Can Energy Therapy Be Effective When Provided at a Distance?

I think you would agree that the title poses a very interesting question. Can energy therapy be effective at a distance? In other words, can it be effective when the client and the practitioner are in two locations? To answer this question it might be good to ask the question, "Can prayer have an effect on illness? Why? It has been shown that when someone in one location prays for another person to get well there is a positive effect on the person's wellness.

RESEARCH

Prayer has been the center of several studies conducted at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. There was one in particular conducted by Dr. Elisabeth Targ in 1998. According to the report by Larry Dossey MD, New York Times bestselling author of "Healing Words," Dr. Targ and her colleagues at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, conducted a controlled, double-blind study of the effects of "distant healing," or prayer, on patients with advanced AIDS. Those patients receiving prayer survived in greater numbers, got sick less often, and recovered faster than those not receiving prayer. Prayer, in this study, looked like a medical breakthrough.

These are impressive double-blind studies, meaning that no one knows who is receiving prayer and who isn't. This eliminates or at least reduces the placebo effect, which is the power of suggestion or positive thinking.

Dossey goes on to write that there are 3 "eras" of medicine beginning with Era 1 around the 1860's. This era is characterized by a term he coins as "mechanical medicine," in which disease is purely physical in nature. Thus, all therapies such as pharmaceuticals and surgery should address the physical body. Expanding his observation, Era 2 began to form in the period following World War 2. Basing their observations on scientific evidence, physicians were beginning to realize that disease has a psychosomatic facet in which emotions affect the physical body. For example stress may cause insomnia.

ERA 3 is now developing and goes beyond both ERAS that have preceded it. It proposes that consciousness is not confined to one's physical brain. The "non-local" mind, a mind that is unlimited in potential, is the key to Era 3. Dr. Dossey states, "An individual's mind may not just affect his or her own body, but the body of another person at a distance, even when the other person is not aware of the effort." But how is this possible? In the realm of the spirit there is no time or space. Healing done non-locally has been practiced in the East for centuries. It is now evolving and becoming more accepted in the West largely due to recent research such as Dr. Elizabeth Targ.

We know that prayer with the intention to heal is being paired with surgery and complementary modalities such as Reiki, massage, Healing Touch, chiropractic, cranial sacral therapy, acupuncture, and many others in hospitals around the United States. These treatments are sought out regularly by individual's seeking to enhance what their traditional medicines can and cannot do for them. So we can see how the intention of the mind to heal is becoming more accepted in allopathic medicine and holistic health.

ENERGY THERAPY AND DISTANCE HEALING

As a student of energy therapy I was at a weekend class in which a fellow student stated, "I know long distance work works!" When my fellow students and I asked her to explain she told us this story:

My husband was traveling and I was at home working. When I telephoned him one evening, I asked him how he was doing. He said that he was fine but that both shoulders were very painful. She told him that she would provide energy therapy long distance. Later that evening she sent healing energy by imagining her husband's right shoulder and sending energy from both hands to that shoulder. Unfortunately, she fell asleep and did not send healing to the left shoulder. When they spoke the next day, he said that his right shoulder was much better but the other one was still hurting. The left was the shoulder to which my friend did not send energy.

As an energy therapist I have practiced non-local or distance healing and have heard from clients that it has helped them on their journey toward wellness. Some have reported having more energy while others have reported a strong sense of peacefulness.

The one particular case, Healing Touch was provided to a woman suffering from cancer and who lived in another state. We spoke by phone and discussed her distress level in body, mind and spirit and what she hoped to get out of the session. At that time she wanted more energy and to heal from the chemotherapy. I asked her to sit comfortably on a recliner in her home while I worked on her energy field from my home office. After the session we talked by phone once again and I asked about her distress level. Had it dropped or remained the same? In her case both the physical and mental/emotional stress she had been feeling dropped. She was happily surprised.

FINDING A REPUTABLE PRACTITIONER

The practitioner should be someone with experience and high integrity. A good way to find a reputable practitioner is through recommendations and testimonials. Checking their name online is another way that can show you their credentials, education, mission statement, and years in practice. If the practitioner has written articles or a book that would also help in the decision-making process.

HOW DOES HEALING AT A DISTANCE WORK?

The practitioner and the client would set up a phone consultation for a mutually convenient time. The ideal time would be a time of quiet and relaxation for the client. The practitioner also needs to have a quiet period of time available for the consultation and energy work that will follow the consultation. She can conduct the session anywhere these parameters are met... office, home or another comfortable space.

As the practitioner conducts an initial health interview, the client is guided to answer questions that pertain to their health history. Listening to the client's thoughts, words and emotion (if any) in their voice is significant to the outcome. Health concerns are discussed including physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

MUTUAL GOALS

After the health concerns are discussed, the practitioner will discuss the client's goals for the session. Questions such as, "What do you hope to get from the healing session?" Is it cessation of physical pain, freedom from stress, clarity, preparation for surgery, ability to focus, more energy? The practitioner also has goals for the session as well, the most important being healing for the clients best and highest good whatever that is.

THE DISTANCE SESSION

After the mutual goals are discussed and the consultation is complete the practitioner goes to work. She may have a healing table in front of her. Then she may imagine the client on the table. Healers work in different ways. Some healers use a physical object to have something on which to focus. This could be a doll or teddy bear. Personally I have done both but have found imagining the client on the table works well.

The client's job is to relax and be open to the energy. Many times clients fall asleep during an energy session.

Next, the practitioner calls the energies in or grounds herself. She is connecting to the earth and to the Divine Source of all good or God. She may request guidance and protection as she does this work for the client. Healing Techniques learned through study, practice and the art of healing come next. In many cases this takes years of study for healing to be as effective as possible.

TIMEFRAME

The length of time for a distance healing session varies. Sometimes the healing can be accomplished in a short amount of time, and others require longer sessions. The time depends upon many factors: mutual goals, guidance from spirit, and the ability to clear the energy field, chakras, or meridians of congested energy.

AFTER THE SESSION

When the session is complete care should be taken to be gentle with oneself, drink plenty of water and do light exercise only for about 24 hours. This time allows the energy to integrate into the body.

FOLLOW UP

The client and practitioner should talk within 24 hours. The practitioner would like to know the effectiveness of the healing and to see how the client is doing. This is also a good time for the client to ask any questions he or she may have, or voice comments about the healing. Another session can then be scheduled if needed.

Distance healing is terrific for anyone that cannot travel, doesn't want to travel or just would like to be in their home environment. It is just as effective as a session where the practitioner and client are in the same room and as the intention of the healer's mind and the receptivity of the client's are not limited by time or by space.

For more information on the writings of Larry Dossey go to http://www.dosseydossey.com

Barbara Litchfield is a Healing Touch Practitioner who helps people live full and active lives by helping them to release stress and many kinds pain holistically. She helps people get back to doing the things they love to do!

Barbara focuses her practice on helping people release pain from chronic illness such as cancer, fibromyalgia, Parkinson's Disease, Meniere's Disease, among many others; from sports injuries, falls, accidents, and normal aging and from everyday stress that causes muscle tension, hip, knee, shoulder, neck, back and sciatic pain. Her clients consist of men and women who want to live pain free without lots of drugs.

Barbara also offers aromatherapy with pure, organic, essential oils in her practice. She may use 2 or 3 oils during a session and then craft a special blend for the client to take home.

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