About twenty years ago I became interested in energy healing and wanted to know more about it. My research led me to a whole new world which facinated me. I took part in every available course, hungry for knowledge which was scarce at that time. Coming up to the millennium I started to write a book which offered basic information to anyone interested in what was then termed the ‘New Age’. I never got round to publishing the book so I am taking the opportunity to put this information out via a series of blogs. There is nothing new about the ‘New Age’, just old wisdom that is once again surfacing. This blog offers an explanation for what was once a mysterious activity but has become a way of life – energy healing.
Underpinning all energy healing is the concept of the universal life force, a vital force or energy that transcends time and space; permeates all things in the universe, and upon which all things depend for health and life. The existence of the universal life force has been acknowledged universally since ancient times, and it is known by many different names. The Hindus call it prana, the Polynesians and Hawaiins mana, the Chinese qi and the Japanese ki. Hippocrates called it the Vis Medicatrix Naturae and Galen called it the pneuma. It was called the astral light by the Kabbalists, magnetic fluid by Mesmer and Wilhelm Reich termed it orgone energy. More recently it has been referred to as bioenergy. Regardless of what it is called the characteristics of the universal life force are common. In various systems it can be controlled and manipulated for improved health, longevity, healing or supernormal physical feats.
In the Hindu tradition the universal life force is the soul of energy, the essence of all motion, force and power in all things. Prana manifests in the motion of all celestial bodies, in gravity, electricity and magnetism. It is part of all forms of life, from the lowest protoplasm to the most complex being. It is part of every inanimate object as a living force. Prana permeates all forms of matter, but is not matter itself. It is often likened to electricity. When a being or material substance reaches the end of its life cycle, it is resolved back into prana. It correspondence with concentrations of negative ions and is more concentrated at the tops of mountains and near running water. Prana is not breath, but it is manifested in breath. There are three major sources of prana: solar prana, air prana and ground prana.
Pranayama, the control of the flow of prana through rhythmic breathing is central to yoga. The yogi increases prana, thus improving health and vitality and enabling remarkable physical feats. Healthy people have an abundance of prana, while sick people are depleted in it. Prana is responsible for regeneration and the healing of wounds. It may be transferred from a healthy body to a sick body by a laying on of hands.
The Chinese term qi means breath, gas or ether. It was acknowledged as a methaphysical principle, as the source of vitality, harmony, creativity, and moral courage, by various philosophers, including Lao-tzu and Confucius. Lao-tzu conceived of it as a dualistic principle, which evolved into the concept of yin and yang, yang being light, the sun, the active/dry/masculine principle and yin being dark, the passive/wet/feminine principle. From this dualistic concept arose the Five Elements theory of Chinese medicine and the basis for the I Ching.
The earliest extant descriptions of qi in relation to health and healing date to the Hans Dynasty (206BC – 220AD), in a text entitled Huang-ti Nei Ching Su Wen (The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine). All living things are in a constant energy exchange with qi; illness results when the exchange is restricted, depleted, or out of balance. If the exchange ceases, the organism dies. Qi is received through food, the breath, and from the environment in general. In martial arts qi is controlled through breathing to bring the mind and body into balance.
In recent years many eastern beliefs and concepts have merged with western traditions and combined to create a new way of looking at health and healing. Energy healing includes many forms of hand healing, e.g. pranic healing, bioenergy. It has also been called psychic healing, vitalic healing, therapeutic touch, laying of the hand, and magnetic healing. Surrounding the body is an energy field referred to as the aura. Contained within the aura are energy centres, chakras, each relating to different meridians, organs, physical functions, emotions and also to mental and spiritual aspects of life and living. By releasing any blockages or obstacles practitioners restore the flow of energy which helps the body to self-heal. Energy healing is not associated with any specific religious belief system.
We all have natural healing abilities, its just that we don’t know it, or haven’t awakened to the idea. It is not mysterious. Some people can see energy as colours (clairvoyance), other people can sense/feel energy (clairsentience). For those who need a scientific explanation there is ample evidence out there.
Hi Pauline,
For so many people the concept of an energy is still very foreign! It’s invisible for majority of them so they reckon it doesn’t exist and it’s not important. I always say that electricity is invisible too but we use it every day and can’t actually live without it! It’s about time that more people embrace the concept of energy as it’s the way of the future. It’s good to know people like you and Sinead help to spread the word!
Love & light
Magdalena