Science
Intuition
I've spent the majority of my working life in a Scientific arena, though healing is an intuitive practice to me. When conditions are optimised, evidence of healing exists in the natural world and in our own bodies. After bush fires, new shoots soon emerge to restore green landscapes. When we injure ourselves, an intelligent process is activated to heal our tissues. Neither example requires any conscious effort from our minds.
The information to follow presents some ideas for you to research further yourself. It's not an exhaustive list on Energy healing, however it aims to offer some of the themes that I've explored relating to healing practice in a society governed by physical laws.
Clinical Research Trial on Spiritual Healing in the NHS (2010) - UK (4)(5)
In a randomised controlled trial (RCT) led by the University of Birmingham lasting over 2 years, 200 chronically ill gastroenterology out-patients were enrolled into this study. Participants agreed to 5 weekly healing sessions of 30 minutes in addition to usual clinical management of their conditions.
Patients enrolled on the study had a diagnosis of either Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), both of which profoundly impact quality of life and account for 30% of gut problems in primary care. The study sought to find out if healing provided a pragmatic benefit in symptom relief of patients suffering IBS and IBD.
Study participants were split into 2 groups (each included both IBS and IBD sufferers): one group had healing intervention + conventional medical treatment, whilst the control group received conventional medical treatment only, until week 12 when they too received healing in addition to medical treatment. This method helped quantify the significance of healing in the results.
Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected, including self-report outcome questionnaires to identify participants' symptoms of their most significant complaint and their overall quality of life scores at weeks 0, 6, 12 and 24.
Results showed that no adverse side effects had come about as a result of healing and participants reported it to be an interesting and enjoyable experience. There were statistically significant improvements for quality of life scores in the group who had received healing with medical treatment at week 6, 12 and 24, compared to those who had only received conventional medical treatment (p<0.001). Symptom severity was significantly reduced in the IBS group who received healing at week 6 (P<0.001) and at week 12 (P<0.018). Having received healing, participants reported that they felt better in themselves and more able to lead a normal life, the effects were long lasting and researchers believed that the results confirmed that the level of improvement exceeded that which would be expected in a placebo effect (4)(5).
Audit of 192 patients' responses to Spiritual Healing: Good Hope Hospital - UK (6)
None of the patients enrolled in this study were looking for healing in addition to their medical treatment. Very few had experienced any form of complementary therapy before they were invited for a single 20 minute healing session and were included in the audit.
55 experienced the sensation of heat or cold
22 experienced heaviness or lightness
30 experienced tingling or rippling sensations
28 experienced seeing light
29 experienced involuntary muscle movements
49 people stated that pain/discomfort disappeared or substantially reduced
52 stated that they now felt more positive
63 stated that they now felt relaxed/peaceful
References
4) Lee.R.T., Kingstone.T., Roberts.L., Edwards.S., Soundy. A., Shah.P.R., Haque.M.S., Singh.S. (2017) A pragmatic randomised controlled trial of healing therapy in a gastroenterology outpatient setting. European Journal of Integrative Medicine, Vol (9). p.110-119. DOI: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187638201630422X [accessed 06JUN2022]
5) Edwards, S. (2018) Healing in a Hospital. DOI: https://www.thehealingtrust.org.uk/contact-us/research/ [accessed 06JUN2022)
6) Edwards, S. (2012) Hospital Audit of 192 Patients. DOI: https://www.thehealingtrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/images/Hospital-Audit-of-192-Patients.pdf [accessed 06JUN2022]