Infrared spectra alteration in water proximate to the palms of therapeutic practitioners

Unintended Deviations of a Random Event Generator by Patients With Late Life Depression and Anxiety During a Direct Mental Influence Task

The primary objective was to determine whether depression and anxiety influence the outcome of random microevents in a nonrandom manner in the absence of any physical intervention by using a random event generator (REG). The secondary objective was to correlate other dimensions of consciousness with the REG's output. The experimental group (n = 30) included individuals with depression, the control group (n = 15) included individuals without depression, and the comparison group (n = 10) included individuals with or without depression. It was hypothesized that those with depression or anxiety would significantly deviate the REG in the unintended direction but the whole sample did [t(49) = -2.37, p = 0.022, two tailed]. There was no significant difference between the group means [F(2, 50) = 0.12, p = 0.84] and no robust correlations between dimensions of consciousness and REG activity. Further analysis is needed to understand negative emotions in mind-matter interactions.

Perspectives, Measurability and Effects of Non-Contact Biofield-Based Practices: A Narrative Review of Quantitative Research

Practices such as "Reiki", therapeutic touch, healing touch, and external "Qigong" have been regarded as some form of "energy medicine" or "biofield therapy". The biofield concept has been studied and debated by researchers of distinct areas of expertise, and although the phenomenon was sometimes described as physically related to electromagnetics, other factors such as "subtle energy" and focused intention might be involved. These nonconventional practices integrate contact and non-contact techniques, and those dealing with so-called distant healing interventions are perhaps the most difficult to understand and accept. Practitioners describe these so-called nonlocal interventions as involving intentional factors and particular states of consciousness. With a spiritual mindset and a particular state of awareness, compassion is said to work out as a catalyst to produce physiological and physical changes through mechanisms that are still unknown. At the body level, these vegetative changes might be related to individual self-perception variations as part of the body neurovegetative feedback system of regulation. Further mechanisms are difficult to document and measure, and might be more accessible to research by using physical signal detectors, chemical dynamics methods, detectors using biological materials, detectors using living sensors, and detectors using the human body. The growing interest in these practices and the considerable amount of research exploring their effects and clinical applications encouraged this narrative review, which aims to provide an easy to consult partial overview of the history, theory and findings of quantitative research strategies exploring non-contact biofield-based practices. This work also aims to stimulate the reader's mind with the raised hypotheses, catalyzing further research on the subject to confirm or deny the reported outcomes.

Energy Medicine treatments for hand and wrist pain: A pilot study

INTRODUCTION

The term "energy medicine" describes healing modalities that manipulate or channel purported subtle energies associated with the body. The objectives of this pilot study were to determine the feasibility of studying energy medicine for people with carpal tunnel pain and gathering relevant preliminary data.

METHODS

Following a prospective, within-participant design, participants were recruited to experience a 30 min treatment from one of 17 energy medicine practitioners. Of 374 adults experiencing carpal tunnel pain who were screened for the study, 190 received an energy medicine treatment. Practitioners delivered treatments at close distance, some with and some without light, stationary touch. Outcome measures were collected before, during, and immediately after the treatment, and three weeks later. The primary outcome measure was self-reported pain. Secondary subjective measures included credibility regarding energy medicine and expectancy regarding the efficacy of treatments, pain interference, sleep quality, well-being, mood, and sense of personal transformation. Physiological measures included median nerve conduction velocity, heart rate variability, heart rate synchrony (between the participant and practitioner), and expression levels of neuroinflammation-related genes.

RESULTS

On average, self-reported current pain scores decreased 2.0 points post-session and 1.3 points at three weeks compared to baseline values using a 0-10 point scale with 10 denoting worst pain (F(2, 565) = 3.82 p <0.000005). This effect was not influenced by the participants' level of expectancy or credibility regarding the energy medicine modality. Well-being, negative emotion, and sleep quality scores significantly improved at the follow-up visit. Multiple heart rate variability measures significantly changed reflecting increased parasympathetic activity which may indicate decreased stress. No other secondary outcome showed significant change.

DISCUSSION

Studying the administration of energy medicine to people with carpal tunnel pain is feasible, although requiring a documented carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosis proved to be prohibitive for recruitment. Our finding of preliminary evidence for positive effects in pain and pain-related outcomes after a single session of energy medicine warrants further controlled investigation.

