This past year the Institute of Noetic Sciences embarked on one of the largest and most complex research projects in its history, the Exceptional Healers Pilot Study. For several months, the EarthRise campus hosted a succession of 17 subtle energy practitioners versed in a wide variety of modalities, each of whom spent a week conducting healing sessions with nearly 200 subjects seeking relief from the pain of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. IONS scientist Dr. Garret Yount led the research team conducting this ambitious project, with all the IONS scientists playing important roles in various aspects of the study. Phase 1 of the study is now complete and we’re excited to share some preliminary results.
The basic aims of the study were threefold:
- to determine the feasibility and preliminary effects of a study of this type,
- to evaluate the psychobiological mechanisms by which subtle energy practitioners achieve health outcomes, and
- to discover the mechanisms by which subtle energy is transmitted from practitioner to receiver.
The basic structure was as follows: A client experiencing hand or wrist pain in one or both wrists came to the EarthRise campus and participated in a number of measures, from questionnaires to physiological tests. The questionnaires covered the clients’ pre-session expectations about energy healing, pain symptoms, and the IONS Discovery Lab survey. The physiological tests included heart rate variability and synchrony (between subject and practitioner), wrist nerve conduction velocity, and gene activity (via collection of salivary samples using Dr. Yount’s patented method). And beyond that, there were several environmental measurements taking place during each session: looking at potential changes in quantum noise, in the magnetic field, and with water samples in proximity to the session which were analyzed for changes in evanescence, pH, and conductivity.
The client received a free 30-minute session from the energy practitioner in residence that week, which took place in the IONS electromagnetically shielded chamber. Immediately after the session, the client again participated in several measures, and then after three weeks they returned to EarthRise for follow-up measures.
It will take quite a bit of time and effort to analyze the vast amount of data collected during the study, but enough preliminary data is available to make it obvious that it was a resounding success! Perhaps most importantly, the majority of clients reported a reduction in pain from before to after the session, and continued to maintain that pain reduction at the three-week return visit. This demonstrates that this type of study is indeed feasible to pursue on a larger scale! Even with the constraints placed upon the session environment (i.e. physiological and environmental monitoring devices, limited time, and observation by a third party) positive results were reported by the clients.
Regarding the psychobiological mechanisms by which subtle energy is transmitted, the study found that, for example, overall heart rate and respiration decreased during the session, while heart rate variability and synchrony increased, indicating greater coherence between healer and subject as the session progressed.
One of the most dramatic results was an environmental measurement using the Quantum Number Generator. It recorded significant deviations in background entropy during the healing sessions as compared to control periods, suggesting that the healing sessions caused entropic ripples in spacetime.
These are just a few of the exciting preliminary results already available. Still to come are the results of the genomic (salivary) samples, as well as much more data which will be analyzed as part of Phase 2 of the project. Plans are already underway for the next series of clinical trials, but for now we should take a moment to applaud the entire IONS team for a successful study that involved not just the Science team, but the entire EarthRise staff who showed tremendous hospitality to practitioners and participants, and IONS administration who publicized and supported this ambitious project in countless ways. This was truly a team effort and an apt embodiment of the IONS core principle of interconnection.
