Healing Frequencies

ENERGY REVIEW PART 3A
What is healing energy? Part 3: silent pulses

The two papers in this issue by Dr James Oschman continue his indepth review of healing energy as it relates to health care in general and bodywork in particular. When JBMT commissioned this series the hope was that out of it, based on research which Dr Oschman has undertaken over the years, practitioners, therapists and educators would find intellectually acceptable explanations for what has been described clinically and anecdotally for many years. While a good deal remains to be understood it is now possible to suggest with some confidence that the evidence presented in this series to date offers verification for much that has previously been dismissed as unproven.
James L. Oschman
Abstract This article explores the roles of rhythmic processes in the dynamics of healing. It begins with a close look at the oscillating magnetic fields emitted by practitioners of therapeutic touch and related methods. Medical researchers are using similar fields to jump start healing in a variety of soft and hard tissues. What is different about the fields emitted from the hands of energy therapists is that they appear to scan or sweep through a range of frequencies. As a result, we propose an hypothesis that is also a definition: Healing energy, whether produced by a medical device or projected from the human body, is energy of a particular frequency or set of frequencies that stimulates the repair of one or more tissues. The cascade of activities initiated by such signals may provide essential information to cells and tissues, and open channels for the flow of information that coordinates repair processes. This is also significant for prevention and for restoring normal function after trauma. When considering the roles of rhythmic interactions, the concept of entrainment is important. For example, brainwaves are entrained by the thalamus. Research on the thalamus shows periods of inactivity, when the brainwaves are said to free run. During these periods, the brainwaves may be entrained by external sources, such as the biological rhythms of a therapist or geomagnetic oscillations. Entrainment is a highly controversial topic, although the likely mechanisms are well understood. They involve the pineal gland and magnetite-bearing tissues, which serve as magnetoreceptors. Part B explores rhythmic entrainment as a therapeutic tool, and its recent application in resolving severe trauma and abuse. A theory of consciousness called microgenesis can account for many of the phenomena described.
James L. Oschman, PhD Natures Own Research Association, PO Box 5101, Dover, NH 03821, USA Correspondence to: J. L. Oschman, Tel: ++1 603 742 3789; Fax: ++1 603 742 2595. E-mail: J [email protected] Received October 1996 Accepted November 1996
Introduction
Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies (1997) 1(3), 179194 Pearson Professional 1997
At all levels, nature is a composite of rhythms. The vast cycles of the

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heavens represent an extreme of virtually unimaginable scale, with times measured in light-years. At the other limit are the minute oscillations
JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES APRIL 1997
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of atoms and subatomic particles, vibrating trillions of times per second. Life is immersed in this spectrum, and contributes its own unique set of rhythms. One long cycle is that between birth and death. Superimposed upon that rhythm are many cycles of replacement of the atoms comprising the body (Schoenheimer 1942). Some tissues, such as bone and fascia, are completely replaced some 1015 times during a lifetime, while others, such as skin and intestine, are replaced 10 000 times during the same period. Certain enzymes last only a few seconds before they are renewed (Ratner 1979). Each organ has its own set of activity rhythms, such as the ovary, with its monthly cycle. Shorter yet are the rhythms of the cranial/sacral pulse, the breath, the heartbeat and the brainwaves, which average about one tenth of a second in duration. Even shorter are the vibrations of molecules, which spin, wiggle and shake millions of times each second. These rhythms will be discussed in the next article in this series. Our intellectual history shows a continuing fascination with the ways life is tied to the rhythms of nature, including the earliest astrological speculations, which far antedate the modern science of astronomy. Recent scientific explorations have replaced many early superstitions with accurate and repeatable observations and measurements. This exploration has had a pulse of its own, as ideas of one generation give way to new truths, based on new data. In terms of healing, important rhythms have been discovered by medical researchers who are employing magnetic pulses for jump starting the repair of a wide spectrum of tissues and for treating diseases. While a variety of signals are being tested, medical interest has especially focused on pulsing magnetic fields of low energy and extremely low frequency (ELF). (The ELF range is
arbitrarily defined as frequencies below 100 Hz, Miller 1986.) Similar frequencies emanate from the hands of practitioners of therapeutic touch and related methods. Moreover, the fields emitted by practitioners are not steady in frequency, but sweep or scan through the range of frequencies that medical researchers are finding effective in facilitating repair of various soft and hard tissues. This is a recent and profoundly exciting correlation. Let us take a closer look.
sweep that correspond to some of the clinical results in the Table.
Defining healing energy

There is an obvious correlation between biomagnetic emanations from the hands of therapists and the frequency windows of specificity found by biomedical researchers. While such correlations are exciting, they do not prove anything. More investigation is needed. Research begins with testable hypotheses that can be verified or refuted. We therefore present an hypothesis that is also a definition of healing energy, whether it is produced by a medical device or projected from the human hand:
Healing energy, whether produced by a medical device or projected from the human body, is energy of a particular frequency or set of frequencies that stimulates the repair of one or more tissues.
Frequency windows of specificity

The Table lists some of the frequencies being tested in medical research laboratories and the types of tissues they affect. These are sometimes called frequency windows of specificity. References to the original reports are given in the review article by Sisken & Walker (1995). In addition, various frequencies are being tested for their effects on specific diseases. Some of these studies can be found in various United States Patents (e.g. Sandyk 1995, Liboff et al 1993). Figure 1 shows a signal recorded by Dr John Zimmerman from the hand of a practitioner of therapeutic touch (Zimmerman 1985, 1990). The signal frequency was not steady, but varied from 0.3 to 30 Hz, with most of the activity in the range of 78 Hz. Figure 1 also shows the portions of the
Other frequencies are involved

