Conventional Western medicine is based on the assumption that improper functioning of an organism is due to structural defects caused by chemical imbalances. It follows that surgery (removal of structural defects) or chemicals (pharmaceutical drugs) are required in order to correct the problem. Western medicine rarely asks why the chemical imbalance arises in the first place. This may now be changing. Professor William Tiller of Stanford University and other researchers in the field believe that chemical reactions and balances in the body are controlled by internal and external electromagnetic energy fields which in turn are affected by mental or "subtle energy fields". Can something as ethereal as a thought actually affect our body chemistry? There is ample evidence that it can. Biofeedback, which is now an accepted medical therapy, has shown us that thoughts are indeed very powerful. By merely thinking of a warm, sandy beach we can change the conductivity of our skin and increase the temperature of our fingers. Paraplegics walk again by learning to control the firing rate of their muscle fibers through biofeedback. Thoughts can make us depressed, anxious or full of zest for life and the awesome healing power of prayer and affirmations are now well recognized.

Yes indeed, thoughts are very powerful. So why don't we focus on modifying our thoughts and other subtle energies in order to heal ourselves rather than wait until an illness becomes so obvious and far advanced that surgery or drugs seem the only way to combat it? In other words, why not intervene earlier in the chain of events leading up to disease?

Vibrational Medicine
Intervening earlier is exactly the goal of vibrational or energy medicine which seeks to determine imbalances in the body's electromagnetic and subtle energy fields. Then it attempts to correct these imbalances before they lead to chemical imbalances and structural defects. There are many current flows throughout the body. Our cells, nervous system and internal organs all generate electrical currents and the heart alone produces an astonishing 1.5 watts of power day in and day out. The electromagnetic field generated by these currents extends beyond the skin and can be measured by sensitive instruments such as the Superconducting Quantum Interference Device. It can also be depicted by Kirlian photography and it can be felt and visualized by many healers.

Traditional Chinese medicine describes a subtle energy flow (Qi) through 12 channels in the body called meridians which are associated with our internal organs. If the energy flow through the meridians is blocked disease will follow. Blockages can be cleared by needle stimulation (acupuncture) or finger pressure (acupressure) on socalled acupuncture points (acupoints) which are located on the meridians.

Acupoints play a very important role in vibrational medicine as does the principle of biofeedback. Biofeedback is a method for learning how to control normally unconscious bodily functions such as breathing, muscle tension, blood pressure, and heart rate through watching bioelectronic feedback of the body's reactions and then consciously modifying them in the desired direction. Biofeedback commonly utilizes measurements and displays of skin conductivity, finger temperature, muscle tension (firing rate of muscle fibers) or brain waves to monitor the body's reactions. These measurements and displays constitute the basis for most of the diagnostic tools used in vibrational medicine.

Electroacupuncture
The first usable energy medicine device was developed by Dr. Reinhold Voll, MD. Dr. Voll and his colleagues discovered that the electrical conductivity of the skin increases dramatically at acupoints and that each acupoint has a specific conductivity value for healthy people. A lower than normal conductivity was found to indicate an inflammation or irritation in the organ corresponding to the acupoint being tested. Conversely, a higher conductivity meant a fatigued or degenerating organ. Dr. Voll's technique became known as "Electroacupuncture According to Voll" (EAV) and is the basis for all electroacupuncture biofeedback devices in use today. Dr. Voll also discovered that if a patient held vials containing homeopathic solutions of various disease-causing agents (bacteria, viruses, diseased tissue, etc.) then the acupoint conductivity reading would return to normal when the patient held a vial containing the agent corresponding to his/her disease (the homeopathic principle of like cures like). Dr. Voll's machine, the Dermatron, is used not only to establish specific diagnoses, but also to determine food allergies and the presence of chemical toxins. EAV testing is also used to determine the exact remedies required to correct any problems. Testing a significant number of the more than 2000 acupoints corresponding to specific parts of the internal organs is very time consuming and this has led to the development of faster machines.

The VEGA tester was developed by another German physician, Dr. Helmut Schimmel. It differs from the Dermatron in that it uses homeopathic preparations inserted into the measuring circuit for diagnosis rather than measurements of electrical conductivity at various acupoints. In VEGA testing the patient holds an electrode (brass tube) in the right hand while the practitioner presses a pointed probe against an acupoint, preferably on the left foot. The body's reaction to the homeopathic preparations, vitamins, allergens, etc. is then measured by inserting the agents into the electrical circuit one at a time. In Dermatron testing the patient also holds an electrode in their hand, but here the practitioner makes the primary diagnosis by pressing a pointed probe against many different acupoints representing internal organs and their specific parts.

Electroacupuncture devices like the Dermatron, VEGA tester, and MORA machine are widely used in Europe and Japan. Researchers in Russia and Eastern Europe are far advanced in the development of diagnostic and treatment devices based on electroacupuncture and biofeedback. In fact the health status of Russian cosmonauts in space is now regularly monitored and appropriately balanced using these devices.

Space Age Health Assessment and Therapy
The widespread availability of relatively inexpensive computer chips has spawned a new generation of energy medicine devices. The Hungarian Cerebellum Multifunction Medical Instrument (CMMI), the British Bicom Device and the American Quantum Xrroid System are examples of these highly sophisticated, very sensitive, computerized biofeedback instruments. These systems are used to determine food sensitivities and allergies, provide a complete profile of vitamin and mineral status, pinpoint weaknesses in internal organs and systems in their early stages and even provide feedback about the emotional status of the patient. Most of the systems can also be used to provide on the spot treatment of many conditions and can help clear meridian blockages, stimulate specific acupoints and deliver the exact vibrational energy of hundreds of homeopathic remedies and flower essences to the body. Some can even relieve muscle tension, treat infections, and clear blockages in and around the spinal column.

The capability to correct imbalances is based on Dr. Hans Selye's research into the stress adaptation phenomenon. Dr. Selye found that the body will respond with a "fight or flight" reaction if exposed to stress for a short time while it will invoke the adaptation response if exposed to prolonged stress. Several of the second generation energy medicine systems use this principle by first measuring the body's degree of resonance to vibrational fields of hundreds or even thousands of different substances for a very short time period (100 milliseconds or less for each substance). The body's response to this exposure, its reactivity, is then evaluated in a sophisticated computer program and a detailed assessment of the patient's health status is made. Abnormal reactivities are highlighted and can, in many cases, be treated right on the spot by applying the vibrational frequency of the specific substance associated with the concern for a longer time period (2-3 minutes) thereby invoking the adaptation reponse - or in other words, nudging the body's immune system into dealing with the imbalance and correcting it.

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