Copyright 2011
Gopita Katharine Manning, M.A.

The dictionary defines energy as "the capacity for vigorous activity"; and gives a second definition as "abundant power."

Medicine is defined as "the art or science of preserving health or… physical condition…"

We can thank Einstein and his colleagues, starting in 1905, the annus mirabilus, for publishing four papers which began to change our understanding of the nature of energy. Along with Max Planck's work on the quanta of heat, Einstein postulated one of the most shocking ideas of the 20th century: that we live in a quantum universe, one built out of tiny, discrete chunks of energy which could also condense into matter.

Of course our sophistication and Einstein's further publishing on the special theory of relativity opened more and more doors to understanding space, time and energy. In 1955, physicist John Wheeler conceptualized that what we had previously considered "empty" space was a dynamic quantum foam, which, if compressed into one cubic centimeter, was theoretically stronger than all mass fused together in the visible universe!

Furthermore, it appears nothing short of miraculous to realize that in a mere 100 years we have begun to speak of energy in colloquial terms. Some of us make careers out of moving this life force (energy) with our own hands, facilitating the possibility of living well and living to an old age without the need for pills, potions, powders or sophisticated scientific understanding.

As some of us grow weary of the western allopathic approach to maintaining health and preventing illness, we can learn to call on the capacity of our body's own vigorous powers of healing. Dr. Richard Gerber, MD, one of the most respected and vociferous proponents of energy medicine in the world today, states unequivocally that working in our etheric field (the energy field which surrounds the human body) may actually have a negative entropic effect on us. That is, antithetical to entropy's action of chaos and decay, energy approaches to health have the opposite effect. A negative entropic effect causes subatomic particles to organize in a less chaotic way, theoretically making us younger and healthier. We potentially cease to decay. We have discovered the potential for a veritable Fountain of Youth!

There are four or five essential books for study in the field of energy medicine, all listed below, but most importantly, the workshop - the veritable petri dish - is one's own self. A body, used for trial and error, repetition, proof and observation, is all that is needed. Trial and error, repetition, proof and observation, all make energy medicine a very legitimate and fascinating science, a science worth footnoting and legitimizing through a bibliography, but a fact which is necessarily neglected for the sake of this brief essay, save for the recommendations for research and reading below.

Some of us break down our work with energy medicine into distinct categories by working with the meridians, the chakras, the aura, the acupuncture system, certain crossover patterns of energy, and other protocols. I use my training from Donna Eden, coupled with work from the understanding of the energetic qualities of nutrition (macrobiotics), an understanding of yin and yang, a long time study of Chinese Medicine, an essential training in Applied Kinesiology and muscle testing (a very necessary tool for the diagnostic standard for certain energy medicine protocols), as well as a committed meditation practice. I have found that grounding in spiritual work provides me with the ability to move out of the way and let something higher take over.

Energy medicine is available, understandable, accessible, extremely powerful, and unquestionably needed in today's world. In the year 2011, some of us are unable to afford health insurance, so the most essential need to radically take our power back by taking care of our own health affirms David Feinstein's eloquent statement: "energy is the medicine, and energy is the patient." ("Principles of Energy Medicine", Energy Medicine, 1999, Putnam and Sons, New York.)

Energy medicine is a healing protocol which uses natural, God-given power to bring one's own potential healing into congruency and alignment. And the best part: it is available to anyone with a mind and a body. "Working in the field" takes on a humorous and ironic meaning. It is not without a broad grin that I happily agree with Dr. Mehmet Oz's assertion: "energy medicine is the medicine of the future."

**Recommended Reading List:
Energy Medicine - Donna Eden and David Feinstein, PhD., Jeremy Tarcher, New York, N.Y., 2008
Vibrational Medicine - Dr. Richard Gerber, MD., Bear and Company, VT, 2001
Between Heaven and Earth - Harriet Beinfield, L.Ac., and Efrem Korngold, L.Ac., O.M.D.,Ballantine Books, New York, N.Y., 1991
Touch for Health – John Thie, D.C., and Matthew Thie, DeVorss Publications, CA, 2005