Biophoton
imaging around and between plant parts: are "auras"
real?
Creath, Katherine;
Schwartz, Gary E.
Biophoton
emission is a type of self-bioluminescence that has been proposed
as one possible mechanism responsible for intra- and intercellular
communication (information transfer) as well as for regulation
of biological and biochemical functions within cells and living
systems. Measurements by other researchers have shown that this
emission has the properties of coherent light and is measurable
from the UV through the near IR. Experimental evidence gathered
by various researchers since the 1920's indicates that light plays
an important role in certain biological functions and processes.
We have developed an imaging system and analysis techniques using
biophoton imaging of plant leaves as a diagnostic tool for tracking
state of health of a biological system over time. Using these
techniques we have also investigated the response of plant leaves
as a subtle energy detector. The imaging system is comprised of
a light-tight dark chamber using a high-performance, low-noise,
cooled Princeton Instruments VersArray 1300B CCD imaging array.
As we studied thousands of biophoton images recorded of plants
and plant parts over the past three years, we have observed patterns
in the "noise" surrounding plant parts. Through a series
of experiments these "halo-like" patterns appear to
extend beyond the plants and they appear more intensely between
plant parts in close proximity falling off as the distance between
plant parts increases. Comparison of images taken with different
backgrounds shows that images taken using a non-fluorescing white
background to enhance the light scattered around and between the
leaves yields much more evidence of halos and resonance effects
than images taken with an absorbing black background. This may
be a similar effect to sensitives who claim they can better see
auras when the subject is in front of a lighter colored background.
Image processing techniques to stretch and enhance mapping of
signal levels can aid in visualizing these effects. Are these
"halo-like" patterns similar to what many sensitive
people call "auras", and are they indicative of some
kind of biological communication/resonance via light? Dynamical
systems theory offers a plausible explanation for resonance effects
we have observed. The role of photonic interaction at the systemic
level in biological systems has received relatively little attention.
Yet, a better understanding of these processes would help us in
deciphering the nature and role of light in biological systems.
Partially supported by NIH P20 AT00774-01 (Center for Frontier
Medicine in Biofield Science) from the National Center for Complementary
and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). C21
Predictors
of improvement in self-reported health, pain, and mood in a sample
of persons undergoing coronary bypass surgery
Schwartz,
G; Brooks, AJ; Reece, K; Goldtooth, R; Nangle, G; Campesino, M;
& Hamilton, A
Objective:
To examine the role of demographic, psychosocial and spiritual
predictors on change on self-report mood, health, and pain scales
in patients following Coronary Bypass surgery. Methods: Patients
in the current study were participating in a double-blind randomized
controlled trial examining the effect of distant Johrei on surgery
outcomes. The self-report change measures were completed prior
to surgery and 3-days post-surgery. Mood was measured with the
Global Mood Scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. The
short form of the McGill Pain scale was used to measure pain and
the Idler was used to measure health status. Spirituality was
measured by the Openness to Spiritual Beliefs (OSBE), the Daily
Spiritual Experiences (DSE) scale, and the Religious and Spiritual
Practices (RSP) scale. Results: Correlations between the predictors
and change scores were examined first. Having experienced a person
who had passed away (OSBE) was most frequently correlated with
the change scores, followed by the DSE scale and receiving help
from your congregation (RSP). Experiencing a person who had passed
away was correlated with improvements in depression, mood, health
ratings, overall well-being (trend), and pain. The DSE scale correlated
with improvements in health ratings and pain. Individual DSE items
were correlated with improvements in mood and health ratings.
Congregation prayer and assistance correlated with improvements
in pain, overall well-being, and health rating. Significantly
correlated variables were used as predictors in regression analyses.
Experiencing a person who had passed away was a predictor of improvement
in mood, sensory pain, and health rating. The DSE was not significant
in any of the models.
