Many of my generation who converted to Buddhism had pre-existing New Age beliefs about all kinds of things that we assumed would be present in Buddhism. Two examples are auras and energy healing. In new age thought, the human body is encased in an energy body that extends some distance outside the skin and can be seen (faintly) when someone stands in front of a white background and sensed with the hands.
There were/are many systems of βenergy healingβ that can be done by gestures and movements of another personβs hands over this field. Akin to faith healing, but usually tied only to a personβs own (often doctrineless) spiritual beliefs not to faith in God or organized religion.
Often, the same energy healing practitioners believe they can send this healing energy to someone remotely.
My mother, Rev. Phoebe Skinner, was a long time practitioner of the in-person variety of energy healing. In the seventies and eighties, perhaps into the early nineties, Mom went to the top floor of an acupuncture Clinic in Washington, D.C. weekly and exchanged energy healing with whomever showed up. Side note: this was the clinic run by an acupuncturist made famous by the Band Steely Dan; the late Dr. Wu. Dr. Wu did not attend βThe Healersβ group upstairs, but he was kind enough to make the space available to them.
I went there at least once. The healings felt nurturing, and you could sense the hands of those middle-aged women sweeping something around you while rarely touching the body.
So, when Tibetan lamas first came to the U.S., many of the people who came to see them had complete faith in this kind of remote and in-person healing, auras, and the energy body.
Tomorrow, letβs look at the current state of the medical research into the remote form of energetic healing modalities and beliefs. After that we can talk about Buddhist beliefs.
Ions may be a good resource in this-
https://noetic.org/research/exceptional-healers/
https://noetic.org/research/compassionate-intention-prayer-distant-healing/
Thank you, Dr. Padma!
I was just reading through my Reiki books last night and remembering how good those healings felt that I had from Reiki practioners when living in Louisiana.
My Mom knew one of the original American Reiki women. I can’t remember now if it was Barabara Ray or Ethel Lombardi.
Looking forward to the next installment, Yudron-la. These ideas about the energy body appear also in the Qigong that I studied (which could have been affected by New Age thinking). I am often not sure whether this is in fact, possible, but I strongly believe that the intention to heal is healing at least for the practitioner. And…..I have had several occasions where I was the agent or catalyst for healing that seemed way beyond what was achievable by the more physical interventions. I don’t advertise, I accept donations if offered but try to help anyone who asks, and I think this attitude is more likely to enable healing to take place. Couldn’t say exactly how much the attitude of the receiver plays in, but I think quite a lot–maybe some people (especially Buddhists) are more open to this type of healing, and much closer to being able to heal themselves?
In summary, there has been a lot of reserch on remote prayer and healing and, in the big picture, it doesn’t look like there is any effect. I will do a little summary tomorrow. In person healing may have some effects on the brain of the recipient. There are no auras or energy bodies talked about in Tibetan medicine. But, in some of the lists of the Buddha’s ‘marks and signs’ an aura is listed. And on Thankas of many wisdom deities there is what looks like a halo or aura around the head–often green.