Biofield

[Sriram]

Hi everyone,

Here is an article from Science Daily about the biofield and medical care.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029111913.htm

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Biofield therapies, which claim to use subtle energy to stimulate the body's healing process, are promising complementary interventions for reducing the intensity of pain in a number of conditions, reducing anxiety for hospitalized patients and reducing agitated behaviors in dementia, over and above what standard treatments can achieve.

...they find strong evidence that biofield therapies reduce pain intensity in free-living populations, and moderate evidence that they are effective at lowering pain in hospitalized patients as well as in patients with cancer.

The authors conclude that there is a strong need for further high-quality studies and suggest specific areas for further research. They add: "In order to better inform patients of the potential benefits or non-benefits of these biofield-based interventions, clinicians and scientists within behavioral medicine should familiarize themselves with current theory, practice and research of such techniques."

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Cheers.

Sriram

[Sriram]

Some more information....

An article about the biofield published in the Global Journal of Medical Research in 2020.

https://medicalresearchjournal.org/index.php/GJMR/article/view/2193/2082

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Accumulating evidence for the existence of these and other subtle, spatially-oriented and biologically-generated,  human  energy  fields  has  been  demonstrated  through  objective  testing  methods.  As  a  result,  in  1992,  the  term  “biofield”  emerged  to  describe  this  energy.  Biofield  Energy  is  defined  as  “a  massless  field,  not  necessarily  electromagnetic,  that  surrounds  and  permeates living bodies and affects the body.”[1]

Biofields are thought to function as a communication conduit    that    formats    and    relays    information    between    physiological    systems    and    enables    near-instantaneous response   times.[2]   This   inclusive   approach   affirms   core   concepts  within  traditional  healing  systems,  while  inviting  a  more  expansive  model  of  living  systems  than  is  currently  offered by biological science.[3]

Biofield  science  is  growing  rapidly,  particularly  in   the   fields   of   psychiatric   and   neurodegenerativedisorders.

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[Robbie]

I'm interested to know how biofield therapy is performed, sririam.

[Sriram]

I'm interested to know how biofield therapy is performed, sririam.

Robbie,

Biofield is actually a very ancient idea. In yogic science the mind is considered as connecting all living things in a common field. Similar ideas are common in other philosophical systems as well.

Surprisingly, in recent decades in Quantum Field theory it is suggested by physicists, that almost all matter and EM energy exist as fields that probably spread out like a web (magnetic and gravitational fields for example) and interact with one another. Electrons, protons quarks etc. are all now seen as fields.  Please refer to my thread on 'Fields' a little down the line in this section.   

Since the mind and body are interconnected and influence one another, the biofield influences the body and generates good health or ill health depending on its condition. The interacting points between the biofield and the body are called Chakras (wheels) where the biofield forms vortices. If these points can be cleaned or energized, our health (physical and mental) can be improved.  This is the fundamental principle behind energy healing. 

There is Pranic healing, Reiki, Faith healing, hands healing  etc. all of which are variations of the same thing. These are more useful and work better in sensitive people with delicate constitutions rather than on the hardy types,  because the mental (biofield) factor will be dominant as compared to the physical (body) factor.

Here  are some sites that could be useful to you. You could also google and read about these matters.

https://www.ukpranichealing.co.uk/#

https://www.reikifed.co.uk/

[SteveH]

Wasn't he a Bond villain? Ernst Stavro Biofield?

[Sriram]

Wasn't he a Bond villain? Ernst Stavro Biofield?

Blofeld...!

[Robbie]

I thought that was what it was about, it makes sense that mind and body work together. There are ways of increasing vibrational energy which are beneficial to health & wellbeing.

[Walt Zingmatilder]

Wasn't he a Bond villain? Ernst Stavro Biofield?

Yep it was Blofeld.
Apparently there was a problem. With the budget during the filming of Goldfinger and the scriptwriters were told to combine the characters of Blofeld and Oddjob in a new character called Oddfeld.

[jeremyp]

Wasn't he a Bond villain? Ernst Stavro Biofield?

No that’s a myth.

[Sriram]

I thought that was what it was about, it makes sense that mind and body work together. There are ways of increasing vibrational energy which are beneficial to health & wellbeing.

Yes.....you're right.

Its not just about the mind influencing the body in a subjective way...that most of us are familiar with. Things such as...being positive, being  confident and believing in the treatment.  The placebo effect, for example.

By understanding the biofield and using it appropriately, the mind can be influenced in an objective way. 

Biofield is the term used in 1992 at United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) Conference to refer to  “a massless field, not necessarily electromagnetic, that surrounds and permeates living bodies and affects the body.”  It is basically the recognition of a field that surrounds all living beings and influences the working of the mind and body.

