply dismissing or ignoring them.

Anger does not have to be hurtful. If I state my anger as statements of how I am feeling, this opens a door to discussion about how the situation and relationships that brought out my anger can be addressed. (This is in contrast to angers expressed in blaming and attacking ways.)


Hurt and fear

Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness.
                                                   - James Thurber

Anger is generated when we feel mistreated, misunderstood or rejected. We are hurt and want to hurt back. We feel abused or violated and want to re-assert our boundaries and demonstrate our ability to defend ourselves. This helps to diminish our perceived vulnerability, raised when we feel attacked.

The bad news is that we often carry inner bucketfuls of anger from hurts in the past that were not resolved. A slight or injury in the present may easily stir the feelings buried in the past, offering an opportunity to spill the festering old angers on the target of our present anger, along with the angers that this person stirred within us in the present.

Anger not only serves to avenge our actual and perceived injuries and assert our strength, it also helps to cover over our hurts - hiding them from others and from ourselves. We may not want to reveal to others how hurt we are, as we often fear that this would expose our weaknesses, leaving us vulnerable to further attacks. We may not want to admit to ourselves how hurt we feel, so it is easy to divert our attention into anger...

Full editorial in IJHC Volume 5, No. 3 - Click here for subscriptions details.



IJHC  Volume 6, No. 1, January 2006

COMPASSION FATIGUE


Overview

The recent tsunami in Asia and major earthquake in Pakistan have highlighted problems long recognized in the helping professions. Caregivers have known well the potentially draining experiences of compassion fatigue - from experiences of policemen, firefighters, paramedics and other emergency and rescue personnel, through doctors, nurses, psychotherapists and counselors, and not to overlook the family members and volunteers who come forward to help in individual challenges and collective disasters (Figley 1989a; 1989b; 1997; Figley and McCubbin 1983; Rosenheck and Thomson 1986).

When we hear the stories of victims of illness, misfortune and disasters it is natural to feel compassion for their hurt, loss and distress. We help by being there in times of need and grief; our presence is a reassurance that aid is available; our caring through attention, emotional support, advice and material assistance are at the very least injections of hope that repair and order will be restored, and often are much, much more.

It is a help and a healing to those who are suffering to know that their stories of pain, loss and grief are heard and acknowledged; to have the steadying presence of caring people who can help to prioritize and address the immediate needs, to identify and locate the necessary remedies, and to provide support in whatever ways are beyond the victims' capabilities.

Compassion fatigue is a risk in these situations - from the emotional impact upon caregivers who feel overwhelmed by the enormity of individual and collective pain and suffering following disasters (Huggard 2003). Technically, this problem is designated Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is essentially identical with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder except for the cause of the stress.

Signs of this overload include: weariness that goes beyond appropriate physical fatigue; difficulty concentrating; forgetfulness; depression; labile emotions and emotional outbursts - such as unreasonable irritability, crying or anger; feeling distant from others; difficulty falling asleep; disturbed sleep, waking during the night - with or without nightmares; physical symptoms of stress - such as headaches, backaches, stomach and bowel upsets; feeling it is difficult to get out of bed or to go to work; having a strong startle reaction with minor stimuli; obsessing over traumas or having flashbacks to these.

While the recent focus of the media has been on professional caregivers who experience compassion fatigue in crises, this may also be found in relatives who are dealing with acute and chronic problems of family members, in doctors (Hilfiker 1985; Pfifferling and Gilley 2000) and nurses (Joinson 1992; Radziewicz 2001), in hospice workers (Keidel 2002; Penson et al 2000) and in clergy (Joinson 1992) ministering to people who are ill and dying.

Compassion fatigue may be compounded by caregivers' feelings: guilt that they are not strong enough to continue under stress; guilt that they have not suffered the losses of the people they are helping (Nader); self-doubts and inadequacies in the face of overwhelming problems of the people they are helping; shame at admitting they cannot cope with the stresses of their jobs; frustration at circumstances beyond their control that impede provision of help; and anger at bureaucratic or governmental authorities who are less than cooperative or supportive.