Medical experimentation is not confined to the ELF region of the energy spectrum. Popular devices such as the Diapulse machine emit 27 MHz (27 million pulses per second) and have been studied extensively. Clinical trials of the effects of the Diapulse on injuries have shown
Table Healing effects of specific frequencies (frequency windows of specificity) Frequency 2 Hz 7 Hz 10 Hz 15, 20 and 72 Hz 25 and 50 Hz Effects Nerve regeneration, neurite outgrowth from cultured ganglia Bone growth Ligament healing Decreased skin necrosis, stimulation of capillary formation and fibroblast proliferation Synergistic effects with nerve growth factor
From Sisken & Walker 1995 180
What is healing energy? Part 3A
Fig. 1 Signal recorded by Dr John Zimmerman from the hand of a practitioner of therapeutic touch. The frequency was not steady, but varied from 0.3 to 30 Hz, with most of the activity in the range of 78 Hz. The 1-second wide brackets show portions of the sweep that approximately correspond to some of the clinical results presented in Table 1.
reduced swelling, acceleration of wound healing, stimulation of nerve regeneration, reduced pain and faster functional recovery. References to this literature are given in the review by Sisken & Walker (1995). The recording shown in Figure 1 shows only the ELF portion of the spectrum emitted from the hands of the therapeutic touch healer. Other frequencies and other forms of energy are undoubtedly present. These frequencies can be explained, in part, by the presence of the coherent Frhlich oscillations mentioned in Part 1B of this series. For every frequency produced by the body, there are usually harmonics and subharmonics (i.e. signals that are exact multiples or fractions of the fundamental frequency). The possible involvement of infrared radiations was mentioned in Part 2B. There is evidence that infrared radiations from the hands of QiGong practitioners can increase cell growth, DNA and protein synthesis, and cell respiration. There is also evidence that living systems emit microwaves (Enander & Larson 1977) and light (Rattemeyer et al 1981, Popp et al 1992). As an example, the heart produces a variety of types and frequencies of energy that propagate through the circulatory system to every cell in the body. The fastest signal is an electromagnetic pulse (recorded with
the electrocardiogram and the magnetocardiogram), followed by the heart sounds, a wave of pressure, and then a temperature change (infrared radiation). Russek & Schwartz (1996) refer to this as a dynamical energy system, and describe its potential for communicating information throughout the body.
Mechanisms
Medical researchers have stated that energy field therapies are effective because they project information into tissues. This triggers a cascade of activities, from the cell membrane to the nucleus and on to the gene level, where specific changes take place (see Bassett 1995). The interpretation of these findings is that particular repair processes are triggered by the information contained in signals of specific frequencies. While this is an interesting hypothesis, it leaves unanswered the question of why repair is not activated naturally. Why should it be necessary to trigger healing with an external signal? The following describes some additional considerations. The living matrix is one medium through which the cascade of activities takes place. Complete health corresponds to total interconnection through this matrix and its associated layers of water. Suppose accumulated physical
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and/or emotional trauma impairs continuity. The application of healing energy, whether from a medical device or from the hands of an energy therapist, would then open the network to the flow of energy and information. Once the whole network is functioning, natural biological communications could flow freely through the entire system, from the extracellular matrix, across the cell membrane, through the cytoskeleton, to the nucleus and on to the gene level, and in the opposite direction as well (Oschman 1993, Oschman & Oschman 1994). In other words, activation of specific processes goes hand in hand with opening of the channels for the flow of energy and information. A leading medical researcher has confirmed what alternative practitioners observe frequently: application of therapeutic energy fields can convert a stalled healing process into active repair, even in patients unhealed for as long as 40 years (Bassett 1995). The mechanism by which active repair is initiated probably involves both activation of specific cellular activities and the opening of the channels or circuitry for the natural biological communications required for initiating and coordinating injury repair. The free flow of messages through tissues is essential for prevention and for simply feeling well. An example of experimental evidence for preventive effects was given in Part 2B. Animals treated with magnetic fields prior to nerve injury experienced the same acceleration of nerve growth as animals treated after injury. While the focus in this discussion is on the healing of wounds, energetic bodywork can be of profound significance to the organism even if no specific problem is present. A healthy individual will be both happier and less likely to have an injury or disease. If problems do arise, they will recover more rapidly. Likewise, athletic, artistic and intellectual performance is
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enhanced when all of the bodys communication channels are open and balanced. This point is well understood in many complementary practices, in which regular maintenance treatments or tune-ups are given. These treatments are not for specific ailments, but serve to reduce the future incidence of medical problems, to enhance performance of all kinds of activities, and to generally facilitate an individuals progress in their personal evolution or achievement of their individual destiny. One mechanism of prevention comes from study of some of the effects of acupuncture: mild stimulation of tissues (as by insertion of an acupuncture needle, acupressure, Shiatsu, structural integration, massage, etc.) can simulate an injury without actually injuring the tissue. By simulating an injury, the mild stimulus activates the cascade of repair processes through the living matrix. Mild stimulation of key points on a healthy individual is a sort of test run or tune-up of the repair channels (Oschman & Oschman 1994). Along with the healing of injuries and prevention is the role energy therapies can have in releasing or resolving long repressed somatic memories associated with trauma and/or abuse. This will be examined in more detail in Part B. If the ideas presented so far are valid, there are a number of obvious implications. First, on a practical level, manufacturers of medical devices might find it worthwhile to test the effects of stimulators that scan through a range of frequencies, rather than produce a single frequency. It would obviously be worthwhile to simply record the natural emissions from the hands of a therapist, and project the recorded signals into injured tissues. Some research along this line has been done. A device has been developed that projects signals comparable to those produced by a
QiGong practitioner (Niu et al 1992, Walker 1994). Interestingly, this device produces an ELF acoustic signal. Literature on this device and on other effects of QiGong can be accessed through a database (QiGong Institute 1995). Evolutionary biology leads to an additional interpretation. The evidence presented so far suggests that an ability of organisms to project and respond to healing energy, as defined above, has evolved as a natural design feature of living systems. Our ancestors lived in a world fraught with hazards, but had no hospitals or clinics to help them mend wounds of the flesh. A natural ability of individuals to facilitate injury repair in each other had obvious survival value in the earliest communities. Evolution by natural selection took care of the rest.
Biological rhythms and wound healing

The next mechanistic questions concern the sources of the oscillating fields emitted by the hands of various energy therapists, and the reason the signals scan or sweep through a range of frequencies. Research has led to detailed and rather remarkable answers to these questions. The focus is on biological rhythms and the ways they are regulated. Injury repair involves a wide spectrum of biological rhythms associated with the replacement of various tissue elements. How can these processes be coordinated? The problem can be stated this way:
Wound healing is a remarkable and intricate process, involving the integrated and cooperative activities of a variety of systems. Each wound is different, and the bodys response must be precisely appropriate if structure and function are to be fully restored. Dynamic interactions take place between local and systemic processes. A wide range of physiological activities are activated, and all must be down-regulated when repair is complete. Some repair processes persist for weeks or even longer after an injury. 182
Until recently, the medical approach has been almost exclusively molecular. Researchers have looked for, and found, a variety of chemicals that influence the repair of tissues. The clotting of blood involves a cascade of reactions involving many different substances. Fibroblast growth factors stimulate division of the cells that lay down collagen, a major structural protein used in healing wounds. Hence healing can be promoted by adding natural growth factors, or genes for those growth factors, directly to a site of injury (e.g. Vogt et al 1994). It is easy to see how molecules can regulate the rates of cellular processes by activating or inactivating particular metabolic pathways. However, there is something missing from the picture. How can the ebbs and flows of regulatory substances provide a blueprint for the elaborate architecture of cells and tissues and organs?
The blueprint
Harold Saxon Burr was convinced that energy fields provide the blueprint for living systems (Part 1A). Molecular biology can account for the manufacture of the parts, in appropriate quantities, but the forces exerted by living fields bring those parts together in meaningful ways to produce living structure and function. The last entry in the Table supports Burrs hypothesis. Growth factors (molecules) stimulate the growth of nerves, but magnetic pulsations at 25 and 50 Hz synergize or enhance the effect. This point of view was expressed over a century ago by one of the fathers of modern physiology, Claude Bernard (1839): The genes create structures, but the genes do not control them; the vital force does not create structures, the vital force directs them. In the words of Strohman (1993), the genes are important but not on top just on tap! Genes are undoubtedly involved at every step of development,
and influence all physiological processes, but this does not mean that genes are entirely responsible for establishing order and function at every level. Modern evidence comes from a wide range of studies on the effects of energy fields on development and regeneration (e.g. Libbin et al 1979, Borgens et al 1981, Jaffe 1981, 1982). A simple hypothesis can account for the beneficial effects of healing energy projected from the hands of one person into the body of another.
Hypothesis: a variety of electrical, electronic, magnetic and other energetic phenomena take place within healthy tissue as a consequence of the communications needed to coordinate cellular activities. The resulting energy fields are radiated from the hands of the healthy individual. Whether caused by physical or emotional trauma, the wound that does not heal is a wound that is not receiving the natural regulatory signals needed to initiate and coordinate repair processes. When healthy tissue is brought close to such a wound, essential information is transferred via the energy field, communication channels open and the healing process is jump-started.
Fig. 2 Brainwaves. Dominant brainwave frequencies recorded with the electroencephalograph, with electrodes on the scalp. The frequency of brainwaves is constantly changing. Delta activity occurs during deep sleep and in certain brain disorders. Theta activity occurs during various stages of sleep in normal adults and during emotional stresses, including disappointment and frustration. Alpha brainwaves have been associated with a normal and alert state of mind. Beta waves are normally seen over the frontal portions of the brain during intense mental activity. Beta waves of higher frequencies, up to 50 Hz, are associated with intense activation of the nervous system or tension. The diagram is modified from AC Guytons Textbook of Medical Biology, 8th edn, WB Saunders, Philadelphia, PA, Fig. 59-1, p. 662, with permission from the publisher.
Sources of ELF signals