Conclusion:
These findings suggest that experiencing a person who had passed
away and spiritual experiences are positively related to self-report
health outcomes. Interestingly, demographic, psychosocial, and
baseline mood variables rarely correlated with the change scores.
C12
LACH
Poster Abstracts:
Remote
diagnosis of medical conditions: A double-blind experiment of
medical intuition
Attig, Sheryl;
Schwartz, Gary
Background:
Medical intuition is the practice of using intuition to diagnose
and treat illness. There is a long history of medical intuition
including the beliefs and practices of Ancient Greek physicians,
shamans throughout the world, healers in India, and Edgar Cayce
in America. In more recent times research has been conducted to
study this phenomenon in therapeutic touch, Silva Mind Control,
Mind Dynamic in Sweden, and in a variety of other intuitives.
To date there has not been a double blinded study of diagnosing
using medical intuition. Aims: To further test the hypothesis
of medical intuition a double blind experiment was performed using
seven medical intuitives, 19 congestive heart failure patients
and their 19 spouses who did not have congestive heart failure
to serve as controls. Methods: A Cardiologist collected medical
data on the patients with congestive heart failure as well as
on their spouses. Medical intuitives were asked to give medical
diagnoses for all subjects at a distance, given only the subjects'
names, dates of birth, gender, and the city and state in which
they live. Undergraduate students counted the number of diagnoses
given to each subject by each intuitive. Two cardiologists rated
the likelihood of a diagnosis being congestive heart failure for
each diagnosis given by the intuitives. Results: On average the
intuitives gave more diagnoses to the subjects who were diagnosed
by the diagnosing cardiologist as having congestive heart failure
than to the subjects who did not have congestive heart failure.
The cardiologists rated the congestive heart failure patients
as more likely to have the diagnosis of congestive heart failure
than their spouses. Limitations: There was a small number and
variety of medical intuitives. It is possible that some of the
subjects to be diagnosed may have died by the time the diagnoses
were performed. Distance in diagnosing may have been a limiting
factor for practitioners who are used to being in the same room
with the person to be diagnosed. Conclusion: Medical intuition
appears to be a real phenomenon, worthy of further research. With
further validation it could be used as an adjunct tool for diagnosing
patients, especially in difficult cases. Further research should
investigate the factors that contribute to the success or failure
of a medical intuitive being able to diagnose properly, such as
mood and health factors, the effects of incentive, and the effect
of distance. Also, investigating whether or not medical intuition
is something innate or something that can be learned could be
of value. P5Are research mediums real?
A triple-blind
study of anomalous information reception
Beischel,
Julie; Schwartz, Gary E.
Previous research
from the Human Energy Systems Laboratory at the University of
Arizona (http://veritas.arizona.edu) has documented apparent anomalous
information reception by carefully selected research mediums.
The present experiment was designed to be a "triple-blind"
study to rule out all potential sources of conventional information
retrieval. Eight University of Arizona undergraduate students
were selected to participate as research "sitters;"
4 had suffered the death of a parent, the other 4 experienced
the loss of a peer. To maximize identifiable differences between
the experimental "readings," each deceased parent was
paired with a deceased peer of the same gender. The sitters were
not present at the readings; an experimenter blind to the identity
of the sitters and their deceased served as a "proxy sitter."
Eight research mediums, blind to the identities of the sitters
and their deceased but given the first name of the deceased, each
read for two absent sitters and their paired deceased; each pair
of sitters was read by two mediums. After the readings were conducted,
the sitters, blind to the origin of the information, each scored
a pair of readings; one was a reading intended for his/her deceased,
the other was the paired control reading. The blind global rating
scores given to each reading by a sitter were significantly higher
(p <0.01) for readings intended for the sitter than for the
control readings that were intended for the paired sitter. These
findings are consistent with the continuance of personal information
hypothesis as well as the survival of consciousness hypothesis.
