Hello again, and welcome to Module 3 which covers Emotions and Spirituality, Emotions
in Healthcare, and Spirituality and Health.
The objectives for this module are for you to be able to describe the body as an energy
system, name and describe at least two energy therapies and how they promote wellbeing,
and describe how one's spiritual and religious beliefs can impact one's health.
Chapter 27 is all about energy therapies.
Albert Einstein stated: "Everything is energy and that's all there is to it".
You can see on the quote that he had more to say, but the meaning of the rest of the
quote is outside the scope of this class.
Let's just focus on the first sentence of this quote: Everything is energy.
Einstein published his famous equation, E=mc2 in 1905, where E is energy, m is mass, and
c is the speed of light in a vacuum.
Since then, E=mc2 has become one of the most famous equations in the world.
Even people with no background in physics have at least heard of the equation.
This equation has had a HUGE influence on the world we live in.
It basically means that energy and mass can be converted to each other.
Another way of saying it is that anything that has mass has energy stored in it.
So Einstein said "Everything is energy".
Did he really mean everything?
Einstein, one of the greatest science minds ever to live on the planet would have said
– yes, everything – the chair you are sitting on has mass, so it is energetic, the
house you are living in has mass, so it is energetic, the food you ate in your last meal
is energetic; the air you are breathing is energetic.
YOUR BODY is energetic.
So what is energy?
There are many forms of energy: thermal, electrical, chemical, nuclear, and more.
Energy can be neither created nor destroyed, it can only take a different form.
For example, an automobile engine changes chemical energy of fuel to mechanical and
heat energy.
A tree changes radiant energy to chemical energy, etc.
Energy is transferred between systems giving power to one system while taking it away from
another.
So why is this important to us, people studying holistic health?
Because the mass of your body IS energetic!
This is really no surprise to cardiologists who use EKG electrocardiography to detect
heart rhythm.
The heart is the strongest source of electricity in the body.
The EEG detects electrical signals from the brain, the next strongest source of electricity
in the body.
But all parts of the body produce electrical fields.
All parts of the electrical body are communicating with all other parts of the electrical body,
all the time.
Imagine the electric wires in your house.
Imagine that when the wires are in good working order, the energy travels through them to
the outlet, to the plug in the outlet, to your computer and lets the computer have power
to operate.
Then, during a thunderstorm, if a bolt of lightning hits the power cords, an excess
amount of energy can overload the wiring with a power surge and fry the electrical components
in your computer.
Once the wiring in your home is fried, the electricity cannot effectively move through
it.
Now, instead of the computer wiring think of the energy in your body, and instead of
lightning think of anger.
What if you were to hold on to the energy of anger for days/weeks/months/years?
What if that energy of anger prevents the restorative life energy from moving effectively
through your body?
Might illness result?
Energy therapies are a variety of techniques that try to help restore balance to the electrical
system of your body.
You will read more about them in Chapter 27.
If you read much about energy therapies, you are likely to encounter 2 terms that you do
not encounter in Western Medicine – Meridians and Chakras.
Meridians are invisible channels through which Chinese healers have said the body's vital
life force flows.
Imagine a garden hose that is kinked, not allowing water to flow through it.
It needs to get unkinked so water can flow again.
If the meridians get "kinked" so to speak and healing energy is not allowed to flow
through the body, acupuncture is "unkinking" the channels so the healing energy can flow
once again.
The chakras are described as circular energy "centers" in the body, found near the heart,
abdomen, cranium and at other points in the body.
So meridians are like an energy transportation system and the chakras are like energy stations.
I have uploaded three articles about healing energy that I would like for you to read.
The first one is a 12-page article from the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies
called "What is healing energy".
There is a lot of information in the article and some of it is very confusing, so please
don't feel overwhelmed, but do try to at least skim it.
The second article is a 2-page article is called Unique Healing Energy Class Offered
at West Virginia State University.
This article talks about a class in Healing Energy that is being offered at a university
in West Virginia.
The third article is a 3-page article called "the Science of Energy Healing" which
talks about how to be an informed consumer in a field that is sometimes viewed as quackery
by people in the mainstream.
In Chapter 9 you will read about spirituality.
One thing I want to highlight from this chapter is the difference between spirituality and
religion as they are definitely not the same thing.
Spirituality is a broad term used to describe a connection or belief in something outside
of oneself.
Religion is a specific belief system and follows a certain predetermined path.
Religion certainly is a part of many people's spirituality, but many people are spiritual
without practicing religion.
A fourth and final article I would like for you to read is Spiritual Encounters in Medical
Practice, by Dr. David Hibbard from Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine article.
Though it is 14 pages, it is really an interesting and fast read.
You will be asked in the assignment about the questions that this medical doctor asks
of his patients and why.
I'll give you a hint now – he asks about their spiritual background because there are
a number of medical studies that show that people who have a faith or a spiritual practice
(and it doesn't make any difference what that Faith is) or who believe in a Higher Power
or who pray or who are prayed for tend to do better, health-wise, than people who do
not.
But still, and I really want to emphasize this point, it is never ok to try to force
another person, especially your patient, even a patient who is dying, into believing the
way we believe.
It is every individual's right to choose what they believe, and it is a form of abuse,
no matter how good you might think your intentions are, to force another to listen to your own
beliefs.
It is ok to ask whether they would like a prayer, but it is never ok to force one on
them.
Another article you'll find in D2L talks about how people who find meaning in helping
others tend to feel better.
In the 2017 May-June issue of the magazine, "Spirituality and Health", there is an
article called "Why Worry?
Find Meaning".
Again, I have uploaded this article, but I do not expect you to read it.
I will give you the highlights here: People often think that getting things or
having things is what makes us happy, and it does.
Having enough money to buy the things we want, being able to eat the things we want, being
able to do the things we want, like vacations in exotic places, WILL make us happy in the
short term.
But over a lifetime, those who find it meaningful to give to others are more content.
I think of happiness as a fleeting, short term feeling.
It is pleasant, yes, but having short term feelings of happiness does not necessarily
make for an overall "happy" life.
However, a "meaningful" life is one that is fulfilling and many people lead meaningful
lives when they give to others - help cheer someone up, buy someone a gift, be a good
friend.
I have added a handout to D2L with several websites where you can find more information
about energy therapies and related topics, in case you are interested.
You certainly are not expected to visit all of the websites listed there.
But I do hope that throughout this class you are starting to build a list of websites for
yourself for future reference.
So, again, this module is heavy on the reading, which will take some time.
But the assignment should not take very much time to complete.
But to do well on the assignment, you will need to have a lot of the background information
that is found in the readings.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
I hope you all have a wonderful week!
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