Compassion fatigue may also be a symptom of buried and forgotten psychological trauma that the caregiver experienced in the past. When we repress painful emotions under acute stress (which may be a very helpful and adaptive reaction at the time, allowing us to cope with a situation without feeling overwhelmed) we end up carrying the buried feelings inside us. Compassion for the victim of a similar situation, or for their responses to the situation, may reawaken memories of these buried feelings.

Essentially, compassion fatigue is a form of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Caregivers can be traumatized through hearing the distressing stories of clients or may have their own PTSD activated from the past. If you are wondering whether you might be suffering from compassion fatigue, an on-line test is available to help you clarify this (Florida State University).


Historical notes

Carl Jung (1907) was the first to identify countertransference as a potential problem for psychoanalysts. This is the emotional response of the therapist to the person being treated. Jung noted that in treating severe emotional problems it was possible for the therapist to become emotionally disturbed, particularly when the therapist was inexperienced or had unresolved emotional conflicts that resonated with those of the patient...

Full editorial in IJHC Volume 6, No. 1 - Click here for subscriptions details.

IJHC  Volume 6, No. 2, May 2006

COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES FOR ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD)*

Abstract

ADHD can be a debilitating problem to children and adults. Untreated, it can predispose to school dropouts and accidental injuries. While the most common approach to treating ADHD has been the prescription of stimulant medications, recent reports of deaths associated with these medications is a strong caution in their use on the one hand, and on the other hand a stimulus to explore the safer complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) approaches. A variety of CAM modalities can help children and adults with ADHD, including dietary measures, neurobiofeedback, cranial osteopathy, Brain Gym, and more.

Overview

ADHD is a common problem, estimated to affect 3 to 9 percent of children (Spencer, 2002), with rates of persistence from childhood into adulthood ranging from 8% to 85% and an estimated prevalence of 4% in adults (Wiess, 2003). The ranges of prevalence and persistence rates reflect differing criteria used for defining ADHD, with higher rates found when more recent criteria are used (Spencer, 2002; Spencer, et al., 2002). ADHD may present with any or all of the following symptoms: hyperactivity, distractibility, impulsivity, short attention span, forgetfulness, procrastination, poor consequential thinking, low frustration tolerance, mood lability, temper outbursts, preference for high levels of stimulation. Boys are far more likely to manifest these symptoms than girls in earlier childhood, particularly when hyperactivity is present, and it is usually schools and family who request treatment. Girls are far more likely to have the attentional problems without the hyperactivity, which accounts for the identification of ADHD more frequently in older girls and women – often by their own complaints that they have difficulty concentrating or remembering rather than by the complaints of family or schools.

Joe was referred for psychiatric evaluation at age 8. He had been getting poor grades in first grade in most subjects, but was failing all academic subjects in second grade and his behaviors had become a serious problem. He was restless, unable to sit still in his seat, frequently dropped things, called out without raising his hand, and had a quick temper. His mother complained that he was always losing books and assignments, and took two hours or more to complete homework that his teacher said should only take half and hour. At home he was impulsive, unable to sit through a meal or a TV show, and a serious liability when taken to a mall – where he would often disappear if not held by the hand.

His psychiatric evaluation revealed a cheerful but very restless child, who could not remain in his seat more than half a minute without a reminder. He appeared to have difficulty understanding questions, many of which had to be repeated several times. Mother reported that he had always been a very active child, even in infancy, and that sugar made his behaviors markedly worse.

I diagnosed that Joe had ADHD. Mother was not open to exploring dietary approaches to dealing with his problems, but agreed to give him Ritalin. On 5 mg three times daily there was no change. On 10 mg he was so quiet, his mother was scared, saying, “He looked like a zombie!” We had mother cut a 5 mg tablet in half so that he could have a dose of 7.5 mg. Both his teacher and mother were astounded at how differently he behaved while on the medication. He was able to sit still, listened and absorbed instructions much better, and completed his homework in only 45 minutes – without his mother having to stand over him constantly to get him to focus on his work.