The functioning of the heart, brain and some other organs result in oscillations in the ELF range of the electromagnetic spectrum. The principal brain wave frequencies are shown in Figure 2. Over the last half century, Robert O. Becker and others have done important research on the role of brainwaves in healing. These studies have many implications for bodywork and movement therapies. Modern neurophysiology focuses primarily on the activity of less than half of the cells in the brain (Becker 1990a, 1991). The neuron doctrine holds that all functions of the nervous system are the result of activities of the neurons. Integration of brain function is therefore regarded as arising from the massive interconnectivity of the neurons. This view is incomplete because it ignores
an evolutionarily more ancient informational system residing in the perineural connective tissue cells that constitute more than half of the cells in the brain. Perineural cells encase every nerve fibre, down to their finest terminations throughout the body. The perineural system is a direct current communication system reaching to every innervated tissue. The perineural system establishes a current of injury that controls injury repair. Historically, the injury potential was discovered before resting and action potentials of nerves (Davson 1970). The current of injury is generated at the site of a wound, and continues until repair is complete. One function of the current is to alert the rest of the body to the location and extent of an injury. The current also attracts the mobile skin cells, white blood cells and fibroblasts that close and heal the wound. Finally, the injury current changes as the tissue heals, and therefore feeds back information on
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the progress of repair to surrounding tissues. Beckers research demonstrated that the current of injury is not an ionic current, but a semiconductor current that is sensitive to magnetic fields (the Hall effect). Semiconduction takes place in the perineural connective tissue and surrounding parts of the living matrix. Other tissues in the body are ensheathed in continuous layers of connective tissue. The vascular system is surrounded with perivascular connective tissue; the lymphatic system with perilymphatic connective tissue; the muscular system with myofascia; the bones with the periosteum. Conceptually, the living matrix encompasses all of these connective tissue systems, including the cellular and nuclear scaffolds within them. It has been suggested that the current of injury is not confined to the skin, but is a general property of layers of cells, called epithelia (Oschman 1993). If this is so, a current of injury will arise in any tissue, epidermal, vascular, muscular, nervous or bone, that is injured. Which systems are activated will depend on the depth and severity of the injury. This perspective is leading to a detailed explanation of how the body coordinates its responses to injuries of all kinds. Oscillations of the brains direct current field, the brainwaves, are not confined to the brain. Instead, they propagate through the circulatory system, which is a good conductor, and along the peripheral nerves, following the perineural system, which reaches into every part of the body that is innervated. Similarly, oscillations of the hearts electrical activity are not confined to the heart muscle, but are propagated through the vascular system, perivascular connective tissue and living matrix to all parts of the body. The measurable brain waves arise because of the rhythmic and synchronized spread of direct current through large populations of neurons
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in the brain. The field is relatively strong and partly coherent because it flows through massive numbers of parallel neurons in the vertically oriented pyramidal portion of the somatosensory cortex (see Kandel & Schwartz 1981). Beckers research shows that brainwaves regulate the overall operation of the nervous system, including the state of consciousness. There is a neurophysiological basis for this concept. The brainwaves cause the local fields around individual neurons to vary rhythmically. The local field, in turn, determines the sensitivity of the neurons to stimulation. When the local field is such that the neuron is ready to send a signal (called the threshold for depolarization), a small stimulus will cause the nerve to fire. When the local field is far from the firing level (far from threshold), a much larger stimulus will be needed for the nerve to be excited. Hence there is a rhythm in the excitability of nerve cells throughout the body. Sophisticated research using microelectrodes has confirmed that the probability of a nerve firing in the brain changes rhythmically in relation to the electroencephalogram (Verzeano 1970, Fox 1979). The significance of these phenomena to consciousness will be discussed shortly.
pendulums must have about the same period, which is determined by their length. What couples the pendulums are vibrations (elastic or sound waves) conducted through the structure of the wall.
The brains pacemaker

Brainwaves are not constant in frequency, but vary from moment to moment. The pacemaker or rhythm section is located deep in the brain, specifically in the thalamus. The system is known as the thalamic rhythm generator or pacemaker (Andersen & Andersson 1968). Careful research is determining the cellular basis of the rhythms (Destexhe et al 1993, Wallenstein 1994). Calcium ions slowly leak into single thalamocortical neurons, which oscillate for 1.528 seconds, triggering and entraining the brain waves, which spread upward throughout the brain. Eventually the thalamic oscillations cease because of the excess calcium built up in the thalamocortical neurons. During this silent phase, lasting from 5 to 25 seconds, the brain waves are said to free-run. It is during this phase that the brainwaves are susceptible to entrainment by external fields, as will be discussed below. Eventually the thalamic oscillations begin again, after the cells have restored their calcium levels to the point where they are able to oscillate again. The electroencephalographic waves spread not only throughout the brain, but throughout the nervous system (via the perineural system) and into every part of the organism. In this way, the brainwaves regulate the overall sensitivity and activity of the entire nervous system (Becker 1990a, 1990b).
Entrainment
When considering the timing of any biological rhythm, the concept of entrainment is important. Physicists use this term to describe a situation in which two rhythms that have nearly the same frequency become coupled to each other, so that both have the same rhythm. Technically, entrainment means the mutual phase-locking of two (or more) oscillators. For example, a number of pendulum clocks mounted on the same wall will eventually entrain, so that all of the pendulums swing in precise synchrony. For this to happen, the
Entrainment of biological rhythms more controversy

This article is heading toward a discussion of the possibility that
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external signals, including signals projected from the hands of an energy therapist, can entrain brainwaves during the thalamic silent or freerun period. The reader should be aware that the entrainment of biological rhythms is a subject as controversial among biologists as the vitalism versus mechanism issue discussed in Part 1 of this series. The controversy is about whether biological rhythms are predominantly timed by internal clocks or by external clocks. While there are good arguments on either side of this issue, the current consensus among scientists is that biological clocks are mostly set by internal pacemakers, such as the thalamus, and that organisms are, for the most part, independent of natural energy cycles, such as those discussed below. However, the history of science has repeatedly demonstrated that scientific consensuses have a rhythm of their own, as ideas of one generation give way to new truths, based on new data. Most scientists and non-scientists alike take a firm position on one side or the other of this question. For many, it is obvious that life is part of a larger fabric, and that rhythms of the sun, moon, planets and other celestial bodies must affect us (e.g. see Leonard 1978). For others it is equally obvious that any such effects, if they do exist, are minimal. For many scientists, there is strong bias against any concept that might be taken as support for astrology, a field that is widely frowned upon. There are good reasons to suspect that a persons point of view on this subject is based less on logical analysis and more on their individual emotional and personality structure. This perspective will be addressed in the second part of this article, when energetic aspects of personality structure are examined.
Geomagnetic and geoelectric fields

Evidence will be presented that the
free-run periods, when the brainwaves are not paced by the thalamus, allow the brains field to be entrained by external electric and magnetic rhythms, either natural or man-made. What is the source of natural electric and magnetic rhythms? The magnetic field of the earth, called the geomagnetic field, causes the compass needle to point toward the North Pole. However, if you look carefully at a compass needle, with a microscope, you will see that the needle is rarely still it dances back and forth in a variety of rhythms. Some of these rhythms are diurnal (24 hour), some are much slower, and others are quite fast, in the ELF range. The latter are called geomagnetic micropulsations. They are caused by a unique geophysical mechanism known as the Schumann resonance. In the 1950s, a German atmospheric physicist, W.O. Schumann, suggested that the space between the surface of the earth and the ionosphere should act as a resonant cavity, somewhat like the chamber in a musical instrument (Schumann 1952). Pressing the keys on a wind instrument changes the size of the cavity and therefore changes the frequency of the standing waves within that cavity. In a musical instrument, tones are generated when the musician blows over an orifice or reed. Energy for the Schumann resonance is provided by lightning. While you may be experiencing calm weather where you are now, there are, on average, about 200 lightning strikes taking place each second, scattered about the planet. To use the physics terminology, lightning pumps energy into the earthionosphere cavity, and causes it to vibrate or resonate at frequencies in the ELF range. In the 1960s, Schumanns theory was confirmed (Galejs 1972, Balser & Wagner 1960). Lightning creates electromagnetic standing waves that travel around the globe. As electromagnetic waves, the Schumann resonance can be detected either as electric or magnetic micropulsations.
The waves are reflected from the ionosphere, back to the earth, back to the ionosphere, etc. (Fig. 3). This skip phenomenon has been widely studied, because it is the basis for long distance radio communication. Radio signals of certain frequencies can travel great distances because they are reflected by the ionosphere. The average frequency of the Schumann resonance is about 7 10 Hz. But when the ionosphere gets higher, the cavity gets larger and the resonant frequency drops. Rhythms of terrestrial and extraterrestrial origin alter the height and other properties of the ionosphere, and thereby alter the Schumann frequency in the range of 140 Hz. There are times when solar activity leads to magnetic storms that disrupt the ionosphere, and Schumann resonances cease. Some of the factors influencing the Schumann frequency are given in the legend for Figure 3.
To summarize, the Schumann resonance is created by terrestrial activities, and is modified or modulated by extraterrestrial activities. In radio terminology, the signals are frequency modulated (FM).
Evidence for entrainment by external fields