Spectroscopic analysis of water treated by and in proximity to Energy Medicine practitioners: An exploratory study

Previously reported experiments suggest that healing intention focused toward water, or merely taking place in the vicinity of water, affects the hydrogen-oxygen (HO) covalent bonds. This claim was explored in the context of a clinical energy medicine pilot study involving 17 practitioners and 190 participants. In a "direct" test, samples of water were directly treated by the practitioners; in an "indirect" test, aliquots attached to lanyards were worn by practitioners and participants as they were engaged in healing sessions. Samples of laboratory-grade distilled water and Fiji brand water were used in the tests, and the water was analyzed using an Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer equipped with a liquid nitrogen-cooled detector. The comparison of interest was the ensemble average spectrum recorded during pre- vs. post-intentional healing periods in the primary infrared absorption portion of the water spectrum. The analyses indicated that distilled water directly treated by the practitioners resulted in a change in the HO bond at the wavenumber 3200 cm^-1 (p < 0.03, two-tailed). No effect was observed with the Fiji water. The distilled water in aliquots worn by practitioners also resulted in a significant change at the same wavenumber (p = 0.0004, two-tailed). No effects were observed in Fiji water aliquots worn by practitioners or participants, or in distilled water worn by participants. This study contributes to previously reported observations suggesting that the structure of water reacts in an anomalous way to healing intentions. Such effects appear to involve some form of energetic influence, but that is not yet well established. Nor is it certain that the observed effect can only be due to intention; it is conceivable, for example, that an unidentified environmental factor may have been responsible for the observed comparisons. However, given similar results observed in several experiments so far, including the present study, further research seems warranted.

Effects of intentionally treated water and seeds on the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana

OBJECTIVE

. A previously reported experiment indicated that Arabidopsis thaliana seeds with cryptochrome mutation His-CRY2 showed more robust photomorphogenic growth when hydrated with intentionally treated water as compared to untreated water. The present study attempted to replicate that outcome, adding a condition where the seeds were also intentionally treated. Arabidopsis seeds were used because they contain a photosensitive flavoprotein called cryptochrome (CRY). CRY has been proposed as a possible "transducer" of intention in living systems because it is thought to have quantum biological properties, and as such, it might potentially be sensitive to quantum observer effects.

DESIGN

Three Buddhist monks directed their attention toward commercially bottled water and Arabidopsis seeds while holding the intention to improve the growth of the plant. As a control condition, no attention was directed at water or seeds from the same sources. Under double-blinded conditions, treated and untreated seeds were placed in an incubator, hydrated with treated or untreated water, and exposed to either continuous blue light or blue plus far-red light. The seed germination process was repeated three times, each time using new seeds. A 2 × 2 × 2 ANOVA, with water, seeds, and light as factors, was used to analyze the results.

RESULTS

. Treated water was associated with enhanced photomorphogenic growth, as reflected by a shorter hypocotyl length (p = 0.04) and greater amounts of chlorophyll (p = 0.0005) and anthocyanin (p = 2 × 10^-6). Treated seeds resulted in greater amounts of chlorophyll (p = 0.04), but also a longer hypocotyl (p = 0.0004) and less anthocyanin (p = 0.01). Plants exposed to blue plus far-red light were constantly more robust than plants grown under blue light, regardless of the type of water or seed (p < 10^-10).

CONCLUSION

. Intentionally treated water improved the growth of the His-CRY2 variant of Arabidopsis, confirming results of an earlier experiment. Enhanced growth associated with exposure to blue plus far-red light also confirmed to known effects. A more complex relationship was observed with treated seeds. Further research is required to understand the latter outcome, as it may provide clues about the underlying mechanisms of intentional influences.