There is a strong current of criticism in the CAM community about the possibility that ADHD may be over-diagnosed. This possibility is supported by reviews that show that the rates of ADHD diagnosis may vary by 20:1 between different cities and between 4:1 between various states (Goldman et al., 1998; LeFever, et al. 1999). Similarly, there are strong suspicions that stimulant medications may be over-prescribed. Under 50 percent of the children who received stimulants met the currently accepted criteria for ADHD (Greenhill et al. 1999; Jensen et al., 1999; Wolraich et al., 1996). The contrary view is also expressed: ADHD may be under-diagnosed by teachers and physicians who are not trained to recognize these problems. It may also be that milder cases of ADHD, demonstrating only part of the symptom spectrum, respond well to the medications.

What is clear is that untreated ADHD predisposes people to impaired school performance, school dropouts and failure. Teacher school surveys found that 8-11 percent of students demonstrate sufficient impairments from ADHD symptoms to require further diagnostic investigation (Gaub and Carlson, 1997). Children with ADHD demonstrate a range of learning difficulties and behavioral problems, including distractibility, Inconsistent behavior, forgetfulness, lags in self-control and age appropriate self-care, disturbed sleep patterns, higher risks of accidental injuries, and high rates of high school drop-outs (Barkley, 1998). In addition, secondary problems of poor self-image and low self-esteem lead children to seek peer support from children with similar problems, which often ends in antisocial attitudes and behaviors.

Adults with ADHD are predisposed to difficulties with employment, driving, and relationships. ADHD is also associated with high comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, antisocial behavior, conduct, depression and bipolar disorder, and substance abuse (Adler, 2002; Barkley, 2002; Wender, 2001; Wiess, 2002). Parents of children with ADHD have a higher likelihood of also having ADHD than the general population.

Differential diagnosis and problems commonly associated comorbid with ADHD

Many childhood psychological and behavioral problems can include symptoms similar or identical to ADHD (Pearl, et al., 2001).

Full editorial in IJHC Volume 6, No. 2 - Click here for subscriptions details.



IJHC  Volume 6, No. 3, September 2006                     

MIND OF HEAD AND OF HEART

Some people carry their heart in their head and some carry their head in their heart.
The trick is to keep them apart yet working together.
   – David Hare

Introduction

In wholistic conceptualizations, our primary consciousness resides in spirit and is expressed through body, mind and relationships. The logo of the IJHC includes an icon that represents the interlinking of mind in head and in heart, and that is the focus of this discussion. The mind of relationships, wherein we participate as individuals in a collective consciousness, is a topic that is largely for separate discussion but will be considered here as it relates to the mind of head and of heart. Spirit connects with all.

Mind is often perceived in Western society as being the product of neuronal activity in the head, or, more precisely, in the brain. A parallel with computer functions is generally accepted as the way the mind comes into being, where the brain is seen as the hardware and mind as the software. Confirmation for this belief is found in brain injuries to specific parts of the brain, which produce specific deficits in mental functions. For instance, if your brain suffers the major trauma of a concussion, you may lose consciousness. When you regain consciousness, some of your memories may be lost. If your left cerebral hemisphere is damaged, you may lose your ability to read; if your prefrontal lobes are damaged, you may lose much of your ability to appreciate or experience emotions. Such symptoms are explained as the loss of functions of mind due to damage to neurons that create those mental awarenesses.

An alternative theory of consciousness is that it exists in spirit, with the brain being a radio or TV receiver that transmits the awarenesses of spirit into conscious awareness. This is equally consistent with the evidence from brain injuries. If a particular set of wires in a radio is destroyed, then certain frequencies may not be received or certain sounds may be impossible to play – although the radio transmission may still be intact.