The Schumann oscillations propagate for long distances and readily penetrate through the walls of buildings and into the human body. Schumann frequencies have considerable overlap with biomagnetic fields such as those produced by the heart and brain, but the Schumann resonance is thousands of times stronger. The similarity of a train of Schumann signals and an -brainwave are shown in Figure 4. A number of biologists have concluded that the frequency overlap of Schumann resonances and biological fields is not accidental, but is the culmination of a close interplay between geomagnetic and biomagnetic fields over evolutionary time (e.g. Direnfeld 1983). Hence researchers have examined interactions between external fields and biological rhythms. Organisms are capable of sensing the intensity, polarity, and direction of the geomagnetic field (Gould 1984). There is evidence that geomagnetic rhythms serve as a time cue in the organization of physiological rhythms (e.g. Wever 1968, Gauguelin 1974, Cremer-Bartels et al 1984), although this continues to be controversial. A variety of behavioural disturbances in the human population are statistically
Fig. 3 The Schumann resonance is a unique electromagnetic phenomenon created by the sum of the lightning activity around the world. Electromagnetic pulses from lightening travel around the earth, bouncing back and forth between the ionosphere and the earths surface. At any given point on the earth, the Schumann resonance shows up as electric and magnetic micropulsations in the range of 140 Hz. The frequency and strength of the signals depend on the distribution of global thunderstorm activity, local meteorological conditions and the conductivity of the earths surface at the point of observation. Bursts of Schumann pulses are easier to detect in fair weather, and occur more often during the day than at night. These terrestrial factors are, in turn, influenced by more distant extraterrestrial factors, such as solar and lunar position, sun spots, planetary positions, etc. For details, see Pressman 1970, Dubrov 1978. The diagram is modified from Bentov (1976). 185
Fig. 4 A Schumann signal and an brainwave. The illustration is modified from Figure 15 in Konig (1974).
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related to disturbances in the earths electromagnetic field or to man-made interferences:
Howard et al (1965) documented a relationship between increased geomagnetic activity and the rate of admission of patients to 35 psychiatric facilities. Venkatraman (1976) and Rajaram & Mitra (1981) reported an association between changes in the geomagnetic field due to magnetic storms and frequency of seizures in epileptic patients. Becker (1963) and Friedman et al (1963, 1965) also studied the relationships between psychiatric ward admissions and behaviour and geophysical parameters. Perry et al (1981) correlated suicide locations in the West Midlands, England, with high magnetic field strengths due to 50 Hz power lines.
Many studies have demonstrated the probable entrainment of brain waves by external rhythms of natural and artificial origin:
Reiter (1953) measured reaction time, an important factor in traffic safety. Upon entering a cubicle at a traffic exhibition, visitors were asked to press a key. When a light came on, they were to release pressure on the key. Their reaction time, i.e. the time between light on and key release, was recorded for many thousands of visitors over a 2-month period. At the same time, the ELF micropulsations (Schumann resonances) were monitored. The micropulsations slow when a thunderstorm is approaching, and Reiter found that the subjects were slower to respond during such periods. When the micropulsations speeded up, into the range of alpha brainwave activity, reaction times were faster. After the traffic exhibition, Reiter took his test cubicle to the University of Munich and lined the top and bottom with wire mesh connected to an electrical
generator. He introduced artificial low-level, low frequency signals similar to those of the earths field. Under these controlled conditions, the effects of the fields on reaction time were comparable to those obtained during the exhibition. Moreover, subjects in the laboratory experiments repeatedly complained about headaches, tightness in the chest, and sweating of the palms after several minutes of exposure to 3 cycle/second fields. When the headaches faded away, there was often a feeling of fatigue. These symptoms resemble the so-called weather sensitivity complaints that some people have before the arrival of a thunderstorm. Hamer (1965, 1969) pulsed subjects with low intensity artificial electric fields from metal plates on each side of their heads. Fields of 810 Hz speeded up reaction time, while slower oscillations of 23 Hz slowed down reaction times significantly. Similar results were reported by Friedman et al in 1967. In 1977, Beatty reported studies on the practical significance of brainwave entrainment for people such as air traffic controllers, who need to maintain an alert state for long periods. Subjects monitored a simulated radar screen, watching for certain targets to appear. In agreement with the findings of Reiter and Hamer, slower brainwaves were correlated with slower reaction times and poorer performance in the task. Wever and colleagues at the MaxPlank Institute in Germany observed hundreds of subjects, over many years, who lived in two underground rooms that were shielded from external rhythms of light, temperature, sound, pressure, etc. One room also had an electromagnetic shield around it, consisting of a mesh of steel rods and plates, that reduced the influence of geomagnetic rhythms
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by 99%. The rhythms of body temperature, sleep-waking, urinary excretion and other physiological activities were monitored. All subjects developed longer and irregular or desynchronized or chaotic physiological rhythms. Those in the magnetically shielded room developed significantly longer and more irregular physiological rhythms. In some experiments, artificial electric and magnetic rhythms were pulsed into the shielding. Only one field had any effect: a very weak 10 Hz electric field. This field dramatically restored normal patterns to the biorhythm measurements. Each of these studies concluded that biological rhythms can be entrained with natural and artificial ELF electric fields. Entrainment of brainwaves can set the overall speed of responsiveness of the nervous system to stimulation. This is called reaction time, and is an easily measured parameter of consciousness. The results support Beckers contention that the pulsing DC electrical system (brainwaves) set the tone of the entire nervous system. These studies do not mean that when a thunderstorm approaches, everyone will get drowsy, react slowly and accidents will happen. Instead, they suggest that there is a statistically greater chance of slower reactions and more frequent accidents under these conditions. Geomagnetic pulsations do not affect everyone the same way. However, there is evidence that geomagnetic pulsations strongly entrain brain waves during meditation and other practices, in which one quiets the mind to allow the freerun to be dominated by geophysical rhythms.
Mechanism of entrainment
The internal pathways involved in the bodys responses to external magnetic
rhythms are shown in Figure 5. The pineal gland is the primary magnetoreceptor. Between 20 and 30% of pineal cells are magnetically sensitive. Exposure of animals to magnetic fields of various intensities alters the secretion of melatonin, the electrical properties of pineal cells, and their microscopic structure (reviewed by Sandyk 1995). In addition, various animal tissues contain particles of organic magnetite. Two separate research groups have now recorded magnetically influenced impulses in single neurons connecting magnetite-bearing tissues with the brain (reviewed by Kobayashi & Kirschvink 1995). The question of whether living systems are sensitive to the earths magnetic field has been bitterly controversial for more than a century. There are now a number of plausible and well-documented mechanisms for such interactions, and abundant evidence that they take place. Moreover, Beckers research has shown how geomagnetic entrainment of the brainwaves can affect the entire nervous system at a very high level of control, i.e. the perineural DC system that extends throughout the body and has roles in regulating injury repair. In terms of an energetic paradigm for bodywork and movement therapies, there is no need for us to hypothesize that geomagnetic fields, modified by terrestrial and extraterrestrial events, entrain brainwaves. Scientists from around the world have already done so, and continue to build solid supporting evidence. Part B of this article explores how these concepts may apply in the therapeutic setting. REFERENCES
Andersen P, Andersson SA 1968 Physiological basis of the alpha rhythm. Appleton-CenturyCrofts, New York Balser M, Wagner CA 1960. Observation of earth-ionosphere cavity resonances. Nature 188: 4751
The Earth's magnetic field
Schumann resonance
Pineal gland and magnetite bearing tissue Brain
Perineural system
Projected biomagnetic field
Injury repair
Fig. 5 A summary of the pathways involved in magnetoreception, the regulation of brain waves and therapeutic emissions from the hands of therapists. Micropulsations of the geomagnetic field, caused by the Schumann resonance, are detected by the pineal and magnetite-bearing tissues associated with the brain. During the free-run period, when the brainwaves are not being entrained by the thalamus, the Schumann resonance can take over as the pacemaker, particularly if the individual is in a relaxed or meditative state (Schumann signals are thousands of times stronger than brainwaves). The brainwaves regulate the overall tone of the nervous system and the state of consciousness. The electrical currents of the brainwaves are conducted throughout the body by the perineural and vascular systems. The biomagnetic field projected from the hands can be much stronger than the brainwaves (Seto et al 1992) indicating that an amplification of at least 1000 times takes place somewhere in the body. Alternatively, the body may simply act as an effective antenna or channel for the Schumann micropulsations. The projected fields scan or sweep through the frequencies medical researchers are finding useful for jump-starting injury repair in a variety of tissues (see Table). Portions of this illustration are redrawn from Becker (1990b). 187
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Bassett C A L 1995 Bioelectromagnetics in the service of medicine. In: Blank M (ed) Electromagnetic fields. Biological interactions and mechanisms. Advances in Chemistry Series 250: 261275 Beatty J 1977 Learned regulation of alpha and theta frequency activity in the human electroencephalogram. In: Schwartz G E, Beatty J (eds) Biofeedback. Theory and research. Academic Press, New York, pp 351370 Becker RO 1963 Relationship of geomagnetic environment to human biology. New York State Journal of Medicine 1 August: 22152219 Becker RO 1990a The machine brain and properties of the mind. Subtle Energies 1: 7987 Becker RO 1990b Cross currents. The perils of electropollution. The promise of electromedicine. Jeremy P. Tarcher, Los Angeles, p. 80 (Figure 34) Becker RO 1991 Evidence for a primitive DC electrical analog system controlling brain function. Subtle Energies 2: 7188 Bentov I 1976 Micromotion of the body as a factor in the development of the nervous system. In: Sannella L. Kundalini-Psychosis or Transcendence? H S Dakin Co, San Francisco CA, pp 7195 (Appendix A) Bernard C 1839 Des liquides de lorganisme, Tome III. Baillire, Paris Borgens RB, Roederer E, Cohen MJ 1981 Enhanced spinal cord regeneration in lamprey by applied electric fields. Science 213: 611617 Cremer-Bartels G, Krause K, Mitoskas G 1984 Magnetic field of the earth as additional zeitgeber for endogenous rhythms? Naturwissenschaften 71: 567574 Davson H 1970 A textbook of general physiology, 4th edn. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, p 559 Destexhe A, Babloyantz A, Sejnowski TJ 1993 Ionic mechanisms for intrinsic slow oscillations in thalamic relay neurons. Biophysical Journal 65: 15381552 Direnfeld LK 1983 The genesis of the EEG and its relation to electromagnetic radiation. Journal of Bioelectricity 2: 111121 Dubrov AP 1978 The geomagnetic field and life. Geomagnetobiology. Plenum Press, New York Enander B, Larson G 1977 Microwave radiometric measurements of the temperature inside a body. Electronic Letter 10: 317 Fox SS 1979 Evoked potential, coding, and behavior. In: Schmitt FO (ed) The neurosciences: second study program. Rockefeller University Press, New York, pp 243259 Friedman H, Becker RO, Bachman C 1963 Geomagnetic parameters and psychiatric hospital admissions. Nature 200: 626628 Friedman H, Becker RO, Bachman C 1965
Psychiatric ward behaviour and geophysical parameters. Nature 205: 10501052 Friedman H, Becker RO, Bachman C 1967 Effect of magnetic fields on reaction time performance. Nature 213: 949956 Galejs J 1972 Terrestrial propagation of long electromagnetic waves. Pergamon Press, Oxford Gauguelin M 1974 The cosmic clocks. Avon Books, New York Gould 1984 Magnetic field sensitivity in animals. Annual Review of Physiology 46: 585598 Hamer JR 1965 Biological entrainment of the human brain by low frequency radiation. Northrop Space Labs NSL 65199 Hamer JR 1969 Effects of low level, low frequency electric fields on human time judgment. Fifth International Biometeorological Congress, Montreux, Switzerland Howard et al 1965 Psychiatric ward behaviour and geophysical parameters. Nature 205: 10501052 Jaffe LF 1981 The role of ionic currents in establishing developmental pattern. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 295: 553566 Jaffe LF 1982 Developmental currents, voltages, and gradients. In: Developmental order: its origin and regulation. Alan R Liss, New York, pp 183215 Kandel ER, Schwartz JH 1981 Principles of Neural Science. Elsevier/North-Holland, New York, p 468 Kobayashi A, Kirschvink JL 1995 Magnetoreception and electromagnetic field effects: sensory perception of the geomagnetic field in animals and humans. In Blank M (ed) Electromagnetic fields. Biological interactions and mechanisms. Advances in Chemistry Series 250: 367394 Konig HL 1974 ELF and VLF signal properties: physical characteristics. In: Persinger MA (ed) ELF and VLF electromagnetic field effects. Plenum Press, New York, p 28 Leonard G 1978 The silent pulse. A search for the perfect rhythm that exists in each of us. EP Dutton, New York Libbin RM et al 1979 Partial regeneration of the above-elbow amputated rat forelimb. II Electrical and mechanical facilitation. Journal of Morphology 159: 439452 Liboff AR, McLeod BR, Smith S D 1993 Method and apparatus for the treatment of cancer. United States Patent 5,211,622 Miller MW 1986 Extremely low frequency (ELF) electric fields: experimental work on biological effects. In: Polk C, Postow E (eds) CRC Handbook of biological effects of electromagnetic fields. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp 139168 Niu X, Liu G, Yu Z 1992 Secondary acoustic biological response. In: Lee RH (ed) Scientific investigations into Chinese 188
QiGong. China Healthways Institute, San Clemente, CA Oschman JL 1993 A biophysical basis for acupuncture. Proceedings of the First Symposium of the Society for Acupuncture Research, Rockville, MD, 2324 January Oschman JL, Oschman NH 1994 Physiological and emotional effects of acupuncture needle insertion. Proceedings of the Second Symposium of the Society for Acupuncture Research, Washington, DC, 1718 September Perry FS, Reichmanis M, Marino A, Becker RO 1981 Environmental power-frequency magnetic fields and suicide. Health Physics 41: 267277 Popp FA, Li KH, Gu Q 1992 Recent advances in biophoton research and its applications. World Scientific, Singapore Presman AS 1970 Electromagnetic fields and life. Plenum Press, New York QiGong Institute 1995 The QiGong Database is available for MacIntosh and IBM or DOS compatible computers from the QiGong Institute, East West Academy of Healing Arts, 450 Sutter Street, Suite 2104, San Francisco, CA 94108, USA (Tel/Fax 4153231221) Rajaram M, Mitra S 1981 Correlation between convulsive seizure and geomagnetic activity. Neuroscience Letters 24: 187191 Ratner S 1979 The dynamic state of body proteins. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 325: 189209 Rattemeyer M, Popp FA, Nagl W 1981 Evidence of photon emission from DNA in living systems. Naturwissenschaften 68: 572573 Reiter R 1953 Neuere Untersuchungen zum Problem der Wetterabhngigkeit des Menschen. Archiv fr Meterologie, Geophysik und Bioclimatologie B4:327 (For a review of Reiters work in English, see Knig HL 1974 Behavioral changes in human subjects associated with ELF electric fields. In: Persinger MA (ed) ELF and VLF electromagnetic field effects. Plenum Press, New York, pp 8199) Russek LG, Schwartz GE 1996 Energy cardiology: a dynamical energy systems approach for integrating conventional and alternative medicine. Advances: The Journal of Mind-Body Health 12: 424 Sandyk R 1995 Treatment of neurological and mental disorders. United States Patent 5,470,846 Schoenheimer R 1942 The dynamic state of body constituents. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA Schumann WO 1952 On the characteristic oscillations of a conducting sphere which is surrounded by an air layer and an ionospheric shell (in German). Zeitschrift fur Naturforschung 7a: 149154 (For a summary of Schumanns research in English, see Konig HL 1974 ELF and VLF signal properties: physical characteristics. In: ELF and VLF
