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Featured Articles

Energy Therapies: Making Sense Of It All

Written by:
Irini Dobeck
The Body Healer

We see and hear about how more and more people are healing themselves with energy therapies (known as vibrational healing, or vibrational medicine). We know it achieves sometimes spontaneous success in healing illness that are acute, chronic, and even terminal. Energy therapists are becoming more and more prevalent worldwide.

We hear about things such as energy, chakras, auras, vital energy, Reiki, Quantum Touch, and a whole list of other terms - how do they all tie in together? Energy therapies are not new. Techniques trace back thousands of years to ancient civilizations, including Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Egyptians, and Ayurvedic Medicine. Energy therapies all have one thing in common - they raise/balance the vibrational energy within the body, hence the term vibrational healing

What Exactly Is Vibrational Healing

Vibrational healing is based on the principle that all living matter possesses vital energy (known as "vital energy" or “life force energy”) which vibrates to a precise frequency. When an energetic imbalance of this vital energy occurs, then physical, emotional or psychological imbalance results. Energetic imbalances which cause disease and illness are comprised of lower frequencies and are the result of lower frequencies within the body. When transmuted to higher frequencies, the energy system in the body becomes balanced and the state of health is restored.

Energy is all around us in many forms, from what appears visually as solid (trees, animals, people, water, etc.) to non-solid (air, light waves, sound waves, radio, microwaves, radio waves, x-rays, etc.). Everything that exists is made of energy which vibrates at its own frequency. Our bodies are also very effective transmitters and receivers of energy.

Our thoughts are made of energy, and the higher the quality our thoughts, the higher the vibration that they generate. The lower the quality of our thoughts, the lower the vibration they generate. We are continually receiving energy from many different surrounding. When we think and speak, we send out ripples of energy, affecting life all around us.

Vital energy flows through energy channels within the body called energy meridians. As we go through life, the energetic patterns of our thoughts are often stored within the energetic patterns of our body. Fear-based energies such as anxiety, stress, anger, doubt, envy, criticism, and hate have a very low vibration. These low vibrations can create havoc within our energy system by causing sluggish energy flow, energy blockages, or over-stimulating energy in areas of the body. Similarly, love-based emotions such as love, kindness, gratitude, peace, and generosity have a higher vibration and assist in raising the overall vibration of our bodies.

Our energy can be rebalanced by going to an energy healer, or by learning to rebalance our own energy. There are several methods of energy healing which can be learned by anyone and require no special skills, intelligence, or education.

When we talk about energy, and how the different energy healing therapies work, there are two very important principles:

•	Resonance: Resonance works on the very simple principle of “like attracts like.” When two objects who share the same resonant frequency are vibrating at different frequencies, it is “resonance” which causes the transference of energy from one object to the other. This is similar to an opera singer striking a note which causes a glass to vibrate or shatter, or the sound of a guitar string causing another guitar string to hum.
•	Entrainment: When two objects vibrate at different frequencies, it is “entrainment” which causes them to line up and to vibrate at the same frequency. In entrainment, one object actively changes the vibration of another object so that they begin match together in rhythm and phase. When two things vibrate at different frequencies, either the lower vibration will raise, the higher vibration will lower, or they will meet at mid-point.

When our vital energy is blocked, sluggish or overactive, techniques using resonance and entrainment can cause it to begin vibrating again in a state of balance.

Similar to an orchestra, when the energy within any system or organ of the body is in sync or out of sync, this can cause a corresponding effect in other systems as they all work synergistically together.

What is Vital Energy

Similar to the way that blood flows throughout the circulation system of the body and is regulated by the heart, vital energy is distributed throughout the body via energy channels called energy meridians.

Throughout the body of all living things, vital energy flows. In various cultures this energy is known as different names. In the Traditional Chinese Medicine system of China, it is known as “chi,” by the Japanese it is known as “qi,” and in Ayurvedic Medicine practiced by the Hindus, it is know as “prana.” When we are exposed to various emotional states, stressful situations, and an unhealthy environment, the nature of vital energy is for it to continually readjust and correct any emotional imbalances to retain a state of health and vitality. When psychological, emotional, or physical trauma is experienced, the vital energy of the body is sometimes not able to self-correct and energetic imbalances occur.

Similar to the way that blood flows throughout the circulation system of the body and is regulated by the heart, vital energy is distributed throughout the body via energy channels called energy meridians. These energy meridians are regulated by 7 chakras located in the center of the body, running from the top of the head to the base of the spine. The balanced flow of vital energy throughout the energy meridian system is critical to our emotional, psychological, and physical health.

