CONCEPTS OF PAIN
IN SPIRITUAL HEALING
Daniel J. Benor, MD, ABHM
Chapter In: Ernst, Edzard (ed),
Complementary Medicine for Pain Management,
UK: Blackwell (in
press 2007)
Introduction
Spiritual healing (abbreviated here as healing)
is arguably the oldest among all of the CAM
modalities, found in one form or another in
every culture. Shamans in traditional societies
and healers in industrial societies are known
for treating through the laying on of hands
and through prayer/meditation/intent. This
chapter reviews the common practices and concepts
involved in the use of healing for treating
pain.
Methods
Healing through the laying on of hands is
offered with a light touch (not involving manipulation
of the body) or with the hands held near to
but not touching the body. In shamanic and
other healing traditions, the laying on of
hands may be supplemented with prayers, meditations,
imagery, healing rituals, chants and ceremonies.
Prayers and the other methods may also be used
alone, without the laying on of hands.
Concepts of pain in healing
Various systems of healing have been developed
and have grown in popularity in modern times,[1]
including Therapeutic Touch,[2]
Healing Touch,[3]
Reiki[4]
and many other, less well-known approaches.
In the UK, spiritual healing is a generic term
commonly used for any and all forms of healing.
Each approach involves sets of rituals and
recommendations of ways for healers to offer
healing. Some healing traditions encourage
healers to give themselves healing when in
need, and some teach people to develop their
own healing gifts for self-healing.
Theories explaining healing
Biological energies (bioenergies)
in the body
Healers and healees (those receiving healing)
commonly report that during healings they sense
heat, tingling, vibrations and other sensations
between the hands of the healer and the parts
of the body of the healee that are in need
of treatment. This is often interpreted as
a bioenergy exchange occurring between the
healer and the healee. Healers claim to remove
blocks to the flows of energies within the
bodies of the healees; to release and/or remove
excesses of energies; to harmonise energy imbalances;
and to supplement missing energies. Bioenergies
within the body can be addressed with spiritual
healing, as well as by acupuncture, acupressure,
reflexology, shiatsu, applied kinesiology and
other CAM therapies.[5]
Biological energy fields surrounding
the body
Healers and medical intuitives report that
they perceive the bioenergy body as an energy
field surrounding and interpenetrating the
physical body, reflecting the health and illness
of the body, emotions, mind, relationships
and spirit. Healers report that the biofield
is not only the product of physiological processes,
it is also an informational template for guiding
growth, maintaining integrity and promoting
repair of body form and functions. Some sensitives
can see changes in the biofield before the
manifestation of these changes in the physical
body, and can use these to predict the development
of physical and psychological illnesses.[5]
Conventional science has confirmed Einstein’s
observation that matter and energy are interconvertible.
The chair we sit on and the floor we stand
on can be described as collections of particles;
alternatively, they can be described as waves
and energies. Conventional Newtonian medicine
has been slow to absorb this lesson. Within
the frameworks of modern physics, the body
may be addressed as matter; it can equally
be addressed as energies – which is what
many healers believe.[5]
While thus far the definitive identification
of biological energies related to healing has
eluded measurements, preliminary research has
indicated alterations in the infrared spectrum
of water following treatment with spiritual
healing.[6–8]
Observational reports have indicated changes
in the surface tension of water and in photographic
film treated with healing.[9]
To some extent, all treatments of any sort
involve self-healing. This applies to spiritual
healing as well. It is speculated by healers
that spiritual healing may be particularly
effective in this regard because it adds bioenergy
and intentional interventions to those present
for all therapies through suggestion.
Transpersonal agents for healing
Many healers report that they are not the
agents for the healings but rather they are
channels for healing from Christ, Mary, saints,
or other religious figures, from angelic or
nature spirits, or directly from the Divine.
Religious interpretations of healing
Historically, healing has often been given
within religious contexts, where it is sometimes
claimed that faith in the teachings and tenets
of the given religion is required for healing
to occur – which has lent the name faith
healing to this modality. People who are ill
may respond better to a person who shares their
religious beliefs. While faith may be helpful
to members of a religion, the fact that animals,
plants and other organisms respond to healing
places this assumption in serious question.