Coming from the opposite orientation, a Sufi parable observes that those who are not awakened to connect with spirit will look at the finger of the teacher who is pointing to the heavens, while those who are awakened will look at the heavens.

This editorial will consider the world as matter and the world as spirit, and the implications of each for understanding mind – and for living our lives.

The world as matter

If the world is nothing more than matter, then the theory of mind being the product of the physical brain is a logical deduction, and one with far-reaching implications.

Mind, in this framework, is the on-board computer that guides the organism through life. Mind is connected to: 

 Sensory organs of sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and kinesthesia (sensing the position of the body);
Internal neural, chemical, hormonal and antibody sensors and responders; and
Muscle sensors and activators.

Thoughts are generated by complex nerve impulse interactions, much as computers perform various functions according to the programming in their wiring. The nervous system functions on the basis of genetically shaped nervous system structures (the hardware), programmed in response to life experiences (the software).

Ethics and moral behaviors are to a large extent individual and collective decisions, based on social structures that evolve and change through time. These are influenced by individuals and groups, through processes of reasoning and social power relationships.

Emotions are the product of nervous system responses to these various inputs, shaped by genetic endowments, habits of life experiences, and choice.

One of the most important deductions in a materialistic world is that if the mind is solely the product of matter, and if the brain is the source of our consciousness, then when we die that is the end of our personal existence. This belief shapes our world in personal and collective ways with far-reaching consequences. If the chips in the game of life we are given can be used only during this one physical lifetime, there is a strong incentive to maximize the social and material gains achievable during this lifetime.

Spirit informing body, emotions, mind, relationships with other people and with Gaia

If we assume that Spirit is the primary source of our consciousness, the world becomes a very different place. Within this belief system, each of us is a pixel in the All. Spirit invites us to choose our paths through life, leaving us the choices of how we invest the gifts and energies we are given and how we respond to the challenges with which we are faced.

Many are satisfied through the intuitive awareness of heart and head that they are connected via their higher selves to a spirit and soul. The inner ‘gnowing’ (word I use for intuitive awareness) of the rightness of their intuition is sufficient for these people who trust their intuition to affirm their connection with the All. Others may seek cognitive confirmation they can receive through their outer senses to validate the intuitive information about the world, to convince them of the reality of their transpersonal selves.

Full editorial in IJHC Volume 6, No. 3 - Click here for subscriptions details.

IJHC  Volume 7, No. 1, January 2007
                     
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FEATHER?

I was pleased to attend a meeting of the Spirituality In Health-Care Network in Toronto in September of last year. One of the highlights was a lecture by Lucille Necas, M.D., FRCPC, on remote viewing. Lucille reported that this is a technique that many people are able to learn, “even when they consider themselves a bag of hammers when it comes to intuitive abilities.” Remote viewing allows a person to connect with any information in the universe, be it a physical object, idea, or spiritual reality. The method was developed by the US military for purposes of spying during the Cold War, but is now taught by David Morehouse for personal development. (There has also been extensive research done on remote viewing by non-military researchers, with meta-analyses demonstrating highly significant statistical probabilities, summarized and referenced in Benor, 2006.)

People learn to focus their minds so that they can connect with their intuition through the ‘Matrix’ of existence, which is the equivalent of what others have called the collective consciousness or holographic universe. To learn this technique, people practice this in groups. The group leader assigns numerical coordinates mentally to a ‘target,’ which can be a person, place, scientific question, or any other item the leader chooses. The group participants are given these coordinates and mentally invite information to appear on the screen of their minds. The individual images are then shared, to arrive at a composite response. This averages out the individual variability in responses, providing a more accurate composite picture.

I was bemused to hear Lucille report that the most important factor in learning remote viewing is the belief that you can do it.