Each meridian is related to an organ and system of the body, the main 12 of which are:

1. Lung 2. Heart 3. Pericardum (heart protector) 4. Liver 5. Kidney 6. Spleen

7. Small Intestine 8. Triple Heater 9. Large Intestine 10. Urinary Bladder 11. Stomach 12. Gall Bladder

If an energy meridian is blocked or congested, the organs and systems related to that meridian will be affected.

Throughout these energy meridians there are approximately 2,000 "acupoints" in the body. These points are at locations where the energy of each meridian rises the closest to the surface of the body. Acupoints can be stimulated using a variety of methods including acupuncture, acupressure, shiatsu, visualization, "running energy," and various massage techniques involving pressure. Stimulating an acupoint can release energy blockages and rebalance sluggish or overactive energy flow within that meridian. Of these 2,000 points, more than 400 points are classified by the World Health Organization (WHO). Each point is listed by name, number, and the meridian to which it belongs.

The Chakras

The chakras are whirling masses of subtle energy which act as “control centers” for the energy meridians throughout our body, and which receive, store and transmit vital energy.
The word chakra translates from the Sankrit word “wheel” or “vortex.” There are 7 chakras located on a "power line" which runs down the center of the body from the top of the head to the base of the spine. These chakras are whirling masses of subtle energy which act as “control centers” for the energy meridians throughout our body, and which receive, store and transmit vital energy. They are shaped like a "funnel" which is narrowest where our spine is, and which widens as it faces outwards.

Through the energy meridian system, the chakras metabolize and supply vital energy to the various systems and organs of the entire body (similar to how food is physically metabolized). Each chakra resonates at a different frequency and corresponds to a specific color, bodily system, and personality aspects. The chakras also store experiences which have had an emotional impact on us during our lives, with various types of emotions corresponding to each chakra.

An energetic imbalance in one chakra can affect the energy balance within surrounding chakras. The amount of energy flowing through each chakra, as well as the clarity of the color, can indicate an imbalance either within that particular chakra or within the energy meridian assoicated with that chakra. The faster a chakra spins, the more energy it can receive and transmit. When a chakra stops functioning properly, the intake of energy will be disturbed and energetic imbalance will result. The organs and systems related to that particular chakra will reflect this imbalance by inhibiting the immune system in that area of the body, evenually resulting in weakness or illness. Fear-based emotions and situations may also manifest.

A clear, balanced flow of energy within the chakras is important for healthy functioning of the body. The clearer and more uninhibited the vital energy flow between the body, the more health and well-being will be experienced.

Each of the chakras represents a different level of consciousness, and the same issue perceived from the perspective of each chakra would be experienced differently. The chakras each function at their own frequency, the higher its location within the body, the higher the frequency.

At a certain frequency, the seven chakras begin to unify into a single chakra. This unified chakra functions at a much higher frequency. The fields of energy which surround the body also merge into one, and resonate to this much higher frequency. Tony Stubbs, author of An Ascension Handbook, presents a wonderful and simple method of experiencing the unified chakra. Click to view an excerpt of the exercise.

The Aura

The aura is the energy field (also known as the energy body) which extends from all living things, and which is constantly interacting with the surrounding energies in our environment. Many people consciously perceive this energy field. Others perceive it unconsciously (for example, when you feel anger or tension emanating from someone, or you have a vague sense of their personality, or feel a sense of peace and comfort around them).

The aura protects the body from harmful energies by filtering out unhealthy energies and energies it does not resonate with, and absorbing energies that are needed and which it does resonate with. When we feel excited, happy, optimistic, and self-assured, our aura emanates frequencies matching this emotion, and attracts to us other people and situations matching this frequency. Likewise, when we feel depressed, unhappy, pessimistic, angry, or frustrated, people and situations which resonate to these frequencies will be attracted to us.

The visual state of this energy field provides important information on the health and well-being of the body. The aura can be multi-colored or may have one or two colors which predominate. These colors relate to health of the chakras and meridians throughout the body. Auras which are clear and which have bright colors indicate a healthy energetic system. Dark, “muddy” auras, or areas of the aura that are blotchy, can indicate emotional, psychological, or physical issues which have been "frozen" within the energy field.

With a little bit of practice, everyone can learn to consciously see the aura with their naked eye, although some individuals are able to naturally see the aura without any practice or training. These individuals have naturally expanded their sensory perception beyond the five physical senses and are often clairvoyant (able to see things others cannot), clairaudient (able to hear things others cannot), and clairsentient (able to feel things others cannot). When we learn to physically see the aura, we then begin the process of expanding our sensory perception and awareness of other dimensions of consciousness. The subtle information which the brain normally filters out will then become fully accessible to us. Learn how to see your own aura with our simple tutorial.

The “glow” of the aura can also be photographed using a special type of photography called Kirilan photography. If we focus on a specific thought forms or color, these thoughtforms will be energetically displayed as color swirls and patterns in a Kirlian photograph, as will a haze of whichever color was focused on. Kirlian photography shows us that we can interact with the human energy field and regulate it simply by using our intent. Our thoughts are energy, and energy has a direct impact on our bodies and our surroundings.

What are the Causes of our Energy Imbalances

We are in constant contact with vibrations which can influence our energetic health and well-being. A healthy individual will have a higher rate of vibration than an unhealthy individual. As the rate of vibration lowers, an individual becomes more susceptible to other lower energies around them and begin to resonate to this lower vibration. The cycle becomes self-perpetuating as the lower the vibration falls, the more susceptible to surrounding lower vibrations the body becomes.

Life today is very different from life 100 years ago, which is very different from life 500 and 1,000 years ago. Many new, external factors affect the vibration of the human body. Today, we are exposed to toxins, chemicals, preservatives, environmental pollutants (e.g. pesticides, petroleum-based products, and dangerous metals), parasites, and viruses that did not exist years ago. As the world expands, many foods are filled with preservatives to enable them to be stored longer. Water is polluted as a by-product of manufacturing. We live in areas where the air we breathe is polluted from vehicle and manufacturing smog. People are traveling to locations they have never been to before and where they are exposed to an environment to which they do not possess immunity. The rate at which the body has to fight to detoxify and cleanse itself is becoming greater and greater, as more toxins accumulate within our bodies. The body becomes overwhelmed and unable to maintain equilibrium, resulting in disease.

Our energy is affected by prolonged states of stress and anxiety, the energies from other individuals, and from energy interference from household appliances (e.g. microwaves, televisions, and cell phones). The earth is also surrounded by electromagnetic grids which affect us energetically.

Just as a variety of different foods provides us with balanced nutrition, our physical senses perceive a variety of colors, scents, sounds, touch, and sights which provide us with a different kind of nutrition. For example, the lack of loving touch, either from people or from animals, can stimulate feelings of loneliness and isolation. The scent of a flower, fruit, or substances from the natural world can stimulate very different types of emotions than scents which are composed of synthetic ingredients. If we are in an atmosphere where we are continually yelled at or berated, this can have a profound impact on our emotional well-being. Each color possesses its own individual vibration and, based on our past experiences and perception of different colors, each color affects us all in a different way.

Repressed feelings of pain, fear, and anguish from earlier points in our lives can become "frozen" within the energy field and cause a change in our our belief system which mirrors the frozen energy. For example, a child which has been repeatedly punished for expressing creativity will believe "if I am creative, I will be punished." As time goes by, the child will be unaware that this belief has been accepted and is affecting other experiences in his life. This blocked energy contains a energetic pattern/vibration which causes experiences of suppressed creativity to then continually be drawn into the child's life. The different types of emotional blockages affect specific energetic meridians of the body, which are in turn related to organs and systems. Blocked energy will eventually, if not cleared, result in physical illnesses in the area of the body related to that energy meridian.

Finding our energy blockages and releasing them is the key to transforming ourselves to a state of balance, health, and happiness. As we transform these blockages, we often find that other blockages which originated and are dependent on the original blockage simply begin dissolving. For example, the child who accepted the belief that his creativity would be punished, may have chosen a career focused on emotionally unfulfilling academic subjects and hobbies which caused career dissatisfaction. As this comes to light, he may then begin focusing on more creative endeavors.

From birth, our energy vibration is naturally very high as we maintain an open connection to our higher spiritual selves. As we grow, voices of authority such as our parents, teachers, and employers present their viewpoints and beliefs of love and hate, right and wrong, good and bad, which we either accept or reject. The beliefs we choose to accept and take on as our own, in turn changes the vibration of our energetic bodies. As we struggle to define who we are in our early years, we often try on various beliefs, and then release old ones which no longer serve us. Beliefs which are limiting may cause us to continually feel lower vibrations of energy such as fear, rejection, and abandonment. This energy attracts to our lives circumstances and people which match the same low frequency.

Healing Yourself: Becoming Our Own Healer

We constantly receive sense stimuli from our surroundings, some of which are uplifting, and some of which are depressing. If we make a conscious effort to engage our senses with loving, positive, and natural stimuli, we can assist our bodies in restoring energetic balance.

As we consciously reconnect with our higher selves and ask for guidance, we begin to see limiting beliefs for what they are, and begin to release them. We begin to connect to our inner self, the core of our being, freeing ourselves from energetic imbalance and restoring our energy to that of its naturally high vibration - we then achieve a state of perfect emotional, physical, and psychological health. There are many techniques we can use to uncover and release limiting beliefs.

In energy medicine, energy IS the medicine. It is not a healer that heals the patient, but rather the healer that “facilitates” healing. The higher vibration provided by the energy healer and the patient's body responding with its own innate intelligence are what actually cause healing. The body of the patient intuitively responds to the channeled energy flow from the healer. This stimulates the energy within the patient's body to flow and rebalance where it is needed. The channeling of the higher energy vibration affects the cells, nerves, muscles, tissues, and skeletal structure of the patient's entire body at a quantum level. All of the individual systems and organs within the patient’s body possess their own rate of vibration, effortlessly and intuitively responding to the higher frequency. This is what causes the healing to occur.

Common to all energy healers is the ability to affect the vital energy of their patients. There are many different methods used by energy healers to stimulate and rebalance energy. Some energy practitioners can “sense” energetic congestion (lower/unsteady vibrations) within areas of the body, either by holding their hands on or above the body, viewing the aura, or using specialized techniques. Others simply channel a higher energetic frequency into the body of the patient, knowing the energy will naturally and spontaneously disperse to where it is needed.

Can we use this knowledge to heal ourselves? Absolutely! Learning how to rebalance your own energy is not dependent on any specialized skill set, intellectual capacity, or spiritual development.  Some techniques are easy to learn and can be accomplished by anyone.  Others, however, require education to master principles and methodologies (e.g. techniques which may be governed by licensure and/or local governance such as acupuncture). 

There are two very simple ways to raise the vibration of your body:

1.	Focus on high-vibration thoughts and emotions (love, health, vitality, strength, gratitude, kindness, compassion, trust). Feel these emotions infusing your body, filling your entire being. Visualize experiences filled with positive emotions and feel the impact they have on your body. Take time throughout the day to focus on high vibration thoughts - especially when experiencing stress, anger, frustration, or other fear-based emotions. Accept them, honor where they have came from and counterbalance them with higher vibration thoughts as soon as they occur. In a short amount of time, you will retrain your mind to predominantly focus on positive emotions. Positive thinking becomes "habitiual." This, in turn, will steadily raise the overall vibration of your body.
2.	Find a place where you can spend a few moments alone to relax. Calm your body and begin to breathe deeply and rhythmically. When you have reached a state of peaceful calmness, on each inhalation, visualize a beautiful, golden white light flowing into your body from above your head. As you exhale, visualize this light beginning to infuse your entire being. Continue inhaling this light into your body, and exhaling it throughout your body. If there is an area of your body experiencing pain or discomfort, focus the light infusion within this region. Maintain this flow of energy breathing for at least 10 to 15 mins daily, or until you feel the need to stop. You may find certain fear-based emotions come to the surface, perhaps a past frustration, feelings of inadequacy, guilt, or abandonment. It is important to never deny any fear-based emotions you have, but rather accept them for what they are. Look at them from a "third party" perspective, as a therapist does when talking to their patient. After accepting these emotions, work on transmuting (transforming) them to feelings of love and healing. For example, if you are experiencing feelings of abandonment, replace them with the knowledge that you are are whole and perfect as you are, and that the moment you open yourself up to lovingly accepting yourself, and believing in your ability to freely receive and give love to others, then energetically you will attract the energy of such circumstances in your life. The energy of abandonment will no longer exist within your energy field.
2.	The Violet Flame of Transmutation The Violet Flame meditation is a method of transmuting (changing from one form to another) fear-based energy such as anger, hate, anxiety, and jealousy, to higher vibrations. It is also method of transmuting illness (which result from lower vibrational thoughts and emotions) to the higher vibrations of health. The violet flame is a unique and ultimately very powerful tool for self-transformation.

The Different Types of Energy Healing

There are a wide variety of energy therapies practiced worldwide which are used to balance the vital energy flow of the body.

Therapies involving the physical touching of the body or “hovering” of hands over the body include: Reiki, Quantum Touch, Shiatsu (and other similar massage techniques) Acupressure, and Reflexology

Therapies involving the use of flowers, plants, and trees include: Herbal Medicine, Homeopathy, Bach Flower Remedies, Chinese Herbalism (a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine), and Ayurvedic Herbs (a branch of Ayurvedic Medicine)

Other therapies include: Chromatherapy, Crystals, Sound/Music, Breathing, and Visualization/Meditation

Naturopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Ayurvedic Medicine are complete systems of healthcare which address energetic imbalances from a holistic perspective by using a variety of techniques.




Related Items for Purchase

Books

* Hands of Light (Barbara Brennan) (1988)
* Energy Medicine (Donna Eden) (1999)
* An Ascension Handbook (Tony Stubbs) (1992)
* Quantum Touch (Richard Gordon) (2006)
* The Healing Energy Of Your Hands (Michale Bradford) (1995)
* Your Hands Can Heal You (Stephen Co & Eric B. Robins) (2004)

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