Energy therapies: focus on spirituality.

RESEARCH QUESTION:
How are spiritual experiences described by participants of an energy based healing session?
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK:
A taxonomy of spiritual experiences (TSE), developed from previous research, provided a linguistic tool to explore and describe spiritual experiences.
METHODOLOGY:
A secondary qualitative analysis was conducted on a subset of existing data.
CONTEXT:
Original data was from accounts of spiritual experiences from participants in Healing Touch classes. SAMPLE SELECTION AND DATA COLLECTION: A purposive sample of accounts of spiritual experiences that occurred during giving or receiving an energy based healing session (n=56) was drawn from the existing data base of spiritual experience accounts. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION: A top down deductive analysis using the TSE as a coding schema was applied to this sample. Comparisons were made between this subset who described their spiritual experience specifically occurring during a healing session and the original dataset of more general descriptions of a spiritual experience. Comparisons were also made between this subset and the original data as well as between giving and receiving a healing.
MAIN RESULTS:
The components of the taxonomy were well represented and richly described as occurring during a healing session. Notable similarities between giving and receiving a healing were apparent in the descriptions of sensate experiences, ecstasy, and experiences of encounters with disincarnate guides. Healing activities are a rich context for spiritual experiences. The taxonomy provides a useful linguistic and cognitive structure for exploring spiritual experiences.
Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
PMID: 23141792