We physicians are trained in the intellectual pursuit of studying, in a strictly material sense, how our individual bodies manifest illness via subcellular, cellular, and systemic mechanisms and how to mitigate those mechanisms, usually via synthetic pharmacological drug therapies. In medicine we are concerned with atoms, molecules such as proteins and DNA, cells and their organelles, the organ systems which they comprise, and so on. This is to say we are interested with the matter of which our bodies are composed.
As far as such intellectual pursuits go, it’s interesting to recall what Albert Einstein thought of matter:
“Concerning matter, we have been all wrong. What we have called matter is really energy whose vibration has been lowered as to be perceivable to the senses. There is no matter. There is only light and sound.”
In the future, healthcare will be grounded in this reality and will acknowledge, incorporate, and leverage the fundamental energetic basis of all matter—especially our bodies. It is telling that virtually all ancient forms of healing are based upon various energetic pathways and have mapped them in great detail. Scientific medicine, which has largely ignored this body of knowledge and wisdom is finally advanced and sophisticated enough to detect and measure numerous subtle energetic phenomena which appear to be of profound relevance to our health and well-being.
This weekend I was treated to a fascinating presentation by Dr. James L. Oschman, the author of countless scientific articles as well as the book, “Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis.” He described the biophysics of “grounding” and the evidence that walking barefoot on the earth creates a demonstrable antioxidant effect within our bodies. He explained the research describing the toxic effects of certain electromagnetic frequencies and the healing effects of others. And he described the healing value of intuition in creating an energetic coherence between the multiple “brains” which reside within our central, autonomic, and enteric nervous systems. I feel indebted to Dr. Oschman because although we may also use intuition to recognize that there surely exists a deeper level of health, healing, and well-being than that which is being represented by the conventional healthcare paradigm, our culture is one which filters our intuition through the lenses of intellect and reason. We are now bridging the gap between what we feel, sense, and intuit, and that which we know. Although our subjective interiors will never be reducible to objective exteriors, applying the rigor of science toward the validation of the vast array of modalities based on energy medicine is an extraordinarily worthwhile endeavor. At the same time it is also good to keep in mind another quote from Einstein who had this to say of intuition:
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
The best executive business coaches and life coaches know what shamanic healers (and Einstein) have known for a long time. In order to be successful in business and in life, most coaches spend time helping their clients develop their intuition and through that process help to clarify and connect to their highest purpose, their authentic truth, their big “Why.” That is what unleashes our greatest power to build, create, live with abundance, and ultimately, to heal. The funny thing about one’s highest purpose is the discovery that you don’t actually invent it with your mind, you receive it by listening to your intuition and quickly find that it’s not actually about “you” at all, but rather it’s about your gift—what you are here in this lifetime to offer and contribute. Living in coherence with this deep authenticity is, I believe, requisite for good health. Richard Rudd explains this with eloquence:
“If you review the evolution of human awareness up until our present point in time, you may discover a vital insight on which our future evolution will hinge. This insight concerns the role of the inner masculine and inner feminine principles… Having developed our intuition—the feminine aspect of our psyche—humanity then went on to develop its masculine side, the mind. Whereas intuition listens and receives, mind explores and conquers. This is why our current epoch is so fascinating. We human beings must now remember our past and reconnect to the power of our intuition. Having done this, we will create a naturally structured internal psyche that mirrors nature. Intuition is how nature talks to and through human beings—it is the auditory canal through which the whole coordinates and communicates with its many parts. If we humans can attune ourselves to this gentle, subtler internal voice, we will finally begin to feel physically at ease. Furthermore, when our internal hierarchy is naturally formulated in this way, the genius of the mind can finally come into play and follow the dictates of nature herself.”
Nobel laureate neuroscientists like Daniel Kahneman have studied intuition in depth and associate it with so-called “System 1 thinking,” which is a crucial part of our intelligence, perception, and choice-making. Still there appear to be various levels of (and possibly sources of) intuition. For instance, it seems that the kind of intuition which Kahneman refers to differs from that described by Sri Aurobindo. Emerging studies of the energetic qualities of coherence between our intuitive mind (thought to reside in the cardiac and enteric autonomic nervous systems) and our thinking (intracranial) mind are being explored in detail by Dr. Stephen Porges (founder of the Polyvagal Theory), the HearthMath Institute, and others. Using measurable electrical patterns in the heart (with EKG-based equipment) and the brain (with EEG-based equipment) it is now possible to study the interplay between our body and mind in new ways. Carl Sagan is credited with proclaiming that, “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence,” and thanks to meta-researchers like Dr. Oschman (and the many scientists cited in his work) we are now bringing much needed evidence to the various energy medicine modalities.
At Cloud Medical we are continuously seeking ways of integrating the newest tools, technologies, and techniques into our practice. Most recently, we are proud to offer the Wavi brain assessment platform.