A further disadvantage to religious involvement
in healing can be the engendering of guilt
when people suffer blame for their inability
to cure themselves or to respond to spiritual
healing, interpreting their suffering as punishment
for insufficient faith.[10]
Suggestion, placebo and other self-healing
responses
Suggestion, placebo and other self-healing
responses have been documented with every known
treatment. Thus, there is reason to believe
that every treatment involves a measure of
self-healing on the part of the healee, and
spiritual healing is no exception.[5]
Spiritual self-healing is also possible. It
is commonly held by healers that everyone has
a measure of spiritual healing ability.[1]
Much like playing the piano, some develop their
healing gifts easily and spontaneously, some
may become proficient with diligent practice
and some are best off not engaging in healing
lessons. Spiritual healing as taught by member
groups of the UK Healers organization involves
training and certification by peers. Some systems
of healing are taught internationally, such
as Therapeutic Touch and Healing Touch, and
involve extensive training, certifications
and ongoing professional development following
certification. Some systems, such as Reiki,
involve inductions of healing abilities by
the teacher (master) and may be learned in
one to three weekends with no further supervision
or certification. The UK Healers has a Code
of Conduct that has been standardized for its
various member organizations.
Touch, skin sensitivity and spiritual
healing
One possible mechanism whereby laying on of
hands healing may be effective is simply through
the power of touch, unrelated to spiritual
healing. Conversely, part of the potency of
touch may reside in the effects of spiritual
healing, which may occur even without the conscious
knowledge or intention of the practitioner.[11]
Relaxation, breathing and a broad spectrum
of other self-healing capabilities
Relaxation, breathing and a broad spectrum
of other self-healing capabilities could explain
many of the effects of healing on pain. Most
people notice a difference between their experiences
of pain when they are rested and relaxed compared
to when they are tired or anxious. When people
are ‘uptight’ they have a lower
tolerance for pain. Through mechanisms of suggestion
and relaxation, healers could help to reduce
pain.[5]
Controlled studies
Rigorous controlled studies have indicated
that there are probably factors related to
spiritual healing beyond suggestion and self-healing
that reduce pain. Some studies have suggested
that spiritual healing is helpful in reducing
headache,[12]
back pain,[12]
arthritis pain [12]
and post-operative pain.[13–16]
Other studies have explored healing for neck,
menstrual and idiopathic pain, but these were
not rigorous in either design or reporting
or in both.
Possible mechanisms for the experience
of pain [5]
1. Pain perception is initiated by stimulation
of nerve endings in the various organs of the
body. Sources of stimulation can include:
a. Mechanical factors – trauma ranging
from chronic external pressure to acute blows
or cuts; internal trauma from heavy or chronic,
repetitive use of the musculoskeletal system
beyond its natural capacities; and swelling
or other deformity of organs and tissues from
factors such as oedema (excessive body fluid),
infection and direct trauma to nerves
b. Chemical or metabolic factors – caustic
external substances or toxins that damage tissues
or cause muscle spasms; and accumulations of
physiological toxins within the body
c. Thermal or electromagnetic stimulation – reactions
range from unpleasant sensations, through muscle
spasms, to coagulation of tissues
d. Infections – direct inflammation of
nerves or indirect pain via swelling of tissues
and organs
e. Neoplasms – tumours with invasions
of tissues and nerves, or indirect pain via
swelling of, or encroachment upon, tissues
and organs, especially nerves and bones
f. Degenerative factors – wearing out
of tissues and articulating surfaces, with
pain felt as the body ‘complains’ about
overuse
g. Immune system responses – swelling
or inflammation of tissues because of allergic
reactions that produce inflammation (rheumatoid
arthritis is included here because it is thought
to be caused by autoimmune reactions)
h. Neurophysiological factors – malfunctions
of the central and peripheral nervous systems,
leading to tension in muscles, which eventually
tire or spasm, producing pain, which in turn
creates the vicious circle considered previously
i. Psychological factors – muscle spasms
with tension or conditioned responses; metaphors
for emotional problems that are expressed through
muscle tensions; and phantom limb phenomena
following amputations.
2. Pain perception is variable between different
people. Pain is more than a simple chain of
cause and effect of physical and psychological
relationships. One person may have little reaction
to a given painful stimulus, while another
may writhe in agony under the (apparently)
same stimulus or condition. Psychological factors
influencing pain perception may involve:
a. Innate differences in pain thresholds – one
person may have less sensitivity to certain
stimuli than another
b. General state of the nervous system (whether
affected by tiredness, anxiety, or other emotional
factors) – this may relate to altered
sensitivity thresholds, or to the amount of
energy a person has for coping with the added
stress of pain
c. Specific psychological factors – for
example, people may tolerate post-surgical
pain well if they know that the operation has
resulted in a cure of their illness, or they
may tolerate the same pain poorly if they hear
that the surgery brought only a diagnosis of
incurable disease
d. Cultural conditionings – which teach
a person to be stoic or vociferous in dealing
with pain
e. Attention factors – at the height
of an emergency or exciting situation (accident,
sports event), while engrossed in achieving
some immediate objective, a person might not
feel pain despite a severe injury. Only later,
when attention is focused on the wound, is
the pain perceived. People who have a goal
to work toward may focus all their attention
on this and even deliberately ignore their
pain, subsequently finding that they also feel
the pain less
f. Mood factors – may influence responsivity
to pain anxiety and depression may increase
pain, tranquillity and joy decrease it)
g. Rewards associated with the expression of
pain – may influence the frequency of
its occurrence and the severity of its expression.