Can measurements be physically conditioned by thought? Further observations following a focused intention experiment

Background The biofield is a controversial concept among the scientific community. Some aspects of this phenomenon relate to measurable factors of mainstream science such as electromagnetics, while others, involving nonlocal interventions, intention, and consciousness, seem to produce physical changes through mechanisms that are still unknown, making the outcomes of many studies not fully explained by our current state of scientific understanding. This study explored the hypothetical effects of intention on the conditioning of a pH system with continuous data acquisition for real-time measurements. As a follow-up study, those effects were related to changes in the physicochemical properties of water samples chosen as a target in a previous large-scale intervention of focused intention. Methods The intention experiments were conducted under controlled conditions from the 8th to September 11, 2015. During this period, 286 qualified biofield therapy practitioners meditated at a distance with the intention of changing the vibrational state of the water molecules contained in specific flasks. Several variables were evaluated, including the magnetic field and ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) radiation from 175 to 954 nm near the experimental spot, as well as Raman spectra, pH, and electrical conductivity of all the water samples. After this period, real-time pH measurements of water samples were taken with the same equipment and under the same experimental conditions, except for the practitioners' awareness of those experiments, and without their focused intention. Real-time pH, electrical conductivity and the concentration of cations and anions measured by ion chromatography in the water samples were used to test the proposed hypothesis. Results Real-time pH was responsive during the intention experiments and after this period. Further continuous measurements performed after the 11th September showed that the pH variations overtime kept a systematic and consistent tendency similar to the one observed during the experimental activities involving focused intention. After the replacement of the electrode internal electrolyte, this behavior was no longer verified, and the pH was stable as the initial tests to evaluate the equipment sensitivity. Conclusions After the experimental period involving focused intention, the pH system maintained a systematic and consistent behavior while measuring the pH of new water samples. An eventual intention-mediated conditioning of the pH measurement system occurred because of changes in the properties of the electrode internal electrolyte.

Instrumental Measurements of Water and the Surrounding Space During a Randomized Blinded Controlled Trial of Focused Intention

The main goal of this work was the assessment of measurable interactions induced by focused intention, frequently used in biofield practices such as Healing Touch and Reiki. Water, as the main component of the human body, was chosen as a model. Intention experiments were performed over 4 different days at a scheduled interval, during which 286 trained biofield practitioners from several countries were instructed to meditate with the intention to change the molecular vibrational state of water samples selected by a blinded operator. The experimental protocol was randomized, blinded, and controlled; the measured variables included Raman spectra and the pH and electrical conductance of the water, as well as the magnetic field and UV-VIS (ultraviolet-visible) radiation near the experimental spot. Although a direct causal relationship cannot be established, some measurements of the water samples, as well as the magnetic field and radiation near the experimental spot, were responsive during the experimental period.

The effect of distant reiki on pain in women after elective Caesarean section: a double-blinded randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION

Approximately 25% of all babies in North America are delivered via Caesarean section (C-section). Though a common surgical procedure, C-section recovery can be painful. Opioids, specifically codeine, are commonly used to ease pain; however, its active metabolite, morphine, passes into breast milk, and may produce unwanted side effects in neonates; therefore, alternatives to opioids are being sought. Reiki is an ancient Japanese form of healing where practitioners transfer healing energy through light touch and positive healing intention. Although 1.2 million Americans use reiki to reduce pain or depression, there is a lack of strong evidence supporting its effectiveness. A recent systematic review showed existing studies to be of poor methodological quality, with the common limitation of lack of blinding. To overcome this issue, the authors used distant reiki to assess its effectiveness in reducing pain following an elective C-section.

METHODS

In this randomised, double-blinded study, women who underwent an elective C-section were allocated to either usual care (control, n=40) or three distant reiki sessions in addition to usual care (n=40). Pain was assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS). The primary endpoint was the Area Under the VAS-Time Curve (AUC) for days 1-3. Secondary measures included: the proportion of women who required opioid medications and dose consumed, rate of healing and vital signs.

RESULTS

AUC for pain was not significantly different in the distant reiki and control groups (mean ± SD; 212.1 ± 104.7 vs 223.1 ± 117.8; p=0.96). There were no significant differences in opioid consumption or rate of healing; however, the distant reiki group had a significantly lower heart rate (74.3 ± 8.1 bpm vs 79.8 ± 7.9 bpm, p=0.003) and blood pressure (106.4 ± 9.7 mmHg vs 111.9 ± 11.0 mmHg, p=0.02) post surgery.

CONCLUSION

Distant reiki had no significant effect on pain following an elective C-section. Clinical Trial Registration Number ISRCTN79265996.