Energy Healing: Does it exist?
February 25th, 2015
One subject of lively debate in the massage community right now is whether Energy Healing really exists or is a figment of the imagination. However, who is to say that imagination is not a powerful tool for directing one's focus to accomplish a specific intent?
Hawai'i is different from Mainland America in many ways. One of the biggest is the widespread recognition of energy as a very real phenomenon that affects our lives in miriad ways. After all, it is impossible to ignore energy when in the ocean, where one is constantly subjected to its miriad flows and movements: pulled about by currents and buffetted by waves, all of which are simply large energies traveling through the medium of water.
Energy flows like water. Or (to put it more accurately), the easiest way to recognize the ways energy can flow is by observing how it flows through the translucent and very familiar medium of water. Does energy affect us? We are, after all, mostly made of water.
There are many ancient sciences that not only recognize the presence of energy and how it affects the body, but are dedicated to teaching practitioners (meaning: those who practice) how to manipulate energy. Qi Gong and Tai Chi are two of the most commonly known. A number of healing modalities, including Reiki, Quantum Touch, and acupuncture are all about energy manipulation. Many forms of massage also incorporate energy manipulation into their teachings and practicum. Chief among these, in Hawaii, is Lomi Lomi massage.
For the scientifically minded, everything needs to be understood and proven before it is accepted as 'true'. For the empiricist though, if something works over and over and over again, the fact that you may not know why it is true, does not negate its validity. Rather it provides a new truth and the opportunity to discover why for those who are into adventurous inquest. For the practically minded, though, knowing it works may be enough and many healers have very successful careers using techniques that work even without scientific validation of why the technique is effective.
This knowledge can be shared and taught. In Huna, the saying goes: "Effectiveness is the measure of truth". In therapeutic massage, the rough translation becomes "Do what works for your clients". Massage Therapy is a self-selective discipline. Effective practitioners have long and fruitful careers. Ineffective practitioners do not. The clients are the ultimate judge over whether the techniques used on them are effective. Unsurprisingly, those who teach massage usually pass their effective techniques on to their students where self-selection creates increasingly refined modalities that are effective because they work.
So, back to the original question: Does Energy Healing really exist? Well, for those who practice it & their many happy clients, of course it does. Is it a figment of the imagination? The imagination is a tool of the practitioner. Is it effective? Usually... if properly applied. After all, my computer is a tool, but not very effective if I don't know how to use it.
Energy Healing: Basic Technique
So how does one use the imagination to accomplish energy healing?
Now that is the real question, and the answer is potentially huge. Here is one of my favorite techniques:
Remember how useful water is to visualize the ways in which energy flows? Think about how water flows: usually in one general direction at a time. When doing healing work, it is ideal for energy to flow from you into your client (with therapeutic intent). They probably need all the energy they can get. Of course, you do not want to give Your energy to the client. Rather, learn to be a conduit where energy from an infinite (i.e. divine or universal) source flows Through you into your client to assist them in whatever way is most beneficial to them.
To achieve this, it is necessary to become as clear as you can (often through a daily practice like yoga, prayer, meditation or mantra). Then, when working, many techniques are possible. My favorite is to receive divine energy through the crown & root chakras, into & activating the central channel. When the mother earth / father sky energies meet in the middle (at the heart) a natural radiant overflow occurs, the energy of which can be directed through my hands (or elsewhere) into the client. Presto! Energy is channelling through me into the client and I feel better when I'm done than I did before I started (because all that energy flowed through me too in the process). The clearer you are, the better it works, so make time for your daily practice & choose a good one.
Have fun!
:)
Debbie