This has been my personal experience in general, in developing intuitive, psychic and spiritual awarenesses, and I have made the same observations in the experiences of clients and colleagues. There are countless paths to these awakenings. Most of these include methods for quieting and focusing the mind, and for opening to intuitive and spiritual connections that all of us have but that many of us have not yet developed – particularly in Western cultures. It is notable that in some areas, such as the arts, business and sales, these intuitive connections are often acknowledged as important keys to success, and people will develop and nurture whatever approaches help them connect with their intuitive knowing of the rightness and wrongness of decisions. With time, people build confidence in these abilities and may come to rely upon them – just as they would rely on any other skill.

This acknowledgment of the importance of confidence in one’s abilities is much like the children’s story of Dumbo the elephant, who was born with such big ears that he was the laughingstock of the whole circus. A little mouse befriended him and helped him gain confidence in using his ears to fly, giving him an allegedly magic feather that gave him this ability. As long as Dumbo held this feather, he believed he could fly and was a star performer.

Once, while flying in a circus performance, he lost hold of the feather, which blew away. He lost all his confidence and started into a nosedive, heading for a disastrous crash, with the panicking mouse riding along in his hat. Just in time, the mouse managed to convince him that he could fly without the feather.

So it is with our intuitive, psychic and spiritual awarenesses. When we gain confidence that we can connect with them, by whatever feathers of our choice, we can soar to great spiritual heights.

Self-healing abilities

We all have vast capacities for self-healing. People have cured themselves of depression, habitual stress responses, chronic pains, multiple sclerosis, cancers and other illnesses (Benor, 2004; 2005; Dienstfrey, 1991; Hirschberg and Barasch, 1995; O’Regan and Hirshberg 1993; Roud, 1990). A question not often asked is, “Why do we not activate these capacities more often?” I believe that the principal reasons are that many people don’t know they have these capacities and many are uncomfortable with the thought that they might have such abilities.

Western medicine has focused so much on the physical body that it has become generally accepted that addressing the body is the principal way to deal with physical dysfunctions. While acknowledging that mind and emotions may influence the body, very little efforts are invested in educating the public about this.

Medical attitudes towards self-healing have also been negatively biased by research. Self-healing is a nuisance to researchers because it makes it more difficult to demonstrate effectiveness of research interventions. Double-blind studies rely on comparisons of groups of people given the experimental treatment and groups that have no treatment, which serve as a comparison against which to gauge the intervention effects. The difficulty is that the suggestion inherent in giving a treatment, on the one side, and the expectations of receiving, on the other side, encourage self-healing. This has been labeled the placebo reaction. The fact that people can activate these self-healing abilities makes it more challenging to demonstrate the efficacy of an external intervention.

Viewed in this light, placebo reactions are not to be avoided, but rather explored, refined and utilized to maximize the benefits of suggestion – especially as placebos have no known dangerous effects.

Yet, because neither doctors nor the public have been educated to cultivate self-healing, which relies on mechanisms that are intuitive and for the most part reside in the unconscious mind, self-healing remains unfamiliar and therefore appears mysterious or even unlikely to occur. In many cases, the unfamiliar makes us uncomfortable, even to the point that we may be startled or frightened by it.

Full editorial in IJHC Volume 7, No. 1 - Click here for subscriptions details

IJHC  Volume 7, No. 2, May 2007

THE WHAT AND THE HOW

The work will wait while you show your child the rainbow, but the rainbow won't wait while you do the work.
 –  Patricia Clafford

Introduction

How we approach each person and each task in life may be as important as the content of how we relate and what we do. This has been explored extensively in psychotherapy literature, with observations about how non-verbal communications contribute to the positive or negative responses we get. Going beyond this level, considering spiritual healing interventions, we often find that when we hold a healing intent in our mind and heart, everything we are and do can become a meditation, a prayer and a healing intervention.

Expectations – stated and unstated

I will succeed.
Today I will resist
pessimism and will conquer
the world with a smile,
with the positive attitude
of expecting always the best.
Today I will make of every ordinary task a sublime expression,

Today I will have my feet on the ground
understanding reality
and the stars' gaze
to invent my future.

