Rollin McCraty*
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE
Bioelectromagnetic communication is a real phenomenon that has numerous implications for physical, mental, and emotional health. This chapter has focused on the proposition that increasing the coherence within and between the body’s endogenous bioelectromagnetic systems can increase physio-logical and metabolic energy efficiency, promote mental and emotional stability, and provide a variety of health and social harmony benefits. It is further proposed that many of the benefits of increased physiological coherence will ultimately prove to be mediated by processes and interactions occurring at the electromagnetic or energetic level of the organism.
With the many physiological and psychological benefits that increased coherence appears to offer, helping patients learn to self-generate and sustain this psychophysiological mode with increased consistency in their day-to-day lives provides a new strategy for clinicians to assist their patients on multiple levels. There are several straightforward ways to help patients increase their physiological coherence. Teaching and guiding them in the practice of positive emotion refocus-ing and emotional restructurrefocus-ing techniques in conjunction with heart rhythm feedback has proved to be a simple and cost-effective approach to improving patient outcomes.44 These coherence-building methods are not only effective therapeutic tools in and of themselves, but by increasing synchronization and harmony among the body’s internal sys-tems, may also help increase a patient’s physiological recep-tivity to the therapeutic effects of other treatments.35,44,79
Coherence-building approaches may also help health care practitioners increase their effectiveness in working with patients. In self-generating a state of physiological coher-ence, the clinician has the potential to facilitate the healing process by establishing a coherent pattern in the subtle elec-tromagnetic environment to which patients are exposed.80 As even very weak coherent signals have been found to give rise to significant effects in biological systems,81,82 it is possible that such coherent heart fields may provide unsuspected therapeutic benefits. Furthermore, by increas-ing coherence, clinicians may not only enhance their own mental acuity and emotional stability, but may also develop increased sensitivity to subtle electromagnetic information in their environment. This, in turn, could potentially enable a deeper intuitive connection and communication between practitioner and patient, which can be a crucial component of the healing process.
In conclusion, I believe that the electromagnetic energy generated by the heart acts as a synchronizing force within the body, a key carrier of emotional information, and a mediator of bioelectromagnetic communication between people. As such, the cardiac bioelectromagnetic field is an innate untapped resource that requires further investigation to explore its clinical applications. Such exploration is likely
to provide further insight into the dynamics of health and disease that are strongly influenced by emotions and by inter-actions with others.
HeartMath, emWave, Inner Balance, and Heart Lock-In are registered trademarks of the Institute of HeartMath. EmWave and Inner Balance are a trademark of Quantum Intech.
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INTRODUCTION
Acupuncture is a psychobiological therapeutic modality focus-ing on supplementfocus-ing existfocus-ing care in the interrelated areas of disease, both psychologically and physically. Developed by the Chinese over 5000 years ago, acupuncture still forms the basis of medical care in China and it is integrated into many of its hospitals employing Western medicine. Auriculotherapy is credited as a French development by Dr. Paul Nogier.
Classically, acupuncture consists of energy called Qi that moves in a rhythmic fashion in a network consisting of merid-ians and specific acupuncture points. This movement or oscil-lation of energy flows in accordance with the conception of Yin and Yang, as Yang increases, Yin decreases, and the con-verse is true. When the movement of Qi is blocked, illness is said to manifest. Despite many attempts to prove the existence of meridians, acupuncture points, and energy Qi, unfortu-nately modern day science has not confirmed its existence.1,2
Acupuncture points are reported to be low electrical resistance areas; however, the literature takes various views.
There are no agreements substantiating the electrical prop-erties of acupuncture points and meridians.3 Histological analysis of the acupuncture point demonstrates an area con-sisting of conjunctive tissue supporting miniscule structures:
myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibers, lymphatic trunks, capillaries, veins, and arteriole vessels.4 Bossy4 claimed that
acupuncture points have a surface area of 1–5 mm2. Senelar described an acupuncture point as located in a vertical col-umn of loose connective tissue that is surrounded by the thick dense connective tissue of the skin, which itself is not a good electrical conductor.4 The physiological significance of this complex is not clearly understood. Body acupuncture points are said to be electrically active in permanence, in contrast to auriculopoints that appear to be electrically active when disease is present and disappear when pathology is absent.
No histological analysis of ear acupuncture points has been found in the literature by the author.
Despite the inability to prove or disprove the existence of acupuncture meridians and points, acupuncture is employed around the world in either a primary or an adjunctive mode for the treatment of pain and other diseases. It is well known as a low risk and cost modality.
What is the evidence to support acupuncture and substan-tiate it as a viable modality? Perhaps some readers might suspect that if we drill down far enough with Western sci-ence technology or perform a convincing clinical trial, the proof will be evident and the result will be the confirmation that acupuncture is a substantiated medical modality. I truly doubt investigations will satisfy us even at the quantum level.
Instead, it will be more profitable to understand that acu-puncture is more complex as it relates to Man’s relationship to spirit, nature, environment, and the universe. A patient once told me that her headaches manifested prior to an unan-nounced high-pressure weather front and still others had bone