P5
Interaction
of distant Johrei and patient belief in receiving Johrei on health
outcomes: A double-blind study
Brooks, A;
Schwartz, GE; Reece, K; Goldtooth, R; Nangle, G; Campesino, M;
& Hamilton, A
Objective:
To examine the influence of patient treatment guess on change
on self-report mood and health in Coronary Bypass surgery patients.
Methods: Patients in the study were participating in a double-blind
randomized controlled trial examining the effect of distant Johrei
on self-report health, pain, and mood outcomes (N=55). The self-report
measures were completed prior to surgery and 3-days post-surgery.
Mood was measured with the Global Mood Scale and Hospital Anxiety
and Depression Scale. The Arizona Integrated Outcomes Scale (AIOS)
measured overall well-being. The McGill Pain scale was used to
measure pain and the Idler was used to measure health status.
At the 3-day post-surgery follow-up patients were asked whether
they thought they were in the Johrei group and how confident they
were with their choice. Results: A majority of patients (75%)
thought they received Johrei. There was no significant difference
between the Johrei (71%) and control (77%) groups in the proportion
of persons guessing they received Johrei. Forty-three percent
who thought they didn't get Johrei actually received Johrei (NJ),
while 31% guessed correctly that they received Johrei (YJ). Thirteen
percent guessed Johrei but were in the control group (YC) and
13% guessed no Johrei and were in the control group (NC). Overall,
persons who thought they had received Johrei had significantly
higher confidence ratings (Means: guess Johrei 7.5 vs. no Johrei
5.3). When analyzed by the 4 guess groups, the group that guessed
no Johrei and were in the control group had significantly lower
confidence ratings than the other 3 groups (Means: NC: 3.4 vs.
NJ 7.9; YC 7.1, YJ 6.9). Oneway ANOVAs were conducted with correct
guess as the independent variable. Correct guess significantly
predicted AIOS change, pain in the last week, and health compared
to others. Sensory pain change was also marginally significant
(p<.08). The group that guessed Johrei and received Johrei
showed improved health and well-being and a smaller increase in
pain than the group that guessed no Johrei and were in the control
group. Conclusion: The placebo effect is widely debated as a possible
explanation for the positive outcomes found in alternative medicine
studies. The present findings suggest that receiving a healing
treatment alone is not sufficient; patient belief in whether a
person received treatment appears to interact with the treatment
to produce positive outcomes. Furthermore, it is the lack of belief
in conjunction with receiving no treatment that contributes to
poorer outcomes.
The present
study was conducted with a small sample and needs to be replicated
on a larger sample, with other illnesses, and utilizing different
energy modalities.P10
Oscillation
of amplitude as measured by an extra low frequency magnetic field
meter as a biophysical measure of intentionality
Connor, Melinda;
Schwartz, Gary; Tau, Genevieve
There are
approximately 1 million energy medicine practitioners in the US
at this time (Connor, Schwartz & Jacobs, 2005). Braud &
Schlitz (1989); Schlitz & Braud (1997); Winstead-Fry &
Kijek (1999); Warber, et al. (2000); and Astin, Harkness &
Ernst (2000) in their meta-data analysis of energy medicine studies
have found significant effects. Creath & Schwartz (2005) and
Rubik & Schwartz (2005) have demonstrated cellular changes
produced as effects of energy medicine. It is unclear from the
data at this time how the practitioners are producing effects.
Clarification between placebo, intentionality, and randomly produced
effects needs to take place. As part of this process scientists
need a simple measure which predicts potential practitioner competence
in a research environment. This study tests the use of Triaxial
ELF Magnetic Field Meter as a method to confirm that a practitioner
is able to produce measurable and reliable changes of amplitude
in the extra low frequency range through the use of intentionality,
on demand and in a research setting. Information will be presented
on the test methods, the results of testing and potential methods
of use. Data analysis to date demonstrates effect significance
to p<.0001 on a one minute measure of the energy practitioners
hand at the universal qi point in the palm. P4