Today I will take the time to be happy
and will leave my footprints and my presence
in the hearts of others.
Today,  I invite you to begin a new season
where we can dream
that everything we undertake is possible
and we fulfill it,
with joy and dignity.
              –  Linda DeBow

Our personal, inner expectations shape our lives. What we get out of the way we play out our game of life depends on how we play our cards, invest our chips and move our pieces on the board that is our world of interactions with the people in our lives. More important than the rules and the mechanics of our life game is how we relate to ourselves, to the game and to each other. For some, the goal is the accumulation of ever more chips and the possessions and power that these can purchase. My observation is that this often ends up as an addiction, an endless chase after ever more chips and things, and never truly satisfying.

When we extend our awareness to our interconnections with other people and our environment, aware that we are co-creators of our relationships and of our world at large, there are usually much deeper satisfactions. The journey becomes our focus rather than some arbitrary destination, which, when achieved, leaves us having to find other destinations to work towards – to satisfy our addiction to achieving or attaining ever more of something outside ourselves.

Our interpersonal expectations shape our relationships. When we are clear within ourselves as to what we want, it is helpful to share this with those who are interacting with us – so that we are on the same page. Many potential conflicts can be avoided when mutual expectations are clarified and agreed. Too often we assume others are on our page, while they are assuming we are on theirs.

1. Years ago, before cell phones existed, I had the silly experience of making a date with a friend when I was living in an apartment in New York – to meet downstairs. I waited 45 minutes, then went up to phone and find out what had happened. We were each annoyed at the other for not arriving at our own ‘downstairs.’

2. In personal partnering relationships, each participant comes with their family styles of being in the world. Each will often assume that the way they were raised is the way the world functions. What a surprise and eye-opener to discover that a partner may have habits that are totally outside the range of our experience, expectations, and tolerances! We laugh about toilet seats left up or down, but may be harder to laugh over major mismatches in manners, cleanliness, dietary, loudness of music or sexual behaviors preferences. There is a lot to be said for taking extended periods to visit or live together so that we can identify these differences and explore ways (and possible limits) to compromising.

Clarifying expectations and putting them on the table can go a long way towards enhancing the success of negotiations between groups of people. Very often, negotiations start from a base of negative feelings and distrust. Even the most severe chasms of differences that divide people, up to and including the perpetrators and victims of violent crimes and genocide, can be bridged when we have the chance to share our experiences and feelings, and come to a place where we can at least hear, if not empathize with, the experiences and feelings of the opposite parties (Pranis).

Full editorial in IJHC Volume 7, No. 2- Click here for subscriptions details


IJHC  Volume 7, No. 3, September 2007

ENERGY MEDICINE: FACT OR FANTASY?

Abstract

In the Complementary/ Alternative Therapy (CAM) community, it is commonly accepted that there is a biological energy (bioenergy) that surrounds and interpenetrates the body. The National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) acknowledges energy medicine as one of the branches of complementary and alternative medicine. Conventional science has been skeptical about this because it has been difficult to develop instruments that objectively measure bioenergies. This discussion explores research evidence and theories to confirm the existence of bioenergies and to begin to explain them.

This article is presented as an editorial. An expanded version focuses on the research in energy medicine.

Key words: Energy Medicine; research; acupuncture; energy psychology; homeopathy; spiritual healing

Introduction

What we understand of our world depends on the questions we ask and the evidence we will accept.

Stopped by a policeman for making a left turn despite the clearly visible ‘No Left Turn” signs, the driver explained, “A sign answers the question we ask. If I ask the sign, ‘Is a left turn permitted?’ the answer is ‘No Left Turn.’ If I ask the sign, ‘Is a right turn permitted?’ the answer is ‘No, Left Turn.’ “

Background to energy medicine

Einstein’s theory that matter and energy are interconvertible has been amply substantiated by quantum physics. In the material sciences, it is well accepted that inanimate matter can be perceived as having mass, inertia and other properties within the domain of Newtonian physics, while at the same time being composed of atomic and subatomic particles and waves and energies within the domain of quantum physics.