A person who unconsciously enjoys some benefit
(secondary gain) from a pain, such as avoidance
of unpleasant tasks or extra attention from
family members, is likely to experience more
pain. People who anticipate compensation following
accidents are likely to relinquish their pains
slowly, if at all.
I enjoy convalescence.
It is the part that makes illness worthwhile.
– George Bernard Shaw
h. Phantom limb phenomena persistence of perceptions
in a part of the body (limb, breast) that has
been amputated, often associated with pains
that are experienced as though the limb were
still present. Paraplegics (paralyzed from
the waist down) may have phantom limb pains
even when their spinal cords have been completely
severed so that no ordinary sensations are
felt from beyond the level of the nerves that
were cut. Similarly, phantom limb sensations
are reported in people with congenital absence
of limbs
i. Fantasy pains – sensations seemingly
created by the mind, where no objective causes
can be identified. These may be body metaphor
equivalents for anxieties, emotions, traumatic
experiences and psychotic misperceptions and
misinterpretations of reality.
3. Transpersonal or spiritual awarenesses
may contribute to how we experience and comprehend
our pains.[10]
a. Pain may be experienced and interpreted
as a stimulus for people to pray, or to question
why they are suffering, and to ask God for
help in understanding and dealing with their
injury or illness. At the very least, pain
may be the unconscious mind’s way of
forcing them to take a break from stresses
or lifestyles that are in some way harmful.
Many people who have serious health issues
come to feel that their illness led them to
re-examine their lives, and to make enormously
enriching decisions for better relationships
and more emotionally satisfying and rewarding
careers, not to mention healthier lifestyles.
This life transforming process may come as
a response to the physical challenges that
force them to face their mortality and ask
questions about the meaning of life. b. People
may come to feel a spiritual causality that
underlies and guides major life challenges,
sensing that they might have been deliberately
invited or pushed into such experiences by
their higher self, by spirit or angelic guides,
or by the Infinite Source – as a way
of deepening their spiritual quest in life.
Pain may be related to lessons chosen by their
higher self or soul for their spiritual growth.
When people are free of pain they tend to be
complacent and coast along, enjoying life but
not learning very much. When they are in pain
they are challenged to find new solutions to
their problems, to plumb the depths of their
being, and to push beyond the limits of their
ordinary capabilities and awarenesses.
We are not human beings
having a spiritual experience, but spiritual
beings having a human experience.
– Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
c. Pain may be a residual from a previous
incarnation, which invites people to explore
this dimension of their existence, and to resolve
ancient emotional scars.
Mechanisms for healing to relieve pain
Any of the mechanisms of healing listed above
can interact with the causal mechanisms for
pain. The complexity of the human condition
thus makes the study of pain a challenge.
Practical issues
One of the major benefits of healing is that
it is a safe intervention, in and of itself.
There are no known detrimental effects of healing.
It has occasionally been reported that pains
may increase temporarily after initial healing
treatments. This is viewed by healers as a
positive sign, indicating that biological energies
are being activated. With time and further
healings, the pain levels return to baseline
and below.
Where healing is misused as an alternative – rather
than as a complement – to other therapies,
there can be a danger that effective conventional
or other therapies might be delayed to a point
when they are no longer effective. In some
cases, however, this could be a matter of patients’ choices
regarding the quality of life they prefer.
They may decline to have chemotherapy, for
instance, when this might offer limited hope
but could seriously impair their enjoyment
of life because of its major side effects.
In summary
Pain is a multifactorial problem, extremely
complex to understand, much less to treat.
Spiritual healing is presumed to address many,
if not all, of the factors through bioenergies
and intent. Self-healing mechanisms present
in organisms receiving healing may also be
activated by the healing.
References
1. Benor DJ. Healing research, volume I – spiritual
healing: scientific validation of a healing
revolution. Southfield, MI: Vision Publications;
2001.
2. Krieger D. Living the therapeutic touch.
New York: Dodd Mead; 1987.
3. Hover-Kramer D. Healing touch: a guidebook
for practitioners. Albany, NY: Thomson Delmar
Learning; 2001.
4. Barnett L, Chambers M, Davidson S. Reiki
energy medicine: bringing healing touch into
home, hospital, and hospice. Rochester, VT:
Healing Arts; 1996.
5. Benor DJ. Healing research, volume II (professional
edition): consciousness, bioenergy and healing.
Medford, NJ: Wholistic Healing Publications;
2004.
6. Miller R. The relationship between the
energy state of water and its physical properties.