electromagnetic field effects. In: Persinger MA (ed) Plenum Press, NY, pp 934) Seto A, Kusaka C, Nakazato S et al 1992 Detection of extraordinary large bio-magnetic field strength from human hand. Acupuncture and Electro-Therapeutics Research International Journal 17: 7594 Sisken BF, Walker J 1995 Therapeutic aspects of electromagnetic fields for soft-tissue healing. In: Blank M (ed) Electromagnetic fields. Biological interactions and mechanisms. Advances in Chemistry Series 250: 277285 Strohman RC 1993 Ancient genomes, wise bodies, unhealthy people: limits of a genetic paradigm in biology and medicine. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 37: 112145 Venkatraman K 1976 Epilepsy and solar
activity. An hypothesis. Neurology (India) 24: 15 Verzeano M 1970. Evoked responses and network dynamics. In: Whalen R E et al (eds) Neuronal control of behavior. Academic Press, New York, pp 2754 Vogt PM, Thompson S, Andree C et al 1994 Genetically modified keratinocytes transplanted to wounds reconstitute the epidermis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 91: 93079311 Wallenstein GV 1994 A model of the electrophysiological properties of nucleus reticularis thalami neurons. Biophysical Journal 66: 978988 Walker M 1994 The healing powers of QiGong, Part 3. Townsend Letter for Doctors April: 296303
Wever R 1968 Einfluss Schwacher Elektromagnetischer Felder auf die Circadiane Periodik des Menschen. Naturwissenschaften 55: 2932 (For a summary of Wevers work in English, see Wever R 1974 ELF-effects on human circadian rhythms. In: Persinger MA (ed) ELF and VLF electromagnetic field effects. Plenum Press, New York, p 101144 Zimmerman J 1990 Laying-on-of-hands healing and therapeutic touch: a testable theory. BEMI Currents. Journal of the Bio-ElectroMagnetics Institute 2: 817 (Available from Dr John Zimmerman, 2490 West Moana Lane, Reno, Nevada 895093936, USA. Also see an article published in 1985: New technologies detect effects of healing hands. Brain/Mind Bulletin 10: 2).
ENERGY REVIEW PART 3B
Therapeutic entrainment
Evidence has been presented that strong biomagnetic fields are projected from the hands of practitioners of therapeutic touch, QiGong, and other methods. In Part 2A it was suggested that repeated practice of various hands-on bodywork techniques might increase the size of brain areas devoted to movement and sensitivity of the fingers involved. This, in turn, could enhance the biomagnetic output from those areas of the brain, as it does in those who practice with a stringed instrument. Increases in the strength of the brainwaves would lead to a corresponding increase in the output from the fingers, as the brainwaves are conducted to the fingers via the perineural and circulatory systems. Hence the arrangement shown in Figure 1 is ideally suited for coupling or entraining the biomagnetic rhythms of therapist and patient. If the therapist relaxes into the state of consciousness typical of meditators, practitioners of therapeutic touch and QiGong, and other methods, it is likely that their brainwaves will, from time to time, become entrained with the micropulsations of the earths field. If the patient is relaxed, both individuals may become entrained with the earths field. There is remarkable documentation for this concept. In 1969, Robert C. Beck began a decade of research on the brain wave activity of healers from a wide variety of subcultures around the world (Beck 1986). Beck recorded their electrical brainwaves with an electroencephalograph (EEG). All the healers produced similar brainwave patterns when they were in their altered state and performing a healing. It did not matter what the healers beliefs and customs were, all registered brainwave activity averaging about 7.88 cycles/second while they were in their healing state. Beck studied exceptional individuals who were famous or who had developed reputations as healers, psychics, shamans or dowsers. He studied a charismatic Christian faith
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healer, seers, ESP readers, an authentic Hawaiian kahuna, practitioners of wicca, Santeria, radesthesia and radionics. Most of these so-called sensitives entered an altered state of consciousness and produced nearly identical EEG signatures, which lasted from one to several seconds. The obvious question is how these individuals, unknown to each other and located thousands of miles apart, developed the same brainwave frequency during their healings. Beck noted that the subjects were practising opposing disciplines, and came from totally disparate teachings, and held opposing viewpoints, and would barely acknowledge the existence or authenticity of practitioners outside their belief systems Beck performed additional studies on some of his subjects and found that during the healing moments their brainwaves became phase and frequency synchronized with the earths
geoelectric micropulsations, the Schumann resonance. There is evidence for coupling of both cardiac and brain rhythms between two individuals in the same room who are sitting quietly, facing each other, with eyes closed, without touching (Russek & Schwartz 1994, 1996). The electrocardiograms and electroencephalograms of both individuals are recorded, and the rhythms are analysed for the presence of between-person cardiacbrain synchronization. Such synchronization is present, and it is enhanced if the subjects are connected electrically, such as by a wire held in the left hand of one person and the right hand of the other. This approach opens the door to a variety of quantifiable studies of the healerpatient relationships in terms of energy coupling. If there is entrainment of rhythms in two individuals who are not touching, what can we expect from commonly used therapeutic situations such as that shown in Figure 1? Taken together, the research summarized here points to a remarkable model that may explain the unusual emissions of Qi or healing energy and other phenomena observed in a wide variety of energy therapies. What these practices have in common seems to be periodic entrainments of brainwaves and whole-body biomagnetic emissions with the Schumann resonances in the earths atmosphere. The Schumann resonance, in turn, is governed by terrestrial and extraterrestrial rhythms produced by cyclic astronomical activities. The result may be a wholebody collective oscillation, partly driven by the energy of higher frequency Frhlich oscillations, entrained with geophysical fields, involving virtually all of the billions of collagen, membrane phospholipid and contractile protein molecules throughout the body, and, possibly, the associated water molecules. What links brain electrical activity, as measured with the EEG, the
biomagnetic emissions from the body measured with magnetometers, and healing responses, is the perineural direct current regulatory system described by R.O. Becker. If these speculations are correct, the next question is what function coherent biomagnetic emissions would serve in healing. The healing power of projected fields may arise from their ability to entrain similar coherent rhythms in the tissues of a client. Perhaps such entrainment enhances the evolutionarily ancient communication and regulatory systems involved in wound healing and defence. Martial arts techniques appear to involve projecting fields at points in the bodys energy system that are sensitive nodes in a solid state informational and power distribution system (Oschman 1993). The thalamus maintains the rhythms, and the free-run periods allow the brainwaves to be entrained by rhythmic micropulsations that are tied to terrestrial and extraterrestrial rhythms. It is during these free-runs that we extract information on rhythms taking place in our environment. Hence it may be necessary to expand our definition of information in the context of healing.
We have seen how medical devices and therapeutic hands-on methods inject information into cells and tissues, and we can now see how some of the information content of these messages may relate to distant activities in the larger environment. An idea of this sort would have been very suspect a few years ago, before the extensive research that has documented the exquisite sensitivity of a wide variety of organisms to environmental energy fields. These studies have been particularly valuable in explaining the ability of animals such as homing pigeons to use geomagnetic fields in their navigation. Certainly, for those who use their hands to enhance the functioning of their fellow beings, the free-run periods, when allowed to happen without intellectual processing, can give rise to moments of profound insight and deep healing. This is the healing state of mind that is the goal of many healing and religious traditions. The thalamic relay oscillations resume from time to time. This is important physiologically because there are times when the Schumann resonance stops (as during magnetic storms, when the ionosphere is
Fig. 1 Therapeutic situations such as this are employed in a wide variety of bodywork and movement therapies. Research indicates that this is an ideal arrangement for entrainment of the biological rhythms of patient and therapist. This illustration is from Upledger JE & Vredevoogd JD 1983 Craniosacral Therapy, Eastland Press, Chicago, IL, illustration 7-10, p. 1100, reproduced with permission from the publisher. 190
Therapeutic entrainment Part 3B
temporarily disrupted or even vanishes). Therapists often blame themselves for periods when their work seems less effective than usual, when the real problem may be meteorological or astrophysical phenomena that are beyond their control. Therapists need also to be aware of aspects of their local environment, such as the conductivity of subsurface soils, which can be an important factor in the reception of Schumann resonances. Remarkable as these ideas may seem, they are not new. Deepak Chopra, in his lectures and writings, has interpreted the ancient Vedic scriptures, some of the oldest writings known: Healing involves aligning our bodies with the larger body for the effortless flow of information. Or: When my body is completely in tune with the cosmic body, I feel comfortable.
Trauma energetics
This inquiry into energetics becomes far more meaningful when referenced to exciting developments in the therapeutic setting. Pioneers are constantly standing on the shoulders of their teachers, students and clients, looking beyond familiar territory, scanning for new potentials for methods mastered, taught and practised. One such pioneer has, for our mutual benefit, openly and honestly documented his life-long exploration. His name is William Redpath, and his book is Trauma energetics, a study of held-energy systems (1994). The following summarizes his journey, partly with his own, well chosen, words. Redpath takes us through the evolution and resolution of his own childhood trauma. In the process, he raises thoughtful questions about what lies beneath our traumas and abuses, and the ways they affect our actions and interpretations. Because of a professional interest in tragic history, theory and performance, and, later, in
various therapies, Redpath shares insights about our artistic, dramatic, and therapeutic characterizations of trauma. His personal trauma was vividly reexperienced 46 years later: the slow motion of his fall, an altered perception of time and space. His teachers (e.g. Peter Levine) cautiously led him back, to face the event, to renegotiate its meaning, to dilute or titrate its toxicity. He was guided to look into the dark places, where the energy was stored. The toxicity cleared slowly and agonizingly as he struggled to emerge from its influence, to reintegrate himself. He recognized that certain behaviours had become addictive, repetitious, toxic, regrettable. Aspects of body, mind and spirit had been encapsulated by the event. Large shifts, sea-changes, unfolded as encapsulating boundaries fell away. Others present at the time of his trauma, who had been experienced as enemies or antagonists, or with fear or anger, were seen with new compassionate, empathetic eyes. In an intuitive and incremental process, his detoxification was rewarded by moments of hope, enlightenment, movement and freedom, experienced deeply and simultaneously. Developmental processes long on hold were gradually reactivated, with profound consequences for momentto-moment reality. Redpaths search was characterized by a remarkable tenacity from each insight, no matter how carefully and painfully acquired, there arose a set of questions:
of the worlds horrors, both individual and collective? Might trauma resolution be the only real path to genuine enlightenment? Where in our institutions are these vital lessons being taught?
Is this all there is? Is this always so? If there are exceptions, what do they mean? Is it not our lesson to learn how traumas are laid in, how to dissolve them, and how to sustain the resultant freedom? Might this be progress? Might this be the real source of all
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Gradually, through his own struggles and those of his clients, he came to see the mechanism underlying trauma. He saw how his parents passed their own lineage of trauma to him, concluding that the transmission was invisible and choiceless, beyond language and symbol. He realized that held areas represent the bodys attempt to limit the damage of overstimulation and challenge. Years later, energetic regulatory systems continue to scan this section of held-energy roughly 10 times/second (with each brainwave). Trauma is set in place virtually instantaneously, in the fraction of a second before our selfawareness can notice it. Remarkably, its resolution can be as quick and almost as unnoticed. In terms of energetics, one unusual moment of healing stands out. A recurring pain had been diagnosed as a duodenal ulcer. In addition to the usual antacids, Redpath began a series of reflexology and bioenergetic sessions, which seemed to help. He learned how to breath into the place of a pain. One supposed ulcer spasm attracted his close focus and breath, and there was a sudden connection, accompanied by a powerful pulse of energy from the apparent site of his ulcer, up and out of his eyes. It felt like the electrical sensation of putting a finger in a light socket. In an instant, he knew his ulcer would not bother him again, and this proved to be the case. Describing his experience to professional therapists was disconcerting, for they had no capacity to relate to it. This event was a dramatic revelation of the potential healing forces that resided within himself. The only way he was able to come close to a comparable energetic experience
Oschman
was through acupuncture. (Perhaps his release was actually an energetic discharge along the stomach or small intestine meridian, both of which extend from the abdomen up to the area near the eyes.) Redpath discerned that our brains are continuously poised to resolve our afflictions, and allow what he calls serious action. This is defined as movement that is not referenced to, or motivated by, traumatic patterns, either within ourselves or in the culture around us. What if serious action begins not with a movement, but with an immobility, which our brain continuously scans for? Redpath found what appeared to be subtle energetic representations of trauma that are readily approachable and resolvable. Because these energetic signatures reside outside the thought and speech centres of the brain, it is easier to unravel them without entering into their narrative representations. This is a definite departure from the methodical analysis of dreams and narratives used in conventional Jungian or Freudian therapies, which do not consistently alter basic patterns. Traditional therapy seeks the memories, ideas, sensations, feelings, thoughts as primary, while Redpath was discovering that there was something prior, preverbal. Moreover, this something could be reached directly, bypassing what lay in between. He began a new therapeutic style, with his Rolfing clients who were interested in experimenting. Gradually he shifted his focus to victims of sexual and physical abuse. They lie on the table, clothed. Many are relieved when they learn that they do not have to begin with their story. For the problem is not so much in the facts of the abuse, enormously difficult as they might be, but in the cognitive perception and storage of those facts. Redpaths experience with psychoanalysis was that no matter how well victims recovered critical memories, the patterns of their lives
continued to be tormented and disrupted. Where the pattern is most difficult, the brain must figure it out, in the company of someone else, but without help. His method is to simply place his hands under the base of his clients head and neck, as shown in Figure 1. Over a period of time, sitting quietly with their eyes closed, with some basic guidance, he and his clients watch together as traumas complete themselves. He came to distrust superficial releases, emotional or physical. They may illuminate without removing the pattern. He suggests that clients not dwell in the emotion, in contrast to traditional therapies. Instead, he asks them to lie still and watch the brain do the work. The work is therefore not physical or emotional or willed or intended. Instead it goes to the deep energetic level that organizes or incarnates or underlays experience itself. Redpath describes the results as a reclaiming of the life force. Among therapists and others involved, the various perspectives on life force are sources of disagreement. Redpath suggests an underlying reason for this: the trauma mechanism itself causes deep trouble for our brains, which have inherent mechanisms of denial and self-concealment. Arguments about mechanisms are another method of maintaining the concealment. Similarly, there may be a deeper reason for arguments about whether or not an individuals biological rhythms can be entrained by rhythms in the environment, including those of another person. Ones stand on this issue may relate more to personality structure and boundary issues than to any intellectual arguments that can be raised.
Microgenetic theory in bodywork and movement therapies

