Lately, we have been paying a lot of attention to various forms of energy healing. The reactions to energy healing, or to any description of unseen forces in the universe, reflect the infinite potential of human imagination. For some, an unexplained, unexpected healing is pure hocus-pocus, a fraud committed against the gullible. For others, such miracles reflect the inexplicable mysteries of life, mysteries that can be approached but never fully understood, and should be accepted as such.
My own views on energy healing rest somewhere in between these extremes. I have little faith in a medical community that relies so heavily on science but its members will ignore observations about disease and healing simply because nobody can conduct and replicate a double-blind study. By the same token, I am skeptical of healers who make grand claims of miraculous healings without providing much evidence. I am doubly skeptical of healers who make absurd profits from their craft - whether they be cardiologists or psychics.
HANDS OF LIGHT HEALING
In other words, healing is an art. And like any art, numerous media are available to healers. One such medium that has attracted a lot of attention over the years is Hands of Light Healing, first established by Barbara Brennan in her 1977 book, Hands of Light: A Guide to Healing through the Human Energy Field.
In her book Brennan describes a seven-layer model of a human energy field. Separate layers emit different energy frequencies performing different functions. According to Brennan the chakras - paths of energy in the body - receive universal energy, process that energy, and allow healthy function of the human body and mind. Brennan was trained as a physicist, and her work in energy healing reflects a methodical, scientific approach.
My own experience with energy healing occurred in a college cafeteria kitchen and lacked any scientific method. An old woman healed my burns with her hands while she stirred a large pot of chocolate pudding. Likewise, the scene presented none of the mysticism normally associated with energy healers. It was nothing more than a humble healer - and kitchen worker - sharing an innate ability with a young man in need.
Despite the mystery inherent in something like energy healing, I can appreciate the methodical approach and modest claims of Hands of Light healing. I know of several doctors who acknowledge that some kind of energy is present during the healing process.