Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis by James L. Oschman
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Book Reviews of Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis
Book Review: expansive, objective, thorough
Summary: 5 Stars
The problem with many books on all types of energy healing are the moments when well-meaning but hopelessly uninformed authors try to explain the "why" of their practice. Why does energy healing work? What is the physiological mechanism for this phenomenon? While authors whose practice is informed by their psychic knowledge (Barbara Brennan, Rosalyn Bruyere, etc.) are certainly valuable, James Oschman is successful in this book because he is first and only a scientist. He has no agenda to defend the validity of energy healing at all costs. In fact, you get the sense that he would be just as happy DISproving the phenomenon. And his objectivity in showing that in fact there IS a scientific basis for the practice is what makes this book absolutely priceless.The topics covered are surprisingly far-ranging. I was even skeptical of some of the chapter headings, but the author is so reasonable, and his claims so well-documented that even the most open-minded might find themselves taking a new look at topics they never considered. The chapters on crystal healing and the emotional impact of posture, respectively, were for me particularly fascinating. Some of the most fascinating scientific reading I've done in years.
His description of the physical body as a liquid crystalline system, the mechanics of how movement strengthens this system, and how the physical liquid crystal interacts with and is the basis for the energetic system is remarkably beautiful. There are many moments where the scientific meets the spiritual in this book and it's so beautiful.
What this book is not: This book is not an instruction manual. I noticed at least one other review seemed to say it was an instruction manual. There are no instructions as to how to practice any of the many techniques covered. The book is for people who already know how to do these things or people who don't want to know HOW but rather WHY IT WORKS. A fabulous reference for those who would like to give clients a more lucid explanation for why various forms of energy healing might work, or at least more current theories on the topic.
Worth the price of the book for the bibliography alone.
Book Review: Best energy book for beginners i've ever encountered
Summary: 5 Stars
If you want to start learning about energy throughout history, and understand how it all started and especially why new age vibrational healing is rising up like a motherf... hammer killing all them damn classic doctors who want to keep you drugged up so you will shut up and stop complaining about pain. Get this book right now!
It will provide you with wisdow that will change your point of view when we're talkin about (vibrational) healing, illness and where we get our energy from, concerning the information we have about CRYSTALS!!!! just a second there, isn't practically everything a vibration!! ha, think about that!!! verrryyy interesting! It's subject is focused on the 'Brain' like the doctor said, thinking: tssss all your bloody problems, but saying: madame/sir it's all between your ears. So this is a good book to start helping yourself without any doubt that the material is wrong, cause their mostly facts presented by true scientists who are truely concerned about us and not only about their paycheck.
Verrrrry easy to understand since I'm from Belgium and I speak dutch, french and persian too I still could understand everything about every subject in this book, I'm only 21y old, using the credit card of my mom hehe. I did study sports so anatomy comes in handy understanding some bio pictures from cellular material, but not nessesairy cause we have google don't we ;-)
Also good to mention are the very good references towards other books, but I would still search them here @ amazon and look for the 5 starred miracle that can improve/change your life in a positive way. Have fun with this one, it's truely blessed.
Book Review: Exceptional compilation of research
Summary: 5 Stars
I received this book from Amazon a few days ago and am halfway through it. I'm so impressed by Oschman's compilation of research - it's provided me with countless answers I've been seeking all my life. I am a degreed mechanical engineer, and am currently getting an advanced degree in Oriental Medicine. I've also been practicing Reiki and other energy healing modalities for several years, having been drawn into these alternative healing fields because of my natural ability for sensing subtle energies ever since I was little. Until I started reading Oschman's book I never had a scientific explanation for this energy or why it was so helpful in healing others. I've always known that these energies are real but I definitely appreciate a scientific explanation for any type of energy phenomenon - it makes it much easier to explain to others who haven't had similar experiences why and how they happen. I meet a lot of people who are interested in energy healing and some who are quite skeptical of its validity. Thanks to this book, I now have a clear way of explaining what I and countless others have known all along - that energy medicine really does work. If you're simply curious about why energy medicine works, or you're a practitioner yourself and have wanted a scientific way of explaining its validity to your friends and clients, you'll definitely appreciate this book (even with the $40 price tag). Keep in mind, however, that this book will not teach you how to practice any of these energy medicine techniques - it will simply give you a very clear and easy way to explain why they work.Book Review: Essential reading in energy medicine
Summary: 5 Stars
While most people have had a cardiogram, few know that Einthoven won a Nobel prize in 1924 for discovering how to record the electromagnetic field of the heart. Even fewer know that this field is now detectable from 15 feet away from your body and that every cell has an electromagnetic field that can alter its behavior when manipulated. Thus the basic work has already been done to chart the direction for building a StarTrek Tricorder which can detect a diseased energy pattern and manipulate it towards health. Somes devices are already on the market that, while primitive compared to a Tricorder, do the job remarkably well.A previous reviewer mentioned the placebo effect. Most scientists don't know that every patient in Stanford Medical Center when I was there studying biostatistics was in a clinical trial in order to take advantage of the placebo effect on all patients, not just the ones getting a new treatment. The National Institute of Medicine, notes in a recent publication, that the brain changes induced by opiates are the same as that induced by a placebo effect. It is far safer and often more affective to induce a placebo effect, than give a drug with negative side effects, particularly when the response is the same or better.
Enough said. These comments suggest that ignorance of the scientific literature in this field is widespread, even among leading scientists, and the first prescription for the brain disfunction resulting from this lack of knowledge is Oschman's book. I recommend it to all my colleagues.
Book Review: A Solid Scientific Text
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a solid cornerstone of the bridge linking rigorous scientific theory and intuitive, energy healing techniques. I disagree with Paul Budnik's review stating that the Placebo Effect is not addressed in the book. True, it is only mentioned explicitly on page 17 (in as far as I've read so far...) but great lengths are taken to explain how a person's thought processes, including their beliefs about themselves, have a very real physical manifestation in the form of electrical pulses which generate magnetic fields which are detected by and affect the entire body.Energy therapy such as polarity, Reiki, and acupuncture have been shown to work at the same frequency range of the electromagnetic spectrum as pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy. PEMF has been used by Western medicine for some time to aid in the healing of bone which is not healing on its own. (See Bassett C A L 1995 Bioelectromagnetics in the service of medicine. In: Blank M (ed) Electromagnetic fields: biological interactions and mechanisms. Advances in Chemistry Series 250. American Chemical Society, Washington DC, pp 261-275)
All in all, a fascinating and thorough exploration of an important, emerging field. A must for anyone involved in or curious about bodywork, energy work, or any form of medicine.