Thanks to the work of Redpath, our series on healing energy and trauma
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energetics converge. Subtle energy is a concept vast and controversial enough to provide a title to a journal, and to rally therapists of diverse schools. But just what is this subtle energy? If our quest is to be complete, this question must be answered with some precision. We can now begin to do this, thanks to a valuable but seldom discussed theory of consciousness that has profound clinical implications. Rhythmic changes in neuronal sensitivity described in Part A, and Redpaths trauma energetics, can be interpreted in the light of an important concept of consciousness. Jason W. Brown of New York University Medical Center has written extensively on a theory known as microgenesis (Brown 1986). The theory evolved from careful analysis of certain brain disorders known as aphasia. Microgenesis is a unified theory that brings together language, perception, learning, action (movement), feeling, time awareness and the nature of the self. As a theory, microgenesis can richly contribute to therapeutic perspectives such as those documented by Redpath. Microgenesis is not discussed widely by neuroscientists, in part because it is based on a wealth of clinical detail that few are familiar with. For example, Browns work has not been mentioned in any of the articles in the Journal of Consciousness Research, now in its 4th year of publication. Microgenesis is a profoundly important theory for complementary medicine, with many practical applications, because it describes the origin of a quantum unit of consciousness in relation to waves of energy flowing upward through the nervous system. The conscious unit is synthesized as a bottom-up unfoldment, a series of steps that retrace the evolution of the brain (see Figure 2). These stages are roughly described as the evolutionarily ancient reptilian brain, the newer
Therapeutic entrainment Part 3B
Perception
Action Representation of the object in relation to the musculoskeletal system Discrimination of object features and position in the world Cortex A viewer-centred space of image, dream or hallucination the object is selected on the basis of memory Spatial map of the body and its surroundings an image less space of will, direction, intuition, subconscious, intention archetypes, life saving reactions
Magic writing pad
Motor keyboard
ammalian brai n om e N mammal eo rain ian b al
Visual cortex Limbic system Brain stem
tilia Re p i n n bra
Fig. 2 Rhythms in brain fields are related to consciousness in a unified theory called microgenesis (Brown 1991). Details are given in the text.
paleomammalian or limbic system, and the neomammalian cortex. Each conscious unit lasts about one tenth of a second, or the duration of a single brainwave. As shown in Part A, the wave begins deep in the brain, in the thalamus, which serves as a clock or pacemaker. From the thalamus the wave of electrical activity spreads upward, into the evolutionarily newer brain structures, ultimately reaching the surface of the cortex, where perceptions and actions come together to form the conscious moment. The wave also spreads outward through the perineural system, to all innervated tissues in the body. The neural pathways involved in perception and those involved in controlling actions are linked from the bottom of the microgeny to the top. Hence the brain stem contains a spatial map of the body and its relationship to its surroundings. Brown describes this as an image-less space of will, direction, intuition, subconscious, intention, archetypes and life-saving defensive reactions. The next level is the limbic system,
which is a viewer-centred space of image, dream or hallucination in which objects are selected on the basis of memory. In the visual cortex, the features and positions of objects in the world are discriminated. In the cortex, a representation of objects is formed in relation to the musculoskeletal system. At the top of the microgeny, the conscious moment is written on a magic writing pad on the surface of the cortex. The image gradually fades, from the top down, as a new wave arrives to take its place. The continual replacement of the image on the writing pad occurs so smoothly that consciousness appears to flow seamlessly from instant to instant. At the same time as the conscious moment is perceived, the cortical motor keyboard initiates actions through the musculoskeletal system. Perceptions of the moment and actions upon the environment are integrated at the top of the microgeny. During the bottom-up process, the meaning of the moment is systematically extracted from a
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combination of personality structure and sensory information. As the brainwaves extend to the periphery, via the perineural system, each wave of sensation references information, both conscious and unconscious, located throughout the body. Sensation therefore enters the microgeny at successive points. However, sensation does not provide the building blocks for the construction of the world out there. Instead, sensation constrains or sculpts or selects the developing world from a deep preobject formed from the personality structure. Personality structure is defined as the sum of the fields of experience, concepts, memories and archetypes. Hence the meaning of the moment is extracted prior to awareness of the moment. The world out there is what survives a transit through the microgenetic sequence. The result can be a dream, a hallucination, an image or a perception of real objects in the world. The personality structure includes Redpaths charges or patternings or holdings or encapsulations installed by traumas. It is probably in the lower, preverbal levels, the brain stem and limbic system, that Redpaths subtle energies have some of their effects. Additional effects may be at the level of somatic memories stored in solid state form in non-nervous cells throughout the body (Oschman & Oschman 1994a,b). It is likely that Browns fields of experience and Redpaths subtle energies are literal energy fields, microscopic electric and magnetic signatures stored in neural networks and in semiconductor circuits in nonnervous cells throughout the body. It is for this reason that traumatic aspects of personality structure are so approachable when the electromagnetic rhythms of therapist and client are entrained to form a single collectively coherent pulse. By acting energetically, at this silent preverbal level, trauma can be resolved, while bypassing its narrative representations.
Oschman
The upward unfolding of the unit of consciousness retraces the stages in the evolution of the nervous system, and retraces the ontogeny of the mind, i.e. the development or maturation of the personality. Brown summarized his concept by stating that evolution has taken millions of years to develop the structure of the brain; it takes a few years to refine the personality structure; and it takes a fraction of a second to produce a behaviour. Figure 2 summarizes the steps in the process. As a philosophy of mind and practical theory, microgenesis is a process model as opposed to a localization model. In other words, steps in the processing of data, such as visual information, do not take place in specific locations, but retrace the evolution of the brain.
The microgenetic moment

