Can Science and Spirituality go hand in hand?

The Complexity of Energy Fields

Only for the last 150 years has the word energy been correlated to lightening, wind blowing, and other natural phenomenon.  Energy had not been put into a similar category until the mid 1800’s (Bodanis 11).  Science currently describes energy in measurements of joules.   Movement, thermodynamics, chemical reactions, and other properties of velocity and vibration can all be neatly classified by these criteria.  In science, if there cannot be a controlled experiment that can be replicated with the same results every time, it did not happen, and it is not plausible.  Mainstream western science does its best to stay clear of anything related to spirituality.  It cannot be true so why even look for it?  Why science would not want to find answers seems like an unreasonable irony.  If a person wants to have a “good” reputation or be taken seriously such spiritual things cannot even be mentioned among colleagues. Why bury our heads in the sand when it is becoming more and more evident that maybe the universe does not behave exactly in the manner it “should?”  A survey given to general psychology students found 47% believed there was strong evidence for ESP, 34% believed in UFO’s, and 32% believed in precognition (Grimmer 363).  Scientists need to legitimize nonphysical energy, intent of energy, and dark matter energy theories to further explain energetic fields.

We live in the physical world and we have a body we can think of as physical.  However, it would seem there is more going on in our world than just DNA and molecules.  Arthur Edwards describes the astral body as “… a vehicle, to clairvoyant sight not unlike the physical body, surrounded by an aura of flashing colors, composed of matter of an order of fitness higher than that of physical matter…” (Powell 1).   He also says that the forth dimension is where this energy resides and it can be formulated by means of geometry and mathematics (3).   He further stated, “there is even more than the astral body, but an enteric body as well which can be roughly interpreted as the mental body” (23).  This is a generally accepted description in eastern philosophies including yoga and chi gong.  Can science offer up any answers?  Is it even looking?  Perhaps it is just a matter of looking for such “energies.”  The possibility of finding something one is not looking for is small.  However, people seem to agree on one thing, seeing is believing.

When I look at the world I see it through slightly different eyes than most people.  I see the aura of everyone I come in contact with.  I see bright energy emanating from everyone.  Everyone appears to have different intensity, colors, and patterns of that energy.  This was not clear to me at first.  As a matter of fact, auras looked like heat shimmering off the road at first.  As I studied it, it became clearer and clearer as time went on.  I cannot turn it off and I have come to accept it.  Is seeing believing?  It certainly is for me.  I can move this energy with my mind and, sometimes, I just experiment with all the ways it can be manipulated.  It also has a distinct “feeling” to it.  I have a rock that feels like electricity every time I pick it up.  Yet, energy fields are not exclusive to people.  The life force of a person or a plant is visibly different than the energy of a rock or plastic cup.  My story is very similar to Rosalyn Bruyere, a 58 year old grocery checker turned energy healer who says that there are fuzzy halos around everything she sees  (Bruyere 72).  It is also similar to my friend Melissa Jackson of Ashland, Oregon and many other people I have met.

            My friend Melissa Jackson also sees energy and auras.  For her, this is a skill she says, “anyone can develop” (Jackson).  Her interpretation of an aura is a dynamic, colorful, and fuzzy wash.  She sees this energy around things, not necessarily on them.  Melissa says, “Auras of people are much easier to see…  Objects have energy that appears to be more shallow and dim… The aura of an organic object is bigger and more defined” (Jackson).  Sometimes she prefers to feel the energy than to see it.  She also professes, “...it is similar to seeing the hallow effect of light because it has color…“ (Jackson).  When I asked her if the thickness or brightness referred to density, she replied, “yes” (Jackson).  “Some people have energy emitting up to 5 feet around their bodies in extreme cases...”  (Jackson).  She said, “…to feel it is a conscious act, and it is more difficult to describe that” (Jackson).  She feels the color of the auras.  For example, “purple feels really good and it also evokes an emotion” (Jackson).  She says, “A person’s intent effects their aura, like a person who is happy reflects that in their aura” (Jackson).  Her explanation of this energy is it is used to run your body; it’s the spirit or soul (Jackson).  She also says, “it can’t be contained within the body because it is bigger” (Jackson).  She says, “crystalline structures seem to influence their auras” (Jackson).  Perhaps science can afford us some proof. 

There is a technique called Kirlian photography which can capture the image of the aura field or, as some call it, bio energy.  The process of photographing people in the proximity of high frequency, high voltage, and low current electrical field has caused its fare share of controversy (Schmeidler).  Eldon Case and Willard Fadner studied this process on inanimate objects and concluded, “The major mechanism of Kirlian Photography is common electrical discharge and resulting corona just above the film” (Case).  If this is so, why can amputees observe their missing arm’s energy using this process?  Why can parts of leaves be cut off, yet its energy is still found in the shape of the missing part?  Why would the color be different from person to person or of these aura fields if its simply radiation from the electricity?  Of course, the radiation is going to add to the energy released by the device or energy cannot be created according to the first law of thermodynamics (Brown 158).  It requires an open mind to make unbiased experiments, which is probably why they chose to use inanimate objects rather than organic specimens.  Is there a way this energy is being used in everyday life?

Energy healers have been using nonphysical energy fields to heal people for thousands of years.  According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, “Many small studies of Therapeutic Touch have suggested its effectiveness in a wide variety of conditions, including wound healing, osteoarthritis, migraine headaches, and anxiety in burn patients”  (Energy medicine).  Why would people go to “healers” if the healing was not working?  We don’t continually go to a mechanic who doesn’t fix our car do we?  No, if the mechanic does not fix our car we go elsewhere.  Why would it be any different with a healer?  Let us look further into some good research being done.

            Could dark matter be the existence of some kind of energetic field that may be kind of universal consciousness?  Ervin Laszlo thinks it is and he describes it as the akashic field (Laszlo 56).  Laszlo says, “… we have been suspecting that the mysterious field implied by time- and space- transcending correlations in cosmos and consciousness may be an information field at the very heart of the cosmos” (56).  We know little to nothing about consciousness, and to this day it can’t be found within the human’s physical construct.  If we are conscious, can anyone prove it?  No.  At best we may be able to prove we exist, but not where we actually reside in time and space.  Science needs to work to find these answers, because science is concrete and deals with facts and evidence. 

            It is clear science has needed to address issues that have come up in spirituality for quite some time.  It is the job of science to study phenomenon that cannot be explained.  However, for reasons that might lead to ridicule, many have chosen to turn a blind eye.  It seems there are now enough questions that can be deemed non-spiritual (which ironically do relate spiritual matters) such as dark matter and unexplained “real” events in quantum physics.  At last, some research is now being done.  It is not nearly enough to legitimize what are called pseudosciences, yet there is that potential to do so.  Metaphysics studies auras and unexplained energetic fields not known to science.   The hope is that eventually there will be enough evidence by legitimate experiments to prove unexplained phenomenon once and for all.  When this happens the world can open their eyes to a brand new day.  Just imagine the possibilities for the new sciences to immerge from this kind of research.  Someday there may even be devices that can heal us through manipulating our energy field.