The Energetic Medicine World

Have you ever thought about energy in your body? In western cultures we have been conditioned to think of the body as biochemical in nature and not energetic. So, when we talk about energy in the body we think of vigor and say something like, "I have a bunch of energy today, so I think I'll go out and mow the lawn." When it comes to matters of health, we've learned that the secret to health is physical and biochemical in nature, so we go buy prescription and over the counter medicines or, in the most severe cases, we allow surgeons to go in and rearrange our body parts or cut a few out. The idea that health and wellbeing can be improved by improving the energetic flow in your body is pretty strange to most people, yet India, China, and even South American shamans have embraced that idea of thousands of years with much success.

If we adopt the idea that the body is some sort of machine like western medicine would have us believe, then the whole idea of proper energy actually makes a lot of sense. No machine can function properly without the proper amount of energy flowing in it. A radio doesn't work right unless electromagnetic energy flows through the air to the antenna and unless the electricity moves properly through the circuits inside the radio. A lawnmower doesn't work unless the electricity flows through the spark plug. The energy here isn't some kind of vigor that makes the lawnmower want to cut the lawn, but instead a force that somehow flows through the machine in specific ways and through specific paths.

One of the best examples is a flashlight. Imagine a great flashlight with all the proper components. There is a new bulb, a sturdy plastic case, a shiny reflector, a crystal clear lens, a perfectly operating on/off switch, and batteries. The determining factor in whether the flashlight works or not is whether there is energy stored in the batteries. If there isn't, then you can turn the on/off switch on and off all day long and still the bulb won't light. If the energy is weak, then the bulb will light, but dimly. If the batteries are too strong, then the bulb will burn out. The flashlight will only work correctly if the batteries have just the right amount of energy to flow through the switch and the bulb.

The fact is that India, China, and many other cultures have learned that the human body is like the flashlight. The heart, kidneys, lungs, brain, and other organs and tissues operate properly both when they are physically sound and also when they have the right amount of energy flowing through them. Just like the arteries, veins, and capillaries supply blood and nourishment to all the parts of the body, the chakras and energy meridians supply energy to all the parts of the body. There are reservoirs of energy and rivers of energy constantly circulating energy throughout the body. Some of the rivers are huge like the Amazon and others are small like little streams. Together they supply the organs, muscles, tendons, ligaments and other body parts with the energy they need to get their job done properly. If the rivers supply too much or too little energy, or if they are blocked completely or flowing in the wrong directly, then the corresponding body parts will not function as they should. For example, if the stomach gets too little energy you might have trouble digesting food. On the other hand, if it gets too much energy, then you might feel hungry all the time.

As you can imagine, the human being is much more sensitive to energy that a flashlight. The difference is that humans are not only sensitive to the presence and amount of energy, but also to the information that the energy contains. The idea of information being in energy is a common experience for everyone. It is the information in the energy of a television signal that gives us the sports, weather, talk shows, and other things we all love to watch. It is a less common idea to think of light energy as containing information, but the fact is that the information in the light energy is what let's us distinguish our friends from a chair when we see them. Everything in the world, in fact in the universe, gives off energy containing information. The human energy system is millions and millions of times more complex than a TV. It receives information from the environment, from within the body, and from every other source you can imagine. This information shapes the way the body operates and even influences the DNA itself. We interact with this information in ways that are often described as being physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

So, in order to have the greatest well being, your body's batteries must be fully charged, then energy must be flowing properly, and you must be receiving the energetic information properly. It's just that simple.

The flow of energy and information in the body may be influenced by the use of certain tools and techniques to specific locations that are commonly called the acupuncture points in Chinese Medicine. Through thousands of years, the Chinese have discovered and documented that specific points on the body are "tuned" to specific kinds of energy and will produce very specific effects when stimulated. For example, a point below the knee on the lateral side of the calf is known to influence the energy flow to the stomach. The stimulation may be by massage, through acupuncture needles, by electrical stimulation, with laser light, from heat, or by a variety of other techniques.

In addition, the Chinese have documented that certain foods and herbs have properties that can influence the flow of energy in the body. Everyone is familiar with the ideas that foods give you energy and herbs can be an alternative to drugs. That is because foods and herbs have certain chemical properties. What may be new to you is the idea that foods and herbs have specific energetic properties as well. That is, the energetic information in the foods and herbs can be received and interpreted by the body to produce changes. This can be demonstrated by certain electronic instrumentation that measures the flow of energy in the meridians. This flow can be affected even by the physical presence of the food or herb. It doesn't need to be ingested. Homeopathic techniques are based on these energetic principles.

Expert martial artists and Qi Gong practitioners know that the energy or Qi (Ki in Japan) in another person's body can be influenced by the Qi in their own body. An expert Tai Chi master can literally drain or block the energy in someone else's physical body causing moments of weakness. This sounds pretty amazing, but consider the simple lawnmower. Laboratory experiments have shown that when an intense electromagnetic pulse is directed at a lawnmower engine, the engine will stop. Infrared imaging has clearly shown that human beings can direct energy as well as receive energy. It isn't really that difficult to grasp that such directly energy can influence the energy in another person.

The next great frontier is in energetic medicine. Techniques applied to the energy system of the body, whether by acupuncture, herbs, foods, or directed energy, can dramatically impact the state of the physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing,