What Is Energy Medicine?
In Dr. James L. Oschman’s landmark book on the subject, Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis, he describes energy medicine this way:
Energy medicine is defined as the diagnostic and therapeutic use of energy, whether detected by or produced by a medical device or by the human body.
Of course, there are many types of energy. Our culture relies on the energy stored in fossil fuels to power our cars and heat our homes. At a biological level, blood sugar gives us the energy to think and move.
Energy medicine relies on the subtle energies that power and direct the higher-level functions in the human experience—thoughts, emotions, and the spiritual energies that inspire us and motivate us to achieve the highest human potential.
Alternative Medicine?
Energy medicine is seen as an alternative medicine practice. Alternative to what?
Of course, an alternative to the allopathic medical systems prevalent in our culture. But when you think about it, what is more primal to health? The drugs and surgery that are so common in modern medicine? Or the healing energy that is intrinsic to who we are as human beings?
The life force that activates our entire human experience is what made us and what restores health.
Like most people where I am from, I’ve been vaccinated and boosted. I go to the hospital if a critical health issue arises. But my primary health practice is my spiritual practice. It is my Attunement with the source of the subtle energy that flows through my body, mental capacity, and emotions.
What Is Your Complementary Medicine?
And my alternative medicine practice? I rely on the allopathic medical systems available to me as I need to. My M.D. and my hospital are my complementary medicine. My primary practice is elevating the flow of subtle energies throughout my human experience. And that’s what I offer to people through my Attunement teaching and practice.
That’s my form of integrative health—personal responsibility for the flow of subtle energy first. Traditional medical systems are second.
Subtle Energy Is Like an FM Radio
Subtle energy is intelligent energy.
Think of an FM radio. It broadcasts on a specific range of vibrational frequencies. The broadcast is vibrational energy. But the purpose of the energy is not to power the radio. Most of that is accomplished by the radio’s battery or whatever power source it plugs into.
The vibrational energy broadcasted by the radio station carries information. Your radio knows how to translate that information as music, talks shows, and news.
The Influence of Subtle Energy
The subtle energy that brings energy healing is like that FM radio broadcast. It is not the kind of energy that can power your toaster or heat your house. It contains high-frequency energy and information that influences the healing process..
Subtle energies can bring ease and rest to our emotional experience. They can bring tranquility to our mental processes. And they help us to unleash the life force within us to bring healing at all levels.
What Modern Science Is Finding Out About Energy Medicine
For centuries, the world of modern medicine has looked at healing practices based on an acknowledgment of life force and healing energy with great skepticism.
Dean Radin, Ph.D., is the Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Science. He identifies four predictable stages of the acceptance of new ideas:
- Skeptics confidently proclaim that the idea is impossible.
- Skeptics reluctantly concede that the idea is possible but that the claimed effects are very weak.
- The mainstream realizes that the idea is important and that its effects are much stronger and more pervasive than previously imagined.
- Previous critics proclaim they thought of the new idea first.
Author Dr. James L. Oschman comments on a growing acknowledgment of energy medicine by the scientific community:
Over the last few decades, scientists have developed more than adequate measurable and logical connections between biological energy fields and generally accepted scientific knowledge. Methods have been developed to measure subtle but important energy fields within and around the human body. A few decades ago these fields were considered nonexistent by academic medicine. Not only are we documenting the presence of such fields, but researchers are understanding how fields are generated and how they are altered by disease and disorder. We shall see the measurements of the biofields around the human body are now being used in Western medical diagnosis to make treatment decisions.
Scientific investigations have documented the significance and effectiveness of energy therapy. The work of researchers on the subject is well-documented by physicist Dr. Claude Swanson in his comprehensive book on energy healing, LIFE FORCE, The Scientific Basis: Breakthrough Physics of Energy Medicine, Healing, Chi, and Quantum Consciousness.
Dr. Swanson covers the scientific bases for therapies and treatments like acupuncture, Qigong, homeopathy, and applied kinesiology.
Energy Medicine Modalities
Thankfully, for the general public, there is a re-discovery of energy medicine modalities in the 21st century.
In Asia, the energy medicine practices of Qigong, Johrei, Sukyo Mahikari, and Reiki have blossomed and spread to Western Culture.
Therapeutic Touch, Healing Touch, Network Chiropractic, and Attunement have flourished in North America and Europe.
If you study the history of these modalities, you will read the stories of people who developed their healing practice based on their intuitive understanding of the body, without the benefit of the knowledge that scientific investigations have brought us today. They were motivated by a deep faith in the power of the life force to bring healing.
What Is Attunement?
Attunement is a specific energy therapy developed by Lloyd A. Meeker beginning in 1929. From 1952 to 1954 he launched the Attunement school at Sunrise Ranch, teaching three six-month trainings for Attunement practitioners.
The Attunement School at Sunrise Ranch continues to offer training for Attunement practitioners today. Attunement practitioners and teachers support each other’s practice through their participation in the Attunement Guild.
The Role of the Seven Major Endocrine Glands in the Attunement Process
The energy medicine practice of Attunement focuses on the seven major endocrine glands in the body. These are ductless glands that secrete minute amounts of their hormones directly into the bloodstream. Those hormones are a major part of the control system in the physical body, influencing vital functions such as blood pressure, cellular metabolism, and human sexuality and reproduction.
The endocrine glands also play a central role in the flow of the subtle energies of the body. Together, the pineal and pituitary glands, embedded within the brain, are the place of our ultimate spiritual connection, sometimes referred to as the third eye.
The flow of Attunement current from the practitioner stimulates the opening of the energetic gateways in each of the seven major endocrine glands.
Attunement As a Deep Mindfulness Practice
Attunement is more than an energy therapy or treatment. It is a deep mindfulness practice.
In fact, the effectiveness of an Attunement session relies on the deep mindfulness meditation of the practitioner and the recipient. They find that the subtle energies of the physical body respond to changes in conscious awareness. Patterns of creative thought bring emotional Attunement. The emotional factors, and shifts in the subconscious factors of the mind, activate the subtle energies of the body.
The Mind-Body Connection
This is the mind-body connection that is increasingly acknowledged by the mainstream medical establishment. Here is what Kaiser Permanente, a leading American healthcare provider, says about the mind-body connection:
For example, mindfulness meditation is something you can do when you have time and where you can find a few minutes to focus. You don’t need a guide, a yoga mat, or any other special equipment. You just need to close your eyes, pay attention to your breath, and focus on present thoughts. When your attention wanders, return to the present. Mindfulness can help you focus, tune out distractions and find a little calm in the moment — and over time, help your mind and body feel better.
Attunement as a mindfulness meditation is available to anyone. It is the art of conscious daily living, moment-by-moment, in a way that deepens a person’s Attunement with the life force within them.
The deep mindfulness practice of Attunement can be amplified and reinforced by specific periods of Attunement meditation.