The concept that the chair we are sitting on or the floor we are standing on is more space than matter is counter-intuitive to our experienced sense of the world (derived from our five senses of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste). Yet we have come to accept that quantum physics is accurate in describing the world as it does, and that our ordinary awareness of the world is a limited range of the spectrum of the world as it really is.

Newtonian (conventional) medicine has been slow to absorb this understanding of the world. The human body, or any other animate matter, can be viewed and addressed as energy, as well as being perceived and addressed as matter. Newtonian medicine addresses the physical aspects of our being, while energy medicine addresses the bioenergy aspects of the spectrum of reality (Benor, 1990). The National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) acknowledges energy medicine as one of the branches of complementary and alternative medicine (NCCAM, 2002). Other aspects of CAM acknowledged by the NCCAM include biologically based practices (herbs, vitamins, minerals, and other supplements), manipulative and body-based practices (chiropractic, osteopathy, massage, rolfing, shiatsu and reflexology), and mind-body medicine (hypnosis, , meditation, imagery and biofeedback).

The word energy has been problematic in considering these issues. Conventional and complementary therapists have differing definitions for this term.

Conventional science defines energy as a force that has a defined capacity to produce a measurable effect in the physical world. Measurable effects within conventional science have come to be defined as effects that can be measured on various instruments that are considered to provide objective conformation of the effects of the energies.

In complementary therapies, both therapists and clients report experiences of heat, tingling, vibration, light pressure (like two magnets coming together or moving apart), cold, and through perceived colors. Bioenergy practitioners have learned to identify physical and psychological issues of importance to the client through interpretations of these bioenergy sensations.

In spiritual healing (Therapeutic Touch, Healing Touch, Reiki, and related therapies) these reports are from sensations between the hands of healers and anywhere on the bodies of healees.

In craniosacral therapy, sensations of pressure are reported between the hands of the therapist and the head of the client.

There are people who report visual perceptions of several layers of energy fields around the bodies of people, animals, plants and other living organisms, as well as around non-living objects.

In acupuncture (and related therapies such as shiatsu, reflexology, applied kinesiology), sensations are perceived at specific points along energy lines called meridians that run all along the body, between head and fingers and toes. Chakras are major energy centers in the body that were identified in acupuncture practice several thousands of years ago. People who perceive the energy fields visually report they see circles of light at the areas of the body where chakras are located. In fact, Chakra means ‘wheel’ in Sanskrit.  This strongly suggests that perceptions were made thousands of years ago that are similar to those made today.

These types of perceptions are interpreted by caregivers and careseekers as manifestations of biological energy exchanges between therapists and clients (Benor 2001a; b; 2003; 2004). Conventional science is skeptical and dismissive of such reports and conjectures, insisting that the term energy is properly applied only when verification by objective instruments has been reliably demonstrated. Thus far, it has been difficult to identify aspects of bioenergies that are consistently measurable with objective instrumentation within the spectrum of bioenergy therapies. Melinda Connor at the University of Arizona and others are making a good start in this direction, but results have yet to be confirmed and generally accepted.

My own conclusion, based on years of personal explorations of bioenergies, discussions with hundreds of bioenergy therapists and clients, and extensive reviews of research literature (Benor 2001a; b; 2003; 2004), is that bioenergies are present within and around all living organisms and that they are definitely correlated with states of health and illness and with therapeutic interventions. I also believe that there is, in fact, an instrument that can identify and characterize these energies: the human being is the most sensitive instrument known on this planet. The problem with all instruments is that the more sensitive they are, the more subject they are to noise – the distortions produced by signals that are extraneous to those that are the object of study. The human instrument can be trained to improve its focus, but will always be subject to interferences of distractions, multiple inputs of stimuli, and distortions introduced by misperceptions, expectations, beliefs, intentions and so forth. No healer or intuitive is accurate all of the time.

