Psychic healing and biofeedback system ate the two most mysterious medical science treatments. The two treat a patient without ever giving any medicines.
In psychic healing, a patient is cured by a touch and by biofeedback, a patient is taught to concentrate. Suprisingly, both the branches of medical science have taken birth from the ancient Indian culture.
Some patients have been cured by these two. Yet the medical scientists refuse to believe in them. They are not convinced by them. But the founders think otherwise.
A patient, a 61 year-old man, was suffering from throat cancer. All the medicines had failed to cure him. So, he agreed to Dr. O. Corl Simonton's experimental regimen of brief mental exercises. These exercises were to be repeated three times a day. First, the patient was told to meditate for 2 and half minutes. He was to silently repeat the word 'relax' with every relaxed breath. At the same time, he was to relax the jaw and throat muscles. Next he was asked to visualise something pleasant. Next he was to imagine tumour and then to imagine particles of radiation bombarding it. And finally to imagine the cleaning process done by the white blood cells.
The patient followed this routine for seven weeks. After this, his condition improved. The growth of tumour was arrested. The patient was released from the hospital. He was declared fit.
This is not the only case where magick healing was done. In fact, science is one field where magick often works. At times, a patient becomes perfectly normal after just a touch by someone who claims to be possessed with some magickal charms. And at times without even touching the patient, the disease vanishes. Both the systems are unique and both have cured many patients. The second system is called biofeedback system and the former one is merely psychic healing or therapeutic touch. Both the systems have nothing to do with medical science in the traditional way. Hence, the medical scientists are still at a loss in attributing any definition to them for these two branches have no relationship with either acupuncture or the traditional age old custom of magickal witchcraft. The research still continues. However, only some experiments have been conducted.
In 1971, Dr. Dolores Krieger of New York University found out that there existed similarities between haemoglobin and the energy-giving substance which Hindus called 'prana'-- the force that keeps the body alive. She made a theoretical connection between the two and the work of Sister Justa Smith on the effect of a healer's treatment on the enzyme trypsin. Sister Justa Smith was a biochemist and had done research on the effects of enzymes by touch.
Krieger took the help of Oskar Estebany. She transported a test group of 19 sick people and a control group of 9 healthy people to farm in Massachussets. During the 6 days of the experiment, each sick person was treated by Estebany. All medication was stopped and sick and healthy people were given the same diet and had the same routine. Haemogloboin was taken in the beginning and at the end of the experiment. The results were astonishing. Changes occurred in the haemoglobin of those who were ill.
Kriger wrote about the experiment,"Taken together they indicate impressive evidence that something happens during laying on of hands....." She further asked upon that the topic should be researched more.
Similar results were obtained in other experiments of psychic healing. The scientists explain that something may happen when healers direct their energy to the sick, but what that energy might be and whether it triggers off cure, is syill open to controversy.
In the meanwhile, therapeutic touch has gained immense popularity in America. Nurses in America practise this quite often. Dr. Krieger wrote in the 'American Journal of Nursing', " I became convinced that healing by the laying on of hands is a natural potential in man, given atleast two intervening variables, that i think are critical to the process: the intent to heal another, and a fairly healthy body". Krieger herself first experimented with it, then expanded her research to include 32 nurses. She decided that half would indulge in therapeutic touch and half would not. She reported that the results were as before. The treated group recorded significant changes in haemoglobin value.
In 1972, Krieger began teaching her therapeutic touch at nursing schools and soon organised a national network of nurses trained in the technique. Today, therapeutic touch is the common practice. Even though the medical groups are unconvinced of her claims, they have not been able to disprove it either.
Another Magick treatment is the biofeedback system. This system trains people to control many bodily functions and processes-- like temperature, blood pressure, muscle contraction and even heartbeat. In biofeedback a patient is connected to a body activity. The patient is asked to picture his body to do, for example to lower his heart beat or blood pressure or any other thing. The patient tell his body to do it and he himself relaxes. After this the monitor begins to feed back the information to the patient that his heart beat slowed down by one count or two counts. The repeated announcements fill the patient with more confidence and he starts doing it more confidently. Ultimately, the signs of disease disappear.
Presently, Kansas is the most well known place for biofeedback system. Alice Green and her husband Dr. Elmer Green are the founders of this system. They say, "it does nothing to the person. It is only a tool for releasing a potential".
However, the research is still continuing on this subject in America. At Emory University in Atlanta, biofeedback is used to rehabilitate damaged muscles. At the centre for Behavioral Psychiatry and Psychology in Birmingham, Michigan, this system is used to cure migraine headaches. While at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Centre in New York, Dr. Kenneth Greenspan, a psychiatrist has used biofeedback to treat post surgical cardiovascular patients. He achieved a great success. He treated 22 patients over a period of three months and cured them completely. By the end of the treatment all the patients achieved remarkable improvement in the mobility and relief from pain. Dr. Greenspan has included in his biofeedback treatment meditation and breathing exercises too.
In fact, the abilities which biofeedback begins in patients-- control the nervous system and concentration - are similar to the achievements of Indian Yogis. Anyhow, the efforts to improve the biofeedback system throughout the world has started. The research is still being conducted to make it more accurate.
Inspite of the success met by both the unique medicine research, there are still many questions which remain unanswered. The words why, what and how are still not satisfactorily explained by the believers and founders of the treatment. If the satisfactory answers are given to these questions then perhaps these two -- psychic healing and biofeedback system, will become an integral part of the medical science
Magick Healing
| ||||||||||||||||||||
