Week 12; Energy Medicine and Energy Fields

Acupuncture As Effective Energy Medicine


What does the concept of energy mean in the context of healing? How do we measure its effectiveness?

When we talk about acupuncture as an energy medicine I am going to assume that it is in reference to its ability to create tangible change in the physical body. We view the channels of the body as a map to guide the placement of needles. We then place needles in certain areas called acupoints that have been mapped out over millennia using trial and error, as well as universally common areas that incur tension as a result of human musculature.

The word ‘energy’ in reference to healing practices has been overused and thus subject to the trappings of an overgeneralized idea of what it means in the use of traditional medicines. I personally feel it is not enough to sum up acupuncture as an energy medicine because this label implies that the forces wherein are beyond tangibility and belong to a purely esoteric plane. It is also not enough to say that acupuncture works based soley on a neurological or physiological basis. Where does that leave us in terms of defining acupuncture as an effective medicine? It is quite ambiguous when we try to assign it to one realm or another. Perhaps if we were to regard the practice within the worldview it grew from, it would make more sense.

The question of effectiveness implies a certain amount of linear based thinking, that if we apply a certain remedy to an ailment then a specific result should follow. But the concepts of Eastern philosophy ask us to consider the relationships among different realms of the body as well as the entire picture. The chief goal is to attain the proverbial “balance” between these systems without an eye on a cure per se. Here in the west we share a certain agreement about what is real, what works, what framework reality should take. We do no lend much credence to realms outside this narrow definition.

I find myself constantly trying to describe the practice of acupuncture to others by first narrowing it down to something that sounds palatable to Western ears. In my own way, I try not to use the word “energy” only because I have given that to myself as a personal challenge in order that I may come up with my own descriptors for this medicine. My own words so far seem to be a mix of biomedical and eastern terms and is far from refined at this point in time.

But as far as acupuncture being a medicine based on the the bioenergetic properties of the human body? Yes it is. As far as acupuncture being an effective agent in making changes within the bioenergy of the body? Well, I think so. In a simple and elegant way, it just makes sense that the body is in itself a matrix of activity, dynamic and over and over again transforming itself. Acupuncture itself is a subtle agent of this reform that promotes the body’s healthiest self but a powerful one nonetheless.



What conclusions do you draw from Kirlian Photography?

I’m not sure. I think the photographs themselves are nice to look at. As far as being representations of a bioenergetic field and a tool to record changes that occur in that field it is quite possible. It seems that the changes in moisture on the skin is what is being attributed to the changes in color and intensity of the photographs. The more moisture present, the more intese a color of red or orange. The more dry the object or person being photographed, the more blue the color. Some people say that the color change comes with different emotional states. Others say that emotional states of stress or anger produce physiological changes namely moist skin. This is true, but I don’t think the photographs or the color changes are pure physiology. I think the photographs show us a more symbolic and ethereal representation of the object or person being photographed.

Human Intent As it Effects Health

I feel that intention has a large effect on how focused the practitioner is and this level of focus can effect the outcome of treatment. I also think the person who takes time to examine their intentions and creates conscious healthy intentions around daily living is ultimately a more healthy person. It is actually shown that health outcomes are better in people who take an active role in their own healing process. I think that means that those who take an active role have really just homed in on their personal intention and put it into action.