Research paper, Ernest Holmes Research Foundation;
undated
7. Rein G, McCraty R. Structural changes in
water and DNA associated with new physiologically
measurable states. J Sci Explor 1995;8:438–439
8. Schwartz SA, De Mattei RJ, Brame EG Jr,
Spottiswoode SJP. Infrared spectra alteration
in water proximate to the palms of therapeutic
practitioners. Subtle Energies 1990;1:43–72
9. Miller RN. Methods of detecting and measuring
healing energies. In: White JW, Krippner S,
eds. Future science: life energies and the
physics of the paranormal. Garden City, NY:
Anchor Press; 1997:431–444
10. Benor DJ. Healing research, volume III – personal
spirituality: science, spirit and the eternal
soul. Medford, NJ: Wholistic Healing Publications;
2006
11. Montagu A. Touching: the human significance
of the skin. New York: Perennial Harper & Row;
1971
12. Redner R, Briner B, Snellman L. Effects
of a bioenergy healing technique on chronic
pain. Subtle Energies 1991;2:43–68
13. Green WM. The therapeutic effects of distant
intercessory prayer and patients’ enhanced
positive expectations on recovery rates and
anxiety levels of hospitalized neurosurgical
pituitary patients: a double blind study. Doctoral
dissertation. San Francisco: California Institute
of Integral Studies; 1993
14. Meehan TC, Mersmann CA, Wisemann ME, Wolff
BB, Malgady RG. The effect of therapeutic touch
on postoperative pain. Pain 1990;41:S149
15. Silva C. The effects of relaxation touch
on the recovery level of postanesthesia abdominal
hysterectomy patients (abstract). Altern Ther
Health Med 1996; 2:94
16. Slater VE. The safety, elements, and effects
of Healing Touch on chronic non-malignant abdominal
pain. Doctoral dissertation. Knoxville: University
of Tennessee, College of Nursing; 1996
Wholistic Healing Publications
Daniel J. Benor, MD, ABHM, Editor
P.O. Box 76
Bellmawr, NJ 08099
Phone:(609) 714-1885 (866) 823-4214
Email:DB@WholisticHealingResearch.com
Web:www.WholisticHealingResearch.com
Studies and Progress Notes (March
2007)
* * SPIRITUAL AWARENESS AND
WHOLISTIC HEALING * *
Reiki treatment on bacterial cultures
Objective: To measure effects of Reiki
treatments on bacterial growth, and to determine
the influence, if any, of healing context and
practitioner psychosocial well-being.
Materials and Methods: E. coli K12 culture
samples were heat-shocked prior to Reiki treatment,
which was performed for up to 15 min, with
untreated matched controls. Plate count
assay using an automated colony counter determined
the number of viable bacteria per sample. 14
Reiki practitioners each completed 3 runs (n
= 42 runs; nonhealing context), and another
2 runs (n = 28 runs) in which they first treated
a pain patient for 30 minutes (healing context). Psychosocial
questionnaires were administered to practitioners
pre-post each session.
Results: No difference was found between
the Reiki and control plates in the nonhealing
context. In healing context, the Reiki
treated cultures overall showed more bacteria
than controls (p< 0.05). Practitioner
social (p<0.013) and emotional wellbeing
(p<0.021) correlated with Reiki treatment
outcome on bacterial cultures in the nonhealing
context. Practitioner social (p<0.031),
physical (p<0.030), and emotional (p<0.026)
wellbeing correlated with Reiki treatment outcome
on the bacterial cultures in the healing context. For
practitioners starting with diminished wellbeing,
control counts were likely to be higher than
Reiki counts. For practitioners starting
with a higher level of wellbeing, Reiki counts
were likely to be higher than control counts.
Conclusion: Reiki improves growth of
heat-shocked bacterial cultures in healing
context. Changes in practitioners’ well-being
correlate with the outcome of Reiki on bacterial
culture growth. The practitioner’s
initial well-being is key to the outcome on
bacterial growth.
Source: Beverly Rubik. In vitro effect
of Reiki treatment on bacterial cultures ,
Abstract presented at 2nd Annual ISSSEEM Research
Symposium on Energetic and Spiritual Processes
in Healing, June 24, 2005, Colorado Springs,
CO
IJHC – WHR Observations
It is helpful to have further confirmation
of healing effects, demonstrating that bacterial
growth can be enhanced by Reiki.
It is further helpful to have confirmation
of anecdotal reports that the psychological
states of the healers may influence the results
of their healing treatments.
http://www.wholistichealingresearch.com/StudiesandProgress
NotesMar2007.html
Brathovde A., A pilot study: Reiki
for self-care of nurses and healthcare
providers, Holist Nurs Pract.
2006 Mar-Apr;20(2):95-101. |
![[ retour accueil ]](../images/arbo_haut-new2.jpg)
