Time-lapse analysis of potential cellular responsiveness to Johrei, a Japanese healing technique

BACKGROUND: Johrei is an alternative healing practice which involves the channeling of a purported universal healing energy to influence the health of another person. Despite little evidence to support the efficacy of such practices the use of such treatments is on the rise. METHODS: We assessed cultured human cancer cells for potential responsiveness to Johrei treatment from a short distance. Johrei treatment was delivered by practitioners who participated in teams of two, alternating every half hour for a total of four hours of treatment. The practitioners followed a defined set of mental procedures to minimize variability in mental states between experiments. An environmental chamber maintained optimal growth conditions for cells throughout the experiments. Computerized time-lapse microscopy allowed documentation of cancer cell proliferation and cell death before, during and after Johrei treatments. RESULTS: Comparing eight control experiments with eight Johrei intervention experiments, we found no evidence of a reproducible cellular response to Johrei treatment. CONCLUSION: Cell death and proliferation rates of cultured human cancer cells do not appear responsive to Johrei treatment from a short distance

Radiation Response of Cultured Human Cells Is Unaffected by Johrei

Johrei has been credited with healing thousands from radiation wounds after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs in 1945. This alternative medical therapy is becoming increasingly popular in the United States, as are other Energy Medicine modalities that purport to influence a universal healing energy. Human brain cells were cultured and exposed to increasing doses of ionizing radiation. Experienced Johrei practitioners directed healing intentionality toward the cells for 30 min from a distance of 20 cm and the fate of the cells was observed by computerized time-lapse microscopy. Cell death and cell divisions were tallied every 30 min before, during and after Johrei treatment for a total of 22.5 h. An equal number of control experiments were conducted in which cells were irradiated but did not receive Johrei treatment. Samples were assigned to treatment conditions randomly and data analysis was conducted in a blinded fashion. Radiation exposure decreased the rate of cell division (cell cycle arrest) in a dose-dependent manner. Division rates were estimated for each 30 min and averaged over 8 independent experiments (4 control and 4 with Johrei treatment) for each of 4 doses of X-rays (0, 2, 4 and 8 Gy). Because few cell deaths were observed, pooled data from the entire observation period were used to estimate death rates. Analysis of variance did not reveal any significant differences on division rate or death rate between treatment groups. Only radiation dose was statistically significant. We found no indication that the radiation response of cultured cells is affected by Johrei treatment

CULTURED HUMAN BRAIN TUMOR CELLS DO NOT RESPOND TO JOHREI TREATMENT

Patients faced with grim diagnoses, such as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an incurable brain tumor for which standard therapy is debilitating, are increasingly using alternative healing practices that purportedly involve the manipulation of some form of healing energy. To evaluate the possibility that such practices can affect biological targets, adherents of one alternative healing practice, Johrei, were invited to treat GBM cells in culture. Such in vitro models effectively eliminate the factor of psychological cueing. We conducted 40 experiments involving Johrei treatment and 28 control experiments in which a person with no training as a healer substituted for the practitioners. Each experiment incorporated strict randomization and blinding techniques. Johrei treatments were delivered from an average distance of 30 cm. We used timelapse microscopy to investigate the rates of cell death and proliferation before, during, and after treatment. We found no significant differences between Johrei and control experiments for either tumor cell death or proliferation

Trends in waking salivary alpha-amylase levels following healing lucid dreams

IntroductionSalivary alpha-amylase (sAA) is considered a marker of autonomic nervous system activity in stress research, and atypical waking sAA responses have been reported for traumatized individuals. Lucid dreams, characterized by a dreamer’s awareness of their dream state while remaining asleep, have shown promising preliminary evidence of their potential to enhance mental health. This study’s objective was to evaluate sAA in relation to healing lucid dreams.MethodsParticipants experiencing PTSD symptoms attended a six-day workshop delivered via live video designed to teach techniques for transforming trauma through dreamwork and dream lucidity. Participants (n = 20) collected saliva samples each morning, immediately upon awakening (Time 1) and 30 min afterward (Time 2). sAA levels were determined by enzymatic assay, and the waking sAA slope was calculated as the difference of Time 2 minus Time 1. Participants completed dream reports each morning, with a dream classified as a ‘healing lucid dream’ when they reported attaining lucidity and remembered their intention to manifest a healing experience within the dreamscape.ResultsOf eight participants experiencing healing lucid dreams, four were able to provide usable saliva samples. Statistical tests on these four participants were not significant because of low power. However, nonsignificant positive associations were observed between experiencing more healing lucid dreams and increased waking sAA slope.ConclusionThe results did not reveal a consistent effect of healing lucid dreams on waking sAA slope. Identifying meaningful patterns in this relationship will require larger samples and more stringent control over saliva collection procedures in future studies

