Six pillars of energy medicine: clinical strengths of a complementary paradigm

The current status of energy medicine and its increasing challenge to the biochemical paradigm that has dominated conventional medicine are reviewed. Although energy medicine represents only a small fraction of 1% of the $2.2 trillion healthcare industry, 6 properties of energy medicine give it strengths that could augment conventional health care models. These include the ways energy medicine (1) can address biological processes at their energetic foundations (reach), (2) regulates biological processes with precision, speed, and flexibility (efficiency), (3) fosters health and prevents illness with interventions that can be readily, economically, and noninvasively applied (practicality), (4) includes methods that can be used on an at-home, self-help basis, fostering a stronger patient-practitioner partnership in the healing process (patient empowerment), (5) adopts non-linear concepts consistent with distant healing, the healing impact of prayer, and the role of intention in healing (quantum compatibility), and (6) strengthens the integration of body, mind, and spirit, leading not only to a focus on healing, but to achieving greater well-being, peace, and passion for life (holistic orientation).
PMID: 18251321