The Science Behind `Energy Medicine' Is Focus of Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine Special Issue.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

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LARCHMONT, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 9, 2004

Energy medicine encompasses many different practices, interventions and therapies, some very ancient, such as prayer, spiritual healing, light and color therapies, Feng Shui, and Qigong, that utilize various forms of energy moving within and acting upon the body to bring about healing. A sampling of papers from the February 2004 issue of Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. entitled "Science and Healing: From Bio-Electromagnetics to the Medicine of Light" is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/ACM.

Energy medicine is the generic term that refers to methods of treatment and diagnosis using different energies ranging from electromagnetic, electrical and other bio-photonic and bio-physical processes that are the result of the latest sophisticated developments in science and technology. Such approaches to healing arguably may dramatically diminish the need for drugs and surgery. The field of energy medicine recognizes that all matter is energy and that more and more subtle levels of energy can be accessed and utilized to facilitate healing. These energies can be measured, monitored and evaluated scientifically using new technologies. For example, Positron Emission Tomographic scanning (PET), Functional Magnetic Resonance scanning (fMRI), and Electroencephalography (EEG) have shown objective blood flow, biochemical, and electrophysiological changes in response to acupuncture, meditation, massage, and cranial osteopathy. Newer technologies such as Kirlian photography, Gas Discharge Visualization (GDV) scanning, and other electromagnetic scanning devices can show that not only does all matter have an electromagnetic aura or signature, but that it can and does change with treatment or intervention, according to Guest Editor Bruce D. Curtis, M.A., M.Div., who is also an Associate Editor of the Journal.

"We live at a time when the apparently non-material can be visualized and measured by emergent technologies of breathtaking sophistication and simplicity," says Journal Editor-in-Chief Kim A. Jobst, M.A., D.M. Scientists all over the world "are discovering and demonstrating that physical matter is but a sea of energy" and that "thought, feeling, intention and intuition" all influence matter and outcomes.

The issue includes a guest editorial by Kakkib li'Dthia Warrawee'a, the official keeper of ancient aboriginal medical knowledge, entitled "Wisdom, Knowledge, and Information: Have We Lost Our Way In Our Understanding and Practice of Medicine?" A varied selection of original scientific research papers focus on the effects of healing intention on cultured cells and the effects of music, noise, and healing energy on seed germination. Practices such as yoga meditation, acupuncture, and bio-energy awareness training are the subjects of several papers. Other reports discuss the role of vital force and intuition in energy medicine.

Also included are Photoessays showing the effect of thought and intention on the crystalline structure of water, and of different processes on living systems such as plants, Perspectives, Case Reports, and Paradigms that focus on light and electromagnetic energy, energy transfer mechanisms in living systems, and bio-information processing.

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine is a peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online that facilitates more effective communication and data collection and analysis, explores research methodologies and results, and stimulates inquiry and dialogue. The journal includes observational, clinical, and scientific reports and commentary, and features clinical case reports intended to help healthcare professionals and scientists evaluate and integrate therapies into patient care protocols and research strategies. A complete table of contents and free sample issue may be viewed online at www.liebertpub.com/ACM.

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Alternative & Complementary Therapies, Natural Pharmacy, and Journal of Medicinal Food. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 60 journals and books is available at www.liebertpub.com.