In vitro test of external Qigong

BACKGROUND: Practitioners of the alternative medical practice 'external Qigong' generally claim the ability to emit or direct "healing energy" to treat patients. We investigated the ability of experienced Qigong practitioners to enhance the healthy growth of cultured human cells in a series of studies, each following a rigorously designed protocol with randomization, blinding and controls for variability. METHODS: Qigong practitioners directed healing intentionality toward normal brain cell cultures in a basic science laboratory. Qigong treatments were delivered for 20 minutes from a minimum distance of 10 centimeters. Cell proliferation was measured by a standard colony-forming efficiency (CFE) assay and a CFE ratio (CFE for treated samples/CFE for sham samples) was the dependent measure for each experiment. RESULTS: During a pilot study (8 experiments), a trend of increased cell proliferation in Qigong-treated samples (CFE Qigong/sham ratios > 1.0) was observed (P = 0.162). In a formal study (28 experiments), a similar trend was observed, with Qigong-treated samples showing on average more colony formation than sham samples (P = 0.036). In a replication study (60 experiments), no significant difference between Qigong-treated samples and sham samples was observed (P = 0.465). CONCLUSION: We observed an apparent increase in the proliferation of cultured cells following external Qigong treatment by practitioners under strictly controlled conditions, but we did not observe this effect in a replication study. These results suggest the need for more controlled and thorough investigation of external Qigong before scientific validation is claimed

Extended Perception Corroboration: A Pilot Study with Energy Medicine Practitioners

Reiki is a type of energy medicine with growing evidence for its benefit for various conditions and populations. The “energy” in energy medicine implies a life force rather than a conventional physics definition, and many people feel they can perceive this energy through extended perception beyond their traditional five senses. This study evaluated extended perception during Reiki energy medicine sessions. Six expert Reiki Masters gave 30-minute sessions to 40 participants. Participants had one or more of the following conditions: acute physical injury (such as broken bone), mental impairment (memory issues), and psychological symptoms (anxiety and/or depression). Six people vetted for extended visual perception made observations before, during, and after sessions using quantitative and qualitative measures. Participants and Reiki Masters also recorded their observations. Data were analyzed for corroboration: 1) within-perceivers, 2) between the Reiki Master and perceivers, 3) between the participant and Reiki Master, and 4) between the participant and perceivers. Participants’ well-being outcomes and potential predictors were also evaluated. Well-being improved after the sessions (F(3,159) = 12.3, p <0.00005; Baseline - 55.7 ± 18.8, Before - 58.9 ± 18.1, After - 73.2 ± 16.2, One-week later - 64.3 ± 20.3; effect size is 0.61, 95% confidence interval [0.39 to 0.59]). The perceivers generally reported similar information in free-form drawings and free text. Perceivers’ observations about the participants’ health were highly corroborated and matched participants’ self-report. No predictors revealed themselves, supporting the tradition that Reiki applies to anyone regardless of health condition. Furthermore, the symbols perceivers noted were meaningful to the participants, but perceivers did not see the same symbols nor ascribe the same meaning to them that the participants did. Future studies are needed to refine the methods developed here to continue the exploration of extended perception, its validity, and practical application in healthcare

Expressive arts therapy for hospitalized children: a pilot study measuring cortisol levels

This pilot study aimed at assessing the feasibility of capturing physiological evidence of reduced stress for hospitalized children following expressive arts therapy. Twenty-five patients were offered a novel form of expressive arts therapy, termed Healing Sock Creatures, during their stay in the hospital. Saliva samples were collected at two times in the afternoon for the purpose of measuring salivary cortisol levels. The patients were randomly assigned to two groups, a treatment group or a wait-list control group. A trend of decreased cortisol levels was apparent following therapy in the treatment group and concurrent steroid treatment, which is common in intensive care units, does not appear to interfere with the ability to measure decreased cortisol levels following therapy. Our results support the design of a formal study to assess physiological biomarkers of stress in hospital settings. To our knowledge, this is the first in-patient study assessing a biomarker of stress following expressive arts therapy for childre

Exploring Personal Development Workshops' Effect on Well-Being and Interconnectedness

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