Part One: The Scope and Breadth of the Project
The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) recently invited me to be a part of a three person panel, webinar on Zoom, discussing the early results from their Exceptional Healer Study, conducted last June. Nearly a thousand listeners joined us on-line, from around the world, some just before tucking into their beds in Europe, others with their very early morning cup of tea, down under, in Australia.
Here are some of the parameters and findings that were shared during the first half of the webinar which was titled: Consciousness & Healing: Energy Medicine — The Intersection of Mind, Body, and Spirit
Dr. Helané Wahbeh, Director of Research, and the major organizer of this entire project, started us off with a brief explanation of psychoneuroimmunology, which is a very long word indicating how our glandular system can affect our nervous system, which in turn can affect our immune system and visa versa, with each one potentially affecting the others. This was given as a model for how energy healing might work. A healer could potentially positively affect one or more aspects of a client's psychoneuroimmunology and then the client could potentially feel better.
Dr. Garret Yount described the design of the study. He said that the primary goal of this study was to see if energy healing could reduce levels of pain. Carpal tunnel syndrome was the disease condition that was chosen for the study. The study involved having clients, who were suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, come to the IONS campus and allow measurements of their heart rate, brain waves, nervous system conductivity and many other physical tests. They also answered an extensive questionaire, which in part revealed if they believed energy healing could be effective. The clients would then have a healing session, with their healer, in a big steel box, ten foot square, which had additional measuring devices, some of which they were hooked up to, like the electrocardiogram or EKG. Immediately after the healing session the same measurements were taken again to find if there would be a before and after affect. And then the clients came back to IONS three weeks later to have the tests run a third time, to see if any of the potential changes were lasting.
Dr. Yount also gave us a glimpse into the scope of this research project, which was extensive. All of the seven full-time scientists at IONS were put to work overseeing various aspects of the task. A number of research assistants were hired to help. Statisticians and a project manager jumped into the fray along with a number of additional support people and volunteers. Then, there were the seventeen energetic healers, representing a variety of healing modalities, all of whom had global acclaim and testimonials for their excellence. In addition, there were the one hundred and eighty-seven clients, each with carpal tunnel syndrome, hoping to improve their levels of pain.
During the webinar, I explained that I felt these volunteer clients were very courageous to come up a long twisty road, get poked and prodded by a bunch of scientists in white lab coats, and then go into a steel box that was just like a bank vault, feeling not unlike a cage, with all sorts of gizmos and machines that were recording, who knows what, all while being hooked up to wires and sitting with a couple of people that they have never met before. I think that takes some bravery. And they did this not only for themselves, for their possible reduction of pain and avoidance of surgery, but also, for the benefit of us all, showing that energy medicine is not some fake "Woo woo" thing, but that it is real and as the results have thus far demonstrated, very effective as well.
I was amazed by how many scientific measuring devices were in that little steel room. There were four magnets in each of the corners of the ceiling and four more in the corners of the floor, plus one discretely tucked under a lovely reclining chair, which was placed in the middle of the room, for the client. I had my little chair and folding writing table, and our "seer," a clairvoyant and sensitive, had her chair as well. She sat quietly in the corner, writing notes and drawing pictures of her perceptions, during the healing sessions, recording what she perceived was going on energetically. A thermometer hung on the lamp pole and there was a low cabinet with a dark curtain hanging down in front of it. On it's shelves were several computers and interesting looking recording devices. These included the EKG's or heart monitors, one for my heart and one for the client's heart. There was also a random number generator and several other machines that I couldn't identify.
One of the machines was designed by Loren Carpenter, one of the IONS scientists and founder of Pixar. He is an internationally acclaimed scientist in the field of computer graphics. I called his device 'the pileoerection machine' because it had a host of short electrical wires poking up from the back of it, looking not unlike goosebumps or hairs standing on end. It was apparently able to record the vibes in the room. Extraordinary! Near the end of the week, he casually approached me and showed me what looked like a little tiny black piece of plastic. He mentioned that the entire amount of data collected from all of the machines, during the previous six weeks of observations, was stored there. Amazing!
