Energy Medicine. C. Norman Shealy
stimulated, normalize the production of aldosterone, an adrenal hormone that balances water and potassium. Used with the Ring of Fire, it helps weight loss.
The Ring of Air consists of thirteen different points which, when stimulated, strikingly increases the output of neurotensin, a naturally occurring pain reliever, as well as neuroleptic. A neuroleptic is a chemical which essentially sedates the body and calms and focuses the mind.
The Ring of Earth is a different circuit of thirteen specific points which, when stimulated, markedly increases calcitonin, a hormone produced by the thyroid gland and which is responsible for putting calcium into the bone and preventing osteoporosis. It also is the strongest pain reliever produced by the body. It is forty to sixty times stronger than morphine.
The Ring of Crystal consists of another thirteen points which, when stimulated, reduce free radical production by 85 percent. Free radicals are the negative chemicals in the body which actually destroy cell walls and are part of all disease, as well as degeneration and aging. (See more about the Rings in Chapter 8.)
Numerous other studies on acupuncture have identified changes in other hormones, including cortisol, which is essential for life itself and is a regulator of immune function.
Although acupuncture has traditionally been done with needles, in 1967 I began stimulating acupuncture needles electrically at one to 100 cycles/second.” Interestingly, when the first Chinese physicians came to this country after the thaw with China in 1972, I learned that they had also started using electrical stimulation of the acupuncture needles in 1967. The Ukrainian physicists and physicians have reported using electrical stimulation at a billionth of a watt per cm squared through a one millimeter blunt probe, applied directly to the skin at 54 to 78 billion cycles per second (Giga frequencies). According to them, this is twenty times more effective than putting in a needle and stimulating it electrically with low frequencies up to 100 cycles/second. Actually most acupuncturists use only 1 to 5 cycles per second for electrical stimulation.
There seems to be no question that one can effectively activate or stimulate acupuncture points using massage and tapping (to be discussed in the chapter on Energy Psychology). Meanwhile, at the Holos University Graduate Seminary I have conducted classes in which students had half the group stimulate with the Giga frequencies and half do massage and visualization of the same stimulation of the Ring of Crystal. I found that the students reduced free radicals just as much with massaging, tapping, and visualizing the Ring of Crystal as they could using the Giga frequencies to stimulate this particular circuit. The acupuncture meridians, as seen in ancient acupuncture sketches (see page 29), are quite different from the Ayurvedic nadis of the pranic philosophy and clearly have been proven to have very specific physiological and symptomatic benefits.
Interestingly, there is a wonderful book, Esoteric Acupuncture: Gateway to Expanded Healing by Mikio Sankey, Ph.D., which incorporates traditional acupuncture theory along with the Hindu chakra system, sacred geometry, and the Judeo-Christian Tree of Life. The primary focus of esoteric acupuncture is the balance of chi within the various body systems, balancing the chakras, and establishing a strong and harmonious system with the higher spiritual realms. Dr. Sankey believes there is a common thread between the Chinese medical system, the Hindu chakra system, Theosophy, and Eastern philosophy, and focuses on the correction of energetic imbalances by working with the seven physical body chakras. Through acupuncture patterns (called harmonizing patterns), chakra alignment patterns, and new encoding patterns, the encoding concept utilizes “stored intelligence on the cellular/noncellular level.” Sankey states that imbalances in the chakras reflect a number of imbalances in the body and life in general. (Incidentally, his associations are similar to those that Caroline Myss and I use.) We identify the chakra-associated problems as follows:
Root Chakra: rectum problems, constipation, hemorrhoids, day-to-day survival issues, excessive family attachments, leg problems
Sacral Chakra: sexual, bladder, uterine, prostate, low back problems, finances, pelvic, and colon problems
Solar Plexus Chakra: digestive, liver, pancreas, small intestine, kidney, adrenal problems, and self-esteem issues
Heart Chakra: immune deficiency (thymus), heart, lung and breast problems, judgmentalism, love problems
Throat Chakra: throat, mouth, thyroid, parathyroid, ear, neck and arm/ hand problems; problems with expressing personal will, needs, or desires
Crown Chakra: headaches, mental disorders, brain/mind problems, epilepsy, paralysis from brain injuries
Dr. Sankey has developed patterns of acupuncture needling for balancing each of these chakras, and this is one of the most fascinating evolutions of this ancient treatment process.
Egyptian Sleep or Dream Temples
Therapeutic sleep temples are known to have existed in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and other cultures. People with illnesses would come to the temples, where a number of therapies were applied. Some people consider the earliest forms of hypnosis were likely practiced in the Egyptian sleep temples, which were used during the reign of Imhotep.
Although we don’t know a great deal about the details of sleep temples, they appear to have been almost like sanitariums today. Treatment consisted of chanting, putting the person into a trans-like or hypnotic state, and analyzing their dreams. Meditation, fasting, baths, and sacrifices to the patron deity were involved.
Kline, Egypt, was a sacred place where sick individuals reclined for entering the dream state. We know that patients were kept in a trance for up to three days, during which time the priests used suggestions to help heal the individual, to make contact with the Divine, and to be cured. To a greater or lesser extent, these priests were essentially what we call shamans today, a term more commonly used with indigenous “medical” practitioners throughout the world.
Sleep temples also existed in the Middle East. In Greece they were built in honor of Asclepius, the Greek God of Medicine. The Greek process, called incubation, focused on prayers to Asclepius for healing. The mythical roots of Asclepius go back to a real, second millennium-B.C. individual whose work elevated him into becoming a temple demigod. The daughters of Asclepius were Hygeia and Panacea: thus we have the words panacea and hygiene.
Perhaps not as sleep temples but at least the concept in ancient Judaism of kavanah involved focusing on letters of the Hebrew alphabet and saying the names of the ancient tribal deities. The incantations were to induce a state of ecstasy.
The Romans also adopted the use of healing sleep incubation temples throughout their empire devoted to the god, Apollo. A Roman temple of this type was found at Lydney Park, Gloucestershire in England in 1928. Interestingly, in parts of the Middle East and Africa, sleep temples are still used for the mentally ill.
Qi Gong
Another important use of Energy Medicine can be found in the ancient Chinese practice of Qi Gong (or Chi Gong), the foundation of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that combines movement, meditation, and regulation of breathing to enhance the flow of chi in the body, improve blood circulation, and enhance immune function.
The principles