Energy healing is real - and valuable

I guess I deserve this because I know I brought it upon myself. Commenting on what is basically Faith Healing was a stupid thing to do. Note to self: do not challenge someone's faith. Thing is...I wasn't challenging anyones faith. I was and am only saying that there is something called cause and effect. Here's an example. The other day I went outside and did a very short rain dance. Later in the day it actually rained. Was it because of my rain dance? I doubt it. Is it too much to ask that so-called energy healers prove that they are the cause of their perceived effects? Evidently it is.

From todays Adirondack Daily Enterprise (with my comments in blue)

It’s been interesting to read Peter Sayles comments about Pat Dionne-Dickson’s participation in the high school’s Wellness Day. His criticism of her profession because it cannot be proven using the scientific method has given me food for thought.

Well at least I made one person think.

I worked in the plant science industry for more than 30 years and have had a lot of training in biology and botany. My mother was a nurse, and my father was the supervisor of the X-Ray Technology program before it became part of NCCC. They both cured here for tuberculosis. Because of that, much of my world has revolved around the medical/science world and the scientific method of research.

One of the cardinal signs of a pseudoscientist is the need to present their "credentials".

Nearly two years ago at a meeting I attended, Pat Dionne-Dickson gave a presentation on the Chakra energy system that is in all of us. When she did an exercise with us to show us how to feel our own energy, I (and others there) could feel it. I was stunned. This challenged me to be open to a new way of thinking about how the human body works. After almost two years of reading and taking classes in this area, I have no doubt that energy systems exist in the body. That I can feel it, move it, bring it in to me and share it with someone else continues to amaze and intrigue me. The question is, what can be done with this energy, and how is it to be used in ethical and good, health-promoting ways?

I'm glad you have no doubt about the effects of your new found powers, I'm glad you have found a new way of thinking and I'm glad you have decided to use your new powers for the good of mankind. What does this have to do with science, the scientific method and reason though? And, the question is does this so-called energy have a scientific or pseudoscientific basis? Ms. Dudones is more impressed with her apparent ability to "feel it, move it, bring it in me..." etc than she is with explanations that have proven, reasonable mechanisms. This is the type of thinking that differentiates pseudoscientists from scientists.

There is, as reflected in the tone of Mr. Sayles’ writing, a good bit of criticism of the energy system idea and alternative and complementary medicine by some in the scientific community because it is not provable by their research standards. For years, research in the areas of sociology and psychology were dismissed because the research could not be done as easily as in other scientific areas. How that has changed over time! Weren’t they called pseudosciences, as Mr. Sayles calls energy medicine? The public needs to contact government representatives to demand continued research in this field that is funded by neutral parties, conducted by objective researchers and follows standard, good scientific procedures that cannot be dismissed as poor in quality.

Actually it's probably criticism by most in the scientific community and it's funded by us...the taxpayers. Most scientists think the money being wasted in CAM could be put to better use doing actual science.

Let's face it, the psychology of today is far different from the psychology of yesterday. Psychology actually has a scientific, biological basis now. This is because of good science not in spite of science.

I ask once again...show me a paper published in a peer reviewed, mainstream scientific journal that reveals the scientific basis of "energy medicine". Hell, that's too much to ask. Forget about showing the scientific basis because there is none. Show me a double-blind study where it is shown that energy medicine has had any postive effect on a person.

The guest commentary has a lot to say about what pseudoscience is and is not. Some of the points in both letters are valid, and I am sure there are people in the alternative/complementary medicine world who are not ethical, as there are in every other profession. I object to a tone that gives blanket dismissal of a field where there is plenty of anecdotal evidence going back thousands of years, just because we can’t measure this “energy” yet. I am sure it will be possible, if the dollars to fund the research are allocated.

Oh, so now anecdotal evidence is enough to give something a scientific basis. Another sign of pseudoscience.

Mr. Sayles should have explained that the NIH Center for Alternative and Complementary Medicine’s Web site is a good place to look for information on the many types of energy healing. Some studies are discussed there that do show positive results. Among the challenges to researchers are the lack of equipment that can measure these energy flows and that studies from other cultures — Chinese, for example — are not being translated.

There is not a single study on the NIH website that shows cause and effect positive results of energy medicine. About energy medicine CAM says "The existence of such fields has not yet been scientifically proven."

The combination of Western medicine and some of the “Eastern” healing practices such as meditation, energy system work, acupuncture, etc., as well as prayer, may be the way of the future. If hospitals are now incorporating these techniques into their facilities, hard science notwithstanding, we should consider and investigate using these ancient techniques as an addition to our standard medical treatment. And yes, people should work with their physicians and use good thinking skills in evaluating various programs.

Yeah, this is why so many developing countries in the "East" are shunning "Western" medicine.

Bill Moyers’ book, “Healing and the Mind,” talks about working with the body, mind and spirit for healing across various cultures and also discusses energy healing. It’s in the Saranac Lake Free Library.

Oh Bill Moyers'!!! Why didn't you tell me a world famous scientist like Bill Moyers wrote a book about healing!! WTF?

Mr. Sayles rightly wants to “ensure that the public knows the basis of the health treatments they are receiving have been deemed safe, sound and effective.” We all want that, but the public is wondering why those supposedly using good scientific methods are giving us drugs, health devices and foods that are recalled for safety reasons. Good critical thinking and decision-making skills on the public’s part can only go so far when we have to depend on the scientists and manufacturers to do their jobs correctly. This may be one reason people are searching for additional options.

I have no doubt that this is one of the reasons people are searching for other options. Money and politics should not play a role in approving drugs.

The use of the new scientific method by Saranac Lake’s own Dr. Trudeau was mentioned by Mr. Sayles. He did not mention that in addition to doing research and using the scientific method to help heal his patients, he and the other doctors here firmly believed in the importance of treating the mind and spirit of their patients. That is evident in Dr. Trudeau’s autobiography and issues of the “Journal of the Outdoor Life” that can be found in the library in Saranac Lake. I’m very pleased that Pat and other practitioners of nontraditional medicine have come to the community to add in the holistic component to our health community.

So which is it. Energy medicine is a scientific advance that can cure all our ills, even over a distance or is it really just treating the "mind and the spirit".

I love the "Journal of Outdoor Life". The ads are really funny. Historical, but funny.

Janet Worthington Dudones lives in Saranac Lake.