Dr. Yount had said that the primary goal of this study was to reduce levels of pain. He showed us that the pain levels, on average, went down from: before the healing session at around a four, (out of a scale using one as minimal pain and ten as maximal pain,) to around a two immediately following the healing session. And that they had only risen to around a two and a half, three weeks later, after the healing sessions. These are very good results and Dr. Yount explained that they were on par with the effects that would be expected with a successful pharmeceutical drug intended for use for pain. He also explained that in the case of using a pharmeceutical drug, the medication would need to be taken daily, whereas these results, from this study, came with only one twenty minute long session with an energetic healer. So these were very good results indeed.
Lots of other measures were taken, besides the levels of pain. These were referred to as secondary measures. IONS wanted to see if there would be improvements in psychological responses. One example was 'pain interference,' where pain interferes in one's life. For instance, would the pain cause the inability to pick up a grandchild, therefore adversely affecting feelings of connectedness. And there were positive results there as well. Another area of secondary measures was environmental. IONS wanted to see if things like the bonds of water were affected, since our bodies are made mostly of water. And the chemical bonds in water were affected. A third area of secondary measures was physiological, looking at changes that might happen in the bodies of the clients, things like genes and heart rates. And indeed, positive changes occurred.
One very revealing observation that was made involved the "expectancy and beliefs" of the clients, which was inquired about, with their questionaire, both before and after their healing session. Interestingly enough, if there was a placebo effect, the results would have shown a correlation between what participants expected and believed would happen prior to their healing session and what did actually happen after their healing session. Instead, the results showed that there was no correlation between expectancy and beliefs of the client and the results of the client's pain relief. So, what the client expected and believed might happen, had no affect on the outcome. Thus, "the placebo" was not in effect for this study.
Then, Dr. Wahbeh asked me to explain how I do what I do. I shared that my psychic skill spontaneously arose within me. When it first started, I was in my early thirty's and thought I was going crazy. If I was standing in line at the grocery store, I would begin to feel something like kidney pain or really sharp back pain. I might see the person standing in front of me put their hand on their back and wince a little. So, I'd change lanes and the pain would go away. But then someone else might get in line behind me and they would be scowling and rubbing their forehead and suddenly I'd start to feel a severe headache coming on. If I changed lanes again, it too would go away. I felt like a human sponge, like I was taking on everyone else's aches and pains. It was scary and terrible and I thought I was loosing it, mentally.
Fortunately, I went to see a chiropractor, who had helped me to heal from some injuries and other problems. He was a kindly, elderly gentleman and he essentially came to my rescue because he was open minded and familiar with Edgar Cayce's work. Dr. Cayce was a clairvoyant healer, who reached great acclaim for his many successes while practicing in the earlier part of the last century. My chiropractor friend recognized my perceptual ability as being very similar to Edgar Cayce's and helped me to not be afraid and to instead hone my skills.
This changed the course of my life, and my psychic ability, which started out as one of my biggest challenges soon became one of my greatest blessings. In the crucible of my chiropractor's office, during his off hours, and using only a patient intake card, I was able to help him identify a given patient's problems, by using my psychic perceptual abilities. To our mutual delight, it was very effective and helped him to heal his clients. This taught me the importance of doing what we love. Almost nothing brought me more joy than working in this way. It thrilled us both and we absolutely loved it. It was a very wonderful and productive time.
As my service took hold, and I further developed my preparatory protocol of meditating and clearing myself and using my intention to hold to the highest good for all, over time, that sponge like quality gradually went away. And, while I was working, sensing on another's behalf, I found that I could ask to simply know, rather than feel, what was going on in someone else's body.
I explained that only a few short years before, I had earned a degree in horticulture and had planned on spending my life doing something along those lines. But, clearly the universe had a different idea in mind for me because, pretty soon, word got out and people started calling, requesting my help. One person would tell another and before I knew it, I had served thousands of people from all over the world, using my skills, doing remote healing work, over the telephone. Isn't that amazing? And I've never done any advertising; it has all been through 'word of mouth.'
With that, I'll leave the rest of the story, about the actual mechanism of my psychic skill and how with practice, you could learn how to do it too, for Part Two, which I will post for you, sometime in the middle of next month.
© Josephine Laing 2020
No comments:
Post a Comment