Keeping the connections with this field healthy and active can help in maintaining physical and mental health. It is most useful for mental disturbances. 

[Gordon]

Biofield is the term used in 1992 at United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) Conference to refer to  “a massless field, not necessarily electromagnetic, that surrounds and permeates living bodies and affects the body.”  It is basically the recognition of a field that surrounds all living beings and influences the working of the mind and body.

Keeping the connections with this field healthy and active can help in maintaining physical and mental health. It is most useful for mental disturbances.

How is this 'biofield' actually detected?

Is there evidence that it exists, or is it just a presumption that it exists? 

[Sriram]

How is this 'biofield' actually detected?

Is there evidence that it exists, or is it just a presumption that it exists?

You must ask the NIH as to how and why they were convinced that the biofield exists. I have no idea.

Speaking for myself, I know the biofield exists. I can experience, physically feel and work with chakras. How do I convince you? That is difficult.

I can only give you some very simple instances. When you play with a little baby....you will suddenly feel your heart expanding. Obviously nothing happens to the physical heart,  It is the heart chakra that is expanding. When you feel fear, you will feel a hollow in the pit of your stomach. That is the navel charka contracting. These are the biofield  and mind related reactions.

Obviously all these have corresponding reactions in the body such as release of certain chemicals, hormones which are the physical driving mechanisms for us to act in certain ways. 

It is a composite and very complex system that has many layers. 

[SteveH]

You must ask the NIH as to how and why they were convinced that the biofield exists. I have no idea.

Speaking for myself, I know the biofield exists. I can experience, physically feel and work with chakras. How do I convince you? That is difficult.

I can only give you some very simple instances. When you play with a little baby....you will suddenly feel your heart expanding. Obviously nothing happens to the physical heart,  It is the heart chakra that is expanding. When you feel fear, you will feel a hollow in the pit of your stomach. That is the navel charka contracting. These are the biofield  and mind related reactions.

Obviously all these have corresponding reactions in the body such as release of certain chemicals, hormones which are the physical driving mechanisms for us to act in certain ways. 

It is a composite and very complex system that has many layers.

I'm pretty sure that medical science has explanations of those experiences based on physical evidence, without recourse to biofields, chakras or anything else for which there is no hard evidence.

[Sriram]

I'm pretty sure that medical science has explanations of those experiences based on physical evidence, without recourse to biofields, chakras or anything else for which there is no hard evidence.

It is the US National institute of health that has accepted the biofield and its relevance. Please read the links above.

[jeremyp]

It is the US National institute of health that has accepted the biofield and its relevance. Please read the links above.

Yes and you used to be able to get homeopathic treatments n the NHS. That's bollocks too.

There's no reason to believe that bitfields are real.

[Gordon]

It is the US National institute of health that has accepted the biofield and its relevance. Please read the links above.

I suspect that it pays to be sceptical regarding this 'biofield' notion: aside from frequent mentions of 'quantum', which unless being advanced by a bona fide expert in quantum theory should always be viewed with caution, I note that Deepak Chopra is a supporter.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.7453/gahmj.2015.011.suppl

Sounds awfully like pseudoscience (or woo) to me. 

[Sriram]

I suspect that it pays to be sceptical regarding this 'biofield' notion: aside from frequent mentions of 'quantum', which unless being advanced by a bona fide expert in quantum theory should always be viewed with caution, I note that Deepak Chopra is a supporter.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.7453/gahmj.2015.011.suppl

Sounds awfully like pseudoscience (or woo) to me.

Scepticism is healthy at the right point. It should not however become a habit, born of an adolescent mindset. It most cases we can see that it is just a automatic reaction based on the 'two boxes syndrome'. Something that people like to quickly label as 'woo' and dismiss from their minds.

[Enki]

Hi everyone,

Here is an article from Science Daily about the biofield and medical care.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029111913.htm

************

Biofield therapies, which claim to use subtle energy to stimulate the body's healing process, are promising complementary interventions for reducing the intensity of pain in a number of conditions, reducing anxiety for hospitalized patients and reducing agitated behaviors in dementia, over and above what standard treatments can achieve.

...they find strong evidence that biofield therapies reduce pain intensity in free-living populations, and moderate evidence that they are effective at lowering pain in hospitalized patients as well as in patients with cancer.

The authors conclude that there is a strong need for further high-quality studies and suggest specific areas for further research. They add: "In order to better inform patients of the potential benefits or non-benefits of these biofield-based interventions, clinicians and scientists within behavioral medicine should familiarize themselves with current theory, practice and research of such techniques."

*************

Cheers.

Sriram

Hi Sriram,

I have taken the trouble to read the original article to which your link refers as I am much more interested in what benefits biofield techniques can confer, rather than taking part in any rather controversial argument as to what such a vague term as 'biofield' covers and evidence/lack of evidence for its existence.