Microgenesis in action is dramatically demonstrated by those moments many people have experienced when time seems to slow down. For Redpath, this was one of the things he noticed first, when he reexperienced his own trauma 46 years after it occurred: the slow motion of his fall, an altered perception of time and space. This is a frequent recollection of those who have gone through a serious accident or other lifethreatening situation. The experience of time slowing down is probably caused by a speeding up of the thalamic clock or pacemaker, so that each second is divided into more conscious units. While this is perceived as a slowing of time, it is actually a speeding up of the microgeny, allowing for more rapid responsiveness needed to initiate lifesaving actions. Microgenesis is important for bodywork and movement therapies because it helps account for significant moments of realization or insight or resolution that happen occasionally in therapeutic sessions. Redpath described one of these moments, when
his supposed ulcer problem resolved in a single instant, probably correlating physiologically with a part of a single brainwave passing through the parts of the microgeny where a certain aspect of his personality structure, a traumatic pattern, was stored. Redpath also described how other therapists were unable to relate to an event so important to his personal evolution. Until microgenesis, there was little in the way of a theoretical framework for discussing such phenomena. While relatively rare, sudden moments of clarity and resolution are profoundly important, particularly for the victim of trauma of any kind, because they have the potential to quickly and completely re-set the psyche, without getting into the details of the event. A life-changing behavioural transformation, with many physiological and emotional consequences, can take place in a fraction of a second. We can refer to such instantaneous healings as microgenetic moments (a term devised by Deane Juhan after careful study of Browns work). All of this relates to healing energy because the microgenetic moment arises during an individual electromagnetic pulse associated with a single brain wave. Browns microgenesis model provides a neurophysiological context for such phenomena, and recent work by Freeman (1995) provides a biological basis. Freeman describes how transient electrical responses to sensation can lead naturally to lifealtering changes in the brain. Our interpretations of what a particular pattern or sensation means are set up by experiences we have early in life. Microgenetic moments are instants when these connections are wiped away, leading to a temporary period of cerebral malleability, to new interpretations of reality, and to what Redpath refers to as serious action, action unencumbered by traumatic patterns.
Through his own evolutionary process, Redpath developed methods of reaching into the microgeny and bringing about a meltdown or deletion of previously acquired traumatic perspectives. Such moments can lay the neural and energetic groundwork for new interpretations and experiences of self. It is suggested that Redpaths methods represent microgenetic theory in action. REFERENCES
Beck R 1986 Mood modification with ELF magnetic fields: a preliminary exploration. Archaeus 4: 48 Brown J W 1991 Self and process. Brain states and the conscious present. Springer-Verlag, New York Chopra D 1994 Keynote lecture at Columbia University Dharam Hinduja Indic Research Center Conference, Health, Science, and the Spirit: Veda and Ayurveda in the Western World, 2829 October, 1994. Conference summary by Hartzell JF and Zysk JG Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 1(3): 297301 Freeman W J 1995 Societies of brains. A study in the neuroscience of love and hate. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ Oschman J L 1993 A biophysical basis for acupuncture. Proceedings of the First Symposium of the Society for Acupuncture Research, Rockville, MD, 2324 January Oschman J L, Oschman N H 1994a Somatic recall. Part I. Soft tissue memory. Massage Therapy Journal, American Massage Therapy Association, Lake Worth, FL 34: 3645, 111116 Oschman J L Oschman N H 1994b Somatic recall. Part II. Soft tissue holography. Massage Therapy Journal, American Massage Therapy Association, Lake Worth, FL 34: 6667, 106116 Redpath W M 1994 Trauma energetics. A study of held-energy systems. Barberry Press, Lexington, MA. Available from Guild for Structural Integration, Boulder, CO; tel: (1) 800 447 0150 Russek L G, Schwartz G E 1994 Interpersonal heart-brain registration and the perception of parental love: a 42-year follow-up of the Harvard Mastery of Stress Study. Subtle Energies 5: 195208 Russek LG, Schwartz GE 1996 Energy cardiology: a dynamical energy systems approach for integrating conventional and alternative medicine. Advances: The Journal of Mind-Body Health 12(4): 424
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Healing Frequencies