Early research has confirmed healers’ abilities to sense and correctly interpret energy fields (Benor, 2001a; b). (I do not include here a study by a ten-year old girl, given wide publicity through publication in The Journal of the American Medical Association, as this was seriously flawed and misinterpreted.)

Energy medicine practitioners note that consciousness is closely tied to bioenergies. The intents of the practitioner and the expectations and intents of the client shape the interactions and effects of bioenergies during therapy.

There are also differences in perceptions of energies between sensitives who see these as auras of color around people (Benor, 1992). It is as yet not agreed amongst healers why this is so. My understanding is that each person filters intuitive perceptions through the deeper layers of the unconscious mind, coloring them on the screen of their conscious minds through their idiosyncratic neurological hardware and psychological software to produce imagery that is unique to each individual.

a. Along with physical sensations, therapists may pick up therapeutically useful information about the client through bioenergy interactions, such as moving the therapist’s hands near to or touching the body, or even just being in the presence of the client. Such information may relate to physical conditions, but may also include the rest of the wholistic spectrum of awarenesses – to include emotions, thoughts, relationships and spiritual aspects of the person’s condition (Benor, 2001a). In my own practice of spiritual healing as a part of wholistic psychotherapy, I often receive intuitive information about root causes of physical, psychological and relational issues when I am helping clients. Such intuitions are not restricted to direct therapist-client interactions. Gifted herbalists have reported that they may go out in the wilds with the question held in their minds: “What plant can help the person who has come to me with ‘x’ problem.” As they trek through nature, one or more plants will speak to them (telepathically/ intuitively), saying that they can be of help.

b. Consciousness can also shape the actions of bioenergies. In Therapeutic Touch, Healing Touch, craniosacral therapy, and other hand-healing interventions, the therapist may sense blocks, sluggishness, absences, or excesses of bioenergies in clients. The therapist responds by consciously directing therapist energies to correct the bioenergy imbalances in the clients.

Consciousness and/or bioenergies may be imprinted in various materials, which can then impart healing effects to clients. Water, cotton and crystals have been the most frequently used by spiritual healers (Benor, 2001b). Herbalists have also said, “It is not just the plant that helps, but that I tell the plant to help.” Homeopathic remedies in their higher potencies (containing no single molecule of the original medicinal substance) and flower (also gem and other) essences that are created energetically and through intent can help with physical and psychological problems.

Consciousness has produced measurable clinical effects, in carefully controlled studies, in human and non-human subjects – from distances of several inches to thousands of miles (Benor, 2001b). Healers call this distant or absent healing.
General observations about energy medicine research

Many of the therapies within the energy medicine spectrum individualize treatments to each person. In addition, these therapies may have their own conceptualizations of health and illness that do not coincide or even overlap with Western understandings of health and illness. Chinese Medicine, for instance, may note blocks, deficiencies or excesses of chi, the bioenergy that animates all life, and Western medicine has no equivalent to these. Such differences may make it difficult to design randomized controlled studies that require a standard treatment for each member of a group of subjects with the same Western diagnosis.

Conventional medicine and conventional science have balked at accepting the existence of bioenergies. The variability in healing methods and effects makes it a challenge for researchers. Studies have addressed this variability either by accepting that energy medicine is a delicate, individualized interaction between healers and healees and allowing them to practice as they would normally do (usually studied with qualitative, descriptive research), or by setting various arbitrary protocols, such as a ‘standardized’ time-dose of a strictly defined healing modality.

There are numerous complementary/ alternative therapies that involve bioenergies in one form or another. This discussion will focus on just four of these (spiritual healing, acupuncture, energy psychology and homeopathy), to illustrate a range of ways in which bioenergy therapies have been found effective. More extensive discussions on these and other therapies, with greater depth of explorations of bioenergy research can be found in the research version of this article.

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Copyright © Daniel J. Benor, M.D. 1994 Reprinted with permission of the author P.O. Box 502 Medford, NJ 08055 www.WholisticHealingResearch.com   DB@WholisticHealingResearch.com