It is quite an interesting article(although written in 2009) which examines the results of 66 studies(reduced from 88) in various areas such as cancer pain relief, anxiety relief and dementia control, as you say. The full article, which is quite long, is available here:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12529-009-9062-4

Your middle paragraph seems to be accurate but you seem to have missed that the report also says that:

There is equivocal evidence for biofield therapies' effects on fatigue and quality of life for cancer patients, as well as for comprehensive pain outcomes and affect in pain patients, and for decreasing anxiety in cardiovascular patients.

which, in my view, is necessary to give a balanced picture.

It may also be worthwhile, in the interests of balance and objectivity, to repeat the concluding remarks of the article:

Finally, comparisons of biofield interventions with empirically supported treatments for particular disorders is warranted to determine whether these therapies provide any benefits over and above those from other relaxation-response providing interventions. It is hoped that behavioral medicine clinicians and researchers will continue to examine the research in the area of biofield-based therapies, in order to determine whether these interventions may be a helpful tool in our arsenal to alleviate suffering within patient populations.

a conclusion which I have no problem with agreeing with whatever.

[Sriram]

Hi Sriram,

I have taken the trouble to read the original article to which your link refers as I am much more interested in what benefits biofield techniques can confer, rather than taking part in any rather controversial argument as to what such a vague term as 'biofield' covers and evidence/lack of evidence for its existence.

It is quite an interesting article(although written in 2009) which examines the results of 66 studies(reduced from 88) in various areas such as cancer pain relief, anxiety relief and dementia control, as you say. The full article, which is quite long, is available here:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12529-009-9062-4

Your middle paragraph seems to be accurate but you seem to have missed that the report also says that:

which, in my view, is necessary to give a balanced picture.

It may also be worthwhile, in the interests of balance and objectivity, to repeat the concluding remarks of the article:

a conclusion which I have no problem with agreeing with whatever.

Typically....instead of trying to understand what the biofield is and reading up on it or joining some healing class to see if it really works....you merely want to pick holes here and there....so that you can get back to your comfort zone and your old science nonchalance.   

[Enki]

Typically....instead of trying to understand what the biofield is and reading up on it or joining some healing class to see if it really works....you merely want to pick holes here and there....so that you can get back to your comfort zone and your old science nonchalance.   

Typically....instead of trying to understand  what the original article said by reading up on it ....it seems you merely want to cherry pick  to reinforce your take on it...so that you can wallow in your own comfort zone and your non-science nonchalance.

PS. Both my wife and I have had experience of various forms of complimentary therapies although, of course, anecdotal accounts mean very little.

[Sebastian Toe]

Typically....instead of trying to understand what the biofield is and reading up on it or joining some healing class to see if it really works...

....and if anyone has joined such establishments and found it not to work?

[SteveH]

....and if anyone has joined such establishments and found it not to work?

...and anyway, Sriram is ignoring the placebo effect.

[Sriram]

The impression created by decades of physicists that 'anecdotal evidence means very little'....is a lot of nonsense. Life is 'anecdotal'.  We don't have meters and instruments attached to us to get objective and regular information and updates about our own lives.

Anecdotes...especially consistent ones of millions of people in different cultures across the world and over centuries....are certainly evidence.

[Enki]

The impression created by decades of physicists that 'anecdotal evidence means very little'....is a lot of nonsense. Life is 'anecdotal'.  We don't have meters and instruments attached to us to get objective and regular information and updates about our own lives.

Anecdotes...especially consistent ones of millions of people in different cultures across the world and over centuries....are certainly evidence.

A bit rich even for you, Sriram, as your whole basis for producing this thread was to focus on an article which did sift through the evidence about the efficacy of biofield techniques, rather than rely upon anecdote.

Straw man. I didn't say that anecdotal evidence isn't evidence, only that, by itself, it doesn't mean very much(in particular I was referring to myself and my wife's experiences). I see no reason why anecdotal evidence in many instances can't be the starting point for a thorough investigation to see if the anecdotal evidence stands up to scientific rigour. That's what the aforementioned article was trying to do, and that's why I have a positive attitude towards it.

If you really want to learn about the importance, the pitfalls and  the uses of anecdotal evidence, I suggest you look at this Wiki article, with special reference to the scientific context:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anecdotal_evidence

or try reading this Chapter from 'Smart Health Choices: Making Sense of Health Advice'

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK63643/

You never know, you just might find it useful.

[Sriram]

Alright.....just to highlight that the biofield is a serious matter that has its advocates  in the scientific community. Its benefits in healing have been documented.

The biofield is a real and natural phenomena and is a real factor in understanding what our mind is.  It cannot be brushed off as woo or as similar to imaginative 'supernatural' elements.