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