Biofield

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A biofield is claimed to be "a massless field that: (a) is not necessarily electromagnetic, (b) surrounds and permeates living bodies, (c) affects the body, and (d) possibly is related to qi" ^{[1] [2]} Although scientists and physicians remain skeptical as to its existence, alternative practitioners claim that humans have a field external from their bodies that strongly affects actions and feelings. They believe biofields can be degraded by EMF frequencies and electronic screens such as radio waves, television and computer screens, and can lead to disease, overstress, and fatigue.

From the National Institutes of Health: The biofield has defied measurement to date by reproducible methods. Therapies involving biofields are based on the concept that human beings are infused with a subtle form of energy. This vital energy or life force is known under different names in different cultures, such as qi in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), ki in the Japanese Kampo system, doshas in Ayurvedic medicine, and elsewhere as prana, etheric energy, fohat, orgone, odic force, mana, and homeopathic resonance. Vital energy is believed to flow throughout the material human body, but it has not been unequivocally measured by means of conventional instrumentation. Nonetheless, therapists claim that they can work with this subtle energy, see it with their own eyes, and use it to effect changes in the physical body and influence health. ^[3]

[edit] See also

• Alternative medicine
• Therapeutic touch
• Vitalism

[edit] References

1. ^ "Ongoing Problem with the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine" from Skeptical Inquirer magazine, September, 2003
2. ^ "Dictionary of Metaphysical Healthcare Unnaturalistic Methods"
3. ^ "Energy Medicine Overview" from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine retrieved October 13, 2006