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ENERGY REVIEW PART 3A

What is healing energy? Part 3: silent pulses

At all levels, nature is a composite of rhythms. The vast cycles of the

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES APRIL 1997

sweep that correspond to some of the clinical results in the Table.

Defining healing energy

Frequency windows of specificity

Other frequencies are involved

From Sisken & Walker 1995 180

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES APRIL 1997

What is healing energy? Part 3A

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES APRIL 1997

Biological rhythms and wound healing

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES APRIL 1997

What is healing energy? Part 3A

Sources of ELF signals

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES APRIL 1997

The brains pacemaker

Entrainment of biological rhythms more controversy

Geomagnetic and geoelectric fields

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES APRIL 1997

What is healing energy? Part 3A

Evidence for entrainment by external fields

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES APRIL 1997

related to disturbances in the earths electromagnetic field or to man-made interferences:

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES APRIL 1997

What is healing energy? Part 3A

The Earth's magnetic field

Pineal gland and magnetite bearing tissue Brain

Projected biomagnetic field

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES APRIL 1997

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES APRIL 1997

What is healing energy? Part 3A

ENERGY REVIEW PART 3B

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES APRIL 1997

Therapeutic entrainment Part 3B

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES APRIL 1997

Microgenetic theory in bodywork and movement therapies

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES APRIL 1997

Therapeutic entrainment Part 3B

Magic writing pad

ammalian brai n om e N mammal eo rain ian b al

Visual cortex Limbic system Brain stem

JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES APRIL 1997

The microgenetic moment

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